Expansion: AI,Scheduling, Playoffs

[the54effect]

Hey guys,

I'm considering an expansion draft to spice up my initial foray into OOTP. I'm in year three, and considering adding two teams for year four.

My impulse is to expand by two teams and then go with two eight team divisions in each league.

I do not intend to control either expansion team. Is the AI fairly adequate at getting these teams running an doff the ground without breaking the league? I read some posts about having to modify their farm systems (moving teams around and what not) to keep those leagues from breaking. Is there a checklist of things I should be looking into to make sure that my expansion franchises don't ruin some aspect of the game?

Scheduling- I'm most concerned about the major league schedule. I'm not sure if I would keep interleague play (it would no longer be necessary with balanced leagues) but I would want to make sure that the schedule is balanced either way- everyone facing every league rival an equal amount of times. Will that happen with a computer generated schedule, or will I have to intervene to ensure that happens? On a minor league level, I just want to make sure there isn't an issue where the farm system for a new team is going to have no games all year... I assume it will take care of itself but I don't want to gloss over some detail on my first time through.

Playoffs! I am considering a few different options; Maybe division winners get a bye, and the 2 v 3 seeds in each division play either a wild card game or a five game series before meeting a one seed in the next round. (either alternate division or same division, or reseeding by record, I dunno!) but I just want to make sure it's fairly intuitive.

Finally- is there a sequence I need to initiate this in, or is there a wizard for making it happen pretty seamlessly? Once i initiate the expansion franchises, am I going to be realigning the divisions and the playoffs in the same prompt, or do I need to wait for the new teams to be born, and then modify the alignment as a separate action during the offseason?

I'll be perusing the guide before I do any of this, but I figured I could assuage my concerns ahead of time by asking opinions on these matters! THANK YOU!

[BigRed75]

There is a wizard, but you'll just type the name of the new major league team and the league/division you want it to go in. The minors will be automatically done and you'll have to make the changes you want.

The AI seems to do a pretty good job getting the teams up and running. In my most recent test one expansion team finished 5th (out of 6) in the AL East with a respectable 71-91 record, the other finished last in the NL East with a more expansion-like 59-103 record, but did better in Year 2, finishing 5th out of 6.

[the54effect]

I expanded and realigned my league (two divisions of eight in each league) and also changed the playoff format. I tweaked my minor leagues to keep them balanced- adding two teams to the International AAA, Eastern AA, California A+, Midwest A, Nypenn A-, and four teams to the Appalachian rookie league.

I'm in the process of renaming all of the teams in the rookie leagues, giving them all unique names and logos and such, because... I just think it is more fun than YANKEES 1 (GCL) and such.

It's still November, still have the expansion draft to go.

I set it for 25 protections, under 3 years protected, 5 player limit per team. I also set it for 65 rounds.

Any feedback on how that might impact the teams? DO they have a chance of being relevant in a few years?

My most important question is about schedules. It doesnt seem like the schedule has been formulated yet- is there anything I need to do to make sure it fits my new alignment, or includes all of the new minor league teams? Notably the two I moved from the Nypenn league to the Midwest League, I'm just a bit concerned that they are going to end up with no games on their slate. The only option I've uncovered is 'balanced scheduling' which is currently unchecked.

FINAL QUESTION! I plan on leaving Buster Posey unprotected in the expansion draft. He's a popular player and a team leader for me, but he's got an untenable contract that I wouldn't mind being rid of. He has trade value, but I'm afraid of the ramifications if I sell him. If I leave him unprotected and he gets snared, are my fans and players going to be more accepting, or is it basically the same as trading a popular leader, where morale will plummet?

[BigRed75]

Then same screen that you used to move teams around has a button to re-formulate schedules. If you forget, the game will stop and remind you anyway when the pre-season begins (i.e. Pitchers and Catchers report)

IMO 65 rounds is too much for an expansion draft. If you're worried about not having enough players to fill all the minor league teams, don't. There's enough minor league free agents in the database. I've never had a problem, especially with roster limits set. 25 for AAA to A-, 30 for SS-A, no limit for rookie.

I like to use 21 protected picks, 35 rounds, no more than three players taken from any one organisation. This closely mirrors the rules of the last two expansion drafts.

I've done a bit of expansion testing lately. I've had teams be the Rays (crap for 10 years, then suddenly a playoff evergreen), Diamondbacks (good early, then on a yo-yo) and Mariners (abject failures with no end in sight). I just had a team win the World Series in its 6th year. I think that the expansion module gives quite realistic results compared to real-life expansion teams.