Explanations of how the AI handles odd role assignments?

[jmknpk2]

In my online league, I have an excellent defensive shortstop who hits the ball rather well. Unfortunately we have not been able to obtain outfielders who can both hit well and defend. We have the uncommon situation where the infielders are all better hitters than all of the outfielders. I am usually able to find platoon opportunities in the outfield, but haven't been able to get outfielders through free agency or trade for that purpose this season (with a -$10,000,000 balance, the owner refuses all requests to offer and our league prevents grabbing waiver wire players while having a negative balance). For the last several years, there has not been an outfielder in the draft worth wasting a pick on to build a future outfield, resulting in this mess.

So, I've moved a lesser defensive shortstop who also hits well into the everyday lineup at shortstop and moved the better defending shortstop to left field (because he's the only infielder who can play outfield). Our outfielders who have decent fielding ratings can barely scrape together stats of bench players. The outfielders who are hitting well enough to be in the back end of the starting lineup have deplorable fielding ratings.

The result of this situation is that I have every single one of my infielders on the active roster in everyday starting roles. I have no infielders on the bench (other than a platoon 1b who would defend infield positions worse than an outfielder). I'm wondering what the AI will do when an infielder gets tired. I tried slotting the shortstop starting in the outfield as utility1 backup at all the infield positions, with start "If Starter tired". But I've observed the game removing him from that role in the depth chart on occasions because he is already a starting left fielder (I'm referring to the Lineups and Depth Charts screen I export every sim). I'm assuming that's an indication the game doesn't not recognize the role I'm trying to assign. What I'd like the AI to do is move him back to the infield when a starting infielder gets tired, and put a bench outfielder in the starting lineup. I'm not sure it is smart enough to do that and afraid it will place an outfielder or bench platoon firstbaseman in an infield position.

I've moved away from the "setup", "closer", "long-relief" roles in my bullpen. I have a bunch of starters who relieve decently, but do not fit any of the (historically recent) traditional roles. I've tried defining all of them as "Middle Relief" with "Use more often" and "Use Less often" to give the better relievers more pitching opportunity. By casual observation, it does not seem like any of the relievers are getting innings pitched numbers that reflect my indicated preferences. All of these starting pitchers used as relievers have very good stamina, so I don't think the ones slotted as "Use more often" are getting less than the hoped for innings pitched due to fatigue alone.

I'd like to give a secondary role to one of our better right handed relievers as specialist against right-handed batters because his ratings versus RHB are significantly stronger than vs LHB. I don't want the specialist verses right handed batters to be his primary role, in order that I can also give the "Use more often" preference to the middle relief role. I'd like him to stay in any game until fatigued rather than used in a manner similar to a LOOGY. The "Use more often" option is not provided for a secondary role as "middle relief". I really want him slated as specialist vs RHB as a secondary role. But the game does not provide that opportunity. Only left-handed pitchers are allowed a secondary role as specialist (and only vs LHB). I posted a thread in the future OOTP Baseball suggestions forum regarding the fact the game will not allow me to assign his preferred secondary role. There are such pitchers in real life, even if their role is not as clear and crisply defined as LOOGYs.

At this point, I'm not able to predict how the AI makes lineup or in-game decisions in these odd circumstances. I'd need to go hunting through all of the game logs to fully understand. Even if I did that, I wouldn't be able to see in the game logs, the fatigue levels of alternate relievers at the time of AI in-game decisions. I can go look up the starting lineups the AI has been using for batters when my infielders get tired. I think I'll go review that situation after I finish this post to see what the AI has been doing.

My team is leading our division by half a game just before the trade deadline. I'd really like to tweak things with a fine tooth come in hopes of a championship (we lost the playoffs last season despite a better regular season record).

Anyway, my long-winded explanation has finally led me to the point of asking my question: Does anybody remember any detailed informed explanation (beyond what the manual already provides) regarding exactly how the AI makes utility role decisions and secondary roles of pitchers. I'm not really looking for guesses or assumptions, because I've already made those on my own. I'm seeking an informed explanation.

For anybody who doesn't understand online leagues, the commish plays out an entire week at a time based on our lineup and pitching staff roles. I never have the opportunity to make day to day or in-game decisions.

[jmknpk2]

I forgot to mention that I absolutely love this game despite some minor and trivial shortcomings regarding obscure circumstances! I feel like a real life wheeling and dealing general manager in our online baseball universe fantasy. OOTP Baseball has replaced the Civilzation series of games by hours logged or times the app was started. Thanks Markus and crew!

Negotiating trades in an online league with actual humans, just before the trade deadline in a push for the playoffs, while maintaining future viability, is one of the best aspects of OOTP Baseball in my opinion.

[jpeters1734]

I can't give an official response but I'd like to subscribe to this

[Dyzalot]

Can you use 7 day lineups in your league? If so that is what I would utilize to get your starters periodic rest while having the defensive alignment you prefer. Don't think you can get the result you want simply by using the depth chart and letting the AI sub in for fatigued players.

[NoOne]

make an offline league with similar rules and settings - the players don't matter, but same creation mods for players, too.

in this instance, you'd have to make your team in your online team's image. turn positional fatigue up, and schedule a bunch of games in a row.

[jmknpk2]

Originally Posted by Dyzalot

Can you use 7 day lineups in your league? If so that is what I would utilize to get your starters periodic rest while having the defensive alignment you prefer. Don't think you can get the result you want simply by using the depth chart and letting the AI sub in for fatigued players.

Thanks Dyzalot. Seven day lineups could actually be helpful. If I could predict when starting position players would become tired, they would solve that problem. I could always rest players before they become tired.

During the regular season, I generally avoid 7 day lineups, because I sometimes forget they are in place when the next sim rolls around. Things really get messed up when I do that. :0.

[Phantom9in]

Rest every starting position player once every 5 - 7 days and they should be fine.

[BMW]

Unless it has changed, putting a player in as a starter in a lineup means that all reserve roles for that player are ignored for that same lineup.

For example, you put in PLAYERX in as your starting LF vs RHP and then sprinkle in a few IF reserve roles for the days he's not starting in LF vs RHP. Your intent is that when he's not in the lineup in LF that he's considered to backup in the IF. Or in your case it looks as if you want him to be playing in the IF when one of those guys are tired and not in LF.

From what I know, putting a guy in the starting lineup basically negates anything you have for him in the depth chart. OOTP does its lineup logic in one fell swoop - when PLAYERX is in the starting lineup and he gets taken out for a reserve, he doesn't then go into the pre-game reserve pool where he is considered for another position in that day's starting lineup at a different position.

If you wanted to do something similar to that, you might need to preclude that player from the starting lineup altogether and only list him in reserve roles, albeit at as high a level as possible (every 2nd game). But that might not really get what you want, which is starting the guy in LF every game except for the ones where he plays the IF.

The other part is that baseball and OOTP is about roster management. In a real life scenario, while the human manager may be able to cope with this roving player better, it's also possible the team might just determine that with so much roster inflexibility that having a bench player who can only play at 1B is a luxury that they cannot afford. That is the reason why teams look for bench players who are able to play a variety of positions - it's why players like Kelly Johnson, Ryan Goins and Sean Rodriguez get work. There may be 50 AAA 1B/LF/DH who can hit better than them, but they provide flexibility for the team on a day-to-day basis.

One tip I'd give for an online league where the owner is standing in the way - when you come into the regular season, you'd be surprised at how often you can circumvent the owner by signing a good role player to a minor league contract and then recalling him to the majors. One the guy is in your organization, the owner cannot prevent you from calling him up. Check to see if there's a AAAA player who's on par with one of your bad OFs offensively but offers a lot more flexibility defensively.