Unexpected "Jim Unknown" use

[silverwolf]

Our online league has ghost players enabled for the minors, because we just added A ball this season, and there aren't enough bodies to fill the rosters. But we're seeing unexpected use of "Jim Unknown" on some teams, particularly for pitching.

Example:

- Solid pitcher is set as Closer, has not pitched in 6 days, fully rested.
- Another two guys are set as Setup men in the 8th or later, also have not pitched in 5 days
- Team takes a 3-1 lead to the bottom of the 8th, and with one out, "Jim Unknown" is brought in to finish the game. He records the final five outs, while three prospects that need playing time sit on the bench.

This is on a AA team with 25 players on the roster, 11 are pitchers, out of 35 max. Five are set to starters with a 5-man rotation, one closer, 2 setup guys, and the rest middle relievers.

Turning off ghosts is not an option for the league right now. Is there any way to get the game to use the players on the roster instead of ghosts in situations like this?

This feels like a bug, but maybe I just don't understand how ghosts are supposed to work.

[silverwolf]

Anyone? Today the roster had 35 players on it, max of 35, and the boxscore shows instead of using any of the rested pitchers, it played Jim Unknown.

It's sucking the life out of people that are in rebuild mode and want to see how their young players are performing in the minors.

[NoOne]

i can only offer guesses.

there is a setting that will cause higher potential players to start over players with better current abilities. i can't remember where it's at, but you have to select each minor league from the drop-down box to see the option and set it for each individual minor league that you have. it will not be displayed for major leagues. google or seach manual for location.

if jim unknown is more highly rated, maybe this will fix the problem. you'll want to enable this regardless. it ensures your top-prospects get preference in playing time, in addition to manually setting depth charts.

add one more reliever and see if having a "full" bullpen(7) eliminates the problem. even if they are the worst player in the league bury him on depth chart(2nd LR, but not the lone LR) or leave unassigned. maybe emergency starter (i've only used this in playoffs, so not sure how often a minor league team would use one).

you can assign roles in individual player strategies. not sure if that will help at all.

i wouldn't keep 2 SU 8+. switch one to SU 7+. otherwise they will split time there and be used more often in different situations to keep them fresh. maybe it's having issues with that??? remove secondary roles for those situations you are seeing jim unknown, and/or try assigning evryone secondary roles and anything in between.

[silverwolf]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Jim Unknown finally stopped appearing when there were 14 pitchers on the roster for the minor league team. Even though the typical roster is supposed to be 7 relievers, if there were 10 relievers, Jim Unknown would still play. Going to 14 stopped it, at least for now.

[david limbaugh]

I have asked that 'Jim Unknowns' stop being created at all. Can't win with them. Don't want them.

[NoOne]

Originally Posted by silverwolf

Thanks for the suggestions.

Jim Unknown finally stopped appearing when there were 14 pitchers on the roster for the minor league team. Even though the typical roster is supposed to be 7 relievers, if there were 10 relievers, Jim Unknown would still play. Going to 14 stopped it, at least for now.

minor league rotations and bullpens tend to be larger than the mlb. i also think they play a more condensed schedule which could influence the ai's use of the pen, if it is the same as the mlb ai for reliever use.

if the roster limit is larger, it might affect the ai's use of the bullpen, maybe??? i leave it at default for mlb, but i never look for this problem. i only assure my better prospects play, beyond that i let it do its own thing.

itry a 6th starter and see how many relievers are required to avoid the jim unknowns. if there are any drawbacks of 19 pitchers you'd like to avoid.

dl - the unknowns are necessary and the no ghost player check box is obviously not functional. the probblem isn't the jim unknowns. they merely server a purpose that you do not use. many parts of this game go unused for various ways of playing it, yet they all need to be included for everyone to enjoy the game. 'our' way isn't necessarily the only way.

i like them because they make running a minor league system simpler. the only thing i want out of that is realistic development. the minor leagues are a dreadful time sink, yet necessary evil, to some people.