Pitching

1)  Pitchers who get a win or a save in real baseball get a break (probably a lower ERA). The actual "reward" is that those pitchers will tend to give up hits in less crucial situations.

2)  If a reliever has an earliest inning of 6 or more he is designated as a set-up man. These are generally a team's better relievers, and so owners do not want them wasted. A set-up man will NOT come in a game that you are trailing by more than 3 runs. Also, for all relievers, they never come in as a reliever before the earliest inning used you put for them.

3)  If listed as a closer, the reliever only comes in if it is a save situation (score is tied, or when ahead but other team has potential tying run on base, batting, or on deck). Closers only come in tied games if they have plenty of innings left (at least one inning for each game remaining in the week).

4)  If you need a starter out of the pen we just go down your pitchers in the order they are listed in the pen until we come to one who had a start that week in the majors - if none had a start we use the top listed pitcher who had at least 3 innings pitched that week (and is not on our short reliever list). Bullpen pitchers moved into the rotation take on the hook numbers listed for your 5th starter (but not the prefer to face numbers).

5)  We will automatically pinch hit for a pitcher when he is going to come out of the game next inning because he is out of major league innings pitched (we do this even if you are ahead.)

6)  If a pitcher's hook number is tied then he will come out if he's facing a batter with the platoon advantage, but he'll stay in if he has the advantage (throws from the same side as the batter hits from.) Also, you can only use 8 pitchers, and up to 16 hitters, in a single game. So, if you are using your 8th pitcher he will not be hooked when he reaches his hook number. If he does run out of innings we will bring in PAAA, and then he will pitch till the game is over.

7)  Starters face a fatigue factor. They tend to pitch a little worse as the game goes on. A pitcher who is pitching longer in Scoresheet than his average major league appearance that week will suffer more of a fatigue factor.

8)  Pitchers on the short reliever list cannot start in Scoresheet unless they become starters in the majors.

9)  Minimum hook for a starter is 3.0.

10)  ERA for AAA pitchers is to 1.7 times the league average (that week).

11)  Carry-over pitcher starts: There is a star (*) printed next to your starting pitcher if that start is being carried over from a previous week. This 'carry over of unused starts' happens only if one of your starting pitchers started twice some week in the majors, but was only needed to start once for you. That unused start (and stats) are carried over to a later week for use when you are short a start. (Actually, since those unused stats are added into the later week's stats, the star appears next to both his starts in the later week.) For instance, if you have Tim Belcher, who started twice the first week in the majors, but he started only once for you, then in a future week when Belcher only starts once in the majors, but you need him to start twice, he will use that unused start (and those unused stats) for your Scoresheet team. **However, in general, unused player stats are NOT carried over to future weeks. If you have a guy whose major league at bats or innings pitched are not used because you had him on the bench or in the pen then those stats are lost forever. The only unused stats we carry over are unused pitcher starts when you did have that guy in your rotation.

Carry-over Questions & Answers :

July 2012, mmetzger34 asked :

1. If I just traded for a SP from another team, would his banked starts come with him? For example, this week, I only get 5 starts from my SP's, but I traded for Vogelsong who is listed as my #1 SP. If he had a banked start from the previous owner, would that be available to me?

2. Do pitchers need to be in my rotation to bank a start for future use, or will pitchers on my farm bank starts?

3. What happens if a SP has a banked start, but then I move him to the farm for a week, when move him back into the rotation? Is the banked start from before I sent him down still available once I bring him back up?

Jeff Barton replied :

1) Banked starts do *not* carry over from a new team.

2) To bank a start a pitcher needs to start twice in real life that week but only once for you. So pitchers in your bullpen or taxi squad who were not used as starters in a week for you do not bank any starts that week regardless of how many they had in real life.

3) Pitchers *do* keep their banked starts even if you move them to the farm team (or bullpen), and are available for use once you move them back to the rotation.

August 2012, Jeff Barton clarifies who gets banked starts :

It has always been true that as far as deciding who gets two starts that banked starts count just the same as real starts that week. So (as the simple example), if you don't use prefer to face then the higher listed pitcher in your rotation that has two starts available (whether banked or 'real') will get the two starts. But if you use prefer to face and one of the teams in a lower pitcher's prefer to face column is being faced that week (and not for the higher listed pitcher) then the lower pitcher starts twice.

12)  The way pitching rotations work in Scoresheet is that each week the computer figures out which of your pitchers will start that week's games, and then the actual rotation is drawn randomly so that your #1 pitcher is not always facing your opponents #1 pitcher, #2 vs. #2, etc. By listing teams a pitcher prefers to face that random drawing becomes heavily weighted towards that pitcher facing that particular team(s). You might use that column to have your top pitcher or two go against the team at the top of your division, or to have your lefty or righty pitchers face teams that are weaker against that type of pitcher. Also, if more than one of your starting pitchers has 2 starts available that week, then the computer will give the second start in Scoresheet to the pitcher who is listed higher in the rotation, unless a pitcher listed lower down in the rotation has a prefer to face against one of the teams you are playing that week. So, that 'teams prefer to face' column will also influence how many starts a pitcher might get in a certain week.

Using a lousy starter to eat up opponent's runs

Excerpts from the Scoresheet-talk list:

"My best three starters in positions 1,2,3 with normal hook numbers, followed by my lightning rod who is a pitcher, for the Rockies say, who has a very high hook number, who in turn is followed by my 5th starter with a low hook number. Hopefully any run clumps will tend to occur in my 4 hole, keeping them from torpedoing good starts by 1,2, and 3. The 5th starter would need to still have a low hook number just in case you have to go with a sub. I suspect this would work fairly well, although I don't know if anyone has actually tried it."

This reply from Jeff Barton, of the Scoresheet (US) folks:

22 Dec 1997 As you know, I rarely respond to posts on this list (or I'd never get the games played). I do read the posts with great interest, but purposefully refrain from getting involved in threads. But with this thread I can't really hold myself back.

In short, this theory of using a 'lightning rod pitcher' has simply nothing to do with how our game program works. If you use a lousy pitcher on purpose all you will accomplish is to increase your chances of losing the games that guy pitches.

The way our program works is that each at-bat there is a probability of various actions occurring, depending on the major league stats from that week of the hitter, pitcher and fielder. There also is some effect from previous at-bats (luck balancing formulas.) However, what this 'lightning rod pitcher' theory seems to ignore is that hitters are supposed to do better against lousy pitchers. If you face a pitcher who gave up 8 runs in 3 innings in the majors, and then you score 8 runs against him in 3 innings in Scoresheet, you are simply doing what you are 'supposed to do' (assuming your hitters had average weeks.) If your hitters had average weeks, and you score more runs against a pitcher than he gave up in real life, then you have done 'better than you should', and you will probably do a little worse against the next pitcher you face than you'd expect. But, there is no more chance of doing 'better than you should' against a lousy pitcher than there is against a good one. Your team will score different numbers of runs in each game because the pitchers you face each pitched differently in the majors that week. But if you throw out a horrible pitcher every fifth game then he is supposed to get bombed (if he got bombed in the majors that week) - if a lousy pitcher does get bombed (as he should) that will not help the rest of your staff at all.

Personally, unless you are in one of 'my' leagues, it does not matter to me what strategy you use - whatever leads to you having fun is what I recommend. But please, I would love it if you would convince some of the guys in the leagues I am in to try this 'lightning rod theory' - I can use all the help I can get.

We are getting in a fair amount of response to our 'run distribution study', meaning we do not have all the results graphed yet. If we find evidence of run-clumping (more high scoring games in Scoresheet than in the majors, from teams scoring overall the same number of runs), then we will do our best to fix it! But, whatever we find, and/or change, the program simply does not work in the manner that leads to a 'lightning rod theory' being a good strategy.

We play fantasy sports to win - so if you think that you have found a way to beat the sim, even if it is not following 'real baseball', then my attitude would be that you should use it. Folks do try low hooks, high hooks, never stealing, always stealing, starting middle relievers, platooning everybody, etc. - whatever you think works is great with us. But I strongly recommend that if you are trying to maximize your number of wins that you do not try this 'pitching a lousy guy every 5th day on purpose' strategy! (I do apologize if I am offending anybody - but this one really got me going.) Have a great holiday! - Jeff Barton  
 

ERA vs WHIP

On another note, we actually try and match both ERA and WHIP with about equal weighting. So, a pitcher with a 3.00 ERA and a 1 WHIP in real life will generally pitch better in Scoresheet than one with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.4 WHIP. I am sorry that I can't give an exact number for where exactly the break-even between WHIP and ERA is (I can't say that a 3.2 ERA with a 1 WHIP is exactly the same as a 3.0 ERA with a 1.2 WHIP), because the program does not work that simply. It is not that I am trying to hide anything - I just don't know what that number would be. But I do know that when drafting, both programmer Dave and I pay as much (or even more) attention to hits and walks allowed per inning for pitchers as we do to ERA. - Jeff Barton (May 31, 2002)
 

Does ERA alone determine the outcome of a plate appearance ?

(May, 2004)

From Andy's post: " ... I believe that the pitcher and the hitter are "combined" to determine a PAs outcome."

Jeff Barton : This IS the way it works. A couple posters repeatedly make the claim that *only* ERA matters as to what will happen in Scoresheet. But that is simply not true, nor has any studying of Scoresheet stats (either by us extensively over the years, and also by folks on this list) ever shown that ERA determines what happens in Scoresheet games regardless of what the other team's hitters did in real life.

As far as whether ERA is too important compared to a pitcher's hit and walks allowed per inning pitched (WHIP), we do factor *both* ERA and WHIP into the algorithm that determines the odds of each at-bat's outcome. Basically the better a pitcher's WHIP and/or ERA the less the chance of a plate appearance leading to a hit, and the worse those numbers the greater the chance, all also influenced by how the hitter did in real life, and the fielders. But the sim is rather complex - there is no simple number I/we can give for the relative weighting of those two factors.

Personally though, when scanning boxscores to see how I 'think' I'll do that week in Scoresheet, for my starting pitches I care more about their ERA,and for my relievers I care more about their WHIP. (So I guess I do think that for starters anyhow the major league ERA is more important than their major league WHIP as far as what brings me happiness/depression when reading the morning paper.) But that does *not* mean WHIP does not matter. There is no question that in our program, a pitcher who in real life had an ERA of 4 that week in real life but a WHIP of 1.5 has a greater chance of giving up runs when facing average hitters in Scoresheet than does a pitcher who had the same ERA of 4 but a WHIP of only 1.

In short, I think my two key points would be that:

1) we do use *both* WHIP and ERA, and

2) what the hitters did in real life DOES affect the odds of a hit in each plate appearance, the odds of a run scoring, etc. - jeff

P.S. A discussion of whether ERA really means anything or not in real baseball can be fairly fascinating. But, I can not imagine that we who run the Scoresheet program will ever stop caring about ERA, nor that we will ever stop factoring it into our sim. I certainly believe that the vast majority of Scoresheet players would be very unhappy if come the end of the season their pitchers had Scoresheet ERAs that bore no resemblance to what their ERA 'should be' after considering hitters faced and their fielder's range. Yes, if you play in a small league and your pitchers face great hitting every week then your Scoresheet pitchers SHOULD have ERAs much higher than in real life. And if you face average hitting and have great range fielders then your pitchers should do better in Scoresheet than in the majors. But to simply have pitcher's ERAs be all over the map because we do not factor a pitcher's real ERA into the algorithm seems to me to be a great way to really make most folks quite unhappy. - Jeff
 

Playing Limits, Pitchers

For pitchers who pitch in more games in a week for their Scoresheet team than they did in the majors, an appearance in a Scoresheet game counts roughly as an inning pitched against their pitching limit. For those pitchers, each appearance in the majors adds an inning to the amount he can pitch in Scoresheet that week; each Scoresheet appearance costs him an inning.

" ... If a pitcher appears in a game in the majors he is 'credited with an inning per appearance, plus the number of innings (or fractions he actually pitches. Then, each Scoresheet appearance costs a pitcher an inning, plus he is charged for innings (and fractions) actually pitched. So, 2 appearances and 4 innings pitched in the majors get a pitcher a credit of 6 innings. Then in Scoresheet he could pitch twice for 4 innings, or 3 times for 3 innings (both being 'counted' as 6 innings.) - jeff."
 

Closer as Starter? Pitcher from taxi squad?

Q : What order will the sim use to pull a starter from the taxi squad to fill-in as a starting pitcher? I have one league with 4 solid SP, plus I had designated Stauffer as my #5, but he went on the DL. I have Cookand Bailey on my team, but as they had been terrible lately, I put them on the taxi squad. I also have S. Marshall, eligible to start, but I listed him as my closer. So, will the sim jerk Marshall out of the closer position first, or take one of Bailey or Cook to be my #5 starter?

A (from Jeff Barton, May 13, 2010) :  A closer will never get pulled into the rotation.

To fill the 5th starter need, first the program will go down the bullpen in order that the names are listed, using the first name it comes to who had a start that week in the majors. When looking for a starter from the bullpen the 'earliest inning to use as a reliever' and 'rank as a reliever' columns are ignored (those *only* matter when the pitcher is being used in relief), so if more than one bullpen pitcher had a start in real life the one listed highest (on the highest line) is used.

If no bullpen pitcher had a start then the program looks for a pitcher who is not on our short reliever list and who had at least 3 innings pitched in the majors that week, and he will get the start.

If no bullpen pitcher qualifies to start by one of those two searches then the program goes to the taxi squad, and looks for pitchers that had a start that week in real life, or if none are available it will then look for a non-short reliever who pitched at least three innings in the majors that week.

It more than one taxi squad pitcher is available the tie is broken based on *year to date* playing time (same tie-breaker is also used for hitters.)

Relievers as Starters?  New for 2012

1) “Short relievers” (as designated by our player lists) cannot pitch more than three innings in a single game;

2) A pitcher listed as a short reliever on our lists can not start a Scoresheet Baseball game, unless/until he starts a game for his major league club in the upcoming season, and a pitcher listed on our short reliever list can not come into a game as a reliever before the 4th inning.

3) Any pitcher who didn't start a game in the majors that week can't pitch more than 4 innings in a single game for you (even if he starts for you);

4) For pitchers who pitch in more games in a week for their Scoresheet team than they did in the majors, an appearance in a Scoresheet game counts roughly as an inning pitched against their pitching limit. For those pitchers, each appearance in the majors adds an inning to the amount he can pitch in Scoresheet that week; each Scoresheet appearance costs him an inning.

5) If a pitcher did not have a complete game during the week, he will be taken out after 8IP.

Who gets the win?

Q : Who gets the win if the starter doesn’t go five?
A:  Hi: The major league rules say a starting pitcher must go at least 5 innings to get a win. If the starter leaves before that, and the team is ahead at the time (and stays ahead), then the major league rule is to give the win the the "most effective pitcher". That is too vague to program into a computer, so what we do is award the win to the pitcher who finishes the game, unless he got save, in which case we give the win the to second to last pitcher in the game. - Jeff (2012)