Free MLB Manager Online Baseball Sim Game

[samifan24]

Sega just launched its free browser management sim MLB Manager Online (http://www.mlbmanageronline.com) this week. I just signed up. It works a lot like their old NFL game where you manage a roster and compete against the CPU and other players in seasons and leagues. It seems pretty good so far. My username is samifan24 if anyone's interested.

[mrkilla22]

I've signed up to check it out as well. My username is mrkilla22.

[heybrad]

Signing up as well just to see whats up.

[Travis]

In there as Travis

[dolfin]

Signed up as well, as dolfin13. Having fun so far, not too bad.

[Travis]

Anybody looking to make any trades? Not sure if trades between friends in game have the same restrictions as world trades (cards must be the same value and have the same remaining contract but don't need to be the same position)

[Lathum]

hey brad!

[SackAttack]

Signed up as SackAttack.

[SackAttack]

Woo. First pitcher pack I bought had Felix Hernandez in it. Score!

[dolfin]

Anybody looking to make any trades? Not sure if trades between friends in game have the same restrictions as world trades (cards must be the same value and have the same remaining contract but don't need to be the same position)

Not sure, but I thought I had read you can't make trades in the Rookie Class.

[dolfin]

Woo. First pitcher pack I bought had Felix Hernandez in it. Score!

Nice! I pulled Matt Holiday in my first. Unfortunately, I've come to realize that really good players makes it difficult to squeeze in quality at other positions.

[SackAttack]

Nice! I pulled Matt Holiday in my first. Unfortunately, I've come to realize that really good players makes it difficult to squeeze in quality at other positions.

Early on, at least. I'm not sure what prompts the 'point cost' total to grow. Progression, maybe?

S'ok. I'm willing to play around with having King Felix in the rotation for a while and see how the impact to my lineup is.

[dolfin]

I believe the Total grows as you move up in Class. I'm still looking for the front-end pitcher!

[SackAttack]

Good to know. Mrkilla just hung 3 on King Felix in the first inning, costing me my exhibition against him, but I managed to knock off Travis.

[cubboyroy1826]

Have to check it out tonight sounds cool.

[Tasan]

In

Texas Rancheros, Tasan as the owner/coach/whatever

[SackAttack]

Looks like the bullpen is the choke point. Even a 'basic' offense can put up enough runs to win, but if your back end sucks, it doesn't matter how good your ace is (in exhibition MLB mode, at least).

[samifan24]

Last night I traded Orlando Hudson for Billy Butler. You just offer a player up and which players you want back and if someone else has the same, the trade automatically goes through.

[PilotMan]

I have a team. In as PilotMan, and the team is Shiner Bock.

[Travis]

I'm a little disappointed at the enforced cap so early in the game given the quality of players I've been able to amass simply from completing the tutorial.

I get the idea behind it and increasing the overall team level as you progress, but they've either dummied down the player point system too much, or over restricted who you can use early on.

Just kind of sucks to see 1/2 to 2/3 of my best players having to be on the bench simply because I can't afford to have them in the lineup. If it was a case of only having 1-2 solid/star players on my roster and then flesh it out otherwise it wouldn't feel quite as odd.

[SackAttack]

We'll see what the point limit looks like after the tutorial. I suspect the quality of early acquisitions is to get people to keep coming back early on so that they can get those players into the lineup, whereas if there weren't 'name' cards dropping in, you might get some attrition in the first few days with people going "I haven't got time for this."

[dolfin]

Here's the info for Team Cost

http://www.mlbmanageronline.com/en/playguide/gameflow/#cost

Though might be a little dated as the current Cost is 67 rather then the 59 it shows here.

and...

The Rookie Class for World US 101 will be promoted to A Class on Saturday March 5th at 11pm.

[Travis]

Gah, just looking through the help files and saw this for point limits:

League: Yr 1 Limit, Yr 2 Limit, Yr 3 Limit
Rookie: 59, 59, 59
A: 71, 91, 111
AA: 81, 101, 121
AAA: 91, 111, 131
MLB: 101, 121, 141

My current limit is 67, so I'd have to cut 8 points for the start of the season if this is correct.

And year 2 of MLB is only 10 points higher than year 3 of A ball? A year 3 AA team is the equivalent of a year 2 MLB squad?

I'm hoping this does get some tweaking as it looks like it has a good base to build off, I'm just confused by how they're implementing the cap. Granted, it's quite early so training and stuff will likely end up playing a huge roll, as will the contract cycles (seems like the default is 2 years for a player). Next up I'm curious to see what happens at the end of a contract and if there is any way to retain a player.

[SackAttack]

I'm not entirely clear on it myself. I was just looking that info up.

Did you notice the promotion/relegation system? :D

[Travis]

Looks like players simply leave your squad after 2 seasons.

Also interesting, if you do scouting and get a player you already have on your team, you don't get a second card of that player, instead the player you have gets improved condition (had this happen with Juan Rivera).

The promotion system is a cool idea, just not sure how effective it really is when you're only talking a difference of 10 points for your cap. Granted that'd be one awfully good player or 2-3 minor upgrades, but not a huge overhaul.

Looking at it more, it's really too bad that it seems like you can only use a card for 2 seasons before it's gone. It'd be nice if you could "resign" a card (maybe at a slightly higher use cost?).

[SackAttack]

Looks like players simply leave your squad after 2 seasons.

Also interesting, if you do scouting and get a player you already have on your team, you don't get a second card of that player, instead the player you have gets improved condition (had this happen with Juan Rivera).

The promotion system is a cool idea, just not sure how effective it really is when you're only talking a difference of 10 points for your cap. Granted that'd be one awfully good player or 2-3 minor upgrades, but not a huge overhaul.

Looking at it more, it's really too bad that it seems like you can only use a card for 2 seasons before it's gone. It'd be nice if you could "resign" a card (maybe at a slightly higher use cost?).

I wonder how that affects the team 'collection' bonuses if the player leaves your squad.

[gstelmack]

Wonder how much the game will be overwhelmed by those willing to pay for the "bonus" cards that improve your players.

[Travis]

Can you pay with actual money? If it's only using in game currency that you have to earn through activities, well, should somewhat balance itself in the sense that any money you pay there is money you can't use to scout for other players.

And from any training I've done with guys so far, it's not like the gains are huge. On a 100 point system they've got 3 upgrade slots (looks like they can have up to 5 but you have to activate the final 2 spots) and the upgrades are 1-2 points for level 1, 2-4 points (I think, could be 2-3) for level 2, and 3-4 points (again, just going off memory) for slot 3.

Given that you're only upgrading one stat for each of those drills (at least with any I've seen so far), it shouldn't dramatically alter anything. Never mind the randomness of each drill and the chance that you can flat out waste a card.

If you're referring to something other than training or support cards, well, sorry for the above ;)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Team name is Heart Attacks

[SirFozzie]

Added myself. Team name is Bashers

[cubboyroy1826]

Just added myself. Team name Insomniacs

[ntndeacon]

added myself as well. Team is known as the Klein Bottles

[cubboyroy1826]

Wow played a couple games and this darn thing is a bit addicting.

[Ramzavail]

This is going to kill my work productivity.

[Travis]

Great bonuses to defeat MLB teams.

500 per team.
1,000 bonus for each division you clean out.
2,000 bonus for getting the same division in each league (ie: once you beat the NL and AL East teams).
3,000 bonus when you beat the entire league.
10,000 bonus for beating every team in the Majors.

So a tidy 43,000 points or so once you get through them all.

[chesapeake]

Signed up as the Chesapeake Blue Crabs last night from home, but can't seem to get it to load away from there. Too bad...I was looking for a little lunchtime amusement.

[heybrad]

I'm running at about a 75% failure rate on training cards today. I guess I'm a bad guesser.

Does anybody know the significance of hometown development?

[SirFozzie]

Your hometown will develop based on game progress. You can acquire rewards such as Training Cards and Support Cards based on your hometown development.
Just as your Commercial district will develop when you purchase a Training Card, your game progress will determine the area of your hometown development. Please note that your hometown will reset every 5 cycles (6 cycles for your first play).

[SackAttack]

Great bonuses to defeat MLB teams.

500 per team.
1,000 bonus for each division you clean out.
2,000 bonus for getting the same division in each league (ie: once you beat the NL and AL East teams).
3,000 bonus when you beat the entire league.
10,000 bonus for beating every team in the Majors.

So a tidy 43,000 points or so once you get through them all.

Yep. And since you can just keep playing until you win, sufficient hardheadedness (and perhaps a little luck in pitcher pulls) can get you through that in a couple hours.

[dolfin]

I just won my first game after 15 or tries. Apparently we're still not very good. :)

[samifan24]

This game is like crack

[PilotMan]

Training sucked today. WHat a waste.

[SackAttack]

I'm a little grumpy that I didn't get a team cost boost today after getting one yesterday. I was looking forward to that extra point darnit.

[Izulde]

The Elder Dragon Legends unfortunately suck, even against fellow rookie teams.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Screwed up the registration thing apparently, so I'm in as
User: Athens Diamond Cutters
Team: Diamond Cutters

[SackAttack]

The Green Bay Bullfrogs have a 21-9 record in rookie play so far. Bring on A league.

[PilotMan]

I have beaten 5 pro teams and 2 dream teams so far. Our record has bounced around a bit, but we are on an up swing right now.

[SackAttack]

I have beaten 5 pro teams and 2 dream teams so far. Our record has bounced around a bit, but we are on an up swing right now.

I've finished MLB and the dream teams. Waiting for my next MLB cycle to roll around so I can earn some more points.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Glad some of you have this figured out, I suck (although I did get a shutout from Medlin vs SA :) )

[SackAttack]

Glad some of you have this figured out, I suck (although I did get a shutout from Medlin vs SA :) )

Man, just wait 'til I throw King Felix at you. I'll get mine back.

[PurdueBrad]

I'm still down in the rookie league but I did have Volstad throw a no-no two games ago, which was kind of cool. I also screwed up my signup so my team name and player name are the same: BoilerUp

[PilotMan]

Alright, I am up to 16 pro teams and all but 1 dream team beaten. Sack, you're just riding King Felix's arm. I am trying to do with the fearsome Anibal Sanchez.

[cubboyroy1826]

Wow at least I am not the only dork that signed up with the same team name and player name.

[SackAttack]

Alright, I am up to 16 pro teams and all but 1 dream team beaten. Sack, you're just riding King Felix's arm. I am trying to do with the fearsome Anibal Sanchez.

I can't wait until I have enough team points to ride King Felix's arm and Jose Bautista's bat. Just counting the days.

[cubboyroy1826]

Well my team has advanced to the next level, not that I really know what that means other than the fact that I have a whole lot more points to spend.

[SackAttack]

It means I get to ride King Felix's arm and Jose Bautista's bat. Whee!

Oh, and apparently the friend's list cap is 10 people. I'm full, now.

[Travis]

Oh, now we get into the fun part.

My opening day roster:

Cabrera (SS)
Granderson (CF)
Uggla (DH)
Rivera (LF)
Encarnacion (3B)
Hudson (2B)
Stubbs (RF)
Davis (1B)
Santana (C)

On the mound it's a rotation of Latos, Morrow, Vargas, Niemann and Maholm. Kerry Wood to set up Howell and hopefully not a lot of stressful late inning situations :D

Going to try and ride defense, team speed and pitching this season. Very curious to see if it works out.

[PilotMan]

I can't login due to a server error this morning.

[PilotMan]

Well, I have had a major roster makeover, but we still lack a dominating front line pitcher, but overall we are very well balanced.

[PurdueBrad]

I'm 3-0 in Single A thus far, hoping to keep that alive. I did beat all the levels of vs. CPU teams, so that was a huge points boost. I too am lacking a front line pitcher but am still solid anyway.

[cubboyroy1826]

Finally got a solid pitcher with Justin Verlander. I also now have a pretty decent 1-4 in pitchers. I am wondering if I really need to go that deep in the rotation or not. I have a very good setup guy and just an average closer. As for hitters I recently got Jimmy Rollins. Not the best but still a decent hitter. Picked up C Brian McCann last night who is a 7 but is not all that much better than Ramon Hernandez who is a 5.

[Mike1409]

User: SP Lumber Comp.
Team: SP Lumber Comp.
__________________

[JonInMiddleGA]

What's the consensus on how to use your points? Burn 'em early? Save some?

[kingfc22]

San Jose Smashers have been formed...kingfc22

[PurdueBrad]

I'm up to 6-0 in Class A and face the other undefeated team in my world next. He is pretty stacked though and it looks like it'll be my first loss as my highest point player is a 7. He has three 9's that I'm facing in Longoria, Fielder, and his starting pitcher Jimenez.

As for when to spend points, I blew a ton early because I didn't know any better. I then had to grind through the MLB, Sega, and Legend teams to get points back, which took some time. It took time but I got a good amount of points for beating them all.

[Travis]

For those sending friend requests, sorry if I don't respond right away. They've got a cap of 10 friends right now so I'm keeping them in the inbox (assuming they don't expire at some point) for when that cap is increased.

[SackAttack]

What's the consensus on how to use your points? Burn 'em early? Save some?

I can't speak to a consensus, but I can tell you that what I did was buy a few packs early, defeat the MLB, buy a few more packs, and then use my earnings from ranked matches and league games to build the bankroll back up. I'm sitting around 35k points right now with around 120 players on my total roster.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'm killing with speed in this game. Have double the number of steals of any other team in my league. The runners in this game aren't held on second on grounders to the left side, so a leadoff hit followed by a steal can put you in great position for a run. Really starts to add up in a hurry. Only one 7 on offense with the rest 6 or lower. I couple all that speed with starters rated 10, 8, 8, 6, and 6. Setup man is 5 and closer is a 7. Trained all pitchers to their strengths rather than working on their weaknesses.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

For those sending friend requests, sorry if I don't respond right away. They've got a cap of 10 friends right now so I'm keeping them in the inbox (assuming they don't expire at some point) for when that cap is increased.

+1. Hope they do so.

[SackAttack]

Dola,

Friends list is full, so while I'd love to have all of you on my friends list, those of you adding me currently are going to sit in my inbox in the hopes that the list cap gets an expansion.

[kingfc22]

Ok. I can't figure out how to get a scouted player onto my roster.

I searched the FAQ's but I'm obviously missing something.

Help!!! :)

[kingfc22]

Ok. I can't figure out how to get a scouted player onto my roster.

I searched the FAQ's but I'm obviously missing something.

Help!!! :)

Just kidding. I guess I should just finish the tutorial :D:p

[SackAttack]

Ok. I can't figure out how to get a scouted player onto my roster.

I searched the FAQ's but I'm obviously missing something.

Help!!! :)

Click the name of the player on the active roster you want to replace with your scouted player, click the 'replace' button at the bottom of that screen, choose the player you want to add to the active roster, and then hit 'update' at the bottom of the screen after the swap.

[Mike1409]

San Jose Smashers have been formed...kingfc22

Were in the same pool! I just beat you 13-11!

[SackAttack]

Something I've been thinking about over the past couple of hours.

1) The "Sega" team in my A league is 9-0. I suspect that team is going to end up winning at least 120 of the 150 games they'll play, if not more, and I suspect that's true of most A leagues. So even though there are four promotion spots, three humans is probably the most likely promotion scenario.

2) We're in the 3rd season of the cycle right now, which means that next season, everybody's team cost cap is going to drop. It may, therefore, be in your best interest to spend points on putting the strongest team you can out there *now*, with an eye toward promotion. That way, even though you'll be at your lowest cap of the cycle next season, it will be higher by virtue of being the lowest AA cap instead of the lowest A cap. That will result in less of a hit to the quality of your team.

Without that promotion, good players that you've been acquiring will likely not be usable in the next season, and I'm still unsure whether these contracts are for two seasons or two cycles. If seasons, those unusable players would disappear before you ever got the cap space back to use them again.

Just some long-term strategy thought.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm still unsure whether these contracts are for two seasons or two cycles.

The little screen at the beginning of the new season last night seemed pretty clear (I thought) that the contracts rolled over on the change of cycles.

Which still kind of confuses me since basically everyone we have will expire at the same time ... which maybe isn't confusing since it's their way of making sure that you have to keep buying players next cycle (and microtransactions have to be where this is all leading).

[Travis]

From the reading I've done, I believe the contracts are cycles and not seasons, but that is just my opinion at this point and probably me hoping for the best ;)

Anybody looking to trade? I'm in the market for corner infielders (preferably with high defense ratings) and potentially a closer. I think I'm around 110 players or so right now so depending on what you're looking for, we may be able to work something out.

I'm trying out the world trade route, but I'm already 0-2 going that way.

[PilotMan]

Finished off the rest of the exhibition games and dream teams today. We aren't off to a great start, but we are in the upper half of our division.

[SackAttack]

The little screen at the beginning of the new season last night seemed pretty clear (I thought) that the contracts rolled over on the change of cycles.

Which still kind of confuses me since basically everyone we have will expire at the same time ... which maybe isn't confusing since it's their way of making sure that you have to keep buying players next cycle (and microtransactions have to be where this is all leading).

Well, by the time they expire and leave the team, you'll have gotten at least one new crop in of players with a full two cycles, so you'll have some guys with 2 cycles and some guys with 1. It keeps you invested in the game.

I don't think it'll go fully microtransactions, but I could see something like the Madden Facebook game where you can spend real money right away for a pack, or save for some period of time to buy it with in-game currency, and possibly have an 'elite' pack only purchaseable with real money.

[samifan24]

The new cycle started this morning and it really opened things up on my roster. I went from 68 points to 110 points overnight. Now I can field an actual lineup of MLB stars rather than a couple of good players and some scrubs to fill out the lineup. I guess everyone's roster increases when you join an "A" league?

[JonInMiddleGA]

The new cycle started this morning and it really opened things up on my roster. I went from 68 points to 110 points overnight. Now I can field an actual lineup of MLB stars rather than a couple of good players and some scrubs to fill out the lineup. I guess everyone's roster increases when you join an "A" league?

Yep, looks like that. But it'll go back down sharply at the end of this season when we play season one of cycle 2 (assuming you don't promote up to AA).

[SackAttack]

Yep, looks like that. But it'll go back down sharply at the end of this season when we play season one of cycle 2 (assuming you don't promote up to AA).

Which, knock wood, I'm on track for. 10-4 with one game left in the first day, four games behind SEGA 0045 for first place.

Undefeated assholes.

[SackAttack]

11-4 finish to the first day, and Team Sega actually lost a game, so we're 3 games out of first now.

[kingfc22]

Tried to win with a bunch of hitters but that didn't work.

Downgraded my lineup a bit and improved my starters. Went 3-1 to finish the day after losing a bunch earlier.

[SackAttack]

Anybody interested in comparing notes on what training combinations have resulted in new skills?

[JonInMiddleGA]

11-4 in 3rd place, thanks to a 9 game winning streak ... one of 5 teams with an 11-4 record, all of us trailing a 12-3
Zach Duke is 3-0, 1.50 as my #5 starter
Paul Konerko leads the league with HR, he's also my RBI leader with 20
Morneau has a 1.251 OBP,Nolan Reimold a 1.094

[JonInMiddleGA]

So I'm hanging in there pretty good, won my first game of the day, still in that logjam for 2nd. Bought the random packs for both scouting & training, figure I'm doing okay so far. I'm at the salary cap, figure I'll spend mostly on training as the day goes along, but I can't resist doing the occasional random scouting thing, grab a random fielder ... 1B Joey Votto 10*

To join a team that already has Konerko at 1b, Morneau at DH, and is second in the league in HR.

[PilotMan]

11-6 and in 5th place, 7-3 in our last 10 games. ...first place has 2 teams at 13-4.

Octavio Dotel leads the team in wins and tied for #2 in the league with a 3-0 record out of the pen, but his 6.10 ERA isn't helping.

Ian Kennedy is 0-0 but has a #2 in the league, 1.35 ERA in three games, Ricky Nolasco is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA. Nolasco has 20 K's in 18 innings. Heath Bell is 7 of 7 in saves with a 1.42 ERA.

Our hitters are struggling but we need them to come around soon. Jason Werth (.263-3-9, 5 SB (tied for 5th)), Hideki Matsui (.281-4-14), Ryan Sweeney (.323-4-8) and Casey Blake (.296-4-5) lead the team.

[PilotMan]

I'm at the salary cap, figure I'll spend mostly on training as the day goes along, but I can't resist doing the occasional random scouting thing, grab a random fielder ... 1B Joey Votto 10*

To join a team that already has Konerko at 1b, Morneau at DH, and is second in the league in HR.


My scouting today was a complete waste. The best player I was able to grab out of 3 complete stacks was *6 Jose Reyes.

[PilotMan]

Anybody interested in comparing notes on what training combinations have resulted in new skills?


This is just the training from my main roster, but you get the idea.

HITTERS

Run/Run/Fielding = Leadoff man (+2run/+1Fd)

Clutch/Contact/Contact = Discerning Eye (+2Ct/+1Cl)

Power/Cl/Pw = Blisterd Bat (+2pw/+Cl)

Pw/Pw/Ct = Splash Hit (+2Pw/+1ct)

Ct/Pw/PW = Splash Hit

Cl/Ct/Cl = Scratch Hit (+2cl/+1Ct)

Thr/Ct/Ct = Spray Hit (+2Ct/+Thr)

Pw/Ct/Ct = Igniter (+2Ct/+1Pw)

Ct/Cl/Cl = Discerning Eye

Thr/Thr/Fd = Stonewall (+2Thr/+1 Fd)

Cl/Pw/Ct = Nada

Cl/Thr/Ct/ = Nada

Fd/Thr/Fd = Wizard (+2Fd/+1 Th)

PITCHING

Speed/Speed/Speed = Nada

Cl/Sp/Cl = Out Pitch (+2Cl/+1 Sp)

Control/Break/Break = Jelly Legs (+2Bk/+1Ct)

Sp/Sp/Sp = Nada

Ct/Ct/Ct = Nada

Cl/Br/Br = Yacker (+2Bk/+1Cl)

Stamina/Ct/Ct = Pitchers Pitch (+2Ct/+1St)

Cl/Cl/Co = Cool Head (+2Cl/+1 Ct)

[JonInMiddleGA]

A few more for the training thing
Clutch+Clutch+Fielding = "Boost" (+2 Cl, +1 Fd)
Clutch+Power+Clutch = "El Toro" (+2 Cl, +1 Pw)

Speed+Speed+Stamina = "Thunderbolt" (+2 Sp, +1 St)
Speed+Speed+Clutch = "Whiff" (+2 Sp, +1 Cl)
Control+Speed+Control = "Freeze the Hitter" (+2 Ct, +1 Sp)
Stamina+Speed+Stamina = "Pitching Machine" (+2 St, +1 Sp)

Looks as though the magic is Any 2 + Any 1 = Boost

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I like this game quite a bit for a couple reasons.

1. Although it's not interactive, the game display reminds me a lot of MicroLeague Baseball from when I was a kid.

2. The game allows you to be as active (or inactive) as you like.

3. It feels like fantasy baseball, except you get 15 game results a day which increases the interest IMO.

[JonInMiddleGA]

except you get 15 game results a day which increases the interest IMO.

+1

[Travis]

Would also add, at least to this point it doesn't seem to be one of those "free" games where you still need to pay real money to have a shot at being one of the best teams.

That said, I'm nowhere close to understanding how their batting order synergy works. That part feels like a complete crapshoot and re-order until you get the best combo rather than taking into account hitter types and handedness. More often than not it says my lineup is at it's best when all my righties and lefties are grouped together, even if it means my worst hitters aren't as close to the bottom as they likely should be.

[PilotMan]

I just racked up 1828 points in my last game. Wow! A 13-0 beatdown of the last place team in my division.

[heybrad]

I'm currently tied with the Sega team for the 4th spot in my division.

[SackAttack]

This is just the training from my main roster, but you get the idea.

HITTERS

Run/Run/Fielding = Leadoff man (+2run/+1Fd)

Clutch/Contact/Contact = Discerning Eye (+2Ct/+1Cl)

Power/Cl/Pw = Blisterd Bat (+2pw/+Cl)

Pw/Pw/Ct = Splash Hit (+2Pw/+1ct)

Ct/Pw/PW = Splash Hit

Cl/Ct/Cl = Scratch Hit (+2cl/+1Ct)

Thr/Ct/Ct = Spray Hit (+2Ct/+Thr)

Pw/Ct/Ct = Igniter (+2Ct/+1Pw)

Ct/Cl/Cl = Discerning Eye

Thr/Thr/Fd = Stonewall (+2Thr/+1 Fd)

Cl/Pw/Ct = Nada

Cl/Thr/Ct/ = Nada

Fd/Thr/Fd = Wizard (+2Fd/+1 Th)

PITCHING

Speed/Speed/Speed = Nada

Cl/Sp/Cl = Out Pitch (+2Cl/+1 Sp)

Control/Break/Break = Jelly Legs (+2Bk/+1Ct)

Sp/Sp/Sp = Nada

Ct/Ct/Ct = Nada

Cl/Br/Br = Yacker (+2Bk/+1Cl)

Stamina/Ct/Ct = Pitchers Pitch (+2Ct/+1St)

Cl/Cl/Co = Cool Head (+2Cl/+1 Ct)

Man, you've pulled more of those than I have. Your list encompasses all of the ones I've seen.

[SackAttack]

I'm currently tied with the Sega team for the 4th spot in my division.

The one in my division is 21-2 and running away with things.

I'm still in 3rd, but I've dropped a bit thanks to a bullpen that lost a couple late leads. Sitting 16-7 at the moment.

[JonInMiddleGA]

A 2-out seeing eye single to right by Howie Kendrick cost Kris Medlin (3-0) a no-hitter for me today. So close, he finishes with a 1-hit shutout to keep us tied for 1st.

FWIW, Team Sega is 16-7, two games back in 4th place.

[Travis]

In addition to those above:

Pitchers
Ct, Ct, Bk = Crafty (Ct+2, Bk+1)

Sega is currently 18-5 in my league, good for a 1 game lead in the division. 4 teams are a game back with 2 teams (including myself) 3 back at 15-8. 8th place is 14-9 then there's a big drop to 9th at 11-12 and 10th is only 9-14.

[SackAttack]

Just had a 10-9 friendly win over Jon that took 11 innings. He went up 2-0 through three, then in the bottom of the fourth Zach Duke walked the first three batters he faced to get to Jose Bautista. That...didn't end well.

We tacked on two more in the fifth, gave five back in the top of the sixth, two more in the 7th, then got a 3-run homer from Casey Blake in the bottom of the 8th to tie it.

Bottom of the 11th, Jimmy Rollins drew a leadoff walk, Bautista got plunked, and Adam Lind lined a single to left to win it.

Wild.

[samifan24]

This game got a lot easier when I pulled Cliff Lee in a pack. He's helping me dominate the MLB teams now. It doesn't hurt that my lineup has McCutchen, Pedroia, Billy Butler, Carlos Lee, Beltran and Sizemore either.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Just had a 10-9 friendly win over Jon that took 11 innings. He went up 2-0 through three, then in the bottom of the fourth Zach Duke walked the first three batters he faced to get to Jose Bautista. That...didn't end well.

As long as he does that in exhibition play, it's all good ;)

(He's 4-0 for me as 5th starter in season play so far)

[SackAttack]

My 5th starter is 3-0 with a .94 ERA so far. Hoping he keeps THAT up.

[Travis]

I'm wondering if it may not have been a smart idea to backload my rotation a bit. I'm assuming that the way the games are being simmed that your #1 will always face the oppositions #1 and so on. Would likely mean that if you offset your rotation by a spot (put your #1 in the #2 slot, #2 in #3 and so forth) that you'd lose the first game of nearly every rotation, but could potentially give you an edge in the other four slots.

[kingfc22]

I just can't wait to get out of rookie ball so I can actually play some of my talent!

[SackAttack]

I'm wondering if it may not have been a smart idea to backload my rotation a bit. I'm assuming that the way the games are being simmed that your #1 will always face the oppositions #1 and so on. Would likely mean that if you offset your rotation by a spot (put your #1 in the #2 slot, #2 in #3 and so forth) that you'd lose the first game of nearly every rotation, but could potentially give you an edge in the other four slots.

That's what I did, albeit unintentionally. My #1 starter is my worst pitcher, King Felix is my #2, and my #3-5 spots are filled with my #2-4 starters, although not necessarily in 2-4 order.

[PilotMan]

Carlos Lee has gone to the land of suckage and won't be back anytime soon. I have Lance Berkman batting 9th, and playing first instead.

[Apathetic Lurker]

I just can't wait to get out of rookie ball so I can actually play some of my talent!

Must be nice to have some talent.............

[PilotMan]

Casey Blake bats 5th, and has 7 HR's and 9 RBI's. Houston, I think we have a problem.

[bbor]

i could use some friendlies my team name is bbors....surprisingly enough.

[PilotMan]

Casey Blake bats 5th, and has 7 HR's and 9 RBI's. Houston, I think we have a problem.

ooh, up to 8 HR's and 10 RBI's now. That's got to be a record. Every HR he has this year has been a solo shot.

[SackAttack]

El Caballo = St, St, Pw (St +2, Pw +1)

[PilotMan]

Ah, Ricky Nolasco was player of the day for yesterday. He went 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA and 20 K's. For those interested, it's a 500 point bonus. And we finished yesterday as the top human team, only behind the 2 Sega teams.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Boy, condition changes & whatnot can sure screw up a perfectly good batting order.

[PilotMan]

New special skill:

Iron Heart - cl-cl-st (+2cl/+1st)
Dr. K - Sp/Sp/Ct - (+2sp/+1ct)

I have now max trained all the players on my main roster. For now.


I won 4 of my 5 ranking games today, including beating the #1 team, umbrella.

[Tasan]

Anyone have some spare 1 cost bench batters they'd like to trade me? I have 3 spots I need to fill up with 1 cost guys, and I can't seem to draw anymore. I'll trade (obviously) higher cost guys for them, or one bigger guy I'm not using for 3 1 costs.

[Tasan]

Pitcher Combo:

Break/Speed/Speed = Miss Some Bats +2 Speed, +1 Break

Also, I've beaten all the MLB squads and beat the top 3 ranked teams today. I'm feeling pretty good right now.

[SackAttack]

The day's regular season games haven't been kind to me so far. I'm 4-3, and got whooped at home in one of them.

Still in 3rd place, but now I'm 3 back of the 2nd place team and 5 back of the Sega team (which is finally starting to lose a few).

Tasan, the difficulty with trades is that if you don't have any 1-cost players to trade, you're not going to be able to acquire any.

[heybrad]

Thanks to a 7 game winning streak I'm now 26-11 and have moved into 4th place ahead of the Sega team.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tasan, the difficulty with trades is that if you don't have any 1-cost players to trade, you're not going to be able to acquire any.

This.

I do have a couple of 1* OF's and a 1* 2B I'd let go if you happen across any 1* Pitchers, but that's probably the best the game is going to let us do.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Okay, trade question, just wanting to see if anyone has tried this & can confirm:

If you have Player A and trade for a duplicate of him, you do NOT get any skill bump on the original like you would if you got the duplicate via scouting. Right?

[Tasan]

This.

I do have a couple of 1* OF's and a 1* 2B I'd let go if you happen across any 1* Pitchers, but that's probably the best the game is going to let us do.

I do have some 1* pitchers, if you're willing to do these deals, let me know.

[Tasan]

Ah nevermind on the direct trade. I just put out a world wide offer, we'll see what bites on it. The trade system seems a little out of whack, but who knows. Overall, I'm liking the game.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Ah nevermind on the direct trade. I just put out a world wide offer, we'll see what bites on it. The trade system seems a little out of whack, but who knows. Overall, I'm liking the game.

I'd be interested to find out if you have any luck with that. I got zip from it on a couple of tries to swap junk for junk, decided it probably wasn't worth having them tied up for 2 days when I might be able to swing something on a friend's trade (much like you're asking about here).

[JonInMiddleGA]

I do have some 1* pitchers, if you're willing to do these deals, let me know.

Well crap, wish I'd seen this sooner. No biggie on my end, but I'd have been happy to do it.

[Tasan]

Its up for two days, I'll be happy to swap with you then if it'll let me. The reason I went this way was I tried to set up a friend swap, but it wasn't showing any players from you that fit the criteria, which was odd because I checked your team first. Heck, search for my world wide trade and see if you can do a deal there. I know one of the guys on my wish list was your 1* 2b.

[Tasan]

Followup to my trade stuff: I posted looking for 2B Downs (Astros) or 2B Descalso (StL), willing to move MR Berg (Cubs), MR VandenHurk (Os), or MR Walters (StL). If you post looking for Berg and willing to move Downs, it might match us up. Just a thought.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Followup to my trade stuff: I posted looking for 2B Downs (Astros) or 2B Descalso (StL), willing to move MR Berg (Cubs), MR VandenHurk (Os), or MR Walters (StL). If you post looking for Berg and willing to move Downs, it might match us up. Just a thought.

On an unrelated note (well, somewhat related I guess), I think you're in the same league as my son's team. Unless they're are two Tasan's, you're the Rancheros, right?

Anyhoo, I put Descalso through for VandenHurk from his team, we'll see if it works I guess.

edit to add: And it just went through :)

[SirFozzie]

I'll have to check how we did today, (we sucked in the first two days, 10-20 overall), but work blocks the site :(

[SackAttack]

I can tell you, Foz, you're not doing as poorly as the last-place team in my league. They've lost 18 straight.

[Tasan]

Thanks for the trade Jon. Or rather, thanks to your son. My other trade out there is OF Mather, OF Petersen, or OF Duda for MR Viola, MR McClendon, or MR Poreda, in case anyone is interested.

[heybrad]

My winning streak is at 10 games.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Team is 32-8 now. 2nd place behind SEGA team. Leading the league in ERA. We're a half run ahead of the second best ERA in the league. Seems to be paying big dividends.

BTW.....I see the 'crowns' on the top four teams and then another break in the standings after the top 10. So do the top four teams get promoted or the top ten at the end of the year?

[SackAttack]

Top four get promoted. Once you get to AA+, bottom four get relegated.

[Mike1409]

Do training points go with players when traded? If so I have several trained MR that I would trade for a C rated 2 point defensive SS.

[SackAttack]

I have a B-rated 3 point shortstop, which might do you some good after the budget increase tonight. I'm not sure if I have you on my friends' list, though, which is full.

[samifan24]

Followup to my trade stuff: I posted looking for 2B Downs (Astros) or 2B Descalso (StL), willing to move MR Berg (Cubs), MR VandenHurk (Os), or MR Walters (StL). If you post looking for Berg and willing to move Downs, it might match us up. Just a thought.

I have both MIs if you're still interested

[Arles]

I have a team named Grey Dogs owned by Grey Dog.

I'm currently 29-13 (5th place, 1 game behind promotion). This looks like a tough league as team Sega is 21-21.

[Arles]

My lineup is:
2B Skip Schumaker (6)
OF Colby Rasmus (6)
DH Hideki Matsui (4)
OF Tori Hunter (8)
OF Andre Ethier (7)
1B Michael Cuddyer (7)
3B Neil Walker (6)
C Y Torrealba (6)
SS Ryan Theriot (4)

My bench is 3B Punto (3), OF E Young (2), C Shoppach (2) and 3B Rohlinger (1)

For pitching, I have:
Saunders (5), R Wells (6), Jurrjens (7), J Vargas (6) and A Cook (5)
MR: J Lopez (5), S Marshall (4), P Coke (4), A Arias (3), Jeffries (1)
SU: J Johnson (3), CL: F Francisco (4)

What's interesting is that 7 of my 9 hitters are even or angled down on their arrows - and most are hitting really well. I messed with the batting order to maximize order performance (all the dots are middle or right). For pitching, nearly all my pitchers have up arrows. I have 136 total players and many of my top dollar guys (Bourn, Cl Bailey, SP Danks, Chris Young) don't play.

[Tasan]

I have both MIs if you're still interested

Got the MI already. Need at least 1 1*OF

[samifan24]

Got the MI already. Need at least 1 1*OF

Hit me up. I have several 1* OFs.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Do training points go with players when traded? If so I have several trained MR that I would trade for a C rated 2 point defensive SS.

IIRC that would be no, they lose all training benefits if traded. At least I think that's what I read in the Help doc about trades.

[bbor]

Pulled 2 10 pitchers today in the same pack....too bad i don;t have the points to use them

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Woohoo! Faced the #1 SEGA team with Lincecum. He threw a NO HITTER! 3000 points in one game.

Here's the game key for the game. Not sure if there's a way to check out the box score or not.

MN0692XPBO

For those that are curious, you get 10x points (200 x 10) for a win when it's a no hitter.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tied for 1st going into the 9pm game, beat the co-leader & took over ... then lost the 10p game to 4th place team & dropped back into a tie for 1st {bangs head on desk}

Reimold #3 in Avg, Morneau #5, Konerko #9
Swisher #3 in RBI, Konerko #6
Konerko #1 in HR (18)
Medlin 9th in ERA, 13th in K's, T3 in Wins (6)
Takahashi 4th in Holds, Franklin T2 in Saves

[Mike1409]

I have a B-rated 3 point shortstop, which might do you some good after the budget increase tonight. I'm not sure if I have you on my friends' list, though, which is full.

sounds good. send me his name and I will create a trade and see if we can send it through. I can send Matt daley from COL who is a 3MR.

[PilotMan]

Rickey Nolasco, Player of the Day for the second time in a row. He went 3-0 with 27k's and a 0.79 ERA!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Rickey Nolasco, Player of the Day for the second time in a row. He went 3-0 with 27k's and a 0.79 ERA!

He's been incredible for me as well. For the season, Nolasco is 8-0 with a 0.96 ERA.

Lincecum was POTD for me today. Had 3 wins today with a 0.36 ERA.

[SackAttack]

sounds good. send me his name and I will create a trade and see if we can send it through. I can send Matt daley from COL who is a 3MR.

Ramon Santiago of Detroit.

I pulled Neftali Feliz (9) and Jonathan Papelbon (8) in the same random pack this evening. I don't think I can rock Feliz until after Wednesday's games when I get another bump to the cost cap, but if I can clear one more point somewhere, I can upgrade to Papelbon as my closer.

[SackAttack]

Huh. I guess I DO have enough room for Feliz. Rock.

[PilotMan]

Won all 5 of my ranking games today. We took on the top 5 highest rated teams on our rivals list. We are still sitting #2 in the division with a 32-14 record, and we just knocked off the top Sega team to start the day. Now, if I could just pull some good players in scouting!


Nope.....once again. 1 six, 1 four, and the rest were 3 and under.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Now, if I could just pull some good players in scouting! Nope.....once again. 1 six, 1 four, and the rest were 3 and under.

Meanwhile I got Greinke, my son got Halladay, both on 10 player random stacks.

[heybrad]

I haven't pulled a player rated higher than 7 yet.

[Tasan]

I've only pulled 2 8*, one 7* and a bunch of everything else lower, well except for 1* hitters, which I actually want a few of...

[gstelmack]

Hmm, signed up this morning, tried to create a team, but getting HTTP timeout errors. Will try later, and maybe tonight from home.

[dolfin]

Just beat up on the Sega 0158 team 9-4 to continue an 11-game winning streak. The streak moved me into the 4th spot in the league, but I'm still 5 games back of the 1st place Sega team.

[SackAttack]

5-1 start to the day leaves me 8 games behind Team Sega (whom I play next) and 2 games shy of promotion. Doesn't help that my only loss was to the 4th place team.

[SackAttack]

Beat Team Sega (on the road, even!) and they lost their next game as well, which we won, so suddenly I'm only 6 games out of first. Keep losing, Sega!

[dolfin]

Nice!

I'm now 5 back of the first place Sega team and in a 3-way tie for 2nd place. Still streaking at 14 wins now.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Been getting my ass handed to me for most of the day, suddenly we can't hit a lick against any team worth a damn. The batting order colors seem to coincide (cause?) slumps so predictably that I've benched the previously red hot Morneau until tomorrow. And God help me if I use a reliever out of his supposed comfort zone, might as well send him to the mound with can of gasoline & a Zippo.

[SackAttack]

are you talking about the arrows or the colored dots in the analysis, Jon?

[JonInMiddleGA]

are you talking about the arrows or the colored dots in the analysis, Jon?

Actually seeing impact from both (or so it seems), with the arrows being more predictive but a sub-par "condition" (arrow) combined with sub-par colored dot turns guys into out machines for me.

But even below average "dots" seem to lead to below average performance, maybe not quite as intense as condition arrows though. Still working with a somewhat limited sample size of course, maybe it's nothing more than "bad dice" bringing guys back down to earth.

[SackAttack]

Actually seeing impact from both (or so it seems), with the arrows being more predictive but a sub-par "condition" (arrow) combined with sub-par colored dot turns guys into out machines for me.

But even below average "dots" seem to lead to below average performance, maybe not quite as intense as condition arrows though. Still working with a somewhat limited sample size of course, maybe it's nothing more than "bad dice" bringing guys back down to earth.

Could be. I know I've worried more about dots than arrows, although a down blue arrow led me to bench Bautista today, and we've been rolling as a result.

[gstelmack]

The Recalcitrants out of North Carolina are now starting in Rookie League.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Could be. I know I've worried more about dots than arrows, although a down blue arrow led me to bench Bautista today, and we've been rolling as a result.

That's been me, dots more than arrows I mean, but at this point I'm catching on that the arrows are influencing the dots (which it even says in the help iirc) but to the point that, but that it's more ... subtle maybe. Or that both are simply more important than I previously gave credit to.

[samifan24]

Are you guys rotating players in and out of your lineup/staff on a daily basis? I've pretty much stuck with the same guys all season.

[SackAttack]

Are you guys rotating players in and out of your lineup/staff on a daily basis? I've pretty much stuck with the same guys all season.

Really only if I have a lower-level guy for whom I have an upgrade. Or, in the case of Bautista, a combination of performance struggles and being able to use his extra two points to upgrade elsewhere while I wait to get a larger cap.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Are you guys rotating players in and out of your lineup/staff on a daily basis? I've pretty much stuck with the same guys all season.

Moreso today than any other day so far, I suppose I was spoiled by the past two days of strong showings. I'm pretty active with the bullpen, less so with the starting rotation (mostly because of the 2 day penalty). I sort of feel like I "get" how the hitting is working, whereas I'm not quite there yet with the pitching.

[Tasan]

Made some changes today, benching two relievers for same cost, up arrow guys, and traded a closer for Todd Helton. I needed help at 1st, and while I lost some power there, I get a true 1B who will hit for a bunch of contact and clutch, and has an up arrow to boot. I've moved up to 7th in my division, and with any luck tomorrow will be a good day for us.

[SackAttack]

I just traded Papelbon for Soria, and the net effect was to boost my hometown by .02 percent...three times. I don't think I'll ever use Soria, as Feliz is pretty badass, but it was nice to see. I'm trying to flip Soria for an 8-cost SP now.

[Mike1409]

trade sent.

[samifan24]

Do the arrows change daily?

[gstelmack]

Ugh. Won my first two rookie games, and lost the 3rd by blowing a 7-3 lead with a 6-run ninth inning for my opponent.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Do the arrows change daily?

Yeah, more or less. Not every player will change everyday but at least some players will have a change everyday.

[PilotMan]

Well, we finished the day with a 43-17 record, only 3 GB the team Sega that is leading our division. We are also two games clear of the 3rd place team and 6 games ahead of the 5th place (non-promotion) team.

We get even productivity up and down the roster. Our offense hits and misses, but we still get guys on and get them in somehow. Our pitching (tops in the division) has been the asset for this team. Our strong and well rounded staff, coupled with solid d, and we really have no weak spots at all. No studs either.

We outlasted the #2 human team in our last game of the night, after blowing a lead in the 9th, with steady pitching. It's only a matter of time before our hitters tee off on the weak spot of the bullpen and our pen is pretty solid and usually good for a few innings.

[mauchow]

Fun game so far. Tyler Colvin for me went nuts in his first six games, hitting three grand slams in the stretch. Through 21 games though, he's not keeping that pace up, he's got 6 homers and 30 RBI. Also have a pitcher who's pitched 34 innings and given up only 3 ER (6 star rated) including a no-hitter (12 k's). I've got 3 6 star pitchers and 1 4 star and 1 1 star. We're 14-7 I believe. Maybe 15-6, I can't remember off hand. THanks for the addicting time waster.

[PilotMan]

oh, I forgot to add......Ricky Nolasco. He is still totally dominating everything in his path. He is now 11-0, with a 1.29 ERA, and 95 K's in 84 IP. He is a full 21K's ahead of the next pitcher. I don't know what wild hair he got, but I hope he keeps it.

[SackAttack]

We went 13-2 and finished day 4 in 5th, a game out of a three-way logjam for 2nd place. That's after day 3 saw us go 8-7 and end the day in 4th.

Upshot is team Sega's dominance is finally starting to get blunted and we're only 4 games back of them.

[SackAttack]

Dola,

Three of my hitters appear to be entering day 5 in a slump, as my lineup now has 3 blue dots. Time to get creative.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Finished the day 10-5 thanks to 4 straight wins, but the losses were downright ugly as my entire bullpen was horrible throughout. I fall from 2nd to 3rd, a game back of two games, but now four games up on #4.

Just wondering, how many abandoned teams are you seeing in your leagues? We've got 4, with records of 12-48 down to 5-55. I say abandoned since they've all got rosters of 87 points or less & haven't upgraded since opening day.

[Neon_Chaos]

I joined the game.

Username: NeonChaos.

[Arles]

Anyone open to trade ideas. I have a ton of guys and am always looking for upgrades at spots. If anyone has a 1-rated hitter they don't mind moving for a MR, I would appreciate it as well ;)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Anyone open to trade ideas. I have a ton of guys and am always looking for upgrades at spots. If anyone has a 1-rated hitter they don't mind moving for a MR, I would appreciate it as well ;)

I'm open to a ton of trade ideas but I've got to find the time to sort out who I'm looking to deal.

I've already spreadsheeted my full roster (and my son's), already projecting next season's lineups with the sharply reduced "salary cap". Anybody who doesn't seem to have a chance to get playing time even under those conditions is going to be fair game for sure.

With a quick look, I could do 2b Daniel Descalsco or OF Bryan Petersen for just about any 1 MR (other than Poreda, Manship, or Holland, i.e. those I've already got). My friend's list is currently full though, we'd probably need to do a world trade offering specific player for player & hope it goes through the way one did up the thread a bit (worked like a charm in under 5 minutes in that instance). Let me know if that's of interest, we'll try to coordinate it. I should be back in here in about 60-90 minutes & likely on most of the night tonight as well.

[Tasan]

Jon, I'd like to pick up Petersen if I can, I'll throw a 1* MR your way in a trade offer.

[Arles]

sure, here's the $1 MR's I have:
P Viola
K Mulvey
T Schlichting
C Ramos

If any of those interest you, reply with the trade you want. Once you've posted, I'll add it to my world trade as well.

[kingfc22]

Woke up today and the lineup was full of blue dots. Was able to move guys around to get back to mostly all yellow and one red. Interestingly enough I didn't have to sub in any players but just needed to move them around a bit.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jon, I'd like to pick up Petersen if I can, I'll throw a 1* MR your way in a trade offer.

Done

[JonInMiddleGA]

sure, here's the $1 MR's I have:
P Viola
K Mulvey
T Schlichting
C Ramos

If any of those interest you, reply with the trade you want. Once you've posted, I'll add it to my world trade as well.

Okay, done.

Viola for Descalsco submitted to world about 60 seconds ago.

[gstelmack]

Woke up today and the lineup was full of blue dots. Was able to move guys around to get back to mostly all yellow and one red. Interestingly enough I didn't have to sub in any players but just needed to move them around a bit.

Yeah, I'm not quite sure how all of this is working. No matter what I do I can't get my leadoff guy above blue, but I've got my 2-6 hitters way up in the high yellow / gold-brown-whatever range. Of course I'm also rookie league with mostly sucky guys.

[Travis]

I'm looking for:

Austin Jackson (5* OF)
Julio Borbon (4* OF)

If anybody has either of the above and is willing to move them, let me know and I can send you a list of guys I have at those star levels to see if there'd be anybody you'd be interested in.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Yeah, I'm not quite sure how all of this is working. No matter what I do I can't get my leadoff guy above blue, but I've got my 2-6 hitters way up in the high yellow / gold-brown-whatever range. Of course I'm also rookie league with mostly sucky guys.

Your problem may be with your #2 and #9 hitters, rather than with your #1. Be sure to try speed + contact at #1 (which you're probably doing), it seems to like that better than just contact. But really just hang in there though, the jump from rookie to A is pretty big just because of the higher cap (less so once the new cycle starts though).

[gstelmack]

Your problem may be with your #2 and #9 hitters, rather than with your #1. Be sure to try speed + contact at #1 (which you're probably doing), it seems to like that better than just contact. But really just hang in there though, the jump from rookie to A is pretty big just because of the higher cap (less so once the new cycle starts though).

Yeah, I've got Ortiz and Yorrealba (sp?) ready to enter my lineup when I move up.

[kingfc22]

Geez. 2-5 so far today after I thought we were finally turning it around yesterday.

[SackAttack]

5-2 start to today after a 13-2 run yesterday. So, y'know, unlikely we do as well as yesterday but our 13-2 yesterday never once had us in 4th, and we're already at that point today. Two games out of second, 5 out of first.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Lineup switching was mentioned up the thread a bit, so I'll throw this out there.

Through 67 games only four players have played in every game for me:
Reimold, Swisher, Konerko, Thole
Only 2 pitchers have made every possible start
Medlin & Romero

Meanwhile, I'm on my third closer: Hanrahan, Axford, Franklin
9 pitchers have at least one start
26 pitchers have made at least one appearance
26 players have made at least one appearance

[SackAttack]

Two straight wins over team Sega has me encouraged. Bring those sons of bitches down, boys!

Oh, on the question about abandoned teams, there's six or so in my division that are down around 56 in total cost. Not sure what's going on there.

[Arles]

I'm looking for:

Austin Jackson (5* OF)
Julio Borbon (4* OF)

If anybody has either of the above and is willing to move them, let me know and I can send you a list of guys I have at those star levels to see if there'd be anybody you'd be interested in.
I have Austin Jackson. If you let me know what 5* guys you have, we can see about a trade.

Jon,

I submitted that trade just now so we'll see when it goes through.

[Tasan]

Done

Thanks!

Still looking for 1 more 1* OF, if anyone else has a spare. Plenty of 1* MRs to go around.

[SackAttack]

Glancing at my team leaders, some nice seasons among my starters.

A.J. Ellis is leading the league at .405.
Adam Lind is hitting .348 with 20 HR and 78 RBI.
Julio Borbon is hitting .305 but leads the team with 20 SB.
Felix Hernandez is 11-1 with a 2.59 ERA (he'd been just over 1.00 at one point, but...he got roughed up in his loss).
Dan Wheeler is 1.90 with 10 saves, Neftali Feliz is 1.00 with 9 saves, but both of those guys are fairly recent acquisitions for me.

[Travis]

I have Austin Jackson. If you let me know what 5* guys you have, we can see about a trade.

Here's my 5* list:

2B: Chone Figgins
2B: Chris Getz
OF: Magglio Ordonez
OF: Mike Cameron
OF: Seth Smith
SP: Scott Feldman
SP: Kevin Slowey
SP: Brad Bergesen
SP: Armondo Galarraga
SP: Derek Lowe

[JonInMiddleGA]

I submitted that trade just now so we'll see when it goes through.

It's through :)

edit to add: For those who haven't done a trade yet, you get 0.2 for your hometown business sector with each trade (or at least you get that when you're on E)

[chesapeake]

So there's a value in trading just to shuffle the cards? That's good to know. I haven't spent any time at all on that.

[JonInMiddleGA]

So there's a value in trading just to shuffle the cards? That's good to know. I haven't spent any time at all on that.

It's very minimal, but there's at least a shred of something there.

[Arles]

Here's my 5* list:

2B: Chone Figgins
2B: Chris Getz
OF: Magglio Ordonez
OF: Mike Cameron
OF: Seth Smith
SP: Scott Feldman
SP: Kevin Slowey
SP: Brad Bergesen
SP: Armondo Galarraga
SP: Derek Lowe
I'd do the trade for Figgins. I could use some inflield depth and have a crapload of OFs in the 5-7 range on my bench.

If that's cool, just reply here and submit it and I'll do the same.

[Arles]

FYI, I think you're on my friend list (Grey Dogs). So, we can go that route to be safer on the trade if you want to.

[Tasan]

The first Tournament starts registration tonight. Don't forget to save 1000 points if you plan on entering.

[Travis]

I'd do the trade for Figgins. I could use some inflield depth and have a crapload of OFs in the 5-7 range on my bench.

If that's cool, just reply here and submit it and I'll do the same.

I don't have any trade submissions left for today, but if you are Grey Dog on there and have a submission left today, feel free to fire me that offer in the Friend Trade area and I'll approve it.

If that's not you then I'm up for doing that via World Trade tomorrow if you're good with that.

[SackAttack]

The first Tournament starts registration tonight. Don't forget to save 1000 points if you plan on entering.

I'm sitting on around 40k. I'll definitely be entering.

[Arles]

I don't have any trade submissions left for today, but if you are Grey Dog on there and have a submission left today, feel free to fire me that offer in the Friend Trade area and I'll approve it.

If that's not you then I'm up for doing that via World Trade tomorrow if you're good with that.
I just looked and I think you're on my list. But, I tried to trade for Figgens and it only showed PilotMan on the list. Maybe he's on your active roster or maybe you need another trade submission even to accept a friend trade. We can do it tomorrow.

[SackAttack]

New Dream Team to play against if anybody needs points for that tournament btw. 0 entry cost, 3k reward if you defeat them.

[Travis]

Thanks for the heads up, always nice to get some extra spending cash :D

[Travis]

I just looked and I think you're on my list. But, I tried to trade for Figgens and it only showed PilotMan on the list. Maybe he's on your active roster or maybe you need another trade submission even to accept a friend trade. We can do it tomorrow.

Weird. I just double checked and I don't have him in my lineup or in an offer for a world trade so I must have to have a trade submission available.

Thanks for trying, hopefully tomorrow it'll go a bit smoother :D

[samifan24]

How do you know what your salary cap will be next season?

[SackAttack]

2nd-7th separated by a single game in my league. Everybody else is so far underwater they're sitting on the Titanic's deck chairs. Crazy.

[JonInMiddleGA]

How do you know what your salary cap will be next season?

It's in the help file/game guide
Game Flow | The Official Site of MLB Manager Online (http://www.mlbmanageronline.com/en/playguide/gameflow/)

Let's see if this will post properly
As the season advances, the team cost will change according to the following.

1. Team cost will gradually rise everyday as you compete in Regular Season games.
2. Team cost will rise as you get promoted to a higher class.
3. The team cost will be set at default value for the class of the next season, at the end of each cycle.

First Season Second Season Third Season
Major 101 121 141
AAA 91 111 131
AA 81 101 121
A 71 91 111
Rookie 59 59 59

So since the current season is the 3rd & final one of the cycle, we all know that we'll either have 81 points to start the next season (if you finish top four in your league & promote) or 71 points to start the next season.

[SackAttack]

Frankly, I'd rather have 81. I'm gonna have to do some major knickknackpaddywhack either way, but I'd prefer to trim 35 off my current roster than 45.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Frankly, I'd rather have 81. I'm gonna have to do some major knickknackpaddywhack either way, but I'd prefer to trim 35 off my current roster than 45.

No shit re: 81 points.

It's going to feel very odd at either amount (at least for those of us who started in season three of a cycle) but I think those who start planning now (or at least at the start of the second half of the current season) are going to have a pretty big leg up on a lot of their new competition, especially those teams still in A.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Well fuck me running. I win 14 straight games dating back to yesterday and then lose to a team that's now 16-57 for the season.

edit to add: It gets goofier. I lose 2 out of 3, then get held scoreless for 6 innings by the dead last place team before breaking through for 10 runs late.
The last game of the night? Naturally it's against the now-2nd place team that I lead by 1 game. So I'll either be tied for the lead or 2 games up when today wraps up. Talk about a swing, sheesh. Think I'm happy that I've got Greinke in my #5 slot in the rotation? :D

[Arles]

If anyone has a 7-star starting pitcher they'd be willing to part with for Jurrjens, I'm all ears. He has great ratings, trained well and even has an up-diagonal rating - but he has been struggling for me of late. Maybe he's just not meshing on my team.

[JonInMiddleGA]

If anyone has a 7-star starting pitcher they'd be willing to part with for Jurrjens, I'm all ears. He has great ratings, trained well and even has an up-diagonal rating - but he has been struggling for me of late. Maybe he's just not meshing on my team.

I've got a brand-spanking new Johan Santana, never been used, not even by lil' old ladies going to church on Sunday. But I'm out of trades until the reset in case you're interested.

[mauchow]

Brett Cecil continuing his Ubaldo type startto the season. 7-0 now throwing what I believe is his 4th straight game with no runs given up. .47 ERA in 7 games (57 innings pitched). And my latest addition, Liriano has given up 1 run in 24 IP. Pitching is definitely the way to go early on.

[PilotMan]

Brett Cecil continuing his Ubaldo type startto the season. 7-0 now throwing what I believe is his 4th straight game with no runs given up. .47 ERA in 7 games (57 innings pitched). And my latest addition, Liriano has given up 1 run in 24 IP. Pitching is definitely the way to go early on.

I think I have the best pitching in my entire division. While others have been loading up their hitting I am almost always able to come back in the late innings with solid hitting and deep bullpen. However, my closer is hot and cold and has been known to blow big leads. Still, we are the top human team in my division with the best league ERA.

I should also add that our best player is Jason Werth *8, and we have 3 *7's in the pen, one starter, our setup guy and our closer.

[Tasan]

I don't understand the points. I'm already at a greater point total (116) than they say I should have, ever, for A-ball.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I don't understand the points. I'm already at a greater point total (116) than they say I should have, ever, for A-ball.

Took me a couple of ganders at the chart to figure it out myself.

We started with 111 on day one of Season 3. We've played 5 days so far, that's the 5 extra points. Presumably we'll cap out at 121 for champions tournament participants (or whatever the thing at the end of each season is called).

The chart from the guide shows the starting point level, not the max point level.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Won my last game of the day, now hold a 2 game lead in the league.

Also Congratulations! One of your players was chosen Pitcher or Fielder of the Day! You Earned: Points 500 Points

Nick Swisher had 18 hits (.280), 6 HR, 24 RBI in the 15 games

[SackAttack]

Finish the day on a high note, with two wins (still a 7-team-within-1-game logjam for the last three promotion spots), but Borbon and Carroll have gone blue-arrow for me, so I need to figure out what to do about their lineup spots.

[TexasT]

I'm looking for:

Austin Jackson (5* OF)
Julio Borbon (4* OF)

If anybody has either of the above and is willing to move them, let me know and I can send you a list of guys I have at those star levels to see if there'd be anybody you'd be interested in.

I have Borbon. Who you have for trade?

[Tasan]

Well I'm moving up in the standings. Up to 6th from 9th at the start of yesterday. I'm only 3 back of 4th, I think I can make it.

[Travis]

I have Borbon. Who you have for trade?

2B C. Guillen
2B B. Hall
3B M. Teahen
3B O. Vizquel
SS J. Peralta
SS W. Valdez
OF C. Quentin
OF B. Francisco
SP A. Sonnanstine
SU P. Moylan
CL J. Howell

[gstelmack]

What does a *flashing* red up arrow mean on a player's condition? I scouted a fielding player, and it came back with a guy already on my roster and now his condition is a red up arrow that is flashing. I'm not sure quite what happened here...

[JonInMiddleGA]

What does a *flashing* red up arrow mean on a player's condition? I scouted a fielding player, and it came back with a guy already on my roster and now his condition is a red up arrow that is flashing. I'm not sure quite what happened here...

I think the flashing indicates that the duplicate acquisition improved his condition.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Are you guys having a lot of fun with this game, or are you just going through the motions at this point? The activity in this thread has me ready to sign up for the game, but I want to make sure that it's worth the time.

[gstelmack]

Are you guys having a lot of fun with this game, or are you just going through the motions at this point? The activity in this thread has me ready to sign up for the game, but I want to make sure that it's worth the time.

I'm enjoying after a day or so, although I'm hoping the card buying / training process doesn't become tedious. Still not sure though, as it seems you do a lot with cards at the beginning of a season, then let the season run its course (doing some training along the way), then buy a bunch of cards and train a bunch of guys at the beginning of the next season.

I'll comment again in a few days on how much "work" this is.

[Arles]

I've got a brand-spanking new Johan Santana, never been used, not even by lil' old ladies going to church on Sunday. But I'm out of trades until the reset in case you're interested.
If you are open to the deal, reply and I'll propose it. I think a change of scenery is needed :)

[JonInMiddleGA]

If you are open to the deal, reply and I'll propose it. I think a change of scenery is needed :)

Let's do it, I don't think Santana is going into my rotation any time soon but Jair puts me one step closer to completing the Braves collection.

[Arles]

OK, proposed it

[JonInMiddleGA]

OK, proposed it

Proposed the same (in reverse). Now we wait, first time I did one this way it only took about 5 minutes.

[JonInMiddleGA]

OK, proposed it

I hope your team is "Crafty Vets" ... otherwise someone else in the World queue just poached our deal.

[Arles]

dirty whores. No, I'm Grey Dog

[JonInMiddleGA]

dirty whores. No, I'm Grey Dog

Well shit, I'm sorry. I was hoping it would give me a chance to decline if that happened, but it doesn't :(

[Arles]

It's cool. I just got Jaime Garcia in a pack so I'll probably use him anyway.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Wow, just switched catchers. A LOT of work to do on the pitching staff when you switch the catcher. Threw my team for a total loop for a few games until I figured out what the hell was going on.

[SackAttack]

Are you guys having a lot of fun with this game, or are you just going through the motions at this point? The activity in this thread has me ready to sign up for the game, but I want to make sure that it's worth the time.

I can't speak for the others, but I'm having a blast. It would be awesome if it were possible to band together and all be in the same league, but even without that, it's still pretty cool.

[SackAttack]

I'm enjoying after a day or so, although I'm hoping the card buying / training process doesn't become tedious. Still not sure though, as it seems you do a lot with cards at the beginning of a season, then let the season run its course (doing some training along the way), then buy a bunch of cards and train a bunch of guys at the beginning of the next season.

I'll comment again in a few days on how much "work" this is.

I bought several packs at the start, and since then it's been more like one pack a day plus some training cards (I like to keep training cards handy in case I'm able to squeeze in one of my big bats or arms).

But it's largely been hands-off for me since the first day or so with the exception of lineup reworking each day. Seems to be working for me - I'm in the mix for promotion.

[SackAttack]

I think the flashing indicates that the duplicate acquisition improved his condition.

Yeah, that's my understanding. If you pull a duplicate, you don't have an extra to trade. What you have is improved condition for the one you've got.

[Arles]

I bought several packs at the start, and since then it's been more like one pack a day plus some training cards (I like to keep training cards handy in case I'm able to squeeze in one of my big bats or arms).

But it's largely been hands-off for me since the first day or so with the exception of lineup reworking each day. Seems to be working for me - I'm in the mix for promotion.
Yeah, I've enjoyed it too. I've focused a lot on starting pitching and defense and it seems to pay off (I'm 61-22 right now and in 3rd place). It's a fun time waster for a few minutes a couple times a day.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'll echo the fun factor to this point, although I seem to be micromanaging more than most of the other folks here. If I was more confident that the game wouldn't either disappear or end up broken somehow before fall I'd be giving serious consideration to skipping traditional fantasy baseball this season, this is filling that niche quite well for me atm.

[NevStar]

Anybody play baseballboss a few years ago? This game reminds me a lot of that one.

I'm in the Rookie league as Nevstar00. Below .500 so far... hrm.

[JonInMiddleGA]

@Arlie - I think your Jair was busted or something. The one I got just went the distance, striking out 9 while throwing a 3-hit shutout :)