Alright boyz, here we go!!! Baseball Mogul 2007 First Impressions

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

How hard is it to do a cash infusion? And by hard I mean how long would it take you to do that every 5 years? If that's the only flaw in the financials, then with its blazing fast sim times I could easily see myself as a purchese.

Not especially hard at all. I just don't know if it works yet.

Essentially, you'd enter commish mode for a few minutes. Have a list of the 5-8 teams you want to add cash to, go in and change a number. Change -3,800,000 to 8,000,000 and the team just went from nearly four million in the hole to eight up.

I actually went in to start my current game, changed the fan loyalty for every team to B+ and gave everyone the same amount of cash to start the game (7.5 million). Doing this for every team took me about 10 minutes.

Doing it for a handful of teams should only take about 3 or 4 minutes every five years.

[TroyF]

Dola:

I may end up changing the fan loyalty too. Not back up to B+, but up a couple of notches. It's not worth giving the teams a ton of cash if they have ridiculously low ticket sales and bleed it away in a year.

I'll have some time to run tests early this week, I'll let everyone know how it goes.

[amdaily]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Dola:

I may end up changing the fan loyalty too. Not back up to B+, but up a couple of notches. It's not worth giving the teams a ton of cash if they have ridiculously low ticket sales and bleed it away in a year.

I'll have some time to run tests early this week, I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Infusing cash into some of these teams is not a workable solution. At points teams like TB, Pittsburgh, etc will be drawing ~9,000 fans per game. The money you allocate them is gone within the year.

As mentioned, fan loyalities play a role. I've been fooling around with city income levels, population growth, and a few other things to see if I can keep some of the smaller market teams alive.

[DaddyTorgo]

am i wrong to be excited that it looks like Clay used VORP and a huge amount of brute force testing to evolve GM profiles for team-building and trading?

[Katon]

Certainly sounds like a neat approach. Would someone who's got the game care to comment on how it works?

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

am i wrong to be excited that it looks like Clay used VORP and a huge amount of brute force testing to evolve GM profiles for team-building and trading?

Let me run a real team sim here. So I can check out the trades.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by amdaily

Infusing cash into some of these teams is not a workable solution. At points teams like TB, Pittsburgh, etc will be drawing ~9,000 fans per game. The money you allocate them is gone within the year.

As mentioned, fan loyalities play a role. I've been fooling around with city income levels, population growth, and a few other things to see if I can keep some of the smaller market teams alive.

When I played in previous years, I would always update the region populations and the income levels, that helps generate more income for the franchises, because I guess the game factors available income in the community or something and in a lot of cases, bad teams played in poorer markets compared to others, so I'd just up it for most all of them to make it work better.

[TroyF]

OK, first test here.

This is out of the box, defaults. No equalize cities, no playing with the cash.

TRADES:

First big one before the year starts: Cincy sends Griffey to Boston for Alex Gonzalez and Dustan Mohr.

The Giants send two prospects (not very good ones) to Toronto for Ted Lilly. They then package Lilly two days later in a trade for Bill Hall, a SS prospect for the Brewers.

Detroit sends Dmitri Young to Cleveland. Other three players are garbage. They get back Ron Belliard and a catcher with a 97 potential rating.

No other big trades to report. Some minor little deals, but nothing worth mentioning.

Free Agency:

BIG NAME SIGNINGS:

Miguel Cabrera to the Cardinals for 10.9 million, 5 years
Chase Utley to the Giants for 11.5 million for 5 years
David Ortiz to the Dodgers 12.1 over 7
Derrek Lee to Toronto - 10.4 over 6
Dontrelle Willis becomes a Yankee - 10.1 over 5
John Smoltz to the Cardinals - 6.8 for 2
Roger Clemens to the Giants - 2.5 over 2
Jason Jennings to Cleveland - 3.6 over 5
Brian Robers to the White Sox - 9.1 over 6
Coco Crisp to the Dodgers - 6.5 over 4
Jose Guillen to Boston - 6.7 over 6
Aubrey Huff to Boston - 6.8 over 6
Willy Mo Pena to KC - 10.4 over 4 (he had a HUGE year in Boston)
Gary Shefield to the Cubs - 5.9 over 2
I saved the best for the last. Barry Bonds to the Dodgers - 10.7 over 2

I'll run the same test for the equalized cities now.

[TroyF]

OK guys, you want comedy? Put the thing on equalize cities and watch what happens. I'll never go this route, partly because I'm not sure any AI could truly handle this. You have the Yankees and Sox with ridiculous payrolls and they have to cut cash, quick. (I will use equalize cities, I just won't do it with real players)

The Yankees trade Giambi, Sheffield, Jeter, Johson and Damon to TB. They get back three scrubs.

Instant Payroll reversal.

The RedSox and Royals, not to be outdone, pull off their own monster. Manny and Mike Lowell for four Royals, the best of which is Jeremy Affeldt.

Yikes.

As you would expect, many of the small market names are kept by their own teams. Cabrera goes nowhere. The biggest FA signing is Mark Prior to the Cardinals for 15.4 over 5. With the injury history of Prior that may sound bad, but in the game his health is a 76 and he had put up a monster Cy Young season with the Cubs which included an ERA of 2.45 and 243K's in 231 innings.

With a rating of 93 and being 26, the contract isn't as ridiculous as it might first appear.

After an injury filled year, Chase Utley signed for 6 million a year over 6, instead of the monster he received last time. All in all, with the eual cities function on, more teams were active, the signings appeared to be for less overall and there were still some bigtime FA's available and signed. Roger Clemens went to the Pirates for 1 year at 4 million as an end note here.

[Bee]

Anyone else pick this up and want to give some impressions?

[Galaril]

I am waiting until next month sometime when the in game manager will be implemented completely with the waiver wire stuff added.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Galaril

I am waiting until next month sometime when the in game manager will be implemented completely with the waiver wire stuff added.

San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
April 5, 2006

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
        Giants (SFG) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0    2  2  0
       Dodgers (LAD) 0 0 0 2 1 0 8 2 x   13  4  1

SAN FRANCISCO        ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
J. Ellison (CF)       5  0  0  0  0  0  3  0    .000
M. Sweeney (1B)       3  1  2  1  0  0  1  0    .333
M. Alou (RF)          4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
B. Bonds (LF)         4  1  0  1  1  2  0  0    .250
T. Greene (C)         3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .000
P. Feliz (3B)         3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .000
R. Durham (2B)        1  0  3  0  0  0  0  0    .000
O. Vizquel (SS)       2  0  2  0  0  0  0  0    .000
J. Schmidt (P)        2  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .000
 B. Vericker (PH)     1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 C. Santos (PH)       1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 S. Kline (P)         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 T. Walker (P)        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 J. Wright (P)        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 M. Cain (P)          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               29  2  9  2  1  2  8  0

   2B:  M. Sweeney (1)
   HR:  B. Bonds (1)

   SAN FRANCISCO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
      J. Schmidt  5.1  3 10  0  3  3  4 114   5.06
       T. Walker  0.2  0  1  0  0  0  1  14   0.00
       J. Wright  0.2  0  8  0  8  8  1  51 108.00
         M. Cain  0.2  1  5  0  2  2  1  41  27.00
        S. Kline  0.2  0  0  0  0  0  0   5   0.00
          TOTALS  8.0  4 24  0 13 13  7 225

LOS ANGELES          ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
R. Furcal (SS)        3  1  3  1  0  1  1  1    .333
J. Werth (LF)         4  0  2  1  0  2  1  0    .000
J. Kent (2B)          1  0  5  3  0  2  1  0    .000
J. Drew (RF)          4  1  2  1  0  1  0  1    .250
H. Choi (1B)          2  1  2  2  0  3  0  0    .500
B. Mueller (3B)       3  1  2  1  0  2  1  0    .333
J. Repko (CF)         2  0  3  1  0  1  1  0    .000
D. Navarro (C)        4  0  0  1  0  0  2  0    .000
R. Clemens (P)        0  0  4  1  0  1  0  0    .000
 O. Perez (P)         0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               23  4 24 13  0 13  7  2

   2B:  R. Furcal (1)
   3B:  B. Mueller (1)

     LOS ANGELES   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
      R. Clemens  7.0  1  8  0  1  1  5 104   1.29
        O. Perez  2.0  1  1  1  1  1  3  27   4.50
          TOTALS  9.0  2  9  1  2  2  8 131

     WP: R. Clemens (1-0)
     LP: J. Schmidt (0-1)

     Attendance: 56,000
     Time: 3:21

I'm having trouble deciding what disturbs me more. The fact that the two teams combined for 33 walks and a hit batsman, or that it only took 3:21 to play to completion despite that.

I especially like the 4 BB day by Clemens at the plate. Dude even drew a bases-loaded walk during that 8 run inning against Jamey Wright.

[DanGarion]

Clemens is the new Chuck Norris!

[dervack]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
April 5, 2006

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
        Giants (SFG) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0    2  2  0
       Dodgers (LAD) 0 0 0 2 1 0 8 2 x   13  4  1

SAN FRANCISCO        ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
J. Ellison (CF)       5  0  0  0  0  0  3  0    .000
M. Sweeney (1B)       3  1  2  1  0  0  1  0    .333
M. Alou (RF)          4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
B. Bonds (LF)         4  1  0  1  1  2  0  0    .250
T. Greene (C)         3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .000
P. Feliz (3B)         3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .000
R. Durham (2B)        1  0  3  0  0  0  0  0    .000
O. Vizquel (SS)       2  0  2  0  0  0  0  0    .000
J. Schmidt (P)        2  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .000
 B. Vericker (PH)     1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 C. Santos (PH)       1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 S. Kline (P)         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 T. Walker (P)        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 J. Wright (P)        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 M. Cain (P)          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               29  2  9  2  1  2  8  0

   2B:  M. Sweeney (1)
   HR:  B. Bonds (1)

   SAN FRANCISCO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
      J. Schmidt  5.1  3 10  0  3  3  4 114   5.06
       T. Walker  0.2  0  1  0  0  0  1  14   0.00
       J. Wright  0.2  0  8  0  8  8  1  51 108.00
         M. Cain  0.2  1  5  0  2  2  1  41  27.00
        S. Kline  0.2  0  0  0  0  0  0   5   0.00
          TOTALS  8.0  4 24  0 13 13  7 225

LOS ANGELES          ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
R. Furcal (SS)        3  1  3  1  0  1  1  1    .333
J. Werth (LF)         4  0  2  1  0  2  1  0    .000
J. Kent (2B)          1  0  5  3  0  2  1  0    .000
J. Drew (RF)          4  1  2  1  0  1  0  1    .250
H. Choi (1B)          2  1  2  2  0  3  0  0    .500
B. Mueller (3B)       3  1  2  1  0  2  1  0    .333
J. Repko (CF)         2  0  3  1  0  1  1  0    .000
D. Navarro (C)        4  0  0  1  0  0  2  0    .000
R. Clemens (P)        0  0  4  1  0  1  0  0    .000
 O. Perez (P)         0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               23  4 24 13  0 13  7  2

   2B:  R. Furcal (1)
   3B:  B. Mueller (1)

     LOS ANGELES   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
      R. Clemens  7.0  1  8  0  1  1  5 104   1.29
        O. Perez  2.0  1  1  1  1  1  3  27   4.50
          TOTALS  9.0  2  9  1  2  2  8 131

     WP: R. Clemens (1-0)
     LP: J. Schmidt (0-1)

     Attendance: 56,000
     Time: 3:21

I'm having trouble deciding what disturbs me more. The fact that the two teams combined for 33 walks and a hit batsman, or that it only took 3:21 to play to completion despite that.

I especially like the 4 BB day by Clemens at the plate. Dude even drew a bases-loaded walk during that 8 run inning against Jamey Wright.

I think most disturbing is that Bonds couldn't draw a walk at all. Dude walks more than Jesus.

Also, clemens walked 8, struck out 5, and only threw 104 pitches????

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by dervack

I think most disturbing is that Bonds couldn't draw a walk at all. Dude walks more than Jesus.

Also, clemens walked 8, struck out 5, and only threw 104 pitches????

Lots of first-pitch outs. He was throwing a no-hitter because his defense made plays behind him.

It isn't that Bonds couldn't draw a walk, it's that we went right after the guy. Almost every pitch we threw him was a strike, and we only threw one strike we'd like to have back.

[Bee]

Is that a complete fluke of a game or is that an indication of something you're seeing overall?

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Bee

Is that a complete fluke of a game or is that an indication of something you're seeing overall?

Was this a managed or a simmed game? I haven't seen anything even close to this in my test run of sims.

[Mota]

I have to say that this is probably the 4th version of Mogul that I buy over the years, and it's the best since the first overall version.

I'm really enjoying it, much much more than last year's version. They have been adding a lot of stuff into the game lately, and it is finally becoming a better game after being at a standstill for several years.

The stats above would not be reflective of anything that I've seen in 2 seasons so far, I would say that the stats seem to be very realistic. I'm sure that you could pick apart a few of the results but I'm really enjoying it so far. It'll keep me busy until OOTP is out.

[Barkeep49]

So where are people at with the finances? I have some time over the next couple of days and would buy this if there is a good report, or a way to get there without too much trouble.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

So where are people at with the finances? I have some time over the next couple of days and would buy this if there is a good report, or a way to get their without too much trouble.

Barkeep,

Personal issues have prevented me from doing a lot of testing on this. I hope to get some done this weekend.

[AgustusM]

wow - I haven't so much as Demo'd a BM title in years. But with OOTP releasing so late this year I went ahead and d/l the demo. I have only played for 10 minutes - but the in-game thing with pitch selection and location is actually a lot of fun.

I don't think it will last long unless the details on the GM side have vastly improved from previous versions - but the in-game is fun enough that I will almost certainly get this to pass the time till OOTP

[Galaril]

I have stayed away so far since everything I have heard is the AI rosters autosort Feature and rosters management is totally borked right now. Anyone care to comment on it who has the game.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Bee

Is that a complete fluke of a game or is that an indication of something you're seeing overall?

So far while I've seen pitchers just lose control and walk several guys, this is by far an outlier.

Troy - it was sort of both. Simmed as "General Manager," which means I watched the progression but didn't influence it at all.

I've seen games since where the starter walks 5 or 6, and I've seen it happen where a reliever will walk in a run or two without getting yanked, but the posted box score remains by far the biggest walk-fest I've seen in this game.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Barkeep,

Personal issues have prevented me from doing a lot of testing on this. I hope to get some done this weekend.

Thanks for the update which was just to say that there is no update .

[henry296]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

So far while I've seen pitchers just lose control and walk several guys, this is by far an outlier.

Troy - it was sort of both. Simmed as "General Manager," which means I watched the progression but didn't influence it at all.

I've seen games since where the starter walks 5 or 6, and I've seen it happen where a reliever will walk in a run or two without getting yanked, but the posted box score remains by far the biggest walk-fest I've seen in this game.

Sack,

Check out this link:

http://www.sportsmogul.com/vbulletin...d.php?t=105193

It appears there might be a problem with your settings.

[SackAttack]

I wonder if the pitch-by-pitch settings affect both manager and general manager modes.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Not especially hard at all. I just don't know if it works yet.

Essentially, you'd enter commish mode for a few minutes. Have a list of the 5-8 teams you want to add cash to, go in and change a number. Change -3,800,000 to 8,000,000 and the team just went from nearly four million in the hole to eight up.

You don't even need a list of the teams, really, since the cash field shows negative amounts. Just ctrl-c the amount you want to give them, scroll down the list and ctrl-v any negative cash amounts.