This morning, I just had one of the best MLBTS experiences I have had in quite a while.
Yesterday, I fired up the game, and I had a July afternoon matchup with my RedSox against the Tigers at Fenway.
I didn't have a ton of time, as I was waiting for the sun to peek out so I could power wash the deck without freezing to death, so it was just a time-killer game, of which I would admit, I wasn't really vested in.
I wasn't taking pitches, wasn't scouting hot zones, didn't really pay attention to the hitter's tendencies, and I decided to throw my number five pitcher, Brian Johnson, who after a re-rating (Cycloniacs ridiculously awesome pitch-edit/re-rated rosters) is a three-pitch, mid 70's rated lefty.
After two innings, the Tigers were up 7-0 and I decided to quit and move on to my chores.
This morning, I got up early, and had some time to myself, so I queued up the same exact match-up, same lineup, same pitchers, but with one major difference...
I grabbed a notebook and a pen, and I spent 10 minutes scouting the Tigers. I looked at their power ratings, looked at the spray chart pre-game, looked at hot/cold zones, and remembered to extrapolate them, based on whether you are pitching from the outfield view versus the batter's box (they are backwards).
With no distractions, and digging into all my advanced scouting, Johnson proceeded to go 8.1 innings, scattering seven hits, striking out seven and walking two, gave up no runs, and I won 1-0 with my only tally being a Xander 6th inning solo homerun.
The game took me an hour and fifteen minutes to complete in real time, but oddly enough, the announcer at Fenway mentioned that the game was "a brisk 2 hours and 40 minutes"
There is not a lot more satisfying than to look at a spray chart, position your defense, and have the batter hit it EXACTLY where you had played him. Smart pitching, mixing up pitches and locations, using the swing feedback to set-up the batters... this game was an absolute gem.
So, do yourselves a favor, set aside an hour and a half, and play the game like you were mortgaging the house on it. Manually move the defense every batter, even moving them after there are two strikes if need be. Play smart, and realize that you might need only set your right-fielder deep against a lefty hitter, and position your defensive guys on the weak side to steal a hit. Look at the hot/cold zones, and really work the batter as if you had scouting book on your lap. (you do, just write it down). Make notes on who chased a dirty curveball with two strikes, and go back to the well and see if he'll do it again.
This game absolutely shines when you give it your undivided attention and peel away the layers that will help you win your game. I have had ZERO, and I am not blowing smoke here, ZERO outfielder issues since the last patch. Zero baserunning issues, and although I have turned off the meter on Pure Analog throwing until that mess gets fixed, this game is just so much more fun when you have the time to manage the game like you would if it was your job.
TL;DR... Slow down, take your time, and utilize all your resources available and watch what gems unfold on the diamond.
~syf
Yesterday, I fired up the game, and I had a July afternoon matchup with my RedSox against the Tigers at Fenway.
I didn't have a ton of time, as I was waiting for the sun to peek out so I could power wash the deck without freezing to death, so it was just a time-killer game, of which I would admit, I wasn't really vested in.
I wasn't taking pitches, wasn't scouting hot zones, didn't really pay attention to the hitter's tendencies, and I decided to throw my number five pitcher, Brian Johnson, who after a re-rating (Cycloniacs ridiculously awesome pitch-edit/re-rated rosters) is a three-pitch, mid 70's rated lefty.
After two innings, the Tigers were up 7-0 and I decided to quit and move on to my chores.
This morning, I got up early, and had some time to myself, so I queued up the same exact match-up, same lineup, same pitchers, but with one major difference...
I grabbed a notebook and a pen, and I spent 10 minutes scouting the Tigers. I looked at their power ratings, looked at the spray chart pre-game, looked at hot/cold zones, and remembered to extrapolate them, based on whether you are pitching from the outfield view versus the batter's box (they are backwards).
With no distractions, and digging into all my advanced scouting, Johnson proceeded to go 8.1 innings, scattering seven hits, striking out seven and walking two, gave up no runs, and I won 1-0 with my only tally being a Xander 6th inning solo homerun.
The game took me an hour and fifteen minutes to complete in real time, but oddly enough, the announcer at Fenway mentioned that the game was "a brisk 2 hours and 40 minutes"
There is not a lot more satisfying than to look at a spray chart, position your defense, and have the batter hit it EXACTLY where you had played him. Smart pitching, mixing up pitches and locations, using the swing feedback to set-up the batters... this game was an absolute gem.
So, do yourselves a favor, set aside an hour and a half, and play the game like you were mortgaging the house on it. Manually move the defense every batter, even moving them after there are two strikes if need be. Play smart, and realize that you might need only set your right-fielder deep against a lefty hitter, and position your defensive guys on the weak side to steal a hit. Look at the hot/cold zones, and really work the batter as if you had scouting book on your lap. (you do, just write it down). Make notes on who chased a dirty curveball with two strikes, and go back to the well and see if he'll do it again.
This game absolutely shines when you give it your undivided attention and peel away the layers that will help you win your game. I have had ZERO, and I am not blowing smoke here, ZERO outfielder issues since the last patch. Zero baserunning issues, and although I have turned off the meter on Pure Analog throwing until that mess gets fixed, this game is just so much more fun when you have the time to manage the game like you would if it was your job.
TL;DR... Slow down, take your time, and utilize all your resources available and watch what gems unfold on the diamond.
~syf