Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

[Lisa_Bonami]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

Yes, good posts Lisa. Stats go with baseball like peanutbutter and jelly. Hopefully SCEA will improve the historical stats that are available.

Also if a boxscore is detailed, you can relive the game by reading the boxscore stats. The Show's layout for the boxscore is very vanilla and generic. Hopefully the stat area is something SCEA can look at in the future.

Does this mean that they havent done anything in regards to these things for this years game, MLB 2010?

While I love everything about The Show, I feel that in Franchise Mode, once a new season starts, there's tie or link to any of your previous played seasons. It's almost as if your simply in Single Season Mode each year. I would love to have the ability for the game to record your season data, store it, and have it available to look back on in a certain section of the game......This way, as you play several seasons of franchise mode, you have created a wonderful baseball almanac that you can go back and sort thru and enjoy

At least that would be my vision as a baseball purist. I love looking up archived player and team statistics to compare performances to current stats

[cardsleadtheway]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

That would be great. As it is, I keep very detailed spreadsheets of all the stats throughout each season, details on all the trades, FA acquisitions, and any other player movements, All star stats, awards, and of course plugging in the fictional leaders into the real top 50 career stat leaders as it changes in the game. I actually spend a good 10+ hours between seasons just getting this stuff together. I tend to go over board on the stat stuff though.

[Brian SCEA]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

In regards to statistics, has MLB 2010 made any additions this year to how it stores historical stats over the years of your franchise?

Stats over franchise years isn't my area, so I don't have an answer for this. Within Franchise I've heard from the community guys that there's a lot better ways to view and sort players in general.

[Brian SCEA]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

Also if a boxscore is detailed, you can relive the game by reading the boxscore stats. The Show's layout for the boxscore is very vanilla and generic. Hopefully the stat area is something SCEA can look at in the future.

Have you tried out the game log within the pause menu? It lists every play, what happened, and how it was scored (ex. 4-6-3 DP). In MLB 10 there are incremental improvements to this feature as well.

For more detailed splits, you can also check the full history of every pitch using the pitcher batter analysis. The bottom two filters also expose details such as swing timing, hit type, who fielded, etc.. For example, you can see how many ground outs you hit on strike 2. In '10, you'll also be able to see your pitch release timing for every pitch. More details on this when the game is out.

I think these features co-exist with the box score well by allowing us to keep the box score simple and expanding the information elsewhere.

[ty5oke]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

There 38 such occurrences last year. If you just look for a team walking 7 times or more, the number jumps to 425. I have NEVER seen a team walk more than 5 times in MLB 09....I'm just saying that there should be those games where the pitchers can't find the strike zone.

I normally didn't see it very often either because I usually don't have he time to be to patient during a game. When I do try to take a real approach to the game I will get close to a realistic amount of walks.

I once had Wil Ledezma walk 5 of my hitters in the first inning. I think he ended up giving 8 walks before he was pulled in the 3rd. I enjoyed watching the cpu struggle so hard in finding the strike zone.

[Jdurg]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

Have you tried out the game log within the pause menu? It lists every play, what happened, and how it was scored (ex. 4-6-3 DP). In MLB 10 there are incremental improvements to this feature as well.

For more detailed splits, you can also check the full history of every pitch using the pitcher batter analysis. The bottom two filters also expose details such as swing timing, hit type, who fielded, etc.. For example, you can see how many ground outs you hit on strike 2. In '10, you'll also be able to see your pitch release timing for every pitch. More details on this when the game is out.

I think these features co-exist with the box score well by allowing us to keep the box score simple and expanding the information elsewhere.

Good lord. I'm going to Scottsdale, Arizona in a month on a business trip. How far of a drive is San Diego? I want to go out there and give you a big hug.

[Lisa_Bonami]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

Good lord. I'm going to Scottsdale, Arizona in a month on a business trip. How far of a drive is San Diego? I want to go out there and give you a big hug.

Just be leery about letting him in so quickly if he shows up at your door with nothing on but a trenchcoat, shoes and a pair of socks.....especially if their held up with those men's garter clips

[nomarhits400]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

Great questions. I don't want to turn this into a Q&A session because of time constraints, but I'd be happy to cover more of these topics after the game ships. It's more important what '10 actually does in your hands than what I can say about it anyways.

The most important attribute for home runs is not discipline, either in-game or in real life. The most important attribute in real life is actually power.

To illustrate, let me suggest that there is no contradiction that Ichiro is better at drawing walks but Adam Dunn will draw more of them. In other words, if you throw a ball outside of the strike zone at both Ichiro and Dunn, stats year after year prove that Dunn is way more likely to swing and chase it (and also miss). Yet Dunn actually draws double the walks as Ichiro, and the reason has to do with the fact that he simply sees way more balls than Ichiro.

The funny thing with walks is you just need a few more balls to get a lot more walks. For example, if a pitcher threw 58 balls instead of 50 balls (16% increase), he might increase his walks given up from 3 to 4 (33% increase).

The same can be said for a small increase in user skill. If you're not drawing walks, look at the PB Analysis after a game. You're definitely getting plenty of ABs where the pitcher threw you four or five balls. The only way someone might not see this is if they aren't even letting the pitcher throw them four pitches (i.e. swinging at every pitch and staying early in the count). In that case, there are bigger challenges than not drawing walks and this is an occasional problem even for MLB teams.

Back to the comparison..if Ichiro were pitched exactly the same way as Dunn or Dunn pitched exactly the same way as Ichiro, Ichiro would simply draw more walks than Dunn. Stats show Ichiro has no trouble taking balls when he gets them, whereas Dunn does in comparison.

So why do pitchers pitch around Dunn? It's all about his swing power. If he even gets lucky he can hit a home run. So it's no coincidence that he strikes out a lot and makes lots of bad contact, precisely because he's focused on swinging hard rather than well. Ironically, both Dunn and the pitcher have played their strategies to increase his walks for opposing reasons.

The fact is, whether or not you draw walks has less to do with how well you see and take pitches than how much of a power threat you are against the pitcher. There are several proofs of this based on stats. You can choose to consider intentional walks or not (which is one factor in Dunn's numbers) but the result is the same.

That said there is such as thing as skill in taking pitches, however secondary to power. That's where your DIS attribute matters. The attribute is actually compared against PWR to determine your skill at checking your swings, meaning Ichiro checks his swing better than Dunn. Visually this affects the borderline check cases in '10 and it matters in the long run. Although 09 did this under the hood, the new system should make it immediately obvious of improved animations.

This comparison is in no way a criticism of Dunn's approach, because it works. In fact if Ichiro and Dunn were on the same team they'd complement each other very well because Ichiro's high OBB would translate into a lot of RBIs for Dunn.

Pitchers pitch around power hitters, and people have observed this in the game through the years. This one should be obvious. Likewise, there are many other tendencies that happen naturally both for the CPU and user. Batters who don't strike out will rarely miss and can have long at bats even with 2 strikes, and people have observed this both CPU and user. Some hitters try to pull the ball as a tradeoff between power (ex. home runs) versus contact, and even the user is at an advantage using this strategy with the right hitters. Although some tendencies are not as easy to notice, unfortunately this should never a reason for the game to exaggerate them just for show.

There are other tendencies I've listed in lots of older posts, but certainly some people are not going to see them. However you can definitely prove some of them one way or another. Put Dunn and Ichiro on the same team and run the game over and over, and see who draws more walks and who is better at taking balls when thrown. It should even be possible for some people to play the game and observe this point if they know all the hitters.

By the way, I guess this point got lost in old posts but although in '09 the strike zone is displayed according to MLB rules the average umpire actually gives you about an inch and a half off the top (some more, some less). It's hard to notice because people don't take a lot of pitches there out of fear of a strike. Although there are some improvements in '10 I think it's better to see that in action by trying it out.

Back to walks. It shouldn't be a surprise that some people can draw walks and others can't. Drawing walks takes both skill and concentration, whereas not drawing walks takes zero skill or concentration. I have trouble drawing walks when I'm playing casually, but when I play for real I have no trouble drawing them. And if you followed the Ichiro vs. Dunn comparison and have noticed that pitchers pitch around power hitters, clearly you'll see that the right hitters will draw more walks than others. This is regardless of if you are user or CPU.

It's also important to play on at least All Star if not Veteran difficulty because in Rookie the pitcher will go easy on you on purpose. For example in Rookie you can swing at every single pitch and the pitcher will not punish you by pitching around. It will do this 1/2 effectively in Veteran (i.e. he's imitating what a beginner player might do), but it will never go easy on you in Allstar and above. That said, if someone can't draw walks by a big margin but wants to, that's something the game can't easily solve and still stay a sim. One thing you can do in 09 is adjust the two sliders related to accuracy.

Bottom line, as far as power and walks is concerned the game should choose to play baseball like real life instead of popular conception. This is why power is more important for drawing walks than even discipline skill. It does mean these questions will always be asked and things in doubt, but fortunately we can always put it in next year's strategy guide.

That's really all the time I have until the game ships, but I think the game will explain things much better than words can.

So I guess this probably goes without saying- but just to be clear:
In The Show 10 (all other things being equal)- the CPU pitchers WILL pitch differently to batters based on their power rating, e.g., we should be able to draw more walks with power type of guys given the proper discipline is applied?. Is it correct to say that?

[EnigmaNemesis]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

So I guess this probably goes without saying- but just to be clear:
In The Show 10 (all other things being equal)- the CPU pitchers WILL pitch differently to batters based on their power rating, e.g., we should be able to draw more walks with power type of guys given the proper discipline is applied?. Is it correct to say that?

Yes, unless you are just taking strikes and thus they will take advantage of that.

[idesign2]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

"Bottom line, as far as power and walks is concerned the game should choose to play baseball like real life instead of popular conception. This is why power is more important for drawing walks than even discipline skill. It does mean these questions will always be asked and things in doubt, but fortunately we can always put it in next year's strategy guide."

Just to clarify, which strategy guide are you talking about? The in-game tips that can be disabled? Or is there a more detailed breakdown of The Show that I don't know about? If so, will it be in this year's game? Having a detailed explanation of franchise mode, for instance, would be tremendous.

[Jdurg]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

Just be leery about letting him in so quickly if he shows up at your door with nothing on but a trenchcoat, shoes and a pair of socks.....especially if their held up with those men's garter clips

Nah. I wouldn't wear socks. Just one sock, strategically placed, with a smiley face written on it in lipstick.

[NAFBUC]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

Have you tried out the game log within the pause menu? It lists every play, what happened, and how it was scored (ex. 4-6-3 DP). In MLB 10 there are incremental improvements to this feature as well.

For more detailed splits, you can also check the full history of every pitch using the pitcher batter analysis. The bottom two filters also expose details such as swing timing, hit type, who fielded, etc.. For example, you can see how many ground outs you hit on strike 2. In '10, you'll also be able to see your pitch release timing for every pitch. More details on this when the game is out.

I think these features co-exist with the box score well by allowing us to keep the box score simple and expanding the information elsewhere.

Thanks for the reply Brian.

The game log is nice, but not much to do with stats. The detailed stats are only available if you do not save your game.

The box score data is available even after you save, then complete a game at a later time. I save about half my games because I very seldom hit the button to break the presentation loop and I play all the innings. I don't want to miss 'the little things' that makes The Show an outstanding sports game.

A box score like this from MLB.com would be excellent.

<TABLE class=primaryBg border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=759><TBODY><TR align=middle><TD class=white rowSpan=3 width=130 align=middle>
NY Yankees
<TD width=509><TABLE class=white border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD width="99%">NY Yankees 7, Philadelphia 4 Yankees lead series, 3-1


</TD><TD align=right><FORM><SELECT class=textSm onchange="if (this.options[this.selectedIndex].value != '') window.parent.location.href=this.options[this.selectedIndex].value"> <OPTION selected value="">All Postseason Boxscores</OPTION> <OPTION value="">WORLD SERIES</OPTION> <OPTION value="">NY Yankees vs. Philadelphia</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_11_04_phimlb_nyamlb_1>Game 6, 11/04: NYY 7, PHI 3</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_11_02_nyamlb_phimlb_1>Game 5, 11/02: PHI 8, NYY 6</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_11_01_nyamlb_phimlb_1>Game 4, 11/01: NYY 7, PHI 4</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_31_nyamlb_phimlb_1>Game 3, 10/31: NYY 8, PHI 5</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_29_phimlb_nyamlb_1>Game 2, 10/29: NYY 3, PHI 1</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_28_phimlb_nyamlb_1>Game 1, 10/28: PHI 6, NYY 1</OPTION> <OPTION value="">LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES</OPTION> <OPTION value="">NY Yankees vs. LA Angels</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_25_anamlb_nyamlb_1>Game 6, 10/25: NYY 5, LAA 2</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_22_nyamlb_anamlb_1>Game 5, 10/22: LAA 7, NYY 6</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_20_nyamlb_anamlb_1>Game 4, 10/20: NYY 10, LAA 1</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_19_nyamlb_anamlb_1>Game 3, 10/19: LAA 5, NYY 4</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_17_anamlb_nyamlb_1>Game 2, 10/17: NYY 4, LAA 3</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_16_anamlb_nyamlb_1>Game 1, 10/16: NYY 4, LAA 1</OPTION> <OPTION value="">LA Dodgers vs. Philadelphia</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_21_lanmlb_phimlb_1>Game 5, 10/21: PHI 10, LAD 4</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_19_lanmlb_phimlb_1>Game 4, 10/19: PHI 5, LAD 4</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_18_lanmlb_phimlb_1>Game 3, 10/18: PHI 11, LAD 0</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_16_phimlb_lanmlb_1>Game 2, 10/16: LAD 2, PHI 1</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_15_phimlb_lanmlb_1>Game 1, 10/15: PHI 8, LAD 6</OPTION> <OPTION value="">DIVISION SERIES</OPTION> <OPTION value="">NY Yankees vs. Minnesota</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_11_nyamlb_minmlb_1>Game 3, 10/11: NYY 4, MIN 1</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_09_minmlb_nyamlb_1>Game 2, 10/09: NYY 4, MIN 3</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_07_minmlb_nyamlb_1>Game 1, 10/07: NYY 7, MIN 2</OPTION> <OPTION value="">LA Angels vs. Boston</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_11_anamlb_bosmlb_1>Game 3, 10/11: LAA 7, BOS 6</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_09_bosmlb_anamlb_1>Game 2, 10/09: LAA 4, BOS 1</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_08_bosmlb_anamlb_1>Game 1, 10/08: LAA 5, BOS 0</OPTION> <OPTION value="">Philadelphia vs. Colorado</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_12_phimlb_colmlb_1>Game 4, 10/12: PHI 5, COL 4</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_11_phimlb_colmlb_1>Game 3, 10/11: PHI 6, COL 5</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_08_colmlb_phimlb_1>Game 2, 10/08: COL 5, PHI 4</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_07_colmlb_phimlb_1>Game 1, 10/07: PHI 5, COL 1</OPTION> <OPTION value="">LA Dodgers vs. St. Louis</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_10_lanmlb_slnmlb_1>Game 3, 10/10: LAD 5, STL 1</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_08_slnmlb_lanmlb_1>Game 2, 10/08: LAD 3, STL 2</OPTION> <OPTION value=/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_10_07_slnmlb_lanmlb_1>Game 1, 10/07: LAD 5, STL 3</OPTION></SELECT> </FORM></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD class=white rowSpan=3 width=130 align=middle>
Philadelphia
</TD><TR align=middle><TD><TABLE class=textSm border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#cccccc><TBODY><TR bgColor=#727272><TD class=greyLite align=right>November 1, 2009</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=white align=middle bgColor=#cc0000><TD class=white></TD><TD>1 </TD><TD>2 </TD><TD>3 </TD><TD>4 </TD><TD>5 </TD><TD>6 </TD><TD>7 </TD><TD>8 </TD><TD>9 </TD><TD></TD><TD class=white>R </TD><TD class=white>H </TD><TD class=white>E </TD></TR><TR align=middle bgColor=#ffffff><TD noWrap align=left>NY Yankees

</TD><TD>2 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>2 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>3 </TD><TD></TD><TD bgColor=#cccccc>7</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>1</TD></TR><TR align=middle bgColor=#ffffff><TD noWrap align=left>Philadelphia

</TD><TD>1 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>1 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>1 </TD><TD>1 </TD><TD>0 </TD><TD></TD><TD bgColor=#cccccc>4</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>1</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD class="textSm white">Recap: NYY | PHI | Wrap | Gameday<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>var game_status = 'F';</SCRIPT> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=759><TBODY><TR class=primaryBg><TD height=10 colSpan=3></TD></TR><TR><TD class=primaryBg width=95></TD><TD width=569><!--Copyright 2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P.--><TABLE class=textSm border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=559><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=276><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=276><TBODY><TR align=middle bgColor=#dedede><TD width=130 align=left>NY Yankees</TD><TD width="7%">AB</TD><TD width="7%">R</TD><TD width="7%">H</TD><TD width="7%">RBI</TD><TD width="7%">BB</TD><TD width="7%">SO</TD><TD width="7%">LOB</TD><TD width="10%" align=right>AVG</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Jeter, SS </TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.412</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Damon, LF </TD><TD>5</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD align=right>.294</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Teixeira, 1B </TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>4</TD><TD align=right>.071</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Rodriguez, A, 3B </TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD align=right>.143</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Posada, C </TD><TD>3</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.308</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Cano, 2B </TD><TD>4</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD align=right>.133</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Swisher, RF </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD align=right>.222</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Cabrera, Me, CF </TD><TD>3</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD align=right>.154</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Gardner, CF </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2</TD><TD align=right>.000</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Sabathia, P </TD><TD>3</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD align=right>.000</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Marte, D, P </TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.000</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Chamberlain, P </TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.000</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>a-Matsui, H, PH </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.500</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Rivera, Ma, P </TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.000</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD align=left>Totals</TD><TD>34</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>11</TD><TD>15</TD><TD align=right></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=9>
a-Popped out for Chamberlain in the 9th.
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=9>
BATTING
2B: Damon (2, Blanton), Rodriguez, A (1, Lidge).
TB: Jeter 2; Damon 4; Rodriguez, A 2; Posada; Cano; Cabrera, Me.
RBI: Teixeira (2), Posada 3 (5), Jeter (1), Damon (3), Rodriguez, A (3).
2-out RBI: Rodriguez, A; Posada 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano; Rodriguez, A; Gardner.
SF: Posada.
Team RISP: 4-for-11.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Damon 2 (3, 2nd base off Lidge/Ruiz, 3rd base off Lidge/Ruiz).

FIELDING
E: Posada (1, missed catch).


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD width=7></TD><TD vAlign=top width=276><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=276><TBODY><TR align=middle bgColor=#dedede><TD width=130 align=left>Philadelphia</TD><TD width="7%">AB</TD><TD width="7%">R</TD><TD width="7%">H</TD><TD width="7%">RBI</TD><TD width="7%">BB</TD><TD width="7%">SO</TD><TD width="7%">LOB</TD><TD width="10%" align=right>AVG</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Rollins, SS </TD><TD>5</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.200</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Victorino, CF </TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.200</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Utley, 2B </TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2</TD><TD align=right>.267</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Howard, 1B </TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>3</TD><TD align=right>.176</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Werth, RF </TD><TD>3</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD align=right>.308</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Ibanez, LF </TD><TD>4</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD align=right>.188</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Feliz, 3B </TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.267</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Ruiz, C </TD><TD>3</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD align=right>.250</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Blanton, P </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD align=right>.000</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>a-Francisco, B, PH </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD align=right>.000</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Park, P </TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.000</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Madson, P </TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.000</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Lidge, P </TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.000</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>b-Stairs, PH </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>.167</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD align=left>Totals</TD><TD>35</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>15</TD><TD align=right></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=9>
a-Flied out for Blanton in the 6th. b-Grounded out for Lidge in the 9th.
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=9>
BATTING
2B: Victorino (1, Sabathia), Utley (1, Sabathia).
HR: Utley (3, 7th inning off Sabathia, 0 on, 2 out), Feliz (1, 8th inning off Chamberlain, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Rollins; Victorino 2; Utley 6; Howard; Feliz 6.
RBI: Utley 2 (4), Feliz 2 (2).
2-out RBI: Feliz 2; Utley.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ibanez; Blanton; Werth; Francisco, B.
Team RISP: 2-for-11.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Howard (1, 2nd base off Sabathia/Posada).

FIELDING
E: Ibanez (1, throw).
Outfield assists: Ibanez (Posada at 2nd base).


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=276><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=276><TBODY><TR align=middle bgColor=#dedede><TD width=130 align=left>NY Yankees</TD><TD width="7%">IP</TD><TD width="7%">H</TD><TD width="7%">R</TD><TD width="7%">ER</TD><TD width="7%">BB</TD><TD width="7%">SO</TD><TD width="7%">HR</TD><TD width="10%" align=right>ERA</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Sabathia </TD><TD>6.2</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>1</TD><TD align=right>3.29</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Marte, D (H, 1) </TD><TD>0.1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>0.00</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Chamberlain (BS, 1)(W, 1-0) </TD><TD>1.0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>1</TD><TD align=right>4.50</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Rivera, Ma (S, 2) </TD><TD>1.0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>0.00</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD width=7></TD><TD vAlign=top width=276><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=276><TBODY><TR align=middle bgColor=#dedede><TD width=130 align=left>Philadelphia</TD><TD width="7%">IP</TD><TD width="7%">H</TD><TD width="7%">R</TD><TD width="7%">ER</TD><TD width="7%">BB</TD><TD width="7%">SO</TD><TD width="7%">HR</TD><TD width="10%" align=right>ERA</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Blanton </TD><TD>6.0</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>6.00</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Park </TD><TD>1.0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>0.00</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Madson </TD><TD>1.0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>0.00</TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD noWrap align=left>Lidge (L, 0-1) </TD><TD>1.0</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>0</TD><TD align=right>27.00</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>
IBB: Werth (by Sabathia), Ruiz (by Sabathia).
HBP: Rodriguez, A (by Blanton), Teixeira (by Lidge).
Pitches-strikes: Sabathia 107-67, Marte, D 4-3, Chamberlain 19-12, Rivera, Ma 8-6, Blanton 94-58, Park 14-8, Madson 20-11, Lidge 30-19.
Groundouts-flyouts: Sabathia 5-9, Marte, D 0-1, Chamberlain 0-0, Rivera, Ma 2-1, Blanton 4-7, Park 1-1, Madson 0-1, Lidge 0-1.
Batters faced: Sabathia 30, Marte, D 1, Chamberlain 4, Rivera, Ma 3, Blanton 26, Park 4, Madson 5, Lidge 6.
Umpires: HP: Mike Everitt. 1B: Dana DeMuth. 2B: Joe West. 3B: Gerry Davis. LF: Jeff Nelson. RF: Brian Gorman.
Weather: 49 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 3 mph, R to L.
T: 3:25.
Att: 46,145.
November 1, 2009

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[Chef Matt]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

Don't the box scores kinda look like this already? I'm not sure about the LOB stat but most of what's here I've seen. Or at least I think I have.

[Qb]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

I can not believe for the life of me, that people are actually not walking enough batters (in 09), at the same time not getting lit up on a decent difficulty setting. You play on a proper difficulty setting, you get lit up if you are around the strike zone too much.

I'm new enough to the game that I'm still worried about leaving pitches over the plate. Just like you said, my nibbling naturally leads to walks, which leads to me trying to "get it over", which leads to me getting shelled. I can see where this might decrease in time as I play, but at this point it feels as well balanced as any game I've played since High Heat...

As far as hitting goes, I have trouble recognizing/staying back on curves & changes. My eye/discipline in terms of location is pretty good -- as long as I read the pitch correctly -- so I can & do work the count and draw walks. They can nibble inside/outside/high/low all day and I won't budge. But, if I'm way out in front of the junk in the dirt thinking they're fastballs, it only leads to more junk in the dirt, as it should.

What I love is that the AI attacks my weakness(es). The last game I played the CPU was killing me with the hook. Mike Pelfrey threw 40+% sinkers/fastballs and 40%+ curves in 8 innings of shutout ball.

In short, it's real baseball.

[cardsleadtheway]

Re: Does The Show PREDETERMINE HRs or DISTANCE on ball contact?

That happens to me all the time. One time it was so bad that I had to start taking every curveball no matter how good it looked so that the CPU would stop throwing me curve balls after he walked a few fellas