Playing as Pittsburgh (think that might be my problem? 
) against Atlanta in beautiful PNC Park as a part of my 20 game season to test my sliders. Who did the deed you ask? Why none other than... wait for it... Mike Hampton! Here's his line: 9 IP, 0 H, 6K, 3 BB on 97 pitches (44B/53S, 54%
. The guy barely threw a strike from the 6th or 7th on, except when down 3-0, 3-1, etc. I admit, after a few early runs by ATL I lost my plate discipline, but I tried to buckle down in about the 6th when I realized what was happening.
Of course, the CPU made probably 6 or 7 amazing defensive plays (always seems that way in real no-nos, doesn't it). Andruw Jones had three amazing grabs in center, including the best catch I've seen yet. Bay crushed one to deep left center where the chain-link is in front of the bullpens. Jones in full stride leaps short of the wall, catches the ball just below the top of the wall, then smacks into wall while still in the air and holds on for the out. It was breathtaking. I watched the replay many times from many angles, it was THAT good. Maybe he deserves all those Gold Gloves he won after all...
Let's not forget about ol' Edgar Renteria. He made two diving stops at short and nailed the runners just before they reached the bag. The gosh darn Braves (oh man do I hate the frickin' Braves!!!) even managed to grab my broken bat blooper in shallow center that was perfectly positioned between all three fielders. Kelly Johnson (2nd baseman) came diving out of nowhere to scoop it off of the grass to end the 8th...
This was an amazing game, even though I was no-hit and lost 5-0 giving up 4 HRs. I don't feel cheated. I hit the ball hard several times, it just went right at people or close enough and they made some great plays. A good chunk of no-hitters happen in just this fashion. Rarely do you see a truly dominate, 15-20K pitching performance also yield a no-hitter. Better lucky than good sometimes, I guess.
****Warning!!! Custom Slider Diatribe Below!!!****
This was game five of my short season. I wanted to play 5 games with my sliders that I've kept almost constant throughout and check my team stats to see if they're yielding realistic results. I don't have time to go through them all now, but at a glance things look promising. The game feels great while playing as well. The only major concern for me at this point is my weak offensive numbers, but they are skewed by the no-no. And I'm the Pirates, who were last in the NL in runs scored last year, which could be a big factor.
My pitching numbers are very pleasing, as I'm about middle of the pack in everything (ML rank): ERA - 4.57 (16th), AVG Against - .260 (14th), HRs Allowed - 9 (25th, I just gave up 4 last game), Ks - 32 (18th). Of course, I'm first in BB allowed, averaging one a game, but I do go deep in the count on most batters and average about 15-16 pitches an inning.
I think what I'll do is play another 5 game stretch with a superior team to see how my settings play out. I wonder who I should use? Maybe an AL team? That would probably be a good idea... If I'm satisfied with the results after a little more testing, I plan on posting my settings in the slider forum if anyone is interested along with some more detailed stats.
Q
) against Atlanta in beautiful PNC Park as a part of my 20 game season to test my sliders. Who did the deed you ask? Why none other than... wait for it... Mike Hampton! Here's his line: 9 IP, 0 H, 6K, 3 BB on 97 pitches (44B/53S, 54%. The guy barely threw a strike from the 6th or 7th on, except when down 3-0, 3-1, etc. I admit, after a few early runs by ATL I lost my plate discipline, but I tried to buckle down in about the 6th when I realized what was happening.Of course, the CPU made probably 6 or 7 amazing defensive plays (always seems that way in real no-nos, doesn't it). Andruw Jones had three amazing grabs in center, including the best catch I've seen yet. Bay crushed one to deep left center where the chain-link is in front of the bullpens. Jones in full stride leaps short of the wall, catches the ball just below the top of the wall, then smacks into wall while still in the air and holds on for the out. It was breathtaking. I watched the replay many times from many angles, it was THAT good. Maybe he deserves all those Gold Gloves he won after all...
Let's not forget about ol' Edgar Renteria. He made two diving stops at short and nailed the runners just before they reached the bag. The gosh darn Braves (oh man do I hate the frickin' Braves!!!) even managed to grab my broken bat blooper in shallow center that was perfectly positioned between all three fielders. Kelly Johnson (2nd baseman) came diving out of nowhere to scoop it off of the grass to end the 8th...
This was an amazing game, even though I was no-hit and lost 5-0 giving up 4 HRs. I don't feel cheated. I hit the ball hard several times, it just went right at people or close enough and they made some great plays. A good chunk of no-hitters happen in just this fashion. Rarely do you see a truly dominate, 15-20K pitching performance also yield a no-hitter. Better lucky than good sometimes, I guess.
****Warning!!! Custom Slider Diatribe Below!!!****
This was game five of my short season. I wanted to play 5 games with my sliders that I've kept almost constant throughout and check my team stats to see if they're yielding realistic results. I don't have time to go through them all now, but at a glance things look promising. The game feels great while playing as well. The only major concern for me at this point is my weak offensive numbers, but they are skewed by the no-no. And I'm the Pirates, who were last in the NL in runs scored last year, which could be a big factor.
My pitching numbers are very pleasing, as I'm about middle of the pack in everything (ML rank): ERA - 4.57 (16th), AVG Against - .260 (14th), HRs Allowed - 9 (25th, I just gave up 4 last game), Ks - 32 (18th). Of course, I'm first in BB allowed, averaging one a game, but I do go deep in the count on most batters and average about 15-16 pitches an inning.
I think what I'll do is play another 5 game stretch with a superior team to see how my settings play out. I wonder who I should use? Maybe an AL team? That would probably be a good idea... If I'm satisfied with the results after a little more testing, I plan on posting my settings in the slider forum if anyone is interested along with some more detailed stats.
Q
I wish you could have saved the replay for all of us to see!
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