MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

[movethechains11]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Anybody know why the CPU keeps moving my guys around in positions they shouldn't be in and why it keeps messing my lineup when I have every option as user

[BTownSlinger]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Mine does the same. Sometimes my pitcher isn't the #9 hitter and I can't figure out how to get him back in. I have one pitcher that is pretty good batter too.

[movethechains11]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Really sucks having an xbox only because of baseball. 2k could put together a really good game if they tired. The cy young award in my franchise just went to a pitcher with a 3.75 ERA and 12-8 record.

[Das Christov]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Played a very fun and memorable game recently, and I thought I would post the happenings! It was a Game 2 of a 3 game series against the AL West leading Seattle Mariners (!!). Hellickson pitched a good game, but through 7 innings, we were down 3-2. In the top of the 8th, our offense failed to get anything going, and as we enter the bottom half of the inning, I bring in a relief pitcher, Jeramy Dekker (4 star player, drafted in Season 1 of my franchise). He gets the first 2 outs without complication, and then... the wheels fall off completely.

The Mariners put together a riveting 2-out rally, scoring 5 runs (including a 3-run bomb by Kyle Seager). I'm forced to take out Dekker and bring in another pitcher, who shuts down the rally on 2 pitches. Enter the top of the 9th...

Wil Myers leads off and promptly strikes out. Next batter, Ryan Hanigan (playing 1B for the night so Brandon Guyer can have the night off) ropes a single to left-center. Something to be proud of, but hardly exciting. Up next, Jovanni Pierre (a fill-in utility OF, but has plenty of speed) hits a grounder to first. Hanigan is out at 2nd, but Pierre beats the throw to 1st. Now with 2 outs and my #9 hitter (Garrett Chase) up, Pierre promptly steals 2nd. Chase is walked, and the next batter singles up the middle, scoring Pierre. It's now 8-3. Up next: Josh Harrison. He singles up the middle, scoring Chase from 2nd making it 8-4.

A little 2-out rally is in the making! The next batter is Evan Longoria, who doubles down the right-field line, driving in two runs. We're now down by 2 runs and Seattle brings in their closer, Wilhelmsen. He proceeds to walk Wilin Rosario on 4 pitches, putting the tying run on base. Up next is Mark Trumbo, who singles in Longoria. Next batter, Wil Myers (yes, we batted around in the inning) singles in the tying run. Unfortunately, the rally is killed when Myers is picked off 1st.

Nothing doing in the bottom of the 9th, and the 10th inning goes off without excitement. But in the top of the 11th inning... Harrison leads off with a single, and Evan Longoria jacks the first pitch he sees into CF for the go-ahead 2-run HR! Once we get 3 outs, I bring in my newly drafted closer (Year 2 draftee, 3 star player with 5 star potential, only 20 years old). He strikes out the side, giving Tampa Bay the dramatic come-from-behind win.

A lot of tension and palm-sweating went on in that 9th inning. We lost Game 3 to Seattle 5-2, but that extra inning victory is still sweet.

[AdamJones113]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Searching for people to (hopefully) check out my dynasty...
I'll post an excerpt:
"my offense would probably be just as potent if it used baguettes instead of bats"

So check it out, s'il vous plait (please)...

[GoRangers2013]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Long time baseball game player, first time poster. Just got MLB 2K13 last night (waited for price to go down because of ****ty reviews) and started my rebuild of the Miami Marlins. Before I give you the spill let me go over some ground rules I impose on myself, which you might find useful for making the game more fun.

1. I don't propose lopsided trades. Its way too easy to swindle the CPU and build an all star team, which makes the game way less fun. .

2. I will, however, accept trades proposed to me by the CPU, as I consider these fair game.

3. Trades through the "trade finder" are not as strictly scrutinized, but I will decline it if the trade is simply unconscionable to the other team.

4. I don't do "sign and trades" where I sign a guy just so I can immediately trade him.

5. I try, as much as possible, to build the team through the draft, player development, and strategic free agenct signings.

6. I super simulate a most of the innings, and jump into play during key situations, like if I have runners on base or I need to pitch out of a jam. I also jump in to make key managerial decisions. This allows me to control how the players are used, as the CPU manager is terrible at this if I simulate the entire game. The advantage to this approach is I can play a month of the season very quickly, as I enjoy the managerial aspects more than playing the actual game.

So my first step when I took over the Marlins was to get rid of Ricky Nolasco and his $9 million salary so I could create budget room to hire better coaches and scouts. I dealt him through the trade finder for Ike Davis. I tried many, many times to trade Giancarlo Stanton, but I simply could not find a team willing to give me the type of prospects I was looking for. Given that he is cheap and under contract a few years, I figured I might as well keep him.

My first year I basically followed the formula the Marlines are employing now by being bad on purpose. So I simulated most of the season. During the course of the year the Rockies offered me Josh Rutledge for pitcher with a 74 rating (forgot his name) and I jumped on it.

My work really began in the offseason. Through the trade finder I dealt Josh Rutledge for Anthony Rizzo ... I really hesitated to make this trade, because it is somewhat lopsided, but I took it since I did not make the initial offer. I traded one of my top outfield prospects for Mike Olt, and I should be solid at the corners for years to come. I then dealt Ike Davis and Logan Morrison, and traded for Brian Matusz and Alex Cobb. I signed Gavin Floyd to a short term deal, and signed Erik Bedard to a one year deal. Juan Pierre was the only free agent I signed. I'm debating on how to use him, but I think I'll platoon him with Alex Stewart (who has fantastic defensive ratings), and use Stewart as a late inning defensive replacement when Pierre starts.

I'll post more later, but I'm thinking I'll be positioned to be a .500 team in only my second season. The team is already at an overall rating of 84, and I achieved this without raiding other teams, although I admit the Rizzo trade is borderline.

[AdamJones113]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Long time baseball game player, first time poster. Just got MLB 2K13 last night (waited for price to go down because of ****ty reviews) and started my rebuild of the Miami Marlins. Before I give you the spill let me go over some ground rules I impose on myself, which you might find useful for making the game more fun.

1. I don't propose lopsided trades. Its way too easy to swindle the CPU and build an all star team, which makes the game way less fun. .

2. I will, however, accept trades proposed to me by the CPU, as I consider these fair game.

3. Trades through the "trade finder" are not as strictly scrutinized, but I will decline it if the trade is simply unconscionable to the other team.

4. I don't do "sign and trades" where I sign a guy just so I can immediately trade him.

5. I try, as much as possible, to build the team through the draft, player development, and strategic free agenct signings.

6. I super simulate a most of the innings, and jump into play during key situations, like if I have runners on base or I need to pitch out of a jam. I also jump in to make key managerial decisions. This allows me to control how the players are used, as the CPU manager is terrible at this if I simulate the entire game. The advantage to this approach is I can play a month of the season very quickly, as I enjoy the managerial aspects more than playing the actual game.

So my first step when I took over the Marlins was to get rid of Ricky Nolasco and his $9 million salary so I could create budget room to hire better coaches and scouts. I dealt him through the trade finder for Ike Davis. I tried many, many times to trade Giancarlo Stanton, but I simply could not find a team willing to give me the type of prospects I was looking for. Given that he is cheap and under contract a few years, I figured I might as well keep him.

My first year I basically followed the formula the Marlines are employing now by being bad on purpose. So I simulated most of the season. During the course of the year the Rockies offered me Josh Rutledge for pitcher with a 74 rating (forgot his name) and I jumped on it.

My work really began in the offseason. Through the trade finder I dealt Josh Rutledge for Anthony Rizzo ... I really hesitated to make this trade, because it is somewhat lopsided, but I took it since I did not make the initial offer. I traded one of my top outfield prospects for Mike Olt, and I should be solid at the corners for years to come. I then dealt Ike Davis and Logan Morrison, and traded for Brian Matusz and Alex Cobb. I signed Gavin Floyd to a short term deal, and signed Erik Bedard to a one year deal. Juan Pierre was the only free agent I signed. I'm debating on how to use him, but I think I'll platoon him with Alex Stewart (who has fantastic defensive ratings), and use Stewart as a late inning defensive replacement when Pierre starts.

I'll post more later, but I'm thinking I'll be positioned to be a .500 team in only my second season. The team is already at an overall rating of 84, and I achieved this without raiding other teams, although I admit the Rizzo trade is borderline.

Um, it says that you signed "Gavin Floyd to a short term deal, and Erik Bedard to a one year deal." Then: "Juan Pierre was the only free agent I signed." Can you clarify?
Also, what was your record last year and what sliders are you using?

[philliesfan136]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Nice, rebuilding is always fun to me. The Marlins are a fun challenge in that way.

Also, who's Alex Stewart?

[GoRangers2013]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Um, it says that you signed "Gavin Floyd to a short term deal, and Erik Bedard to a one year deal." Then: "Juan Pierre was the only free agent I signed." Can you clarify?
Also, what was your record last year and what sliders are you using?

My bad ... Pierre was the only free agent from my team that I resigned.

My record was pretty absymal. I don't remember exactly what it was but I was close to 20 games around .500. I've noticed for some reason that whenever you fully simulate games you frequently lose. Its annoying.

A lot happened to my chise over the weekend. Now in season 3. About to begin the second half of the season, only three games above .500 but only one game out from the wild card.

I made a series of deals at the All Star Break that will position me to compete next year while also giving me a chance to compete for the playoffs this year. I dealt Leonys Martin (who had traded for in the offseason for Ruggiano and Nick Tepesh, who I traded back to the Rangers) but he had been playing like crap and is a free agent at the end of the year ... considering that the Marlins have NO resources, I figured I couldn't afford to resign him. So I dealt him for Patrick Corbin of Arizona. I then turned around and traded for Matt Harvey for Hiram Burgous, Chris Capuano and one of my prospects.

So my rotation is looking like this. I should be set for the next few seasons.

Chris Archer (86) (under contract four years) (four star potential)
Matt Harvey (84) (four years) (five stars)
Patrick Corbin (84) (four years) (four stars)
Jose Fernandez (82) (four years) (five stars)
Wilson Conger (77) (seven years) (four stars)

Conger is a computer generated player I drafted with my first pick last year and is trending straight up.

My lineup is looking like this:

Andy Dirks, LF (83)
Derek Dietrich, 2B (81)
Anthony Rizzo, 1B (86)
Giancarlo Stanton, RF (90)
Rob Brantley, C (78)
Mike Olt, 3B (81)
Dewayne Wise, CF (76)/Alex Stewart, CF (79)
Adeiny Hechavarria, SS (79) (rated a 98 or 99 in every defensive category)

Bench:
Ryan Hanigan, C (74)
Emilio Bonifacio, 2B/3B/SS/OF (76)
Alex Liddi, 3B/1B/OF 79
Stewart (platoons)
Mike Olson, RF/LF/1B (81) (five star potential)

I've been playing Liddi a lot at third because Olt just isn't hitting for some reason and has spent half the season in a slump. Dirks is completely mediocre defensive outfielder, but he and Rizzo are the only guys who are 80+ in contact. Not sure what I'll do with him. I've got lots of power in my lineup but not many guys who get on base or hit for average. Dirks fills a need in that regard.

Here is my bullpen

Steve Cishek (81)
Robbie Ross (80)
Brian Matusz (78)
C. Wang (78) (draftee)
Dan Jennings (77)
Duane Bellow (77)
Mudcat Estaella (77) (draftee ... hits 103 MPH)

I will have a big decision next year on what to do with Giancarlo Stanton. I doubt I can afford to keep him. But I think my team will be really good next year.

Also, got a question for you guys. Does playing time effect player progression? I've got some prospects who could be on my bench but I'm afraid they won't develop if I call them up. Also, do they progress more if they have good years? If so, does that mean you should place your top prospects in AA or A so they can beat up on lesser talent and develop more quickly? Or will they develop more in AAA or the Bigs?

[GoRangers2013]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

*meant to say 20 games under .500

[GoRangers2013]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

** and Conger is a five star player

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

My bad ... Pierre was the only free agent from my team that I resigned.

My record was pretty absymal. I don't remember exactly what it was but I was close to 20 games around .500. I've noticed for some reason that whenever you fully simulate games you frequently lose. Its annoying.

A lot happened to my chise over the weekend. Now in season 3. About to begin the second half of the season, only three games above .500 but only one game out from the wild card.

I made a series of deals at the All Star Break that will position me to compete next year while also giving me a chance to compete for the playoffs this year. I dealt Leonys Martin (who had traded for in the offseason for Ruggiano and Nick Tepesh, who I traded back to the Rangers) but he had been playing like crap and is a free agent at the end of the year ... considering that the Marlins have NO resources, I figured I couldn't afford to resign him. So I dealt him for Patrick Corbin of Arizona. I then turned around and traded for Matt Harvey for Hiram Burgous, Chris Capuano and one of my prospects.

So my rotation is looking like this. I should be set for the next few seasons.

Chris Archer (86) (under contract four years) (four star potential)
Matt Harvey (84) (four years) (five stars)
Patrick Corbin (84) (four years) (four stars)
Jose Fernandez (82) (four years) (five stars)
Wilson Conger (77) (seven years) (four stars)

Conger is a computer generated player I drafted with my first pick last year and is trending straight up.

My lineup is looking like this:

Andy Dirks, LF (83)
Derek Dietrich, 2B (81)
Anthony Rizzo, 1B (86)
Giancarlo Stanton, RF (90)
Rob Brantley, C (78)
Mike Olt, 3B (81)
Dewayne Wise, CF (76)/Alex Stewart, CF (79)
Adeiny Hechavarria, SS (79) (rated a 98 or 99 in every defensive category)

Bench:
Ryan Hanigan, C (74)
Emilio Bonifacio, 2B/3B/SS/OF (76)
Alex Liddi, 3B/1B/OF 79
Stewart (platoons)
Mike Olson, RF/LF/1B (81) (five star potential)

I've been playing Liddi a lot at third because Olt just isn't hitting for some reason and has spent half the season in a slump. Dirks is completely mediocre defensive outfielder, but he and Rizzo are the only guys who are 80+ in contact. Not sure what I'll do with him. I've got lots of power in my lineup but not many guys who get on base or hit for average. Dirks fills a need in that regard.

Here is my bullpen

Steve Cishek (81)
Robbie Ross (80)
Brian Matusz (78)
C. Wang (78) (draftee)
Dan Jennings (77)
Duane Bellow (77)
Mudcat Estaella (77) (draftee ... hits 103 MPH)

I will have a big decision next year on what to do with Giancarlo Stanton. I doubt I can afford to keep him. But I think my team will be really good next year.

Also, got a question for you guys. Does playing time effect player progression? I've got some prospects who could be on my bench but I'm afraid they won't develop if I call them up. Also, do they progress more if they have good years? If so, does that mean you should place your top prospects in AA or A so they can beat up on lesser talent and develop more quickly? Or will they develop more in AAA or the Bigs?

No lopsided deals eh? That Harvey deal is not in the same solar system as "fairness." He's the best pitcher in the NL. Why do so many cheese the trade AI while insisting the deals are fair? People can make whatever deals that make them happy, but please no trickeration, lol.

Also, I really doubt anyone has enough data to answer your question about progression definitively.

[GoRangers2013]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

No lopsided deals eh? That Harvey deal is not in the same solar system as "fairness." He's the best pitcher in the NL. Why do so many cheese the trade AI while insisting the deals are fair? People can make whatever deals that make them happy, but please no trickeration, lol.

Also, I really doubt anyone has enough data to answer your question about progression definitively.

Burgos is an 82. Harvey is an 84. Capuano is a 78 and had actually been pitching the best for me. I gave up another outfielder that was a 75 with four stars.

Harvey may be the best pitcher in the NL, but his ratings in the game don't reflect that.

That may or may not be a trade you would accept if you were the Mets, but that doesn't make the trade unfair.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Burgos is an 82. Harvey is an 84. Capuano is a 78 and had actually been pitching the best for me. I gave up another outfielder that was a 75 with four stars.

Harvey may be the best pitcher in the NL, but his ratings in the game don't reflect that.

That may or may not be a trade you would accept if you were the Mets, but that doesn't make the trade unfair.

Oh it's unfair alright, don't let the ratings fool you, and there's also progression to consider with Harvey being a 5-star and Burgos more than likely not. Not to mention you're getting the highest rated player with the highest progression while dumping salary. I'd venture that last part is especially helpful chising with the Marlins.

Like I said, do the trades you want, but please, please call a spade a spade!

[GoRangers2013]

Re: MLB 2K13: The Franchise Mode Thread

Oh it's unfair alright, don't let the ratings fool you, and there's also progression to consider with Harvey being a 5-star and Burgos more than likely not. Not to mention you're getting the highest rated player with the highest progression while dumping salary. I'd venture that last part is especially helpful chising with the Marlins.

Like I said, do the trades you want, but please, please call a spade a spade!

Burgos is four stars, was similarly under contract for three or four more years at about the same salary. Again, his rating is not substantially different than Harvey's.

The Mets did absorb Capuano's $2 million salary, but given that they pretty much have an unlimited budget in this game, they're not hurting.