A.I Bullpen Management???

[allstardad]

One thing I'm hoping they really work on the cpu's bullpen management. I don't feel like they utilize pitching matchups in late game situations.

Ex: Playing the Giants and they brought in Affeldt to face Wong, pitcher spot, Bourjos and Carpenter. Ok, he got Wong out to end the 7th. In the 8th, he faced Ellis who popped out, hit Bourjos and then walked Carpenter. So with one out and 2 on, they had a righty in the pen that could've faced Holliday. Now granted, Holliday flew out deep to center for two outs. But he faced Craig, who proceeded to blast a 3 run homerun to make the game 5-1.

IMO, the cpu should've pulled Affeldt when he put two on with the middle of the lineup coming up.

Anyone else feel like the cpu bullpen management is questionable?

[Bull_Market]

Re: A.I Bullpen Management???

One thing I'm hoping they really work on the cpu's bullpen management. I don't feel like they utilize pitching matchups in late game situations.

Ex: Playing the Giants and they brought in Affeldt to face Wong, pitcher spot, Bourjos and Carpenter. Ok, he got Wong out to end the 7th. In the 8th, he faced Ellis who popped out, hit Bourjos and then walked Carpenter. So with one out and 2 on, they had a righty in the pen that could've faced Holliday. Now granted, Holliday flew out deep to center for two outs. But he faced Craig, who proceeded to blast a 3 run homerun to make the game 5-1.

IMO, the cpu should've pulled Affeldt when he put two on with the middle of the lineup coming up.

Anyone else feel like the cpu bullpen management is questionable?

CPU pen management has always been extremely poor in my opinion, there is not much logic, almost as bringing guys in just cause. I will say however, it is much improved this year.

[raiderzride4free]

Re: A.I Bullpen Management???

my biggest issue with cpu bullpen management this year is , if im losing by 3 runs in the 9th, the cpu is bringing in a set up man for the save instead of their closer. but if im losing by 2 or 1 run they bring in their closer. idk, maybe im just hitting a few games in a row where the opposing teams closer needs rest but the last 3 to 4 games that ive lost, all by 3 runs, the set up man is in for the save. anyone else experiencing this?

[stlcardsfan44]

Re: A.I Bullpen Management???

Another one that drives me crazy is, say your team goes 15 or 16 innings the day before. So your bullpen is taxed. The next game your starter gives up 5 runs in 5 innings but is only at 70 pitches. He gets taken out and the AI uses each bullpen pitcher (even though they are exhausted) until the game is over. I've seen times where the bullpen pitcher is so tired, he only lasts for 2 batters, than they bring in another and repeat the cycle. There should be something in the AI that if the bullpen is tired, the starter will be the sacrificial lamb that day and will not be taken out no matter what until he's tired.

[ralphieboy11]

Re: A.I Bullpen Management???

All computer AI management is questionable in every baseball sim that's ever been invented. This includes non-graphical ones that are trying to focus on stats, like OOTP or Strat-o-Matic.

What I would like to see is the ability to override cpu AI decisions. Of course, it could be an option to turn on and off. For instance, a pop up would show on the screen when the AI is trying to make a change. You could then say "yes or no" to the decision. Many times the AI is doing all sorts of pinch running and pinch hitting late in games and you see players forced to play out of position. One poster talked about Gerald Laird playing SS for the Braves.

It's an issue that needs to be worked on.

[allstardad]

Re: A.I Bullpen Management???

CPU pen management has always been extremely poor in my opinion, there is not much logic, almost as bringing guys in just cause. I will say however, it is much improved this year.

I agree its much improved this year then in years past. My biggest issue is how they don't account for lefty/lefty or righty/righty matchups in key situations

[bfindeisen]

Re: A.I Bullpen Management???

A.I. bullpen management has absolutely been one of my biggest gripes with this game from the first time I ever bought into The Show franchise.

The terrible logic is so shallow and basic that it's easy to tell how it's working. I used to not think about this and kind of hope that under the hood there were statistics being factored in to make these decisions and that they just weren't working properly, but that's certainly not the case.

If the game had any deep statistical database being sourced for data, this kind of logic decision should be easy to implement (in theory). Compiling a "list" or hierarchy of pitchers the CPU could utilize in a given situation based on historical stats of each pitcher vs. the batter in question shouldn't be difficult. Based on these stats (and the Energy and Confidence of the current pitcher), a simple Matchup grade could be formulated. Whatever pitcher-batter combo has the highest grade in a situation, whether it's the pitcher currently in the game or someone in the pen, should be put into the game. Now, of course, a guy like Craig Kimbrel, for example, would be the best matchup grade against most hitters in most situations, so how do you prevent him from being used in the early innings? Just add a modifier tied to their bullpen role like they currently do that prevents closers from going in all the time.


It's really a shame that in "next-gen" baseball games, we still don't have matchups working properly in late innings. Major immersion killer for me.

[Steven78]

Re: A.I Bullpen Management???

Imo this game is essentially MLB 13.5. Im back to playing 13.

[bloodwerth]

A.I Bullpen Management???

Is no one gonna talk about the 15-man bullpen scenarios? Nothing gives me greater joy than seeing a franchise run a 1-man bench just so they can include as many pitchers on their major league roster as possible. This type of roster construction happened in 09, happened in 10, 11, 12, 13; playing a game at my buddy's last night, it happened again in 14.

Really glad I didn't waste money on a PS4 while glaring errors persist -- errors that have been present multiple times in years' past. Unless it features your favorite player on the cover, MLB: The Show is a game you only have to buy every two to three years; just update your rosters for the new season by hand or before they close out the vaults if you want to mirror free agency.

My friends and I always hope for things like franchise location, league expansion, or Fictional Players / the return of the Gold and Silver era players, but the game still hasn't fixed the small things like AI roster construction. It's disappointing. At this point, the game is an insult to the meaning of Artificial Intelligence.

[allstardad]

Re: A.I Bullpen Management???

In all the years I've played the Show franchise, that would be all of them, not once have I seen the cpu have a 15 man bullpen. That is downright funny...