MLB the Show 14 - The AI pitchers completely pitch around Cabrera

[fistofrage]

Brilliant move by the AI, but very frustrating. They don't give me anything to hit. As a result Cabrera only has 2 HRs and a .230 BA through 30 games. They nibble the corners and if they walk him, so be it. Even on 3-0 nothing is coming close to the middle of the plate. VMart has 7 HRs, so does Cespedes, and Kinsler has 6. Even Avila has 5 HRs, but Cabrera gets nothing to hit. Any thoughts?

[nomo17k]

As you said, it is a brilliant move by CPU.

I think it is great how the game reproduces what it is like to be Miggy at the plate.

[bcruise]

Quote: Originally Posted by nomo17k

As you said, it is a brilliant move by CPU. I think it is great how the game reproduces what it is like to be Miggy at the plate.

So if we're talking about the real-life way teams deal with this problem, there's basically 2 ways and one of them can't be directly controlled by the team trying to fix the problem. It usually involves either putting the pitcher in a situation where he can't pitch around a slugger (runners on base), or a change in the batting order to give the star some protection hitting behind him.

I know without a doubt that the former works in The Show, as it does in real baseball - the AI knows when it has to begrudgingly throw a hittable strike or risk making a bad situation worse with runners on.

But I don't know if the CPU can actually look at the lineup structure and say "hey, I should pitch around this guy if I don't want to get beat". Wouldn't surprise me if it did, though. If that's the case, try putting your hottest hitter right behind him and see what happens. In real life, the guy getting pitched around is usually going to see some more hittable pitches.

[fistofrage]

Quote: Originally Posted by bcruise

So if we're talking about the real-life way teams deal with this problem, there's basically 2 ways and one of them can't be directly controlled by the team trying to fix the problem. It usually involves either putting the pitcher in a situation where he can't pitch around a slugger (runners on base), or a change in the batting order to give the star some protection hitting behind him. I know without a doubt that the former works in The Show, as it does in real baseball - the AI knows when it has to begrudgingly throw a hittable strike or risk making a bad situation worse with runners on. But I don't know if the CPU can actually look at the lineup structure and say "hey, I should pitch around this guy if I don't want to get beat". Wouldn't surprise me if it did, though. If that's the case, try putting your hottest hitter right behind him and see what happens. In real life, the guy getting pitched around is usually going to see some more hittable pitches.

I have put some hot guys behind him and even moved Martinez infront of him so they wouldn't have a place to put him because Martinez is batting .300. I put either Kinsler or Cespedes in the 5 hole whomever is playing better at the time. Or I leave him at 3rd with Martinez behind him and Iglasias (.325) 2nd.

Nothing is working. He is in the top 5 in walks and runs scored in the league though so I am getting some production but man its tough. I don't have the best reflexes in the world, so even with runners on 3-2 count its a good chance they aren't throwing a strike. Other hitters you can pretty much its coming dead red. Not Cabrera, they'll try to drop a slider on the corner that doesn't touch the plate until the very end or a high inside cutter to just catch the plate as the sweat beads on my brow.

I like the challenge and the smart AI, just going to be a shame seeing Cabrera end the year with a .225 Battting average and 8 Home Runs.

Playing on HOF and I rarely move the PCI indicator because of my lack of reflexes in that area. Team stats are right in line. .260 batting average. 5th in HRs with 33. 3.88 ERA and 10th in MLB in strikeouts. 17-14 record. So the sliders look fine.

I also play with the brewers and they know exactly how to pitch Adam Lind so he hits right into the shift every time. Get him a baserunner and he's ok but bases empty I bet he's batting about .050. The pound the plate low and inside either strike out or pull it right at somebody.

You'll never hear me complain about good AI though. I love the game so much that I figured I didn't even need to try MLB 15 because I'm addicted to 14.

[NEOPARADIGM]

Just to rub in your face what you're missing:

https://youtu.be/yHUTZny73LY



No, seriously though he's at .398 with 8 HR and 32 RBI (leads AL in all three) with 13 BB through 19 games for me. The biggest thing for me I've found are those walks. The difference between 1-for-3 with a walk, 1-for-2 with 2 walks, and 1-for-4 is just huge (.250 vs. .333 vs. .500), but are all the same modest 1-hit game. Also consider an 0-for-4 vs. a 0-for-2 with two BBs, and so on.

Beyond that, it's not like I haven't had seasons where I've struggled to hit .250 with him. It's something of a catch-22 because you think you can just swing at anything and his ratings will take care of the rest. Fact is you need to take his at-bats very seriously, more seriously than you do with a guy who's "supposed" to hit .250, because his at-bats and his production are much more important to the lineup and the team compared to the random dude hitting 7th.

[nomo17k]

Quote: Originally Posted by bcruise

So if we're talking about the real-life way teams deal with this problem, there's basically 2 ways and one of them can't be directly controlled by the team trying to fix the problem. It usually involves either putting the pitcher in a situation where he can't pitch around a slugger (runners on base), or a change in the batting order to give the star some protection hitting behind him. I know without a doubt that the former works in The Show, as it does in real baseball - the AI knows when it has to begrudgingly throw a hittable strike or risk making a bad situation worse with runners on. But I don't know if the CPU can actually look at the lineup structure and say "hey, I should pitch around this guy if I don't want to get beat". Wouldn't surprise me if it did, though. If that's the case, try putting your hottest hitter right behind him and see what happens. In real life, the guy getting pitched around is usually going to see some more hittable pitches.

I think the CPU *can* look at the lineup structure, but it is not clear to what extent he currently uses that information to form his strategy.

As it stands, CPU manager seems to rely too much on not so meaningful number like OVR (or something that would correlate strongly with it) to generate batting order, so I wouldn't be surprised if little consideration of this goes into pitching strategy.

But it really should if doesn't already... I don't know if that should belong to manager AI or catcher AI or pitcher AI, but wherever it happens seeing differences in approach would add more depth to the game.

[Pythons80]

I feel your pain man. I'm about 55 games into a franchise with the Marlins and I think I'm about ready to call it quits. One of the main reasons I chose the Marlins was so I could hit massive dingers with Stanton but at this point in the season with 184 AB he is hitting .185 with only 2 lousy home runs and 13 RBI! PATHETIC stats for a player like that, although like your Cabrera he is near the top of the league in walks. Pitchers absolutely pitch around him which is cool and all but it seems like it's making it hard to get realistic stats for him. For the record the other players on my team are all performing roughly to expectations which makes this situation even more frustrating, because I don't think it's a slider issue.

[fistofrage]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pythons80

I feel your pain man. I'm about 55 games into a franchise with the Marlins and I think I'm about ready to call it quits. One of the main reasons I chose the Marlins was so I could hit massive dingers with Stanton but at this point in the season with 184 AB he is hitting .185 with only 2 lousy home runs and 13 RBI! PATHETIC stats for a player like that, although like your Cabrera he is near the top of the league in walks. Pitchers absolutely pitch around him which is cool and all but it seems like it's making it hard to get realistic stats for him. For the record the other players on my team are all performing roughly to expectations which makes this situation even more frustrating, because I don't think it's a slider issue.

Definitely not a slider issue. I played 2 games last night in game 1 he did manage to get an opposite field home run that barely cleared the wall on a pitch that was on the outside edge. He drew 2 walks after that. Then in game 2 he had 3 walks with Martinez batting behind him and scored on 2 of them on MArtinez hits with a double to the gap and a booming triple to right center.

So Cabreras average is hovering around .230 with 3 HRs now and a boatload of walks and run scored meanwhile Vmart still gets pitches to hit with his .300 average and 2nd in the league in RBI. Cespedes who I have batting second lately has 9 HRs and only 14 RBIs. I think I'll move Cabrera to the 2 hole and Cespedes to the 4. I know it sounds off but if Cabrera is going to get free passes I might as well have him on for the power hitters on the club.

Definitely not a slider issue the games are fun and exciting, but the AI won't give in.