[thekodinator]

Circling back on this, I think I've found my groove for playing franchise mode in a way that allows me to progress through seasons more quickly, while still having more direct impact on the team.

I've completely ditched Critical Situations (good idea, poor execution) and instead am using Quick Manage, with a rule set to determine when I jump in and play the game myself.

In my first attempt, I would jump into the gameplay in these situations:

1. Runner in scoring position in any inning (offense or defense), or
2. Tie game after 7th inning stretch, or
3. Tying run at bat or on deck after 7th inning stretch.

I played a few games this way but jumping into the game every time either team had a RISP became too long, to the point where I was playing a large portion of the game.

Last night I played 9 games with the following criteria for jumping into the gameplay:

1. Runner in scoring position (offense only),
2. less than 4 run lead in the 8th inning or later (offense and defense).

This set-up allows me to get moving through games more quickly, but I still feel really connected to my team and to the outcome of the game. I will be sticking with this method for another 25 games to see if it holds up.

Does anyone else have a method for playing partial games?