[dowie]

Game #5 of day #1 of the MLB season
Tigers at Mariners (me)
Mize vs Gilbert

DET 12 runs, 15 hits, 0 errors
SEA 11 runs, 14 hits, 2 errors

DET: 6 2b, 3 hr, 5bb, 10k .349 batting avg.
SEA: 5 2B, 2 hr, 3 bb, 14k, 1 hbp .341 batting avg.

DET: 176 pitches thrown, 62% strikes, 58% 1st pitch strikes
SEA: 170 pitches thrown, 64% strikes, 60% 1st pitch strikes

DET: 16% fouls, 20% swing and miss
SEA: 14% fouls, 40% swing and miss

Thoughts:
I played this game w/ some tweaks to the sliders "changed them on OP": (increased solid hits to 5 for both sides, increased control and consistency to 6 for both sides and increased all errors to 6. Stats aside, the goal is to have fun....well, this game wasn't fun -I like pitcher duels! Obviously, increasing solid hits back to default yielded a ton of balls in the gaps for 2b's and plenty more over the fence. 7 of 12 runs by Tigers were via the HR (grrrr), 3 of 11 runs for Mariners were via the long ball (great!). I like the increase to the control and consistency sliders. Ball movement seemed more "realistic", as pitches weren't "floating" all over the place. BB's were still had by both sides, and strike %'s were right at MLB avg (great!). Both errors were IF throwing errors, and at least I finally saw some. Cpu bullpen mgt was good yet gain. With the lead they brought in top su guy in the 8th and cp in the 9th. Maybe I am chasing a purple unicorn w/ this "project". Though some things looked good (stat and gameplay wise), I hated how many balls were smoked to the gap. I need more singles!!!!! But I also need those singles to turn into runs that aren't because a guy launched one into orbit. However, what do we see every night on MLB Network.....exactly that and it sucks. Next game will be Col (me) traveling to Dodger Stadium. Marquez vs Buehler. I am going to use the same slider set up as this game to see if the offensive explosion happens for the 2nd straight game. Not everything is bad....I like how the pitching is shaking out for both sides in terms of control, I like the fielding, the arm strength, the base running speed, the sb's, caught stealings, pitcher stamina, control and strikeouts. I just need to see better distribution of hits, and not so many. I believe the cpu isn't affected by pitch speed, but after 3 more games with this slider set up, I might increase all pitch speeds to 6. I may just be having a tad too long to read pitches and it's resulting in a lot of hits and bb's, but I am striking out a lot so it's still hard for me. One thing I have noticed in these 4 games, is the cpu seems to mirror me, If I hit, so do they...if I don't hit, they don't either.....thats probably programming ,and if it is - that be very problematic.

Dowie