The CPU does not swing at balls

[MillerTyme]

For me anyways, maybe it is a result of some of the sliders i have tinkered with
I cannot find a slider for CPU aggressiveness or anything like that, but it seems to me most of the CPU batters do not bother swinging at anything until they have 2 strikes, and even then they all turn into Jason Giambi or Nick Johnson and do not offer at anything unless it is a strike, no matter how perfect a pitch it is or how borderline a ball
On a very rare occasion they will swing through an inside FB off the plate or a low changeup, but i would say the majority of the Ks i get are either looking or swinging and missing on pitches that would have been strikes anyway
Its quite possible i am doing something wrong, but in my experience, even with guys like olivo or franceour up there (notoroiously free swingers) i cannot get them to chase anything, even with 2 strikes. I cant remember ever getting a swing and miss (or even a swing and weak contact) on a CB that broke and landed for a ball. Seeing guys like carlos gomez lay off a FB 1" off the strike zone with 2 strikes is frustrating when in real life there are maybe 4-5 guys in all of MLB who have that good of an eye.
Again, maybe i am doing something wrong or i have changed the AI by messing w/the sliders, but i am just wondering if other people are having this problem or i am the only one.


Thanks

[N51_rob]

I don't have this problem at all. They may not swing at as many balls as I would like especially in 0-2 counts, but I've see the CPU look silly hacking at stuff a good 1-2 feet out of the zone.

[Chef Matt]

I play on HOF default and do not have this prob at all. I've ave. 10 k's my last three games and a lot of those were 0-2 changeups WAY out of the zone that they offered on. But, they were away to respective sides of the plate. Left on left/right on right. If that makes any difference.

[Whitesox]

You need to set up your pitches. You're not going to get away with throwing fastballs in everytime you want a strike out.

The CPU will recognize your tendencies, and be ready for that fastball. Try this: Throw a fastball high and outside, purposefully missing the zone. If the batter swings at it, good! I wouldn't expect him to. The next pitch throw a change up low and in. This will be much more likely to get the K considering the last pitch was high, hard, and away.

Hope that helps!

[bcruise]

I would suggest playing a healthy dose of the Simulated Game pitching practice. It's a "controlled environment" of sorts which consists of only the pitcher and batter. But it uses the same mechanics as the real game, so you can use it to practice your pitching patterns and see what you can get the CPU to chase.

One thing though - you do usually have to be around the plate consistently to get the CPU to chase. In other words, getting ahead in the early count is vital.

[swaldo]

Quote: Originally Posted by whitesox

The next pitch throw a change up low and in. This will be much more likely to get the K considering the last pitch was high, hard, and away.

Throw a changeup low & inside? This should never be done...at least in real life. The reason being that even if a batter is fooled and caught off stride he can still pull it with power, sometimes with only one hand. By throwing it outside the best they can do is hit it weakly in the infield.

In addition, most changes tail away from a pitchers hand which is why most pitchers will only throw it to opposite handed batters. Tommy John threw his changeup off his ring & pinky fingers, try throwing that inside to an opposite handed batter! No thanks. For the most part the change is a pretty weak pitch, you don't want it tailing inside to a batters power zone which is low & inside. More power/slugging % is generated from that zone than pitches right down the middle! Although the middle zone has a higher overall batting average. Even the great Bob Gibson stated he hated throwing low & in. He would throw his nasty slider there hoping to get a double play but it really made him nervous.

Suppose you are a right handed pitcher with a Fastball, slider, curve and changeup. Here is how you'd pitch...

RH BATTERS:

Fastball
Slider
Curve
Rare change outside & low

LH BATTERS:

Fastball
Change
Slider - back door or you can bust them inside...or use them as mentioned above for double plays.
Occassional Curve

So my rule (which is sim style, or how the majority of big leaguers pitch) is to throw changeups mainly to opp handed batters - aiming most low & away. I want it to either tail outside for a ball or slice the edge/corner for a strike. Yes, there are "masters" who can get away with inside changeups but they are a rare breed. If the game is not punishing you for throwing too much low & inside - especially a change then something is wrong. I don't know because I don't have the guts to do it.

And I agree, the CPU needs to swing at more balls, especially on 0-2 or 1-2 counts. I think they should install a defensive swing system or at least make the batters more interested at very close pitches when they are behind in the count.

[BigWilly]

[quote=swaldo;2040938230]If the game is not punishing you for throwing too much low & inside - especially a change then something is wrong. I don't know because I don't have the guts to do it. quote]

The game doesn't punish it enough. I've thrown it quite a bit and haven't noticed it getting rocked with regularity.

To the OP - the other advice on here for Ks is good. They don't swing at a lot of pitches outside of the zone, especially the really close stuff, so maybe it could be upped a little. But you can ring them up that way.

[Xaos]

The CPU will swing at 2/3 fastballs inside early in the count. Throw 2 fastballs inside, high or low or in the mid, it don't matter. Then throw a fastball to the outside.