Broken Bat - Help: Bullpen

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Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date	Function

#1873	11/08/2012 12:55:13 am
Bodjan Joined: 03/04/2012 Posts: 5 Inactive	Hi Steve I would like to get some help with managing the bullpen. My team is not doing very well and I think it´s my pitching and especially my bullpens fault. I tried to look in the newbie guide but could not see anything about how to managing the bullpen. How should I set the "first inning use" buttons for my middle reliver and my setup guys. Sometimes my starter gets blow away in the 1 or 2 inning. And my closer is not doing as good as last year, maybe due to fatigue. Just overall feedback on that would be great. And maybe some tips on what to look for when getting new free agents for the bullpen. Thanks for a great game! Greetings from Denmark.

#1875	11/08/2012 1:14:52 am
AmUnRA Joined: 06/17/2012 Posts: 299 Inactive	Hi Bodjan, bullpen management took me 2 season to understand! First of all bullpen management starts with the right setup of the starting rotation. Best 5 pitchers should start. But dont look only on skills more important are his produced stats. I think batting average against (BAA) and WHIP are very important to look at. The 5. or 6. best pitcher becomes the closer when he has good stats but a low stamina. He is the 9 inning guy. The next best pitcher becomes the setup guy and if he has much stamina he could be the man for 7th and 8th. Maybe you have a 2nd setup man. Now you should look on the pitchers still unchoosen - if there is a specialist for Leftys and one for Righties? Then you are lucky, and have some specialists for inning 5-8 with low pitch count but (++) usage. You should have 3-5 pitchers left? Best of the rest: MR > LR > MR2 > LR2 > SS

#1876	11/08/2012 1:19:50 am
AmUnRA Joined: 06/17/2012 Posts: 299 Inactive	First Inning use: SP x Closer 9 Setup 8 or 7 with high stam. LHS/RHS 6 or 5 MR 5 or 4 LR 2 SS x

#1877	11/08/2012 3:34:31 am
Bodjan Joined: 03/04/2012 Posts: 5 Inactive	Thanks alot for the feedback.

#1878	11/08/2012 8:39:39 am
admin Joined: 01/27/2010 Posts: 4985 Administrator	From the Game Manual under Game Strategy: - Setting Up Your Rotation The rotation is set of starting pitchers that start games on successive days. Starting Pitchers: There are five starting pitchers (SP) that make up the Starting Rotation. Usually, the best starting pitchers occupy the top slots in the rotations and the weaker pitchers are later. If a pitcher is injured or not listed, then the spot starter or longer reliever from the bullpen will fill in. Starting pitchers usually pitch between 5-8 innings unless they get "roughed up" early or are pitching a real "gem". Starting pitchers are required to have stamina so they can pitcher more innings and essentially should have high levels in all or some of the other four pitching skills. - Setting Up Your Bullpen The bullpen is where relief pitchers reside during the ballgame and warm up before coming into the game. Relief pitchers come into pitch when the starting pitcher gets tired or in trouble or for situational purposes (for example: to face a left handed hitter or to close out a close game). Spot Starter: The spot starter (SS) is the pitcher that will start when the regular starting pitcher is injured or not listed. When not starting, he can pitch in relief. He generally needs the same skill set as a starting pitcher. Long Reliever: The long reliever (LR) is a pitcher that is brought in if the starter falters early in the game. Usually, his team is behind and he's expected to pitch most of the remaining innings. Because the game is often decided by the time he comes in, his role is less critical and he's usually a pitcher of lesser quality. Stamina is useful, the other pitching skills are nice, but not critical. Middle Reliever: The middle reliever (MR) is a pitcher that is brought in if the starter falters in the middle innings or to replace the long reliever. Generally, the middle reliever pitches fewer innings than the long reliever and the game may still be on the line. He's usually a higher quality pitcher than the long reliever. Stamina is nice as well as some other pitching skills. Left Handed Setup Man: The left handed setup man (LHS) or left handed specialist is usually a left handed pitcher that is brought in to face one or two tough left handed hitters. He is not required to have stamina, but needs some of the other pitching skills to get outs. Right Handed Setup Man: The right handed setup man (RHS) is less common than the left handed specialist because of the relative effectiveness of right handed pitchers versus right handed hitters. Similar to the left handed specialist, he's brought in to face right handed hitters. He is not required to have much stamina, but needs some of the other pitching skills. Setup Man: The setup man (SET) is brought into a close game to pitch an inning or two until the closer is brought in. He's probably the second best relief pitcher and may actually pitch more innings than the closer. He is not required to have much stamina, but needs decent levels of the other pitching skills. Closer: The closer (CLR) usually comes into close games usually in the 8th or 9th inning to close out games that his team is narrowly winning. He is not required stamina, but needs some of the other pitching skills. Many closers have high velocity levels so they can quickly strike out their opponents. Steve Updated Thursday, November 8 2012 @ 8:40:16 am PST

#1879	11/08/2012 8:47:03 am
admin Joined: 01/27/2010 Posts: 4985 Administrator	In general, I agree with AmUnRA. A couple things I think work well is to reduce the hook & pitch count for you bullpen as it gets later in the game (long reliever has higher pitch count/hook than your setup men). Also, I usually have a Left Handed Setup Man with a really low pitch count/hook so he only faces left hand batters. Steve