Broken Bat - Help: Catcher Conundrum

Forum >> Help >> Catcher Conundrum

Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date	Function

#30806	02/18/2016 5:17:43 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I tend to not have problems getting players with good range, but there have been times where I couldn't get a decent player with an arm above 15 no matter how diligently I looked, and only had about 3 on my team at one point. As such I completely disregard arm requirements for outfielders personally seeing it merely as a perk.

#30809	02/18/2016 5:24:39 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9600 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I know what you mean. Just I consider range a perk as well I try to keep my CF at 14 or above, but sometimes I even slip there...

#30813	02/18/2016 6:16:02 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I consider hitting a perk, you value hitting the way I value defense.

#30818	02/18/2016 7:16:04 pm
BrianV Joined: 02/08/2016 Posts: 125 Inactive	This thread is incredibly valuable! Even if there are conflicting opinions (in a few cases), I appreciate how you've all taken the time to support them, and it's helped educate me. Thanks for all the help and suggestions so far. You've all given me some help in how I view my players. Tomorrow, I plan to go through all my prospects, and start training the for the positions they should play. I've also (perhaps too early) replaced Terry Foxx with Conner Black. Although Foxx still had a decent bat by his season stats, his range was a liability. Black has worse season stats, but broadly similar skill stats (plate discipline excluded) and huge ++ defensive stats.

#30820	02/18/2016 10:52:23 pm
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1580 Yakima Monster III.3	Good pick up in Black - ex Polar Bear who I only replaced as I fluked a waiver claim on a 14 pot guy. If you have a hunt through the 12 pot guys (hitters included) you really can find some gems hidden away: Leiva to me is a perfect example, great hitting prolific slugging future catcher with a good arm - so what if he makes a couple of errors behind the plate, his bat and arm will more than compensate,

#30840	02/19/2016 6:41:43 am
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5201 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Agreed. That Black signing is very savvy. I would be tempted to use him in CF and slide Fujihara over to right. Make a little more use of Black's range. Leiva looks great. Could turn into an Enriquez (who plays in a tall tree league, yet is making a name for himself as a threatening offensive player). On the downside, I don't think those guys are as much a secret as they once were. Harder to find and acquire IMO.

#30855	02/19/2016 8:34:22 am
BrianV Joined: 02/08/2016 Posts: 125 Inactive	Ok, so next question - how many 'extras' do you carry in case of injury? Take Mark Sparks for example - OK range, and he's going to have tremendous fielding with experience. However, he's not good enough to really displace Theo Hughes from the 2B spot. He's not getting the game experience to continue improving. Do I send him down to the minors to give him time and games to prepare for Hughes' departure in a season or two, or do I keep him in the lineup as an injury backup and possibly miss out on development? Updated Friday, February 19 2016 @ 8:34:39 am PST

#30865	02/19/2016 11:18:14 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	That answer really varies with the quality of the players in question for me. I always keep two guys who can back up catcher (3B also has similar needs with more fielding ideal) because catcher has by far most common injuries. Other than that I tend to keep one backup middle infielder, and two backup outfielders and don't sweat too much if someone has to slide into a position he doesn't know for a game or two. I've had guys with zero position experience slide in and have a flawless defensive game, and guys with full position knowledge boot the ball around. You basically don't want to bloat your major league roster too much because lots of guys will rarely be used, and it will cramp your minor league options. Updated Friday, February 19 2016 @ 11:20:46 am PST

#31099	02/23/2016 3:40:33 pm
BrianV Joined: 02/08/2016 Posts: 125 Inactive	To update on the original problem, Alan Gordon has gone on a real hot streak, and is now boasting a .285/.321/.545 batting line in 35 games. Back about 20 games (middle of April in-game) when I started this thread he was closer to .120/.175/.220. And he hasn't made a single mistake in the outfield yet. Hopefully he stays at this new level of production!

#31103	02/23/2016 6:02:39 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	It does simulate baseball, through the luck of numbers guys will go on incredible tears and then cool off, or underperform and then turn it on. It is exactly why it is a bad idea to judge a young player on less than 100 ABs or ~50 innings pitched at the very least.