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Geraci15
Joined: 10/05/2018
Posts: 6

Mesa Scorpions
IV.6

Broken Bat Baseball
I feel like I have a very good roster, a good manager, good financials, and I’m in the bottom league. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong for my team not to be able to succeed. Any suggestions?
lostraven
Joined: 07/02/2016
Posts: 1269

Corvallis Ravens
III.1

Broken Bat Baseball
Whenever the "why is my team not winning" question comes up, I find it useful to go to the league statistics for the year. You do that by clicking "League" and then, at the bottom, clicking the second tiny button that, when moused over, says "20XX League Statistics." Here's what I see.

1. Your RISP is a bit lower—13 points—than your team batting average (BA). While not abnormal, a regression towards your team BA may eventually come, i.e., you might be seeing some bad luck with RISP.

2. Your team FIP (pitching) is 34 points lower than your team ERA. This not always but typically means that your defense is hurting you in some way. Which leads to...

3. When I look at your defensive numbers, I see you are, by a wide margin, leading the division with worst defense at SS, and your 2B defense isn't exactly roses. In other words, your up-the-middle defense is likely costing you some games.

Your SS: http://brokenbat.org/player/152136; Range is not adequate for SS, and your Fielding there isn't cutting it. He might gain one more point in Fielding, but yeah, you definitely want better defense at SS. He's also seen some time at 2B and has been league-average to slightly above league average there.

Your 2B: http://brokenbat.org/player/161702; Fielding is really sad for 2B. He's more of a CF than a 2B. Your current SS would be a slight upgrade at 2B over this guy.

Long story short: There's a lot to like, but a mix of minor bad luck with RISP and some major defensive issues up the middle are most likely at play.

amalric7
Joined: 01/20/2016
Posts: 2235

New York Lancers
IV.2

Broken Bat Baseball
Ooh, I do love me a team review and its been a while, so let me shoot holes in your roster! :) LOL, sorry a lot of this may sound harsh but hopefully will provide some helpful insight.

Manager: You have a decent one in Agosto, but arguably the most important factor in the game for a manager is the development of young players (majors and minors). Better to get a guy with as high a score (excellent report) in Player Development as you can get. Take a look at the top teams, you'll find a bunch of guys like that.

Hitting

C: The most important defensive attribute here is Arm. You want 16+ here, and preferably as high as you can get...PLUS you want a good hitter too. Wood can get on base but personally I would never have a guy with the "never be a decent hitter" tag outside of SS, and even then he'd have to be a defensive genius. I prefer to avoid that tag completely. Neither Wood nor Buchanan can hit and neither have the Arm you want, even though the latter has had some success throwing out base runners. You could really use an upgrade here, and not just here...

Lets stop for a moment here. Bottom line: your bats can't hit. The hardest thing to do in baseball is put the bat on the ball and put it in play, and you have way too many guys who can't hit - even at LLVI. Some of them will get by for a while but even if you do promote you'll end up demoting back down because those guys won't cut it at higher levels. Take a look at the rosters of teams in the top divisions (heck, look at mine) and you'll see the same thing over and over: lots of high numbers across the board in batting skills (hitting, BC, PD, power). That's what brings success. You need to find guys with scouting reports that say "good hitter", but preferably "very good" and "great". Personally I go for those guys first, then fielding and power, but try and get the best combination that works for you.

1B: Roque can't hit and his speed is wasted as he doesn't steal bases. Good reserve OF but would work at 2B, 3B or even SS with enough playing time. Lovett might make a gold glove CF but he can't hit worth a lick. 1B needs TO HIT, and preferably for power too. You badly need to upgrade here, and right now I'd put Morrison here full-time: position eligibility isn't hugely important at 1B or in the OF, and his glove would work here while his 12 Range is low for an OF (more on that later).

2B: As @lostraven said Gilbert is a liability here. You ideally want 15+ Fielding and Range here (Arm isn't important). Young has a great glove but his Range isn't quite there and he's another black hole at the plate. Upgrade needed.

3B: Amemiya is pretty much an ideal 3B, but he's 32 and you need to think of the future. Sato and Brannon have the glove you want here (decent fielding, good arm) but neither can hit. Upgrade.

SS: I don't mind Lopez here, even though he lacks the fielding and range you'd ideally like here (SS should be 15+ in all defensive skills if possible). Perkins is a 3B who can't hit and his 9 Range should NEVER be used at SS. Araujo is a reasonable stopgap but again he's 32, and won't help you for more than a season or two. Its hard to upgrade at SS but keep looking.

OF: You want guys who can hit (and for power) and as much Range as you can get (which you seem to have), plus a decent Arm for CF and RF if you can get it (but don't sweat on it). Strong is okay, Solis can't hit, Dubois is passable and Dimas can't hit and probably should have been a 2B, but he also skipped AAA entirely (never a good thing) so is probably a waste of time (you'll see a bunch of 14 POT Latin Americans listed in free agency who just haven't cut it). Overall not too bad, but still needing an upgrade.

Outside of Morrison there's not a lot to like here. I'm actually surprised you've won 32 games to this point.


P: You want guys here with an out pitch - a scouting report with a positive fastball and/or breaking ball report. Guys with control issues are a no for me, so Reese is instant cut material, especially with that ERA. Rubio is a classic low-movement/high-homer guy (as is Rader), but he's okay for now. Pitchers with decent Movement skill tend to do better. Thomson is okay but a better defense might help him. Kyle Roberts gives up too many homers, but I like guys like him as closers (ignore stamina) as they can get a few outs while limiting damage.

The rest of your pitching is...frankly, terrible. No out pitch, no movement, control issues - the recipe for a bad staff. I actually think your ERA will get worse. Having 3 bots and a tyre fire (Layton) is perhaps inflating your numbers. Go back to my first line on pitchers and try and get as many upgrades as you can.

Minors

AAA: Renteria needs to be promoted to the majors, or cut. He has little left to learn in the minors, and to be honest given your majors staff I'd put him in the lineup and give him an extended run. "Below average" control can sometimes be passable, and his pitching report is good otherwise (and better than nearly all of your current staff). Flores is a cut, same problems as many of the guys above. Stacey is borderline, but as a 13 POT I'd give him a shot when he's ready. Blair is a cut, CAN'T HIT and not worth a fielding position. Barlow CAN'T HIT but could make a backup C/OF if you were desperate.

AA: HOLY MOLEY, an actual genuine prospect! Renteria should be gold, he's going to be your #1 starter in time and you can enjoy him for seasons to come. Raiku is borderline: control issue and too many points in stamina and fielding. Henriquez CAN'T HIT, so he's a cut (unless you badly want a pinch runner taking up a roster spot). Rosada CAN'T HIT but does at least make for a SS prospect, but again black hole in your batting lineup. Butler CAN'T HIT and isn't worth it defensively. Alderman CAN'T HIT, and is a reserve OF only (I'd cut). Berman - genuine prospect #2!! He's your future 3B, play him there NOW (no Range for OF, ideal defense at the hot corner).

A: Franco CAN'T HIT and CAN'T FIELD: CUT!! Noriega CAN'T HIT, cut. Kirchner CAN'T HIT, cut. Hodges CAN'T HIT, probably cut too.

Rookie: Morley is an instant cut, right now - 11 POT with no out pitch report, high stamina and big control issues. Those guys are cuts all day long. Brooks is genuine prospect #3!! A lot of points in Range and Arm but as a 14 POT he should turn out fine. Carroll is not a C, but will make a good 1B in time (play him there now). Sharp CAN'T HIT, cut now.

Overall your minors aren't great outside of 3-4 really good prospects. Much room for improvement.

Your team isn't that great, but pretty standard for LLVI. The good thing down there is that there's plenty of scope to make sweeping changes, knowing that long term the only way is up. There are a bunch of guides in these forums on what to look for in scouting players yourself, and plenty people who are willing to offer advice. If you want to know more just ask here, or send a PM.
jakala2018
Joined: 10/01/2018
Posts: 20

Inactive

Broken Bat Baseball
+1
Nice Info !
Geraci15
Joined: 10/05/2018
Posts: 6

Mesa Scorpions
IV.6

Broken Bat Baseball
Thank you so much! I needed that harsh criticism hopefully it will help.


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