Broken Bat - Help: Pitching Woes

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Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date	Function

#38345	08/16/2016 1:57:50 am
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Missoula is having well and truly the worst season since I took over, and is on track for perhaps the worst ever. I'm at a bit of a loss as to why, my hitting is striking out too much, and I'm getting a few too many fielding errors, but most of that is simply as I've been blooding new players in over the last week or two since this season is looking like a lost cause. The biggest head scratcher for me is my pitching, I am in a hitting heavy league but..... Here's how I plan on lining up my guys NEXT season, I'd be interested in your thoughts around it. Rotation: Figueroa is an unpopular build but just keeps getting stronger Boyd is confounding - should be good, but isn't. Judging by FIP he's had his share of bad luck, but otherwise is just plain disappointing Huber struggles against RHP, but providing he can keep the ball on the ground does enough to justify a spot. Trevino abysmal start to the year, I've sent him to AAA as an experiment to see if he can make up for missed training there. He'll bounce back ok Chavarria - received a genuine pop to AAA at the end of last season, he's going to stay there all season and next spring training, interested to see what he can do out of the No.5 slot. Bullpen: Madison hopefully the off season isn't too rough on him, but he's been my most consistent pitcher for a few seasons now, either in the pen or rotation Wells Could be a cut if he loses more velocity, otherwise he's ok in an MR/LR/SS role, appears to struggle with LL4 pitching though Fossas has been absolutely driving me mad. I can't see any reason for him to have fallen off as badly as he has - he's gone from a good set up guy to someone I don't even really want to trust in the LR role - suggestions for him? Turner useless as a starter, but had a sub 2.00 ERA in the LHS role until I decided to give him another shot in the rotation Harrison - has been my most reliable set up guy, he'll stay in that role Brady is another having a poor season, but generally pitches well enough against both RHB and LHB that I really like him to be my main MR guy Livingstone hasn't developed how I'd envisioned and panics whenever someone holds the bat from the left side - probably gonna try a full time RHS slot for him, but even his minor league numbers aren't inspiring enough for me to fully commit to him. Eaton - didn't expect him to come up so early this season, he slotted well into the rotation when Boyd went down for 35 days, with a sub 4.00 ERA, I put him in the 'pen to try give me some stability there, and naturally he sucked. I don't know what to do with him I'm also interested in the management settings others use - I have a 6 hook for my more trustworthy starters, and 5 for the rest, all of my pen are now on a 1 hook, they've been that bad. Including giving up 7 runs in the 9th innings in the last series when I had a 6 run lead. Any input appreciated! Thanks in advance

#38346	08/16/2016 6:32:05 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Someone finally listened to me on that CoS and control build... I've used players with that build as my staff aces for the past 5 seasons. The overall strategy looks solid, though I do have some thoughts on the management settings. I run with a 5 hook on all my starters so that if they get torched my bullpen can still win it. My bullpen tends to actually be as reliable as my starters though, and I keep them from getting torched by giving them all 30 pitch limits and 2 hooks. The only exceptions are my long relievers who get 60 pitches and 4 hooks. I tend to let all of them come in earlier than most people I think as well with my LRs allowed in the 1st, my MRs allowed in the 4th, my LHS and RHS allowed in the 5th, and my SET allowed in the 6th. I don't have a CL. These settings have been extremely effective for me, but I have a high performance bar for my pitchers considering I back them up with a well above average defense at the cost of my hitting being around league average, if not below it. Edit: About Eaton, if you find a guy who does well in the starting rotation giving you a shot to win, then use him in the starting rotation. Not all guys are cut out to start ballgames, so when you find a guy who does it well, use him there, and boot the starter struggling the most into the LR role (or whatever you need the most if you already have a solid LR). Looking at his numbers, I wouldn't consider Eaton that solid, but I haven't looked at your team numbers or the league-wide numbers for perspective. Updated Tuesday, August 16 2016 @ 6:40:44 am PDT

#38348	08/16/2016 7:53:36 am
Huaraches25 Joined: 05/01/2016 Posts: 151 Inactive	I'm also having some pitching woes. Rotation: Francis only player who can start with ERA under 5 but is 3-7 Skinner, ERA was under 4 at one point still my second best option as as his W-L record was once positive and can still bounce back. Canales last year’s ace, definitely not having that great a year in LL5 Benavidez, only pitcher I’ve won on waivers, I believe his last start was a QS, too early to give up. Macaluso and Maruyama complete trash all year, can’t pull out a win all year Bullpen: Stark, should probably just get cut, but I don’t like cutting people until I replace them. Young should also get cut but once again haven’t been able to replace him Jones is one of 4 relievers with sub 5 ERA Salgado started out as a starter, last owner had him starting I started him last year, but I’ve realized an 11 stamina pitcher does not need to start. Hayes somewhat solid pitcher out the pen (compared to others) Landry and Glass, exceptional backend of the bullpen pitchers. Not sure how long I can keep Glass with a 10 potential though Updated Tuesday, August 16 2016 @ 7:55:09 am PDT

#38368	08/16/2016 11:42:08 pm
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Thanks for the input Newt - I had 5 hook on all my starters but they were just getting knocked out too early and then my bullpen was getting smoked. Lost 2 games today due mostly to the 6 hook though, so all bar Figueroa are back to 5 hook.

#38376	08/17/2016 5:57:34 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9603 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I use a 7 hook for my starters, but limit their pitch counts as needed. If a guy is doing poorly, sometimes its just because he is going a little too far into games.

#38380	08/17/2016 8:26:02 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	That doesn't explain why more than half the time for me my starters were getting torched in the first 3 innings Rock. That only is a POSSIBLE explanation for late game meltdowns.