ANNOUNCEMENT: Things to Remember

Just wanted to post down a few key issues to keep in mind as the season starts. This is to introduce these points to our new members and to remind our older members.

1) Post your rotation BEFORE you start the season in our "Rotation and Starting Lineup" Forum. You don't have to keep the same order that Sportsconnect gives you but, barring injury, you are keeping your same rotation for the whole year. So choose carefully.

2) Make sure you keep to your 1-5 rotation throughout the season. By majority vote, the League has agreed to keep a strict 1-5 rotation. Each series is labeled with the exact rotation you should use. So Series 1 uses Pitchers 1-2-3. Series 2 uses 4-5-1. Variations in your rotation is grounds for finding yourself before the Bootum Council.

3) Don't be afraid to use the Bootum Council. The Council is there to prevent built up of frustration. You don't alway have to win a penalty to make a point against another player. If you think you are being unfairly, don't just complain, bring the issue to your peers.

4) Schedule games in the "Schedule a Game" Forum. Keep your attempts to play as PUBLIC as possible, so I know how best to resolve games.

5) WINNER OF GAME posts game summary and results in the "Game Results" Forum. I don't care if you want to type it out or copy and download a screen shot. Just somehow, the winner should get a record of the game onto the web page so we have a permanent record.

6) All players are invited, but not required, to keep stats. I'm suspecting that I can keep most all stats all by myself by downloading screenshots of Sportsconnect's record. The only stat we should need to keep ourselves is Player of the Game. If you want to keep your player's POG record, post in the "Player of the Game" Forum the name of the player so I can enter it on the Leaderboard.

7) Read and understand Rainout Rules. The League does not exist on Sportsconnect. It exists ONLY on this web page. Therefore, a dropped game that awards a win to a team in the Sportsconnect standings does not mean that win will necessarily be officially recognized. RAINOUT RULES applies.

If the game is not an official game (less than 5 innings or tied at drop) then the game DOES NOT COUNT and should be played over in EXHIBITION MODE WITH LEAGUE SETTINGS. INJURED PLAYERS SHOULD NOT BE PLAYED EVEN IF THEY ARE AVAILABLE IN THE EXHIBITION GAME. Try to keep as close to League Roster as you can.

If the game is official, you may still have to play the remainder of the Series as in Exhibition Mode, and I will resolve the League games as best as I can to reflect the official web standings regardless of who got the Sportsconnect win.

If all this sounds confusing, and you're not sure how to acheive this, ASK BEFORE YOU PLAY!

8 ) Don't forget our new "Inactive Player" rule that AUTOMATICALLY drops players if more than 40% of their games get resolved after Series 5. I'll try to issue warnings if you are getting close.

9) Most important, and more important than winning, HAVE FUN. Nobody is making any money off this, nobody's future is on the line for losing. If you are not having fun, there is NO point in playing this game. We have a fantastic group here that KNOW we can rely on each other. We have each other's back even as we compete. The memories we are creating here, win or lose, should last you the rest of your life. ENJOY!!

Good luck, Gentlemen.

No FAST PITCHING!!!!!

Really quick question here. Are there any consequences for using the early steal, or is it fair game? I know a lot of people don't like it but I use it so I wanted to know before this thing gets fired up.

I have no objection to it, especially since I have a long history of picking people off. I don't do a lot of things well in this game, but I usually can handle most baserunners.

Honestly im not a big fan of the quick steal, that's just me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, but there is nothing technically illegal about it. And its easy to defend against with practice.

My problem with the early steal is that the only way to really effectively stop it is by waiting and stepping off, but anyone who really knows how to early steal can usually get back which creates this cat and mouse game that usually makes the game much longer. You could keep throwing back to first or pitch out. Constantly throwing back to first almost always guarantees a ball in the stands and you can only pitch out 3 times. I guess like anything else use it in moderation, too much of anything is a bad thing. I won't be using it at all, I think it's kind of cheesy.

Just remember the huge fuss the last time this issue came up. Hate to see that happen again in the middle of the season.

Remember, this year you can step off at ANY time. Last year, if you were commited to a pitch, you were stuck.

an early/delayed steal should really only be used when runners are one first and third with less than one out and you need to score that run via the guy on first initiating a pickle. other than that any base stealer that has any descent speed should be able to take it a bag on first movement.

thats my two cents worth

Well I only use it when people aren't paying attention to the baserunners, so I don't think its cheese in that aspect. My thing is, its easy to defend if you are paying attention, varying the time from when you pick your pitch to starting your delivery, stepping off, etc.

Exactly. I actually enjoy watching the other player outthink himself and kill a rally.

I've played with people who were so ridiculous with it that it made the game about everything other than baseball. I don't have a big problem with it. As a player you know when you've ceased playing the baseball game and started playing the video game. Let's just keep it real.

mikeda1940 wrote:

Exactly. I actually enjoy watching the other player outthink himself and kill a rally.

I do that WAY too much!

mikeda1940 wrote:

Exactly. I actually enjoy watching the other player outthink himself and kill a rally.

I almost did that the other night. I got on with granderson down by 1 top 9th and I thought I had my opponent timed and tried the steal and got picked off. Luckily the next batter, Teixeira went yard and tied the game and I won in the 10th.

A reminder for everone to post the rotation they will stick with the rest of the year BEFORE you play your first game. We will discuss how to handle injuries within your rotation later.

damilkmanpart2 wrote:

No FAST PITCHING!!!!!

That's all I care about. Game is so much better when your opponent pauses for a few seconds when there are runners on base.

Quick pitching IS illegal because, unlike early stealing, it DOESN'T exist in the real life game. A quick pitch is a balk, and there is no balk rule in The Show. Thats the difference.

Quick question regarding a pitchers energy and the designated rotations for each series regarding flex schedule.

I know we are not to use flex unless necessary, however, are we going to be okay if we throw a different arm if the arm that was scheduled may have pitched the game before and his energy is too low? Just seeking some clarification in case this happens during the season.

Thats a very good question and, to be honest, I haven't considered yet. I'll have to see how rotations work during the season.