THE TALK SHOW
Host: Glenn Guzzo
You can submit your question or insight on any Strat-O-Matic game to SOMTalkShow@aol.com. When you do, kindly include your name and town. Other gamers like to see that. And the display format below works better that way.
Reminder: Send us your “Great Moments in Strat” – your playing experiences that you just have to share.
PITCHERS ARE CLUTCH, TOO
I really like the “SP clutch option” of the MAX rules for the SOMBB computer version.
However, what’s the possibility of showing each SP’s clutch rating, like for the hitters? Although the hitters don’t actually have a rating, we know what kind of a clutch hitter they are by the $ symbol. Perhaps something that simple could be developed for the SPs.
Also, it would be nice to know when a SP’s clutch rating affects an inning just like we know when a batter’s clutch hitting does, perhaps in the play-by-play text or some type of indication on the screen when it occurs. Right now, if a pitcher gets out of a jam, or gets lit-up, you don’t know if it was the dice roll, his clutch rating, or both.
Mark Walker, Atlanta
I understand your desire – probably all of us who play the board game like to know the impact of our decisions when we play the computer game. However, the clutch batting symbol is from the card image, and only shows up in the computer game as a representation of the card. Adding a symbol for computer pitchers would not accurately represent the card. When SOM upgrades its computer games each year, it improves various aspects – some cosmetic, some statistical, some strategic, some functional for leagues or replays. So, if there’s another way to accomplish what you seek, SOM may give that some thought.
NAME GAME
Enjoying an 8-team partial replay of the 1961 MLB season. The number of home runs being hit is incredible! It occured to me that one of the cool things about baseball are the players’ nicknames. No other professional sport lends itself to such creative names. So, in my humble opinion, here are the best names from each Major League team from ‘61:
No. 1 nickname “Choo-Choo” Coleman (Phillies) – Catcher who batted .128 in “61. Not much of an engine on that locomotive!
“Coot” Veal (Senators); “Pumpsie” Green (Red Sox); “Vinegar Bend” Mizell (Pirates); Jay “Hook” (Reds); Bill “Moose” Skowron (Yanks); “Minnie” Minoso (White Sox); Wally “Moon” (Dodgers); “Rocky” Colavito (Tigers); Marv “Throneberry” (Orioles); Mel “Roach” (Cubs); Gino Cimoli (Braves); “Sad” Sam Jones (Giants); Frank “Funk” (Indians); Jack “Spring” (Angels); Jim “Lemon” (Twins); Jim “Archer” (Athletics); Julio Gotay (Cards)
Scott Acton, Hackettstown, New Jersey
I love unusual names, too. They are memorable, they add character/personality to the players and they add fun to the experience of reliving their careers. The older the season, the more plentiful and colorful the nicknames. Back in the day, nicknames were so well established that far fewer fans knew such players by their given names and it’s their nicknames that appear on Strat-O-Matic cards. “Minnie” Minoso is a good example from your list. It’s even better, of course, when a nickname or real name is especially appropriate – or inappropriate – for the player. In your examples above, a pitcher named ‘Hook’ is a bad omen, for sure. My long-time Strat buddy Paul Moore long ago drafted rookie catcher Mackey Sasser thinking his name was Mickey. He loved “Mickey” as in Mantle. When I corrected him he practically spit out the name “Mackey” and realized he had picked a guy who never would hit for power.
IN NEED OF REST
I am playing a replay of the 2012 season. I am using the bullpen logic. In one game my long relief pitcher came in and pitched 3 innings. In reality he should sit for 2 or 3 days. The next game he came in and pitched 4 more innings which is totally unrealistic. I thought Super Hal was supposed to control the pitcher usage better. Is there something I can change to make this more realistic, because it seems like the top pitcher on the list is the only one that comes in. I have played about 10 games so far and there are 3 or 4 pitchers that have not pitched yet. I hope something can be done to fix this.
Harold Rodgard, Saint Clair Shores, MI
Rules 27.64 and 27.65 govern reliever rest.
27.64 Relief pitchers cannot be used more than two straight days. After pitching two straight days, he must rest at least one day.
27.65 If a reliever pitches 2 or more innings above his relief fatigue rating then he must rest one day before his next appearance. If he pitches 3 or more innings above his relief rating then he must rest two days before his next appearance. If a relief pitcher is used without this proper amount of rest, consider him fatigued for the entire outing.
Based on what you reported, your long reliever did not exceed the limits of 27.65 in his first appearance. Many leagues have more restrictive reliever-rest rules than this. A good one says that if a pitcher throws three innings over two consecutive days, rest him one. Rest him more if he pitches more. Even using the computer manager, you could adopt such rules, too, by inactivating such a pitcher for as long as you think suitable after his first appearance of 3+ innings.
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