2012 Offseason 4 Complete - Next SIM Thursday 08/20

[Pat]

No it's a combination of several factors. It's like Ben was at FOF. When you game the game in multiple areas you get an advantage. Team options to sign FA's and keep what you had cheap was probably the biggest...you were the originator. After we killed that it took you a while to get back in the swing of things. Or little things...like putting your scouting and development to $0 so you can sign FA's and extend players...then build it back up. Legal...yes...but it's gaming the game. If there is a way to find the slightest advantage you find it...and over time those advantages build up.

Do I care...no. I don't want to win anymore because it's bad for the commish to win. Do I watch you like a hawk though...yes.

Ugh. That's rough.

Ben was a big factor in my OSFL departure. His ability to find gems in the draft based on factors that don't make sense, etc. He killed my enjoyment.

If I'm on that level, maybe I should step down.

[mike]

Ugh. That's rough.

Ben was a big factor in my OSFL departure. His ability to find gems in the draft based on factors that don't make sense, etc. He killed my enjoyment.

If I'm on that level, maybe I should step down.

You can't step down, who will tell us what to do?

[Spear]

You can't step down, who will tell us what to do?

We can always bring back Clay....

If the BLB was the WWE, he'd come back right about now and take over as GM of Windy City.

[fsquid]

I'm very curious to know what the standard behavior is across the league for the scouting and player development budgets. I've never had a feel for what most general managers do with those funds.

Mine are a bit below average because I have a win now team. 5 seasons ago I was putting 15 mil in both.

[Pat]

Lowest I've gone for scouting I think is $500,000 or $1,000,000. Having '0' is bush league - bring this to vote!

Now that I'm rebuilding, I've jacked up both.

I'm at the lowest I've been for a season.

$1m scouting, $3m PD.

[BDub]

I'm very curious to know what the standard behavior is across the league for the scouting and player development budgets. I've never had a feel for what most general managers do with those funds.

I've actually wondered this as well. I've seen people say that it has a very little affect on things and might not even be worth dumping a lot of money into.

[Pat]

I've actually wondered this as well. I've seen people say that it has a very little affect on things and might not even be worth dumping a lot of money into.

If you consider yourself a "contender," I wouldn't dump more than $10m in both combined... Tops.

[BDub]

Newborns don't count as part of the family yet.

I'll earn my keep around here one day.

[Carlos]

It's impossible to know because who knows if Player A was ever going to progress anyway? I can dump $20 mm into development (I've done that before) and say, "Awesome, my little known Round 10 pitcher is in the big leagues. Is he great? No. But he somehow beat the odds."

But maybe I just drafted a guy that should have been drafted sooner. Maybe the guy was always going to be AAAA fodder no matter the budget.

What many do agree with is development budget won't make a crappy player into a great one. Many on the big boards seem to believe that it can help players develop faster. The understanding is that Markus didn't want it to be a cheat (which is super fair), but wanted a way for teams with extra cash (you know because we end up losing it at the end of the year if there's a cash max. And we have a cash max) to spend it in a place that could provide a little bump in talent progression.

Just don't have yourself believe it's much. When my payroll was miniscule because I had pre-arby guys in my lineup, it made sense. Why lose the money to my owner when I can see if maybe it helps a guy or two develop faster or somewhat better? Maybe that 10th round pitcher becomes a AAAA guy because of it. Hard to quantify. But I rather believe it did that for him than know my boss went to the fish market with the cash.

[Z]

What many do agree with is development budget won't make a crappy player into a great one. Many on the big boards seem to believe that it can help players develop faster. The understanding is that Markus didn't want it to be a cheat (which is super fair), but wanted a way for teams with extra cash (you know because we end up losing it at the end of the year if there's a cash max. And we have a cash max) to spend it in a place that could provide a little bump in talent progression.

I read similar things on the OOTP boards.

According to the game, the "baseline" expenditures are $7.5 million for scouting and $10 million for player development.

I struggle to understand what it means by baseline, a word which literally means minimum or starting point. Intuitively I feel like spending 25% of the minimum should hurt you a lot.

Given the combined baseline of $17.5 million, how much does a contender hurt themselves by allocating, say, a total of $4 million, well short of the baseline?

I feel nervous falling well short of the recommended baseline while also feeling fearful that other teams like Pawtucket or Pittsburgh may be spending an extra $10 million on their big league payroll instead without suffering any harmful effects from woefully underinvesting in scouting and player development.

[Carlos]

I thought the baseline was determined by the settings. And it's a way for the game to know that if you're over budget, you are cut in half of that mark. Why not just set what that mark is? I don't know. Markus does things.

Yes, I've seen it too as the 1.00 in the formula. Anything over is a bump. Anything down is not. But the mystery does remain: if $10 MM is the line, does $7.5 MM offer any difference from $2.5 MM? And if not, why not just go with $0 if you're under $10 MM?

How much more does $20 MM provide than $12 MM? It's a great mystery.

But I guess you could ask the Yankees and the Twins that same question. Does spending $20 MM on player development offer a discernible difference from spending $10 MM?

[Sharkn20]

Interesting discussion. I made myself the same question since I started this game...

In my SP league I managed to be a contender during 10 straight years reaching the play offs with some decent play off runs and a championship. I set my budget 3 times over the midline and nearly all the years I find myself taking my players from the minors syepping up into the big leagues rather than expend in free agency.

Of course I always have the budget to take one or two big fishes out there to finish my team but when my players get the 30s I have one younger ready to step up and didn't need to extend the veterans in impossible to deal with contracts...

Just my 2 cents, in brief, 3 times over the baseline in both departments and all the years I have players from the minors ready to step into the big leagues and still growing. . Constantly I have Top 5 Development team.

However, I did never try to lower the budgets though as it works in that way and i have a lot fun :)

[mike]

I read similar things on the OOTP boards.

According to the game, the "baseline" expenditures are $7.5 million for scouting and $10 million for player development.

I struggle to understand what it means by baseline, a word which literally means minimum or starting point. Intuitively I feel like spending 25% of the minimum should hurt you a lot.

Given the combined baseline of $17.5 million, how much does a contender hurt themselves by allocating, say, a total of $4 million, well short of the baseline?

I feel nervous falling well short of the recommended baseline while also feeling fearful that other teams like Pawtucket or Pittsburgh may be spending an extra $10 million on their big league payroll instead without suffering any harmful effects from woefully underinvesting in scouting and player development.

I actually make sure I spend above the baseline for those two categories. At the beginning of the season my player payroll is usually around 85-90 and that allows me to use profit from the season to add to payroll during the season as needed. Not sure if it helps but to this point (knock on wood) our scouting has been successful on some players and our players and prospects that we've acquired via trade or draft have developed properly to this point.

[umd]

Just a note to the new guys, don't invest heavily in budget if you're in the red. There's a significant penalty. You're better holding onto the money as profit until you can get back to turning a profit.

[Sharkn20]

Just a note to the new guys, don't invest heavily in budget if you're in the red. There's a significant penalty. You're better holding onto the money as profit until you can get back to turning a profit.

Yeah itīs what I did, this year I am investing only Baseline money as the last year we were into half investment...