How To Play MLB Showdown

Line Ups and Etiquette 

How To Play MLB Showdown

Tired Pitchers and Relievers

MLB Showdown 2012: Catchers Over 300

Yadier Molina	2012	10	390	B(16)	9	R	20	0	18-19	17	10-16	7-9	3-6	1-2	0
Carlos Ruiz	2012	10	370	C(9)	6	R	20	0	16-19	0	7-15	4-6	2-3	1	0
Miguel Montero	2012	10	340	C(12)	8	L	20	0	18-19	0	13-17	5-12	4	0	1-3
AJ Ellis	2012	10	330	C(11)	6	R	20	0	18-19	0	13-17	7-12	5-6	3-4	1-2
Jonathan Lucroy	2012	9	380	B(14)	4	R	19-20	18	16-17	0	8-15	4-7	3	1-2	0
John Jaso	2012	9	320	A(18)	4	L	20	0	17-19	0	11-16	4-10	3	2	1

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Substitutions Pinch Running Pinch Hitting and Defensive Replacements

#ShotsFriday

                Time for me to define my terms for everyone since we use a little bit of custom vocabulary around the blog. The first terms we are going to define is the first player I always advice in our positional break downs. The “power hitter” or “power player” are terms we throw about the most but what is the real meaning of it? What about the other vocab we use when describing hitters.

                Of all the terms and player types we use I feel this is the easiest to understand. That may be because this is my favorite play style. The manager who plays a power team has 1 primary goal. That is to lead the league in home runs. Every other goal is a sub goal. Winning is not enough for this player. A 2-2 series tie with 8 homers is a won series. A 1-3 series loss with 10 homers is a tied series (12 homers may be considered a win). These players believe style points matter. A solo homer by an 8, 17-20 HR player is worth more than a BB, steal, bunt, out (fb) sequence. As far as pitching goes… survival. The question is “how are we getting 9 innings”?

                Elite Power: When determining how Power Managers select Power Players here is our official terminology (which we will attempt to remain consistent on) We have “Elite Power” which currently in the Showdown world there are only 5 players in this club Mark McGwire 00/01(10/10), Sammy Sosa 00(8), Barry Bonds 01(10) and Jose Bautista 10(9). This is defined as a 10, 16-20 HR or trading 1 on base for 1 extra homer. Bautista is a 9, 15-20 HR and Sosa is an 8, 14-20 HR. In theory an 11, 17-20 HR or 7, 13-20 HR would both qualify but no such player exists currently. Oddly enough these guys actually play well together. Sosa at 480 points and the McGwires as 570 and 580 are not much more than the average middle of an order.

                Great Power: The next tier we have is the “Great Power” players. These guys are the 10, 17-20 HR players. My favorite type of players and the ones I am drawn to the most are the 9, 16-20 HR players. Some of the notable members of this tier are Sammy Sosa 01 (9), Larry Walker 00 (10), Brian Giles (10), Jason Giambi 01 (11), Carlos Delgado (11), Barry Bonds 00 (9), Alex Rodriguez 00,01P (8,10) Jose Bautista 11 (11) and the famous Jeffery Hammonds 00 (9…ish). The question with these guys is what else do you want but power? Bond 00, Rodriguez 00 and Braun 12 (10) are all speed A. Positions are still limited as 2B and C don’t even have these players available (but Bautista 10 plays 3B as an Elite Power). These guys tend to be nearly as expensive as the Elite Players but are also a hair more well-rounded. I am not saying the Elite Power guys are better players but these guys cost roughly the same and hit less home runs.

                Good Power: The “Good Power” players are found in most line-ups and are even more diverse than the previous two. 10, 18-20 players and equivalent are in even the thinnest sets, last year’s 2011 set had only 1 great power player so teams had to supplement with a slew of Good Power players. That is a long fall from the original 00/01 sets that have plenty of players in the above slots. 09 and 10 had fewer options in the previous 2 tiers but had a good mix. Last year this tier was as good as it got for all but 1 team. 2012 offers a few more Great Power than 2011 but this tier is a bit thinner. In multi-year drafts however expect to see a lot of these players in the 6-7 spots in lines and potentially the 2 hole.

                Power: Regular old “Power” players are nothing really to write home about but they have value. A 10, 19-20 is pretty darn average but some of the lower levels actually have chance for cheap homers. 8, 17-20 players usually are in the 300 and change point range. The higher on-base guys are tweeners to me. They will hit homers but you pay for them to do other things as well… like get on base. That is no small thing but I am a Power Player. That isn’t what I want. I want round trippers. I spent under 700 points for Ryan Howard and Giancarlo Stanton last year both 8, 17-20 players. Both had multi-homer games for me. That is what this strategy is about…ringing out every homer through a line-up as possible.  

	Line Up	Rotation	Bullpen	Bench	Total
(4)Rays	2,090	1,640	540	60	4,330
(13) Padres	1,290	1,050	560	44	2,944

               Predictions: Rays have a sizeable almost 1,400 point advantage. The 800 point line up advantage is probably plenty enough to secure a win in this series. The almost 500 point advantage in starting rotation comes down to maybe the most interesting matchup in the series. James Shields faces his perfect lineup (no not cheap) a lineup full of walks and few homers. With his big K he could really strand the Padres. This could be a classic case where the Rays may want to try and use someone other than Shields to win the series to save him. I predict Rays in 5.

	Line up	Rotation	Bullpen	Bench	Total
(5)Red Sox	2,480	1,130	640	104	4,354
(12)Royals	1,440	1,040	460	72	3,012

               This is a 1,300 point difference and if all goes to plan for the Red Sox a sweep and worst case scenario 4-1 win. The Red Sox have five 10’s (Ortiz has to come off the bench) compared to the Royal’s lone 10 (Alex Gordon). The Royal’s may get lucky and steal some runs with the bottom of the line-up. Beckett and Lester have a chance to be 2-0 going into their next series while Royals plan is to win games 3/6 and hope to steal 2 others. The Red Sox may toss their bullpen out the window in order to start Aceves their reliever. The hope the Royals have 1 major thing going for them: the 2011 Red Sox have chocked before…not sure how Showdown produces that.

Time Machine Catchers

Joe Mauer 09- First 11 On-base not to have 1B eligibility? Easy question now with the into but it is none other than Joe Mauer. In 2009 there were 4 eligible 11 OB players (Giambi 01, Delgado 01, Pujols 09) and only Mauer played a position other than 1B. That meant if you really did want to have more than 1 you needed to have Mauer. He would sport a 19-20 HR, 17-18 2B, 9-16 1B with speed B(14) +5 arm all for 570 points. He clubbed 28 homers and 30 triples that year while winning the batting title as a catcher with a .365 average. With more and more players being added to the mix he has lost some luster but he still is in the elite offensive catcher class.

How To Play MLB Showdown

Defense Scores and Uses

MLB Showdown 2012: Catchers Below 290

Ryan Hanigan 2012 9 230 C(12) 9 R 0 0 19-20 0 10-18 5-9 4 1-3 0 Alex Avila 2012 8 240 B(15) 6 L 20 19 17-18 0 10-16 3-9 0 0 1 2 George Kottaras 2012 8 240 C(12) 3 L 18-20 0 16-17 0 11-15 3-10 2 0 1 Matt Wieters 2012 8 240 B(14) 7 S 18-20 0 15-17 0 9-14 4-8 3 0 1-2 Jason Castro 2012 8 230 B(14) 3 R 20 19 16-18 0 10-15 5-9 3-4 1-2 0 Chris Ianetta 2012 8 220 B(14) 5 R 19-20 0 18 0 12-17 7-11 5 6 3 4 1 2 Lou Marson 2012 8 160 B(16) 2 R 0 20 18-19 0 11-17 4-10 0 2 3 1 Gerald Laird 2012 8 100 C(9) 2 R 0 0 19-20 0 9-18 6-8 4 5 2 3 1 Jose Lobaton 2012 7 40 C(11) 3 S 0 0 17-20 0 11-16 6-10 5 4 1 3 AJ Pierzynski 2012 7 250 B(14) 5 L 18-20 17 15-16 0 8-14 5-7 3 4 2 1 Salvador Perez 2012 7 240 B(13) 8 R 18-20 0 15-17 0 6-14 4-5 2 3 1 0 Rob Brantly 2012 7 220 B(14) 3 L 19-20 0 15-18 0 9-14 3-8 2 1 0 David Ross 2012 7 200 C(12) 8 R 18-20 0 16-17 0 10-15 7-9 6 0 1 5 Michael McKenry 2012 7 200 C(9) 3 R 18-20 0 15-17 0 13-14 7-12 6 0 1-5 Martin Maldonado 2012 7 170 C(12) 6 R 19-20 0 17-18 0 9-16 7-8 5-6 3-4 1-2 Kurt Suzuki 2012 7 160 B(14) 6 R 20 0 17-19 0 9-16 7-8 4-6 2-3 1 Wellington Castillo 2012 7 160 C(10) 5 R 19-20 0 16-18 0 7-15 3-6 0 0 1-2 John Baker 2012 6 30 C(12) 3 L 0 0 18-20 0 12-17 6-11 5 2-4 1 Wilin Rosario 2012 6 230 B(14) 6 R 15-20 0 12-14 0 7-11 5-6 4 0 1-3 Erik Kratz 2012 6 220 C(10) 9 R 16-20 0 13-15 0 9-12 6-8 3-5 2 1 Kelly Shoppach 2012 6 180 C(9) 6 R 18-20 17 14-16 0 9-13 6-8 0 0 1-5 Russell Martin 2012 6 170 C(10) 4 R 18-20 0 15-17 0  10-14 5-9 2 4 0 1 Brian McCann 2012 6 160 C(10) 4 L 18-20 0 16-17 0 10-15 7-9 4 6 3  1 2 Tyler Flowers 2012 5 80 B(14) 6 R 16-20 0 13-15 0 9-12 4-8 0 0 1 3 Henry Blanco 2012 5 70 C(8) 10 R 19-20 0 17-18 0 11-16 7-10 0 0 1-6 Josh Harrison 2012 5 70 A(21) 9 R 0 19-20 18 17 10-16 7-9 3-6 1-2 0 John Buck 2012 5 70 B(13) 5 R 19-20 0 16-18 0 11-15 4-10 3 0 1 2 Rod Barajas 2012 5 70 C(8) 1 R 18-20 0 16-17 0 11-15 6-10 4-5 0 1-3 Jose Molina 2012 5 50 C(8) 7 R 19-20 0 17-18 0 10-16 6-9 5 3 4 1 2 Geovany Soto 2012 5 50 C(10) 4 R 19-20 0 17-18  0 11-16 7-10 5 6 4 1 3 Chris Snyder 2012 5 50 C(9) 4 R 19-20 0 17-18 0 11-16 4-10 0 3 1-2 Jesus Montero 2012 5 50 C(12) 3 R 19-20 0 17-18 0  7-16 4-6 3 2 1 Jeff Mathis 2012 5 50 B(15) 8 R 20 0 18-19 0 10-17 6-9 3-5 2 1 Nick Hundley 2012 5 30 C(11) 6 R 20 0 18-19 0 13-17 8-12 7 3-6 1-2 Bobby Wilson 2012 5 30 C(10) 5 R 20 0 18-19 0 11-17 7-10 6 4 5 1 3 Hector Sanchez 2012 5 30 C(10) 4 S 20 0 17-19 0 4-16 0 3 0 1-2 Jesus Flores 2012 5 30 C(11) 3 R 20 0 17-19 0 9-16 7-8 4 6 2 3 1 Jarrod Saltalamacchia 2012 5 130 C(12) 3 S 15-20 0 13-14 0 7-12 4-6 0 0 1 3 JP Arenciba 2012 5 100 B(13) 5 R 16-20 0 13-15 0 9-12 7-8 5 6 0 1 4 Devin Mesoraco 2012 5 100 B(14) 4 R 18-20 0 15-17 0 10-14 5-9 3-4 1-2 0 Miguel Olivo 2012 5 100 C(9) 6 R 17-20 0 15-16 0 8-14 6-7 4-5 0 1-3 Chris Stewart 2012 5 10 C(12) 4 R 0 0 17-20 0 10-16 6-9 3 5 1 2 0 Brayan Pena 2012 5 10 C(11) 4 R 0 0 18-20 0 10-17 7-9 4 6 1 3 0 Josh Thole 2012 5 10 C(10) 4 L 0 0 18-20 0 9-17 5-8 4 1-3 0 Steve Clevenger 2012 5 10 C(10) 2 L 0 0 18-20 0 11-17 7-10 6 2-5 1

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#ShotsFriday

                Here is a strategy many people would like for me to define. The “Pingers” is a term that I actually stole from my days in Magic the Gathering… the card game nerds understand me here my jock readers judge me. The term is used in that game basically to describe a card that repeatedly does the smallest amount of damage but can perpetually do this act throughout the game. The point is that these cards inflict a series of small damage to hopefully add up to enough to win.

Thus the MLB Showdown version of the Pinger looks very much like a series of near identical players. Due to the 5,000 point cap many players operate using roughly 2,000 or so points per batter. This in an NL line-up yields a 250 point average per play. 250 points usually buys you a 9, speed B, 20 HR, 18-19 2B player. There are slight variations depending on position and such but that would be my definition of a Pinger type player. Pingers hate speed C players since speed B players don’t steal and their players have few extra-base hits. This means double-plays are killer and take away chances to fight probability with attempts. For whatever reason these players cannot stand the idea of a player not having a homer. Since 10 on-base, 20 HR, speed B players run roughly 350 points that is too much to have a truly homogeneous line-up. They also have this irrational fear of 8 on base and below assuming they never get the advantage. They will use them more than Money Ball players (which we will discuss next week). The theory here is anyone in the line-up could be the star on any night. We will peak at some variations of Pinger players.

The lead-off hitter can sometimes be slightly different than the rest of the line-up. This may be the traditional 10, speed A, no homer that many players covet. The problem here is those players are 300+ points and really put the pressure on the 3-4 hitters. That means more points need to be spent on the 3-4 hitters to be successful. That throws all the averages off and the theory falls apart. The solution? 9, speed A no homer. Trading a speed for a homer is not uncommon since the points come out to about a wash. This appeals to the conventional wisdom of having a highish on-base with high speed at the top and stays in the 250 ish point range. These lead-off hitters are going to be out produced by lead-off hitters in a less homogenously distributed point line-up.

2 hitters are likely the most proto-type Pinger player in the line-up, 3-4 hitters are where these guys can distort their line-up. You won’t see a 500 pointer in a true Pinger line-up but you may see a low 400 pointer as a 3 and a high 300 pointer as a 4. In my experience this is a 10, 19-20 HR speed B as the 3 and a 9, 18-20 speed B as a 4. Scary? Not at all compared to other people paying +1,000 points on those spots. Pure Pingers may spend as low as 700 points for these spots and attack you with pure depth. Depth is hard to counter with enough rolls.

5-6-7 hitters may look like triplets here. The 7 hitter for some Pingers is the tell on how dedicated they are to the theory. A 9 or 8 speed C with 19-20 or 18-20 HR may show up here as a type of book end. This is almost entirely dependent on who is coming up last. Assuming an NL line-up the 8 hitter is usually a punt for almost every line-up… except true Pingers. True Pingers are going to save 100 points in their 3-4 hitters to spend 100 on their 8 hitter. This guy may take the 50 points must of us budget for the 8 hole and beef it to 150 or more. An 8 19-20 or 9 who can’t homer may be lurking near the pitcher. This gets tough because thin bullpens late in games don’t have spots for easy 0’s. Don’t be shocked if you see pitchers batting 8 and an 8, speed B, 20 HR in the 9 hole.