Starting a Fictional League

[Taz0713]

Hey guys I need some help in starting a fictional league. I have never really done this before and I am having a little trouble getting this started the way I want. Here are the questions/issues that I am having and I would appreciate any help. I am trying to see if I can enjoy a fictional league, as I would like to try something new.

I am trying to start a 1 league, 12 teams with 3 divisions. I am going to allow for expansion at some point, but I wanted to start some what small. I want to place the teams in the particular cities, so I am trying to start with PureSim Classic. Once I have the teams where I want them it is time for the draft.


1. If I want the CPU to auto complete the draft, should I wait to take over a team after the draft or can I select the team prior to the draft. I want to start as a manager then move into a GM roll?

2. With this set up how will the playoffs work? (Three division winners + One Wild Card)?

3. If I initially set up a 120 game schedule, will I be able to increase the number of games once we add teams to the league?

I am really struggling with number 1 above right now. I have tried to pick a team prior to the draft and having the AI auto run the draft for me. The problem I am having is that my pitching staff does not have enough starters and way too many closers. As I stated above, I would really perfer to have a team with players before I take over. I am also open to any suggestions about the best way to get this started.

[Frozen Stiffer]

Hello, Taz!

I've accumulated substantial experience with fictional associations since that's my bread and butter. I hope that some of the info I can share will be of help:

1. You don't have to let the AI run the team, you can run the team from the very beginning. Where you do have to intervene is at the draft. First have it Run Until My Pick. Then, when your Sign Player screen comes up, hit the AUTO COMPLETE DRAFT button. Here you would select what philosophy the AI will draft for you. You can put something together and sit back- it will take care of everything else for you. If you don't want to bother being all THAT specific, I'd suggest leaving it on 'Neutral Strategy' and then select the 'For the Rest of the Draft' option from the second drop-down menu.

2. Yes, the playoffs will work. It will boil down to the 3 division winners and the Wild Card, then the two winners of that series will go up against one another in a World Series. I had inquired about something similar in the past and Shaun said there would always be a World Series, no matter what association config.

3. This I cannot comment as I have never tinkered with the duration of the season. As I do not recall ever seing the option to make a change here I would suspect that you cannot adjust it later. Then again, I see in the OPTIONS AND UTILITIES screen, the Association Settings tab and the General Options tab have buttons to import schedules. I don't know if you could import a larger schedule and have the game accept that and use it as the new, larger schedule.

[Taz0713]

Hi Frozen,

Thanks for the tips.  Now comes the stupid question part.

In setting up the AI controlled draft (personal preference I know), but do you go with Pitching or Offense?  Youth or Veterans?  I know that I saw this discussion in your thread regarding is it time to blow it up.  How many rounds until you swith philsophies?

By the way, I am hoping to use this new league as a distraction from the number crunching at work. It will help break up the day. [:D]

[Frozen Stiffer]

I feel your pain, my friend. I have this game on my home desktop, home laptop and work PC. I am never a few clicks away from Puresim. It is my drug and I eagerly, openly embrace it.

Now, with all the zealot talk aside...

I've started two fictional associations and drafted the initial rosters in two completely different ways. Not surprisingly, the teams performance and success history have been entirely opposite. We're not talking apples and oranges, I'm talking apples and tires. WAY different.

Fictional Association 1
Draft Strategy: Neutral, let the scout decide.
Historical Impact: In the sixth season, we have yet to win a pennant or even finish higher than 6th overall. Just recently we actually had a winning record for the first time in team hisory.
Reference: This is the team/association I was chatting about in the Rebuilding thread.

Fictional Association 2
Draft Strategy: Detailed. Manually drafted player-by-player.
Historical Impact: Going into our 15th season, we have established a Dynasty that only now is beginning to show some faint signs of weakness. We are a formidable team that has yet to fail reaching the playoffs.
Reference: This is the team/association I have a blog about in the Locker section.

Trust me, do it yourself. It will take longer and take work, but it's worth it. In the successful team, I focused on strong pitching the first 3 rounds, then a contact itter, then a power hitter, then pitching for another 5 rounds, then fielding for a few, then mixed hitting from there on. This ensured a good rotation and a good-to-decent bullpen. However, picking a good hitter "early" on, ensured that we would not struggle in offense. This worked for me, it may or may not appeal to you.

KG's words in my Rebuilding thread really sunk deep. I cannot stress the value of starting pitching enough. It is very true that Puresim weighs pitching heavily; you can win with mediocre hitting, you cannot win with mediocre pitching.

The only 'downside' is that after a successful season, you get the last choice of up and coming potential rookies. Because of this, building for the future is a challenge. You need to really take notes and follow along with the progress of young hopefuls (even if they sign with another team). Be prepared to consider TRADING as a viable option to acquire these young phenomenons, since the loss of top-pick status comes with winning.

Oh... and it's not a stupid question.

[:)]

[Taz0713]

Well I decided to test a couple of AI drafts to see how the results would come out.
 
I tried twice where I selected a team and set the draft logic to neutral.  Both times the team was strong in hitting, but lacked the starting pitching.  In both draft runs I had only three starters selected with the majority of the draft being relievers and closers.  It appeared that this was the only team that drafted this way.
 
I tried twice with out selecting a team and letting the draft run through.  Both times the team I was going to take drafted much better and with a better balance.  The team I plan on taking has most of the major league roster between the ages of 24-31.  It appears to be a decent balance between youngsters and veterans.
 
Since I really wanted to just take over a team I went ahead and selected the team from above.  I just have to finish giving the teams their actual nicknames, logos and stadiums and I am hoping to be off an running.
 
Once again thanks for the help.

[Frozen Stiffer]

Anytime, Taz.

If anything else comes up, drop me a line.

[Taz0713]

Well, I have finally finished the set up of my new fictional league.  I just hope that I did it correctly.  [8D]
 
I decided to take the local team (Portland) who based on the Pre Season Power Rankings is fifth.  The great thing now is that we start our season off in Hawaii against the Surfdawgs.  I must be spoiled from Spring Training to Hawaii.  It is sure is nice to get away from the Oregon rain.  (I have to dream at some point [:D] ).

Thanks again.