Questions about my team

[JudgeDredd]

Three questions about my team

In my game, I have 9 pitchers and 16 hitters

1. What is a good balance to have?
2. My pitchers do get tired...do I need to rest them regularly or will having them play maybe half the innings per game help?
3. Should a pitcher be able to play a full game and should I let them whether they can or not?

[Bustoff]

Judge, there's no set answers to your questions. As the GM, you'll have to decide what's best for your team. That said, I think 9 pitchers is ok. I run with 10 pitchers--5 starters, 4 relievers, and one closer. If you're not using a closer or running with a 4-man rotation, 9 is ok. I like a 5-man rotation because it offers one more day of rest between starts.
And yes, pitchers do get tired. Your starters ought to be able to go 6-9 innings depending on their endurance...I prefer starters with endurance of 75+, anything less is a reliever unless my pitching staff is riddled with injuries. You'll have to watch them while you are simming. How many pitches have they thrown? How fast is their fast ball compared to what it was in the first inning? Are they starting to walk some batters and give up 3-4 consecutive hits? If so, it may be time to yank them. But perhaps not. You may want to tell them, "You pitched your way into this mess, you can bloody well pitch your way out of it." and leave them in until the inning is over at least. Sometimes you can get burned doing this but hey, it's only a game. [:)]
The "half game" strategy you suggest won't help the fatigue situation IMO. Remember, you only have 9 pitchers. If Joe Bagodonuts pitches the first 4 innings and Ricky "Babaloo" Ricardo pitches the next 4 or 5, you'll have two pitchers who are somewhat tired and may have to pitch again in 1-3 days instead of one who is worn out and gets to rest 3-4 days. I see this as a wash. Your team is going to play x number of innings per season regardless of who pitches.
One of the great things about baseball is the "uncertainty factor." What works great for one manager may not work so well for another...and sometimes you just don't know if you're doing the right thing.
Ya just gotta do what you think will enable your team to win games, and adjust your strategy as needed.

[RedArgo]

I'm playing with current players and my manager on patient hook and I feel like I have to carry 11 pitchers to keep from wearing them down. In three seasons my team only has 7 or 8 complete games and 6 of those were shutouts.

I think this is realistic though, when I was a kid in the '80s there were lots of complete games and it seems like teams mostly carried 10 pitchers, but now complete games are much more rare so there is a need for more relievers.

Bill

[Taz0713]

I personally carry a minimum of 11 pitchers on my staff (5 starters, 5 relievers and 1 closer).  It has been my experience that anything less for me and I don't have pitchers available who aren't already worn out.  Even with an 11 man staff I have had some troubles in keeping my relievers rested, especially when my starters are slumping at the same time.
 
With that being said, if my schedule allows for a decent number of off days I might be willing to carry one less reliever.

[Frozen Stiffer]

I do the same as Taz; 11 pitchers minimum. Only once did I run for a while at 10 pitchers but that was because I was having a lot of injuries among my position players and I wanted to be sure that I would have at least 1 replacement-per-position. Otherwise, it's either 11 or 12 pitchers; the same setup as Taz with the 12th being usually a setup man.

[Bustoff]

Wow-I thought 10 was a bit extravagant! I do tend to have days when my relievers are all tired...maybe I will try 11 and see how it goes.