Help "reading" the cards for new mystery game managers

The number you are referring to as the "column number" is the pitch count for that at bat. If you add all those numbers up for each pitcher it will equal that pitcher's PC number for the game. IF it was the column number it would take a lot of the "mystery" out of the Mystery game! [/quote]

Plus most of the results would make no sense. I'm amazed that people ask questions or ask for advice then totally ignore what you post. Of course it's pitch count.

The number you are referring to as the "column number" is the pitch count for that at bat. If you add all those numbers up for each pitcher it will equal that pitcher's PC number for the game. IF it was the column number it would take a lot of the "mystery" out of the Mystery game!

I was wondering how everyone knew it was pitch count. I knew it wasn't the column number but didn't know what it was until people here were saying pitch count. I just couldn't figure out how you knew it was pitch count.

A different question - when do you give up on guys? I have had relatively few injuries (just knocked on my desk) and using HBP and HR on a 'W' power card I have ruled out two or three years on a few cards but haven't found out what any card is for sure yet. My first mystery league and we are only 40 games in so I don't want to drop a good card that I just can't decipher yet. We have had one guy make 15 moves already and one drop was the '80 Schmidt who was just under performing for 90 at bats (someone else picked him up before I could and is pretty sure it is the '80 card). I don't want to be that guy.

A different question - when do you give up on guys?

I will not give up on a guy until I can point to something I believe definitively proves he's in his worst or an otherwise unusable year, whether is lopsided walks, strikeouts, doubles, being HBP, the length of an injury, HRs or no HRs, being pinch hit for, having a left or right handed pitcher consistently brought in to face him, having the guy in front of him intentionally walked, an inordinate amount of pop outs (yes I have counted those) or something that makes me confident I'm making an informed decision when I cut him. If he's an expensive draft pick I'll make extra sure. This game rewards patience if only because no one else around you has any, and the 5k - 10k roster payroll advantage you'll wind up with over half your opponents in the second half of the season pays off.

Great stuff. Thanks all.

In play-by-play column where dice rolls show in all the other games, Mystery Game has a number between 1-7. Anyone know what that number represents?

In play-by-play column where dice rolls show in all the other games, Mystery Game has a number between 1-7. Anyone know what that number represents?

pitch count for that batter

Hal pinch hit Kiko Garcia for Tony Olivo against a left handed pitcher in the 9th inning of a close game. Olivo at this point is hitting ok (.333 obp; .432 slg) against left handed pitching (only 44 at bats against lhp), but he has two years (5r and 4r) in which his batting against left handed pitching is poor. Garcia has two years in which his obp against left handed pitching is better than Oliva's.
Can I assume from this that Hal pinch hit because he knows the relevant years and acted accordingly? If so, I might lower Oliva in the batting order against LHP or platoon him in some circumstances.

HAL does know the card that's being used and probably would act appropriately but you need to know if the pitcher has been really tough on left hand hitters, were there runners in scoring position with 2 outs, the park that the game is played in etc. to make a decision on the cards. In Royals or the Astrodome with two out and runners in scoring position HAL might pinch hit with Garcia's 81 card vs. 3 of Oliva's cards especially if the left-handed pitcher is tougher vs. left-handed hitters. Maybe even 1971 but I doubt it because of the natural HR mark.

HAL does know the card that's being used and probably would act appropriately but you need to know if the pitcher has been really tough on left hand hitters, were there runners in scoring position with 2 outs, the park that the game is played in etc. to make a decision on the cards. In Royals or the Astrodome with two out and runners in scoring position HAL might pinch hit with Garcia's 81 card vs. 3 of Oliva's cards especially if the left-handed pitcher is tougher vs. left-handed hitters. Maybe even 1971 but I doubt it because of the natural HR mark.

Here's an extreme example: I'm in an 80s Mystery League. With Mitch Williams (L) on the mound, HAL pinch-hits for Ken Singleton (S) with Pat Sheridan (L).

Now, Sheridan is my back-of-the-bench 5th outfielder, and absolutely putrid against left-handed pitching on 4 of his 5 cards. He's so-so against lefties on the 5th. Singleton I'm sure needs no introduction, but he is somewhat weak against lefties on two of his five cards.

Mitch, of course, is tougher against lefties than righties, and Sheridan is a lefty. Singleton, as a switch-hitter, obviously would have faced him as a righty, but would have used the vs. L half of his card.

From this result, it seems like I can confirm both that I have the only good Sheridan card and one of the two bad Singleton cards. The only other conclusion is that HAL is really bad at this game. Thoughts?

I'm totally new to this so I'm likely missing something. However, when setting your Hitter Preferences, it lists the hitter's balance. Can't that be a key indicator to which card you have? For a good portion of my roster, I can quickly limit the cards that aren't in use if I match the "Bal." listed in Hitter Preferences to each of the five cards?

Gotta be too easy, right?