Houston Astros - cannot succeed

[dking023]

Silly question here...are the Sports Mogul people against the Houston Astros? I have played previous editions of Baseball Mogul and found the performance of all teams fairly equal and the skills of the players to be fairly accurate.

After purchasing Baseball Mogul 2009, I have played 3 times (all with the Astros) and found the skills of Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman very poor! Over the 9 full seasons that I have completed, Roy Oswalt is averaging 9 wins and 13 losses per season with an average ERA of over 5!!! Lance Berkman over that same period is averaging under .250, 22 HR, 82 RBI, and has had FOUR season ending injuries!!!!!!!!!!! In the nine seasons the highest finish I have had is 3rd in the NL Central which was barely over .500. Most of the time I get between 65-75 wins.

I really am having difficulty enjoying this game, since I have no chance of getting to the postseason. I am always working on improving the team, bringing in good talent, but I am beaten WAY TOO OFTEN by really bad opposing talent. Pitchers with overall stats of 70 or less still outpitch my guys in the 80s or 90s ALL THE TIME. I understand this is baseball and anyone can win on any given day, but seriously I am so frustrated!

I don't want a game that it is too easy to win, but geez!!!! Anyone got any hints or advice?????

[HoustonGM]

Silly question here...are the Sports Mogul people against the Houston Astros?
No...

[KowboyKoop]

Well, Oswalt is 3-3 with a 5.57 ERA so far this year......

I'm sure the game isn't biased. Just keep trying.

[Rongar]

Dking...a way to win ...try playing Houston in "Play-by-play" mode. If you go the "Manager" route, you will, at least, be able to relieve your pitchers, when tired, and/or insert hitters to replace the ineffectives.

For a stone-bonker winning certainty eventually, though, give the "Player" mode a try.(At Fan difficulty, level, at first) Once you get the hang of making each pitch, and at bat, yourself, you'll find that your favourites perform much better.

When I started playing this game, by mostly using "Player" mode, I took the woeful 1977 Blue Jays to the World Series Championship that year.

True, "Player" mode is slow - 45mins-1 hour per game, until one gets more proficient at it - and lotsa people decry it as taking advantage of the AI.

I, personally, enjoy it even more than simming, but, above all, I enjoy the increased odds of my team winning. Good luck!

[BINGLEBOP]

Pitchers with overall stats of 70 or less still outpitch my guys in the 80s or 90s ALL THE TIME.



No, they don't.

[dking023]

No, they don't.

Yes, they do.

[FRENCHREDSOX]

Silly question here...are the Sports Mogul people against the Houston Astros? I have played previous editions of Baseball Mogul and found the performance of all teams fairly equal and the skills of the players to be fairly accurate.

After purchasing Baseball Mogul 2009, I have played 3 times (all with the Astros) and found the skills of Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman very poor! Over the 9 full seasons that I have completed, Roy Oswalt is averaging 9 wins and 13 losses per season with an average ERA of over 5!!! Lance Berkman over that same period is averaging under .250, 22 HR, 82 RBI, and has had FOUR season ending injuries!!!!!!!!!!! In the nine seasons the highest finish I have had is 3rd in the NL Central which was barely over .500. Most of the time I get between 65-75 wins.

I really am having difficulty enjoying this game, since I have no chance of getting to the postseason. I am always working on improving the team, bringing in good talent, but I am beaten WAY TOO OFTEN by really bad opposing talent. Pitchers with overall stats of 70 or less still outpitch my guys in the 80s or 90s ALL THE TIME. I understand this is baseball and anyone can win on any given day, but seriously I am so frustrated!

I don't want a game that it is too easy to win, but geez!!!! Anyone got any hints or advice?????

First off WHAT Version of Oswalt/Berkman are you using ? If you drafted them & then brought them up then that could explain it - if it is 2008 season+ *then it could be your strategies (as Oswalt is 93 rated if I remember & Berkman a 91)



* Also Houston has one of the "worst" minor systems using 2008 rosters thanks to the Tejeda-Valverde deals where they lost (one way or another) there top prospects & thus you would have very limited trading chips & upwardly mobile prospects (unlike a team like Tampa or the Dodgers)

[BINGLEBOP]

Yes, they do.



Not "ALL THE TIME".

[RedsoxRockies]

Silly question here...are the Sports Mogul people against the Houston Astros? I have played previous editions of Baseball Mogul and found the performance of all teams fairly equal and the skills of the players to be fairly accurate.

After purchasing Baseball Mogul 2009, I have played 3 times (all with the Astros) and found the skills of Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman very poor! Over the 9 full seasons that I have completed, Roy Oswalt is averaging 9 wins and 13 losses per season with an average ERA of over 5!!! Lance Berkman over that same period is averaging under .250, 22 HR, 82 RBI, and has had FOUR season ending injuries!!!!!!!!!!! In the nine seasons the highest finish I have had is 3rd in the NL Central which was barely over .500. Most of the time I get between 65-75 wins.

I really am having difficulty enjoying this game, since I have no chance of getting to the postseason. I am always working on improving the team, bringing in good talent, but I am beaten WAY TOO OFTEN by really bad opposing talent. Pitchers with overall stats of 70 or less still outpitch my guys in the 80s or 90s ALL THE TIME. I understand this is baseball and anyone can win on any given day, but seriously I am so frustrated!

I don't want a game that it is too easy to win, but geez!!!! Anyone got any hints or advice?????

I have some advice. Make your own rosters, which is easy. Just start whenever you want to, edit players to what you think is their skill level, and save it. You can then load it as a custom database by clicking custom league. Secondly, did either one of them have an injury that lowered their health. This could affect their other skills ratings. Thirdly, who is catching for you. If they are poor at fielding, then that explains Oswalt's struggles. Finally, 9 years of performing poorly is not that long when you take into account Pittsburghs, Cincinatti's, and formerly Milwakees long term losing streaks.( And the Rays.) As said before me, the stros have the Majors worst farm system, which easily explains your struggles. Also, if you have a bad team, of course you are going to loose.

[CatKnight]

Houston as an AI won the Series in my dynasty two years ago, so no there's no bias.

Sucky pitching sounds like sucky catching to me. What's the FIELDING (not handling) of your starting catcher? If it's below 75 you have a problem.

Go through all the strategies and optimize them for your team. Default isn't always a good idea. Ditto with your expenses. First priority should be getting your farm system back up to par.

You could always upload the .mog and let people look at it, see if your team IS stuck at 65-75 wins for a reason.

[cartman00000001]

quick question. Do you have simulation mode on?