Drafting Problem...

[Slugger222]

I'm Los Angeles in NABL. In the past draft, I was the high bidder on two players, and the bars were full at the end of the draft. But neither player camd to my team!

Now the asking price is about twice what I had offered for one of the player, and only a few points higher for the other.

What happened?

The players are Bobby Higginson, and Jeromy Burnitz. I thought that the full bar meant that they were going to sign at the end of that round? Other wise, I would have added a few more points to make sure that the bar was full!

BTW, I did have room on the roster....:mad:

[DBS]

I had the same problem in FastSim 24 a couple of years ago. I was Cleveland and had a bid in Corey Patterson. The bar was full, but he did not show up on my team.

[kingjames]

I'm left with a few questions, given my own experience with the FA market during a recent offseason.

1. Are you sure you had the money available, even after other FA bids? If the cash isn't there, you can't sign FAs. (If you don't believe me, go to the FA market any time you're over your limit.)

2. Are you absolutely positive you didn't get outbid at the last minute? (I know that a couple of guys I considered slam-dunk additions to my team got me caught up in a last-minute bidding war.)

3. Could it be that the player just didn't want to come to your team? The game is set up so that being the high bidder is a big consideration, but not the ONLY consideration.

4. Are you sure the bar was completely filled up? I've seen it ALMOST filled up to the point that I would have sworn it was completely full if I hadn't looked closer.

Maybe someone else can shed some more light on this.

[Bad_Ash]

Some players won't sign small contracts even if their bar is full. I've thrown fits cause I thought I got outbid at the last second then realized that the player didn't sign with anyone cause the bid was so low.

My suggestion to Clay would be to have the players minimum acceptable contract be known during March(or whenever the last chance to bid on free agents is). Think this would help keep us GM's happy.

Badash

[Slugger222]

1. Yes, I had plenty of dough.... Over 80 points.

2. I was not out bid. These two signed with No one. They were still FAs when the season started.

3. What???? Full bar means ready to sign, right?

4. Yes, the bar was completely full. On both players.

One other thought...... I was going to make some crack about the Player's Agents having no honor, but could not figure out how to put it exactly......

Those crummy agents........grumble grumble...

[Slugger222]

I've got a gripe about last minute bidding for Free Agents.

I know it is not illegal, imoral or fattening, but many people do not have the luxury - especially in the fast sims - of being able to sit next to the PC all the while the FA draft is going on.

Personally, I'd like to see a, "You Have A Deal!" message pop up when the Agent and player are happy with your offer, and no further bids on that player will be accepted. That way, you can go about your every day business confident that at least one player has been put on your team.

It would also reduce the need to "Hedge your bet" by placing bids on players with similar strengths.

As it stands now, you have the choices of
A. Sitting by your PC for the duration of the draft - or at least checking in every hour at the top of the hour to make sure that your "Full Bar Bid" sticks.....

B. Placing a high bid on only the players you want, and hope that no one outbids you for them while you are away... possibly ending the draft with no one....

C. Place bids on multiple players, and hope that you do not get screwed by getting all of them.....

Although it seems like it in real life, getting a ball player is not a flat out auction. It is a process of competitive negotiation. Alowing players to be signed - or at least pledge to be signed - before the sim is run is more realistic, and much less frusterating for players.....

[James Grove]

Okay, BMO Fans -

In response to the comments, we have added a new feature to the Free Agent bidding.

When the free agent is ready to sign, the status bar will now turn GREEN!

So there can be no question that he is ready to sign.

Of course, even when the bar is green, other players can still come in and offer him more money to sign with them. So don't forget to set your maximum bid to prevent snipers.

And even though the bar may be red after your bid, the player will lower his expectations as time goes by. So at the next sim, he might have lowered his price enough that the bar will turn green and he will be ready to sign. (Once again, however, you can still be outbid until the signing is complete!)

I hope this new feature makes the free agent process a little bit easier.

Cheers!
-James

[Schaefling]

The green bar should help a lot. I think it's a really good idea.

At the same time I suggest GMs stay on their toes for last minute bids. When the countdown timer says there is no time left there sometimes is a lag. I have lost players after the supposed expiration of the bidding period to last minute bids and recently acquired a couple of players by bidding on them in the free agent screen at the last minute even though time had supposedly expired.

I think there may be a built in fudge factor to allow bids that technically are late because of all the players bidding at the same time. At least on my computer the lag time on refreshing screens gets really slow as the bidding period ticks to a close and the game may factor this in allowing bids that seem to come in after the bidding period has expired.

I see nothing wrong with this. It's just part of the necessary game mechanics of an online baseball strategy game. Just beware of the lag and react accordingly.

[kingjames]

Guess I blew my answer in #3. Amazing what your memory can garble in just a few days. While bidding on free agents in Beta 40, I read the FA section of Help and had read:

"At the beginning of Spring Training (March 1st), most players will sign with the team that currently holds the highest bid."

Somehow, my mind had twisted that to infer that some might sign with a team who had a lower bid.

I have to agree with Schaefling on the last-minute bids. The lag can save you or it can kill you. It can also cost you serious points if you do win an after-the-last-minute bidding war. I know at least one of the guys I did get that way went up at least 20 points higher in a 5-minute span (starting before the supposed cutoff time).

I like the idea of the green bar. At the very least, it should help end some confusion.

[Slugger222]

Cheers to the green bar!

Boo to last minute over bids bids, and mega boos to sniping!

I still would like to see a "Handshake" beyond which no further bids are accepted, but I'll give this a shot. It depends on how many people are out there sniping!

Also will be interested in the results of the poll posted elsewhere.....

Go cast your vote!

[DBS]

I'm kind of a sniper, but not a bad one. Once I waited until the last second and then placed a bid on Preston Wilson, stealing him right out from under my division rivals nose. I felt so guilty about it I haven't done it since. I do occasionally wait until the late in the FA signing period to place some bids on players that are willing to take less than normal. I also sometimes sneak in and get a higher bid on someone who's bar is green, but I always make sure that there is at least 30 minutes left before the last simulation. Is that sniping? Sort of, but it's almost fair.

[Slugger222]

And - at least according to the poll that is elsewhere, not many people want to change it.

If you cannot beat-em, join-em I alway say!

So, now I plan on sniping every opportunity that I can get. Why not? I'll get players that I want at prices that I want, and won't end up with players that I don't really want, or need.

The green bar will only help draw my sniper's rifle to a target.

So, remember to guard the bids on the players that you want to keep, because the snipers are out there.....