Role Players.....

[Slugger222]

I've noticed that some pitchers thrive in a certain roles. One guy can pitch great as a middle reliever, but move him to short relief, or long relief, and he stinks. Or move your someone who has closed effectively to Short Relief or Set up, and his performance declines.

I've noticed this fairly often, and now experiment with my pitchers to see what role they like the most.

Is this something that is built into the game, or mearly coincidence?

I know that endurance will (or should) effect how well some pitchers perform in longer roles, but is there something which makes a pitcher better in certain roles?

[christoph]

I think it is built into the game. Pitchers have strengths and weaknesses that make them good in certain situations and not good in others. A good way to use players, at least for those players who exist in reality, is to see how they are actually used. Go to cbs.sportsline.com/u/baseball or mbl.com for info on this. I think actual bullpens, etc. offer a rough guide on how to setup your rotation, bullpen, lineup, and bench. You can then gauge your players' performances to tweak your team setup. (Also, since they often pitch few innings, I think closers and setup pitchers are particularly difficult to evaluate. A closer can have a high ERA, e.g., and still be good in that role.)

[Slugger222]

I think that it is realistic.

Of course, some players can adapt well to multiple roles as well....