Sports Games Thread

[Jiji]

So, with the release of the 2015 OSFM for The Show, I thought I'd start a franchise with the Cubs. Man, this game is super frustrating but ultimately rewarding. Just an outstanding son of a bitch. I was getting killed time after time after time after time with the changeup and curve (more so the change) but I'm starting to recognize and predict it better. After suffering through three consecutive shutouts (my first games with other teams weren't great, but certainly not this bad), I finally started hitting. Had 4 doubles and was winning 3-1 heading into the bottom of the 9th in Pittsburgh. Rondon comes in and whiffs their first batter. Then, in the first instance of the game actually feeling like it's unfair, I induce a broken bat soft grounder near the mound. Rondon fields it just fine, but Anthony Rizzo, the first baseman, is just standing there, jackin' it real casual-like instead of going to his bag for the putout. For some reason, Rondon is chraged with an error. And of course Pittsburgh wins two batters later with a walk-off home run because fuck me. I'll probably just hack my way through this franchise casually until the Hybrid OSFM drops in another month or so.

 

That sucked but I'm enjoying The Show overall and listening to bad Spotify playlists simultaneously (such a great app, so much better than that one Sony was running and charging $10 a month for - I just haven't found many good playlists yet). 

[Craig H]

Yeah, just stick with it. You'll have some good runs and then it will feel like you suddenly suck again. The worst is when the game logic decides to have everyone on your team suck all at the same time. I went a bunch of games without any errors in Diamond Dynasty and then had a game with FIVE errors. After the second error I knew exactly what was up and figured I would be losing. Sure enough, I lost in a rout.

[Jiji]

Yeah, the game's incredibly cruel sometimes.

 

One other thing that's been around forever and needs fixing pronto: errors on pickoff throws. Baseball has stats for everything, how many pickoffs to first end up in the bleachers? If they were going into the dirt or wide left/right the odd time, sure. But it's always 5 feet over 1B's extended arm.

 

I called up Bryant and am having more success. I get what Maddon's going for with his batting order but it wasn't working for me, so I've gone to something a bit more traditional and am scoring ~3 runs per game or so. Progress! BTW, Bryant hit a double at his first AB and then smoked a single off the wall in right for his second AB.

[Tabe]

Grantland article on the mod community keeping MVP 2005 alive

[Death From Above]

Speaking of modding I found the nicknames file in OOTP and I am really tempted to add a bunch of goofy wrestling nicknames to the list.

 

Macho Man did play baseball, after all.

[Greggulator]

I largely play completely made up random teams and players with OOTP because I'm a goof like that. My favorite players/things with OOTP:

1) In my current league, I drafted Dave Hall. He has 15+ in every defensive position in the field except for catcher and CF. He's an outrageously good contact hitter with a 19 eye, but has no power. He's just an on-base machine and can also steal. And, oh yeah, he's also a five-star reliever and a starter. I think he might be the only player in baseball history to have earned 25+ saves and 50+ steals in a single season. I've done things where he's a relief pitcher for one month and a batter for another.

I also had one of my starting pitchers go down to an injury in the World Series one year. The most rested started for Game 7 had something like 65%. I rolled the dive with Hall and he went 7 innings with 9 Ks and three hits for the win. I also used him again in a similar circumstance a few seasons later with something similar. His playoff numbers are something like .355 BA, .490 OBP in like 150 PA's with 2 wins, 7 HA and 15 Ks.

2) I forget this pitcher's name but he was absolutely sick. I used him as a starter in three straight World Series games. He went 7+ in all three wins with a bunch of strikeouts.

3) I've long had this baseball strategy idea where starting pitchers only throw like 30-40 pitches a game before it gets turned over to the bullpen. I've done this with a few teams and it's so much fun. It's so weird to see the team pitching stats broken up by starter/reliever.

It's relatively easy to get good/great relievers in OOP, just like in regular baseball. The thing I discovered, though, is you 100% need actual starting pitchers for some reason. A two-star starting pitcher handles the first two/three innings better than a reliever. (This is different if it's a converted reliever.) A reliever starting the game gives up starting runs a lot. Whereas a bad starting pitcher only has a limited amount of pitches where he can get hurt before the bullpen takes over.

The box scores in this method are great  I once had a 1-0 game go into 17 innings. I think my team used all 12 pitchers (since I let starters pitch relief, too).

This type of pitching staff is also lights-out if you have one ace that you don't put on a pitch count.

[Death From Above]

THINGS THAT SUCK IN BASEBALL

 

- When your #1 and #3 starters in your pitching rotation both get hurt for 3-4 months in the first 10 games of a season

-

[SirFozzie]

Then your RF gets a year long injury and your young stud reliever's shoulder blows up and he'll never be the same again.

 

Remind me to tell you a story about a OOTP league I was in, and what happened to my team.. 

[The Man Known as Dan]

One of my favorite memories with OOTP was in my mobile game in iPad when I was in Indiana last Summer. Was running a random league setup ala what Greg was talking about, and my team was very young and bad but had tons of upside. I draft a pitcher with unreal potential. He proceeds to put up 354 career wins, win 9 pitcher of the years, and pitches at a solid level till he's in his early 40s . I refused to trader him even when my team god crapy and he got old cause damn it, I wanted him to retire wearing that jersey.

[Craig H]

I'm just killing it in Diamond Dynasty. I won my last 4 in a row, two being walk off victories. I've also improved to 17-17 and half of the losses came from punk ass cheaters. I also pounded a couple dudes enough to the point where they quit. It was just homer after homer.

[NikoBaltimore]

Switching gears to EA UFC, I saw earlier posts saying how the update really fixed the pacing of the fights and were much more enjoyable.  Fired up the game last week with updates and sure enough had much better fights.  Even on easy I could tell the AI seemed more realistic.  For kicks I simmed McGregor/Aldo and it was a wonderful fight in every way.  I'm kicking myself for not doing the share to FB/Youtube option when that happened, but it was so well-done.  It's still in the PS4, and once I get through some of the free goodness I downloaded (Guacamelee FTW) I'm going to do much more with this.

[Craig H]

I think once it sees a significant price drop, I'll buy UFC.

[Chaos]

I think once it sees a significant price drop, I'll buy UFC.

 

I think I bought it on a flash sale over the holidays for like $12, so I am sure you'll see it at that rate at some point.

[Craig H]

I went from one great Diamond Dynasty session a couple days ago to a horrible one last night. First game I just conceded because the dude built a team full of the fastest guys in the league, which exploits issues with picking off guys trying to steal in that it doesn't happen half the time even with a fucking pitch out. It was like 6-0 and then on a routine infield pop fly, my fucking first baseman, Ryan Zimmerman, dropped the ball. At the point I conceded because it was clear I was going to get mercy ruled.

 

The next two games didn't go quite as bad, but were infuriating as hell. In one game, the guy's starting pitcher threw nothing but 12-6 curve balls that should have been driven for homeruns. Every single fucking time I'd whiff and the swing rating thing would say that I was "early." Even when it said my timing was "good" I would whiff. I should have had 14 fucking homeruns and had none.

 

My lineup at the moment is:

1. SS Jimmy Rollins
2. 2B My created guy
3. RF Jorge Soler
4. LF Michael Cuddyer
5. 1B Ryan Zimmerman
6. CF Brett Gardner
7. 3B Alex Rodriguez
8. P
9. C Miguel Montero

Hamilton, Jaso, Hechavarria, Infante, and Martin (Leonys) are all on my bench. My pitching rotation is Wacha, Lohse, Samardzija, Odorizzi, and Alvarez. 

[RIPPA]

Odell Beckham Jr will be on the Madden 16 cover beating out Gronk in a fan vote.

 

Stupid fans

[Chaos]

I tell myself every year that I will skip Madden this year. I am done diluting myself. I do tend to trade it in quicker every year.

[damnnearfonzie]

What's the chances we'll EVER see "NCAA FOOTBALL" on one of our conssoles in the years to come? Isn't being worked on about paying collegiate players, even for uniform sales, etc? Why shouldn't this include the video game FRANCHISE that had BAZILLIONS of fans  waiting anxiously each year and mad BAZILLIONS of dollars in the process.

I hope EA Sports is up to date on the legals of this and at least forward thinking enough to see what, if anything, they can develop in the future...

Any thoughts folks?


Thanks to O"Bannon's goofy arse, we don't get to play NCAA Football!! Which I see his side somewhat...but come on, how many games of college football/basketball did he get in over the years?

[muhammedboehm]

Per http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/ed-obannon-1.html
Career: 117 G, 15.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.8 APG

Consensus All-American: 1995 (1st Tm)

[damnnearfonzie]

...say what?

[muhammedboehm]

...say what?

You asked how many games he got into. His issue was that he was put in AFTER he had left UCLA and still wasn't getting payed.

[RandomAct]

Not sure how long this is in effect, but right now, if you preorder NBA2K16, you will get the game 4 days early, along with 10,000 VC.  Pretty sure that any other preorder bonuses that are announced will be included.

[muhammedboehm]

Not sure how long this is in effect, but right now, if you preorder NBA2K16, you will get the game 4 days early, along with 10,000 VC.  Pretty sure that any other preorder bonuses that are announced will be included.

Hmm

[NikoBaltimore]

I tell myself every year that I will skip Madden this year. I am done diluting myself. I do tend to trade it in quicker every year.

I don't get it every year, but the times I do I play it for a bit and like whatever improvements they've done.  Then a month or so later it sits there collecting dust until I realize "Oh, forgot I had this game."  Still debating on trading it in.  If there's not much brought to this year's version I'll keep it.  E3 going forward is going to decide that for me.

[RIPPA]

[Raziel]

So now I can pick an American team and actually beat someone?