MLB 12 The Show

[jlb1705]

I'm still getting fucking worked trying to hit. I have the pitching right where I want it...I shut out the Marlins one night, give up 16 hits and 6 runs to the Phillies the next...so I have good variety. Unfortunately I am regressing on my hitting. Worsley for Phily was Sandy Fucking Koufax last night on me, 1 hit, 21 Ks. Yes, 21. The curveball is raping my ass sideways, I can't hit it, can't recognize it, can't lay off it. It is almost always in the dirt, and I always miss it, and I always look like a drunken wombat swinging at it. I am throwing between 59-65% strikes, which is perfect...the computer is racking up 75-78%, mostly because I can't not swing at the fucking curveball. Goddammit.

Can't resist...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gndH9mhHPk0"]Jesus Christ and the Curveball - YouTube[/ame]

In all seriousness though, the AI is pretty good in that if you get eaten alive by breaking balls in the dirt they will pound you with them until you can hold your own. Fortunately there are gameplay sliders, and there's nothing that says you have to keep them even between you and the computer.

Besides that, you can also get the CPU to back off just by taking a few of the pitches or or using the contact swing to improve your chances of fighting them off. If I'm really scuffling I'll use the bottom of the order to waste pitches and hit fouls. If you do that, don't worry about pitch recognition - don't even take the bat off your shoulders (or cover the swing buttons with your thumb, as it were) until you have a 2-strike count. Then use the contact swing to fight off anything that looks like it's near the zone. You won't get many hits that way, but if you try that with the guys at the bottom of the order it might make things better for the guys at the top.

 

[Bucklion]

Can't resist...

Jesus Christ and the Curveball - YouTube

In all seriousness though, the AI is pretty good in that if you get eaten alive by breaking balls in the dirt they will pound you with them until you can hold your own. Fortunately there are gameplay sliders, and there's nothing that says you have to keep them even between you and the computer.

Besides that, you can also get the CPU to back off just by taking a few of the pitches or or using the contact swing to improve your chances of fighting them off. If I'm really scuffling I'll use the bottom of the order to waste pitches and hit fouls. If you do that, don't worry about pitch recognition - don't even take the bat off your shoulders (or cover the swing buttons with your thumb, as it were) until you have a 2-strike count. Then use the contact swing to fight off anything that looks like it's near the zone. You won't get many hits that way, but if you try that with the guys at the bottom of the order it might make things better for the guys at the top.

I was thinking about that as I posted it...

As for the sliders, I have been tweaking them. I think I actually have it to where the CPU throws the right amount of strikes, I just can't stop swinging at the fucking curveball. I do foul off a lot of pitches with the contact swing (I actually don't use the power swing unless I am up in the count...so in other words, basically never ) but then the Fucking CPU drops a curve on the border for strike 3 when I start taking them I am going to take that suggestion and just take pitches at the start though with the lower part of the order...if I get called out on strikes a couple of times, it's better than swinging at 55 foot breaking shit I will see the rest of the innings. In a sense that's why I like the confidence interval, because it makes the game dynamics change based on what's going on, so no two games are the same...that is, if I could only stop swinging at that fucking curveball

 

[jlb1705]

I was thinking about that as I posted it...

As for the sliders, I have been tweaking them. I think I actually have it to where the CPU throws the right amount of strikes, I just can't stop swinging at the fucking curveball. I do foul off a lot of pitches with the contact swing (I actually don't use the power swing unless I am up in the count...so in other words, basically never ) but then the Fucking CPU drops a curve on the border for strike 3 when I start taking them I am going to take that suggestion and just take pitches at the start though with the lower part of the order...if I get called out on strikes a couple of times, it's better than swinging at 55 foot breaking shit I will see the rest of the innings. In a sense that's why I like the confidence interval, because it makes the game dynamics change based on what's going on, so no two games are the same...that is, if I could only stop swinging at that fucking curveball

I've also adopted what I've called the "Joe Mauer rule". For the most part I try to take the first pitch all the time with any batter. I make exceptions if I've put a tired starting pitcher in a jam, but other than that I'll let the CPU waste a pitch and set the context for the at-bat. Depending on what happens from there, I can sometimes sit on a fastball, decide to keep taking pitches, etc.

I've had the most success after getting the CPU starter over 75 pitches. I run into trouble when I put the bat on the first pitch that comes thru the zone. If the CPU can get deep into the game with under 50 pitches you'll be in bad shape, so I'll sacrifice some good pitches and some lesser batters to run up the count.

 

[Bucky32]

Here's a set of rules for people who are struggling with hitting/drawing walks. Follow them if you want, I used to use them to mixed success. (These are not mine):

Rule 1 - Must wait until the AI throws one strike in the count to swing, unless it is a 2-0 or 3-0 count. If an out is recorded on a swing during a 2-0 or 3-0 count, I lose the power swing on remaining 2-0 and 3-0 counts for that inning unless I draw a walk to regain it.

Rule 2 - Must use Power swing on all 2-0 and 3-0 counts (square button), must use contact swing on 1 and 2 strike counts (X button).

Rule 3 - Only allowed one batter in the 1st, 4th, and 7th inning to swing at the first pitch. (First Pitch Swinging) This allows me not to step to the plate every at bat and have to wait for a strike to be thrown. Rule resets at beginning of 10th inning and same player may not first pitch swing more than once per game. I may not use the same player more than once per game to first pitch swing.

Rule 4 - Only allowed one bunt attempt per inning, whether it is a sacrifice, bunt for hit, or squeeze attempt.

Rule 5 - When hitting in a National League Park, I may only pinch hit for the pitcher after 7 innings of game time and losing or any current Starting Pitcher house rules are met. Same rules apply for any relievers that enter the game.

 

[Bucklion]

I've also adopted what I've called the "Joe Mauer rule". For the most part I try to take the first pitch all the time with any batter. I make exceptions if I've put a tired starting pitcher in a jam, but other than that I'll let the CPU waste a pitch and set the context for the at-bat. Depending on what happens from there, I can sometimes sit on a fastball, decide to keep taking pitches, etc.

I've had the most success after getting the CPU starter over 75 pitches. I run into trouble when I put the bat on the first pitch that comes thru the zone. If the CPU can get deep into the game with under 50 pitches you'll be in bad shape, so I'll sacrifice some good pitches and some lesser batters to run up the count.

After last night's game (DET at KC, I was KC) all I can say is...

FUCKING PISS BUCKET SHITFUCK GODDAMMIT

So I started the game well, hit a homer in the first, fouled off lots of pitches, struck out a few times but nothing terrible, some groundouts and flyouts. Then Fister started fisting me when he dropped hoses for strikes on the corners. I struck out 9 STRAIGHT GODDAMN TIMES. I took pitches, they were strikes on the corner. I swung at pitches, they were balls on the corner. I fouled off probably 20 pitches in the sequence, but in the end it was always a strikeout. I recovered as the game wore on, did draw a walk before Leyland yanked him in the 7th. Relievers always seem to come in throwing strikes, so those were more straightforward at-bats. I struck out in most of those too

Final line: 3 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 17 Ks

I pitched well, only 59% of my pitches were strikes but I only gave up 2 runs to that lineup using 5 pitchers in the game, so at least I was in it.

At this point I am getting frustrated. I don't expect to win every game, but I don't want to start a season and go 2-42 and make every pitcher I face the league leader in Ks. At this rate anyone in my division will break Nolan Ryan's career record for Ks in one season. I will keep trying the suggestions people have and see what I can do. I need more contact outs...that's the bottom line.

 

[jlb1705]

I know we've talked sliders, but specifically, have you made any adjustments to your hitting sliders? I upped mine for contact rate and fair hits. Part of me thinks it's cheating, but it's really up to each person to not abuse that kind of thing. Also, I'm using Timing hitting. I seem to remember you mentioning using a different style. Anyway, I seem to be getting some balanced games.

My game last night:

Dodgers: 4-8-1
Reds (me): 5-8-2

In the second inning, pitching with Mat Latos, I left a fastball up in the zone and James Loney crushed it for a HR. I pitched around him the rest of the game after taking a closer look at his heat map vs. Latos.

I came right back in the bottom of the inning though with a leadoff HR by Jay Bruce. I drew a 2-1 count and sat on a fastball. It's the only time I have used the power swing successfully. Most of the time when I decide to use it I'm super-conscious of it and swing wildly and way early.

Chad Billingsley, the Dodger pitcher, settled in after that and started fooling me with curveballs in the dirt. He rung me up a few times on a really good backdoor cutter too. More than anything it seemed like honest-to-goodness pitching rather than the CPU deciding to become superhuman. Billingsley did make a mistake in the 4th inning though - a hanging curve that Drew Stubbs crushed for a solo HR.

In the top of the 7th I had a bit of a wild inning. Billingsley got a leadoff hit, I gave up a couple doubles, two errors and an infield hit and before I knew it I was down 4-2 and into my bullpen. It would be easy to blame the CPU for some of that convenient randomness, but sometimes baseball goes like that in real life.

In the bottom of the ninth I mounted a comeback. Votto doubled. Advanced to third on a groundout. Scored on a sac fly to the warning track by Rolen. Chris Heisey came up and hit a wallscraper right in front of the power stacks in center to tie it up. It felt pretty good to pull that off. Took the game to extra innings.

Bottom of the 10th, bottom of the order. Got a leadoff double from Devin Mesoraco. With the pitcher's spot coming up, I brought on Wilson Valdez to put down a sac bunt. It was a good one, the third baseman came up firing and threw it into the stands, allowing the winning run to score.

 

[Bucklion]

I know we've talked sliders, but specifically, have you made any adjustments to your hitting sliders? I upped mine for contact rate and fair hits. Part of me thinks it's cheating, but it's really up to each person to not abuse that kind of thing. Also, I'm using Timing hitting. I seem to remember you mentioning using a different style. Anyway, I seem to be getting some balanced games.

My game last night:

Dodgers: 4-8-1
Reds (me): 5-8-2

In the second inning, pitching with Mat Latos, I left a fastball up in the zone and James Loney crushed it for a HR. I pitched around him the rest of the game after taking a closer look at his heat map vs. Latos.

I came right back in the bottom of the inning though with a leadoff HR by Jay Bruce. I drew a 2-1 count and sat on a fastball. It's the only time I have used the power swing successfully. Most of the time when I decide to use it I'm super-conscious of it and swing wildly and way early.

Chad Billingsley, the Dodger pitcher, settled in after that and started fooling me with curveballs in the dirt. He rung me up a few times on a really good backdoor cutter too. More than anything it seemed like honest-to-goodness pitching rather than the CPU deciding to become superhuman. Billingsley did make a mistake in the 4th inning though - a hanging curve that Drew Stubbs crushed for a solo HR.

In the top of the 7th I had a bit of a wild inning. Billingsley got a leadoff hit, I gave up a couple doubles, two errors and an infield hit and before I knew it I was down 4-2 and into my bullpen. It would be easy to blame the CPU for some of that convenient randomness, but sometimes baseball goes like that in real life.

In the bottom of the ninth I mounted a comeback. Votto doubled. Advanced to third on a groundout. Scored on a sac fly to the warning track by Rolen. Chris Heisey came up and hit a wallscraper right in front of the power stacks in center to tie it up. It felt pretty good to pull that off. Took the game to extra innings.

Bottom of the 10th, bottom of the order. Got a leadoff double from Devin Mesoraco. With the pitcher's spot coming up, I brought on Wilson Valdez to put down a sac bunt. It was a good one, the third baseman came up firing and threw it into the stands, allowing the winning run to score.

Sweet game...right now I'm at half of that, as my pitching innings are going smashingly well for realism. Last night I was using Bruce Chen for KC, and though I ran my pitch count up early I went after the weaker hitters and then nibbled on Cabrera, forcing him to just miss a couple. I got Prince out once...then I left one high and in the middle and Prince hit one that hasn't landed yet I gave up a couple of base hits and walked 4, but only one double. The 2 runs Detroit got were from homers, and I pitched out of 2 2nd and 3rd jams, so the chances for more runs were there but my pitching got me out of it. Since I am not playing a season right now I had no worries about burning relievers, so I went all LaRussa on them last night and played match up with 4 relievers (BTW if you are playing individual exhibitions right now or you do practice modes, try out KC/Jonathan Broxton...he throws hard as fuck). Worked out well, I got out of a bases loaded jam in the 8th, and I gave up 2 runs on like 6-8 hits and 4 walks for the game.

For the hitting, I have already jacked my sliders, yes. I am using timing plus zone, so I can have more control of the swing. Unfortunately, that also gives me control of the swing. So I have maxed out the power basically, figuring I will never be able to hit for power with the power swing because the zone is so much smaller and I rarely use it. So what that does is make high power guys like Adam Dunn (who I used 2 nights ago) able to hit homers with the contact swing on the wheelhouse/sweetspot if you hit it just right. I really haven't had any issues with weak guys hitting homers like that, last night I hit one with Hosmer and I have never hit more than one in a game that I recall. I have also increased the contact and timing sliders a couple of notches. I was trying to keep them down towards normal, figuring I would grow into them (I don't want to finish a season 42-0 or something after I get the hang of it) but right now I can't stop striking out so I'm going to have to bump them a click each again. I don't want to make the CPU throw all strikes because that isn't baseball...in fact I am trying to get as close to the MLB average as I can. I've still got 2-3 weeks before the season starts, so I am going to keep working at it.

BTW do you use broadcast or fastplay? I love the experience of the full game, but it takes forever to play.

 

[jlb1705]

(BTW if you are playing individual exhibitions right now or you do practice modes, try out KC/Jonathan Broxton...he throws hard as fuck).

Who needs Broxton when you have Aroldis Chapman? Bill Bray is also really fun to use out of the Reds' pen. I've used him to drop backdoor curveballs on RH hitters. Filthy.

BTW do you use broadcast or fastplay? I love the experience of the full game, but it takes forever to play.

I didn't even know about fastplay. Most nights I need to finish my gaming before the wife gets home and so far they've been running kinda long. I'll have to give that a try.

One more thing - when I pitch I'm getting a spot for the catcher's mitt on my screen for the pitch location that's being called. When messed with settings the other day it went away, but then it came back when I put pitching back on "Rookie". Is there a way to get that at higher settings? I like it because it gives you a target and helps you randomize things a bit. I don't follow it strictly and when I'm in a jam or need a strikeout I'll "shake it off" and call my own pitches instead.

 

[Bucklion]

Who needs Broxton when you have Aroldis Chapman? Bill Bray is also really fun to use out of the Reds' pen. I've used him to drop backdoor curveballs on RH hitters. Filthy.



I didn't even know about fastplay. Most nights I need to finish my gaming before the wife gets home and so far they've been running kinda long. I'll have to give that a try.

One more thing - when I pitch I'm getting a spot for the catcher's mitt on my screen for the pitch location that's being called. When messed with settings the other day it went away, but then it came back when I put pitching back on "Rookie". Is there a way to get that at higher settings? I like it because it gives you a target and helps you randomize things a bit. I don't follow it strictly and when I'm in a jam or need a strikeout I'll "shake it off" and call my own pitches instead.

I forget what the setting is for fastplay, I am 90% sure it is in the "General" gameplay tab though. Choices are Broadcast and Fastplay, and then there is one more where you can have pitchers pitch "Faster" which basically cuts down on catcher throwing the ball back, pitcher removing his hat, batter stepping out of the box, etc. It does speed the game up to just about an hour that way, which is what I do before bed. However when I start playing for real it is hard to resist all the sights and sounds of the whole thing.

I think what you are talking about is what they refer to as the catcher calling pitches (not sure what the actual term is on the menu), but if you click on it I remember saying that "Default" is "On" for lower levels but is not for higher ones. So find the one that is catcher help or catcher calls or whatever it is called in the "Pitching" tab, and turn it from "Default" to "On". That should do the trick.

 

[jlb1705]

I think what you are talking about is what they refer to as the catcher calling pitches (not sure what the actual term is on the menu), but if you click on it I remember saying that "Default" is "On" for lower levels but is not for higher ones. So find the one that is catcher help or catcher calls or whatever it is called in the "Pitching" tab, and turn it from "Default" to "On". That should do the trick.

Cool, I'll look for that. I'm not ready to step it up yet, but when I am that's an option I'd like to keep.

Just played another back-and-forth game against the Nationals, and it was Chris Heisey who saved the day for me again with 2 HR and 5 RBI. It was the second of those HRs that put me ahead for good in the bottom of the 8th.

Actually, all the scoring in this one came from HRs. Both teams hit a 3-run shot and a 2-run shot. The difference is that my other HR came with a man aboard while theirs was just a solo shot. Funny game, this.

Also, I think it's cool that I can see my wife's office from the outfield cam during highlights. Incredible amount of detail in this game.

 

[Bucklion]

Man, I got plungered last night. Was playing as the Rockies against the Giants. Chacin was my starter, gave up 3 in the first, 2 in the second, then blew a nut on a 1-1 fastball...was kind of weird, he pulled up lame and I had to take him out of the game. Put in the LR cold, he gave up 3 more, and it was 8-0 after 3 innings I righted the ship after that though until the 9th. I bumped my hitting sliders, which helped initially in the first couple of innings, as I sawed off several pitches and didn't strike out until the end of the second...then the curveball took over Bumgarner had me looking like a drunk wombat again, and at the end of the game after a couple of relief innings where they basically come right after you, my line:

2 runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, 18 Ks

I did make a lot more contact, but fouled most of those pitches away. That did wear him down by the sixth, but he was still painting the corners in the 6th and 7th, so I was no match. Pitching-wise I walked 1 and struck out 10, but I gave up 10 runs on 15 hits and was in the middle of the zone waaay too much.

 

[jlb1705]

I've really started to view the bottom of the lineup for both teams as a place to do maintenence. I've already mentioned the approach I've taken as a batter when the 8/9 hitters are up to see more pitches. Now as a pitcher I'm taking a particular approach against the CPU's 8/9 hitters. I'm paying more and more attention to the confidence levels for each pitch. If I have one that's low, I'll start pumping them in against weaker hitters if the bases are empty. Simply getting a few easy strikes with that pitch has done wonders with my ability to mix things up and spot pitches when I get back around to the top of the order.

 

[Bucklion]

I've really started to view the bottom of the lineup for both teams as a place to do maintenence. I've already mentioned the approach I've taken as a batter when the 8/9 hitters are up to see more pitches. Now as a pitcher I'm taking a particular approach against the CPU's 8/9 hitters. I'm paying more and more attention to the confidence levels for each pitch. If I have one that's low, I'll start pumping them in against weaker hitters if the bases are empty. Simply getting a few easy strikes with that pitch has done wonders with my ability to mix things up and spot pitches when I get back around to the top of the order.

Good idea, I tend to bust fastballs on the pitchers and shortstops who hit .212. I get a lot of outs that way, but I should send in some breaking stuff based on that as well. Of course I tried that last night and gave up 2 hits each to the 8 and 9 guys in the first 3 innings

 

[jlb1705]

Good idea, I tend to bust fastballs on the pitchers and shortstops who hit .212. I get a lot of outs that way, but I should send in some breaking stuff based on that as well. Of course I tried that last night and gave up 2 hits each to the 8 and 9 guys in the first 3 innings

Clearly, your mileage may vary.

 

[Bucklion]

Well last night was my nightly ass-hammering from the CPU. I was SD and playing at home against Atlanta. I actually pitched pretty well again, giving up 3 runs on 12 hits into the 9th, when Chippuh hit a 3-run jack off some jabroni I brought in from the bullpen. My pitching line: 6 runs, 15 hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks.

I struck out 8 of the first 9 times I batted After that though I actually drew a walk and got 2nd and 3rd in the 4th, scored a run and loaded the bases in the 8th (unfortunately lined out to end the inning), and generally did better in the second half of the game. Hitting line: 1 run, 3 hits, 3 walks, 14 Ks.

I think I may have finally figured out how to be more competitive hitting...I dropped pitching speed one more notch, and I have much more ability to read the breaking ball and not be late on every single fastball. In batting practice I fouled off almost every pitch I didn't take, got a few hits, and tagged a couple of homers. I am hoping that will carry over to tonight's game.