Community Forum

-Trade logic so you don't get nonsense trades

-In season manager so you don't get long relievers with 100+ IP

-Playoff manager so I'm not facing a #5 starter in a Game 5

Whatever else. Send me a DM and I'll do it.

Maybe this goes deeper into game scripting but the way the CPU can turn double plays is absurd. It's a dead giveaway that the "there's no chance in hell you're winning this game" feature has been activated. A slow roller up the first base line, first baseman charges, throws off balance to second, short spins and fires a rocket back to the covering pitcher to get the DP on a decent runner. It's nonsense. Patch it.

I don't see how this would increase profits. Pretty silly request.

Self explanatory. It's so easy to win the World Series that I'm actively looking for ways to make it harder. CPU pitches their #5 in game 5, only go to the high leverage bullpen guys for one inning with a lead, starters never pitch on short rest, never multiple innings for high leverage guys, never starters out of the bullpen, lineups stack guys of the same handedness rather than mixing them.

The out of the box managing in the postseason has become one of the signatures of postseason baseball and it's just non-existent. Giants riding Bumgarner, Chapman for seven outs, Kershaw out of the pen, etc. Just add it to the pile of disappointments from this mode and this title but God [censored], do anything right when it comes to this mode.

I think it's a combination of indifference and lack of knowledge. They don't want to put a ton of effort into a mode that doesn't make them money. I also would say they probably don't have a ton of team members with a deep understanding of baseball itself. It's why trade logic stinks, CPU in game managing is atrocious and franchise is surface level team building. They obviously understand the game but in order to put together a truly competent baseball sim, you have to REALLY understand the game and I don't think they do

Nope. Been a problem for years. Short starts heavy bullpen is the only solution I have found. Also, make sure you jump into Quick Manage to make a pitching change otherwise your reliever will enter with 75% stamina no matter his rest. Fun stuff.

One of the many bugs that should be an easy fix but has existed for years. If you think they might get called up within the next year, sign them to a deal worth at least 300k to mitigate it.

Awesome call on the three team trade. I'll add that to my process. Thanks for the input!

A couple years ago after winning my fifth World Series in a row, I realized I needed to figure out a way to make this mode harder until SDS actually put a minute of time into it. Still waiting on that last part but as anyone who has played this mode knows, it's super easy to dump bad contracts, make unbalanced trades and generally patch any holes you have until you've built a 130 win juggernaut every year. So I put a few rules on myself which has made the game a bit more enjoyable:

-Always have budgets on. I know it can be annoying because the bank doesn't really make that much sense but it does keep things in check financially.

-Turn trades off from the start of the season until after the draft. This just mirrors real life. There are hardly ever any trades during this stretch of the season and in Franchise it's a time when the CPU makes a bunch of those weird roster balancing trades that throw off the rosters. Last year in mid-April the White Sox traded Eloy for Jorge Alfaro and Lewis Brinson... just cuz.

-After the draft you can start building your trade pool. You'll need a piece of paper. In June, the only teams you're allowed to trade with are those who are already double digits out of a Wildcard spot and their division. Once you get to July, you can trade with any team that is under .500. I'm going to refer to this as "shopping" for the rest of the post.

-As for trading specifically, if they are on the trade block, they are fair game regardless of what team they are on. Who knows why some guys get put on there but it is what it is.

-If you are "shopping" for a player who is not on the trade block but is on one of those teams from the bullet above, you are not allowed to build your own trade package. You have to hit square to get an offer from them and you take it or leave it. This prevents you being able to throw in guys who for whatever reason, the CPU likes even though they shouldn't (a 67 OVR who is 29 but has A potential). If a player is on the trade block, you can build your own trade package.

-There is a bug regarding offseason trades in which you'll offer a middle reliever and they'll offer their best prospect in return. There is also one where new draft picks don't have any trade value in the offseason and you can just throw them in to any trade you want. These are two I haven't been able to find a "fix" for yet other than just holding yourself accountable to not do it. If you're working on a trade and you add a player whose decent and the interest bar doesn't move at all, it's a bug. If you're offering Casey Sadler and the Rays are offering you Wander Franco, it's a bug. But obviously, that's up to you.

-I'm also messing around with some ways to convert starters to relievers in a way that mirrors real life but haven't gotten the perfect solution. Something like you trim 20 points from stamina but get to put that 20 into fastball velocity but it still tanks their OVR. I'll update if I find something that works.