SCORESHEET FANTASY BASEBALL: NL DRAFT / RULES PACKET
Pitching and Defense Lineup Card Explanations
Starting Rotation:
On your lineup card, list the five pitchers you want in your starting rotation. Please list players by both name and player number. Assuming they pitch in the major leagues that week, each pitcher listed in your rotation will start at least one game that week in Scoresheet Baseball. One or two pitchers who have two starts available may start twice for you, since six or seven games are played each week in Scoresheet Baseball. If many pitchers have two starts available, the "Prefer to Face Team" numbers and the order in which you list your pitching rotation are used to determine which pitcher(s) will get the extra start(s) in Scoresheet Baseball. Unused second starts will be carried over for use in future weeks. If none of your starters has a second start available, Scoresheet will use your top bullpen pitcher who started a game in the majors that week. If there are no bullpen pitchers available, Scoresheet will use your top listed reliever who pitched at least three innings that week in the majors, as long as he is not on our short reliever list. (You will use a minimum of five different starting pitchers each week. If one of your five listed starters does not play in the majors that week, Scoresheet will go to your bullpen for your fifth starter.) If a pitcher didn't start a major league game that week, he'll be limited to, at most, four innings in your Scoresheet game. There is no real "rotation" among games since the entire week's Scoresheet games are played on the same day in random order. However, no pitcher will start more than once against the same team in the same week. Also, a pitcher who is listed on our 'short reliever' list can not appear in a Scoresheet game before the 4th inning.
Hook:
Whenever a pitcher exceeds his hook number, he is taken out of the game. The hook number is the total number of runs he has given up in a game, plus half the number of runners currently on base for which he is responsible (unearned runs only count as half of a run when calculating the hook number). Ties are broken by considering from which side the pitcher throws and from which side the current batter bats. Regular hook numbers for pitchers listed in your starting rotation must be at least "3".
Hook Number to Take Out for Closer:
A starting pitcher will be replaced by a closer (if one is listed on your lineup card and has innings available) when the hook number for bringing in your closer is reached. This only applies in "Scoresheet save situations", defined as when the score is tied; or when you are leading but the other team has the potential tying run on base, batting, or on deck. Closers will only come into tied games if they have plenty of innings available (at least one for each game remaining that week.) There is a slight "fatigue factor" for Scoresheet pitchers, resulting in them pitching a little worse as the game progresses. Even so, we recommend that hook numbers for closers to come in should probably not be below "2" - if your starter is pitching a great game, you probably want to leave him in the game. (The hook number for closer to come in CAN be lower than "3".)
Prefer to Face Teams:
Since each week you will have different pitchers getting the sixth and seventh starts, and since we do not always want your top pitcher to face another team's top pitcher, you do not set a specific pitching rotation in Scoresheet. However, Scoresheet does have a column in which you can list up to three teams (in order) that you'd prefer to have that pitcher face. (You can list 0, 1, 2, or 3 teams for each starter.) In most cases, the best use of this feature is to match up lefties against teams with mostly left handed hitters, or righties against teams with predominantly right handed hitters, although you may also want to have your better pitchers face the teams that you feel are your primary competition.
Bullpen:
List your bullpen pitchers in the order you want them moved to the starting rotation, if necessary. When an emergency starter is needed, Scoresheet will use the first bullpen pitcher on your list that had a start that week in the majors. If none of these pitchers started, the first reliever listed that pitched at least three innings that week in the majors will be used. Any bullpen pitcher used as a starter will use the hook numbers listed for the fifth starting pitcher on your team. Short relievers from the Scoresheet Player List can not start a Scoresheet game unless they become starting pitchers in the majors.
Earliest Inning to Use:
This is the earliest inning each pitcher will appear in a game AS A RELIEVER. This column is ignored when choosing starters out of the bullpen, which is determined by the order you list them in the bullpen. You might want your better relievers saved for late innings. Also, Scoresheet will NOT use a reliever with an earliest inning of "6" or later (as a "set-up man"') when you are already behind by more than three runs or ahead by more than seven runs - Scoresheet will try to save him for more important situations.
Rank when used as a Reliever:
This number determines the order your pitchers will appear as relievers, subject to the earliest inning used column (and their available playing time). The rank vs. Right-Handed Batters (RHB) and vs. Left-Handed Batters (LHB) is used depending on who is the FIRST batter coming up.
Closer:
Pitchers listed in this category will ONLY be used in "Scoresheet save situations" (defined above). Thus, like most major league teams, you likely only need one designated closing pitcher. Closers are always ranked higher than your other relievers, so they will be used first in a save situation, subject to their earliest inning used. Like other relievers, you can rank closers differently vs. RHB's and LHB's (if you have two of them listed). A short reliever, or a pitcher listed as a closer on your lineup card, can only pitch, at most, three innings in a single game. Relief pitchers are always taken out for a closer in a save situation, starting with any available closer's earliest inning used.
Defensive Substitutions:
When leading late in the game, you may want to replace a good hitter with a better fielder. Starting with the eighth inning, if you are ahead by two or more runs, the listed player for defensive substitutions will take over at that position. (It is not necessary to list a player as the defensive substitute at more than one position.)
