Batting Order Help After you have made the defensive assignments for your team, it's time to put together a batting order. If you haven't set up your defense yet, you should do that, then return here to create a batting order. This screen displays the current order on the top half, and the bench and reserve list players on the bottom. Players on the reserve list are presented in light gray and are unavailable until the roster expands to 40 players on September first. To move a player into the batting order or to swap players already in the order, click on one, then click on the other. They will exchange positions. At the bottom of the screen are five buttons: MORE: There are too many bench and reserve list players to fit on the screen at one time. 'More' brings up the rest of them. ADVICE: click here to get Tony La Russa's advice. The computer will choose the best batting order, taking into account speed, power, mixing righties and lefties, and a several other factors, just as Tony would before the game. VS LHP/VS RHP: Tony La Russa Baseball II maintains two different starting lineups for each team - one to go against right handed pitchers, and the other to face lefties. They are not necessarily the same. Click here to make up the other batting order. DEFENSE: while putting together a batting order, you may decide to change your mind about one or more of the defensive assignments. Click here to switch to the 'starting defense' screen. RESTORE: click on restore to cancel any changes you have made to your batting order since coming to this screen. As on many of the screens in Tony La Russa Baseball II, the function keys, F1 through F4, are available to bring up more detailed player statistics. Point to a player (or highlight him), then press one of the following keys: F1: displays batting stats F2: displays pitching stats F3: displays fielding stats F4: switches between historical and simulated statistics The right mouse button acts as F1 for batters and as F2 for pitchers. Use the function keys, F5 and F6, to print screens: F5: prints the screen: the computer sends what you see to the printer. F6: appends what you see to the contents of the file, print.txt. You may print this file, or use any text editor to look at what's in it. Glossary of column abbreviations: AB: at bats AVG: batting average B: stands for batting side, and can be 'R' for right, 'L' for left, or 'S' for switch hitter. DU: stands for days unavailable. For batters, this means the player has been injured and cannot play. If this occurs, a reserve list batter will temporarily fill the injured player's roster spot. HR: home runs OBA: on base average POS1: this is the player's primary position, the one he has the most experience at. POS2: the player's secondary position. He can play here, but is better playing POS1, his primary position. SA: slugging average SB: stolen bases * Starting Defense Help Here you assign players to defensive positions, keeping in mind that the player with the best glove for a certain position is not always the best choice. Keep offense in mind too. The screen displays the current defensive assignments on the top half, and the bench and reserve list players on the bottom. Players on the reserve list are presented in light gray and are unavailable until the roster expands to 40 players on September first. To move a player into the starting lineup or to swap players already in the lineup, click on one, then click on the other. They will exchange places. At the bottom of the screen are five buttons: MORE: There are too many bench and reserve list players to fit on the screen at one time. 'More' brings up the rest of them. ADVICE: click here to get Tony La Russa's advice. The game will choose the best player for each defensive position, reasoning along the same lines as Tony would. VS LHP/VS RHP: Tony La Russa Baseball II maintains two different starting lineups for each team - one to go against right handed pitchers, and the other to face lefties. They are not necessarily the same. Click here to make defensive assignments in the other lineup. OFFENSE: After making the defensive assignments, the offense is next. Click here to switch to the 'batting order' screen. RESTORE: click on restore to cancel any changes you have made in your defensive assignments since coming to this screen. As on many of the screens in Tony La Russa Baseball II, the function keys, F1 through F4, are available to bring up more detailed player statistics. Point to a player (or highlight him), then press one of the following keys: F1: displays batting stats F2: displays pitching stats F3: displays fielding stats F4: switches between historical and simulated statistics The right mouse button acts as F1 for batters and as F2 for pitchers. Use the function keys, F5 and F6, to print screens: F5: prints the screen: the computer sends what you see to the printer. F6: appends what you see to the contents of the file, print.txt. You may print this file, or use any text editor to look at what's in it. Glossary of column abbreviations: A: This is the strength of the player's arm. The stronger the fielder's arm, the farther and faster he can throw the ball. AVG: batting average B: stands for batting side, and can be 'R' for right, 'L' for left, or 'S' for switch hitter. DU: stands for days unavailable. For batters, this means the player has been injured and cannot play. If this occurs, a reserve list batter will temporarily fill the injured player's roster spot. FA1: this is the player's fielding average when he plays in his primary position, POS1. FA2: this is the player's fielding average when he plays in his secondary position, POS2. POS1: this is the player's primary position, the one he has the most experience at. POS2: the player's secondary position. He can play here, but is better playing POS1, his primary position. R: Range rates the player's ability to get to hit balls. For example, a shortstop with a high range will field more balls hit in the hole between short and third, than a player with a lesser range would. * Pitching Rotation Help Here you can create your own pitching rotation, or ask Tony La Russa for his advice. The active pitchers are listed, along with those on the reserve list (who are presented in light gray and are unavailable until the roster expands to 40 players on September first). Rotations can be either four or five pitchers deep, but a four-man rotation puts a strain on the players: since they pitch more often, they have a greater chance of injury. In addition, occasionally, every pitcher in a four-man rotation will require rest. If this happens, the computer will auto- matically choose a spot starter from the bullpen. To move a pitcher into the rotation or to swap players already in the rotation, click on one, then click on the other. They will exchange positions. At the bottom of the screen are two buttons: ADVICE: click here to get Tony La Russa's advice. The game will form the best pitching rotation for your staff, according to Tony. RESTORE: click on restore to cancel any changes you have made in your rotation since coming to this screen. As on many of the screens in Tony La Russa Baseball II, the function keys, F1 through F4, are available to bring up more detailed player statistics. Point to a player (or highlight him), then press one of the following keys: F1: displays batting stats F2: displays pitching stats F3: displays fielding stats F4: switches between historical and simulated statistics The right mouse button acts as F1 for batters and as F2 for pitchers. Use the function keys, F5 and F6, to print screens: F5: prints the screen: the computer sends what you see to the printer. F6: appends what you see to the contents of the file, print.txt. You may print this file, or use any text editor to look at what's in it. Glossary of column abbreviations: BB: bases on balls (walks) DU: stands for days unavailable. For pitchers, this can mean one of two things. If the number in the DU column is followed by an "r," it means the player has recently pitched and requires time to rest. A resting pitcher may still play, but if he does his chance of injury rises dramatically. If the number in the DU column is not followed by an "r," the pitcher has been injured and cannot play. If this occurs, a reserve list pitcher will temporarily fill the injured player's roster spot. END: this stands for endurance. Roughly, 10 times the endurance is the number of pitches this pitcher can throw before he starts to tire. ERA: earned run average IP: innings pitched K: strike outs SV: saves T: throwing arm, either 'R' for right or 'L' for left. W-L: wins and losses. * Player Roster Help The player roster screen presents a list of all batters on the team, as well as those on the reserve list. Here you can change the active roster of a team by moving players to and from the reserve list. To move a batter from the reserve list to the active roster, click on the player you want to move, then click on the player you want to replace. At the bottom of the screen are three buttons: MORE: click on more to display the next page of reserve list players. A team may have up nine batters on the reserve list. PITCHERS: this button switches to the Pitching Staff screen, which displays a list of all active and reserve list pitchers. RESTORE: restore cancels any roster moves you have made since coming to this screen. As on many of the screens in Tony La Russa Baseball II, the function keys, F1 through F4, are available to bring up more detailed player statistics. Point to a player (or highlight him), then press one of the following keys: F1: displays batting stats F2: displays pitching stats F3: displays fielding stats F4: switches between historical and simulated statistics The right mouse button acts as F1 for batters and as F2 for pitchers. Use the function keys, F5 and F6, to print screens: F5: prints the screen: the computer sends what you see to the printer. F6: appends what you see to the contents of the file, print.txt. You may print this file, or use any text editor to look at what's in it. Glossary of column abbreviations: AB: at bats AVG: batting average B: stands for batting side, and can be 'R' for right, 'L' for left, or 'S' for switch hitter. DU: stands for days unavailable. For batters, this means the player has been injured and cannot play. If this occurs, a reserve list batter will temporarily fill the injured player's roster spot. HR: home runs OBA: on base average POS1: this is the player's primary position, the one he has the most experience at. POS2: the player's secondary position. He can play here, but is better playing POS1, his primary position. SA: slugging average SB: stolen bases * Pitching Staff Help The pitching staff screen presents a list of all pitchers on the team, as well as those on the reserve list. Here you can change the active roster of a team by moving pitchers to and from the reserve list. To move a pitcher from the reserve list to the active roster, click on the player you want to move, then click on the player you want to replace. At the bottom of the screen are two buttons: BATTERS: this button switches to the Player Roster screen, which displays a list of all active and reserve list batters. RESTORE: restore cancels any roster moves you have made since coming to this screen. As on many of the screens in Tony La Russa Baseball II, the function keys, F1 through F4, are available to bring up more detailed player statistics. Point to a player (or highlight him), then press one of the following keys: F1: displays batting stats F2: displays pitching stats F3: displays fielding stats F4: switches between historical and simulated statistics The right mouse button acts as F1 for batters and as F2 for pitchers. Use the function keys, F5 and F6, to print screens: F5: prints the screen: the computer sends what you see to the printer. F6: appends what you see to the contents of the file, print.txt. You may print this file, or use any text editor to look at what's in it. Glossary of column abbreviations: BB: bases on balls (walks) DU: stands for days unavailable. For pitchers, this can mean one of two things. If the number in the DU column is followed by an "r," it means the player has recently pitched and requires time to rest. A resting pitcher may still play, but if he does his chance of injury rises dramatically. If the number in the DU column is not followed by an "r," the pitcher has been injured and cannot play. If this occurs, a reserve list pitcher will temporarily fill the injured player's roster spot. END: this stands for endurance. Roughly, 10 times the endurance is the number of pitches this pitcher can throw before he starts to tire. ERA: earned run average IP: innings pitched K: strike outs SV: saves T: throwing arm, either 'R' for right or 'L' for left. W-L: wins and losses. * Manager Profile Help A manager profile is a model of a manager's tendencies in certain baseball situations. In Tony La Russa Baseball II, the model is built out of several "sliders," which describe each tendency on a scale of one to ten. It is here you can recreate the innovative style of the legendary John McGraw - or bring your own skill, knowledge, and insight to bear on your team's playing personality. The profile is divided into five basic categories: lineup, pitching, batting, running, and defense. These are each comprised of three sliders, each of which controls a certain facet of the category. To change a slider, click on one of the arrows next to either end of it. Clicking on the left arrow, moves the slider to the left, increasing the influence of the factor at that end. You will see the numbers near the ends of the slider change. Clicking on the right arrow, moves it to the right. At the bottom of the screen are five buttons. The first four are for selecting the manager category you are interested in. Click on one of these to access the sliders for that category. The fifth button is 'RESTORE.' Click here to cancel all changes you have made to this team's profile, not just the ones you have made to the sliders currently on the screen. These are the managerial categories and their sliders: LINEUP & ROTATION: SPEED VS POWER: this is the classic "steal runs" vs "wait for the three-run homer" argument. Managers with a high speed setting will choose faster players over homer run hitters; while power managers will put sluggers in the lineup. DEFENSE VS HITTERS: you can try to score a lot or try to prevent the other team from scoring a lot. Turning defense up will cause the manager to choose a player with a nifty glove over an average defender with higher batting average; while sliding it more toward 'hitters' will increase the offense at the expense of the defense. ENDURANCE VS ERA: some managers prefer starters who can "go the distance" while others require only five or six innings of "quality" pitching. Move the slider more towards endurance to instruct the manager to choose pitchers who can pitch more innings, perhaps protecting a weak bullpen. With a strong relief corps, move it more the other way. The manager will pick starters with lower endurances and lower era's. PITCHING: LEAVE STARTERS IN VS YANK'EM: Some managers have a "quick hook" while others are willing to wait a while. This slider controls that tendency: if you want your starters out of there at the first sign of trouble, choose "yank'em." If your guys are good at getting out of jams, move it more toward "leave starters in." LEAVE STARTERS IN VS PINCH HIT: It's late in the game, the score is close. Do you let your pitcher hit, because he's throwing well, or pull him for a hitter in the hopes of starting or maintaining a rally? PITCH AROUND VS CHALLENGE HITTER: With men on and first base open, how do you feel about the so called "semi- intentional walk?" "Pitch around" will cause your pitchers to throw near, but out of, the strike zone, hoping to get the batter to chase some bad balls. If the hitter walks, it'll set up a possible double play. "Challenge hitter" is the opposite. No walks here: the pitcher will bring his best stuff at every batter. BATTING: SACRIFICE VS HIT AWAY: Another point of strategy is whether or not to give up an out to advance a runner. Choosing "sacrifice" will cause your batters to bunt runners along - from first to second with fewer than two outs, and from second to third with no outs. "Hit away" is the opposite: batters will swing away with runners on, hoping for a big inning. SQUEEZE VS HIT AWAY: Man on third, fewer than two outs. Do you let the batter swing away? Maybe he'll get a hit. Or do you have him lay one down, hoping to get the runner home that way? Choose "hit away" if you are not willing to give up an out in an attempt to score a run. Your hitters won't bunt with a runner on third and fewer than two outs. Select "squeeze" if you want to see more safety and suicide squeezes. HIT & RUN VS PLAY IT SAFE: Some managers like to send the runner on first and order the batter to swing. This is a "hit and run." When it works, the runner can score on a double, or go to third on a single, or stay out of a potential double play, if the batter grounds out. When it fails, the hitter misses the pitch, and the runner is caught stealing, or the batter lines the ball to an infielder, and the runner is easily doubled off first. This slider controls how much you hit and run. BASERUNNING: AGGRESSIVE VS PLAY IT SAFE: try to stretch that single into a double? Challenge the arms in the outfield: first to third on a hard-hit single? Tag up and score on a shallow fly? This slider controls your base- running tendencies. Choose "aggressive" to always try to get that extra base. Sometimes you'll get thrown out. "Play it safe" takes fewer chances, gets fewer extra bases, makes fewer outs on the base paths. STEAL 2ND VS PLAY IT SAFE: How often do you attempt to steal second base? Speedy runners will try fairly often automatically, because they will usually make it. This slider controls the actions of the slower runners. The more toward "steal 2nd" you push it, the more often runners will steal. "Play it safe" is the opposite: only the fastest runners will attempt to steal second base. STEAL THIRD VS PLAY IT SAFE: This works just like "steal 2nd vs play it safe." "Steal" tries to take third more often, and "safe" stays put. DEFENSE: WALK HIM VS PITCH TO HIM: With first base open and fewer than two outs, do you put the batter on to set up the double play, or do you pitch to him, and hope he doesn't beat you? The pitcher will tend to walk a superstar automatically, especially if the hitter on deck is weaker, but how do you want him to handle an average batter? "Walk him" increases the chance the pitcher will put him on, while "pitch to him" shies away from intentional walks. INFIELD IN VS NORMAL DEPTH: With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, do you bring your infielders in, hoping to nail the runner at the plate on a grounder? Or do you concede the run to make sure of the out at first? "Infield in" will get more outs at the plate, but will also allow more balls to get through, because the fielders will have less time to react. "Normal depth" is the opposite: fewer outs at the plate, but more batters thrown out at first, while the runner scores from third. PITCHOUT VS THROW STRIKES: Is the runner stealing? Should the pitcher throw a wide one, giving the catcher that extra bit of time, if the runner is going? This slider controls your tendency to throw an intentional ball when a runner might be stealing. More pitchouts result in more guys thrown out stealing, but also in more balls when the runner isn't going. "Throw strikes" will allow more stolen bases in the long run, but will also help keep your pitcher from getting behind in the count by throwing pitchouts. *