11.19 Computer Trades

[FRENCHREDSOX]

Are the AIs of some teams "dumber" than other teams? The AIs of the Marlins, Orioles and Reds seem to be mentally handicapped, while there are other teams (Red Sox) who consistently steal big talent from other teams. My examples from a general discussion thread.

If some teams are programmed to be stupid, making them more like the smart teams would go a long way toward fixing the imbalanced trade problem.

No the AI is simply DUMB full stop - the difference is that "large markets" hide this through being better scouters & developers of talent (which has been discussed ad infinitum in 120 win dynasty threads).Simply put after 3 or so years the same teams are A+ (NYY/NYM/BOS/LAD etc) & the same are D+ (FLA/PITT etc) - thus when FLA trades they are at +/- 9 & at that level will ALWAYS get "screwed" in a deal & also they TRADE way too late.

IRL the Marlins trade their players contract year (or even PRE contract year)* whereas in BM they play them & let them walk to FA....needs to be addressed in Patch 9000+



* great example was the Beckett + Lowell deal.

[ohms_law]

The AI is the same for all teams.

[HoustonGM]

I wouldn't say this deal is HORRIBLE, but the Cardinals obviously shed a bunch of payroll and the Marlins now have a higher payroll than their budget mainly due to an aging Troy Glaus

It is horrible in the sense that it would absolutley never ever happen in real life. Teams don't just swap half their starting players with each other. Often times, it just seems like teams in Mogul make trades just to make trades. As I said above, it seems that a small market team recognizes that it's small market, and then decides "We better start doing something. Let's make trades" like the Marlins, and then just makes boneheaded nonsensical trades.

[ohms_law]

That's been basically my point all along. The trades are only "nonsensical" because we realize that teams are moving large portions of their starting lineups. The trade portion of the AI just doesn't recognize that.

As for that St. Louis - Florida trade, I find that extremely interesting. One thing that the AI pays very close attention to is the team's payroll budget... Have the Marlins been "on the cusp" in that game?

[HoustonGM]

As for that St. Louis - Florida trade, I find that extremely interesting. One thing that the AI pays very close attention to is the team's payroll budget... Have the Marlins been "on the cusp" in that game?

That trade makes more sense financially than the Ramirez for Pedro/Delgado/Alou trade I mentioned ealrier.

[ohms_law]

True, but it's fairly unusual to see a typical Marlins type team picking up $10+ million/season players at all. Their valuation tends to fall below the acceptable threshold.

[HoustonGM]

True, but it's fairly unusual to see a typical Marlins type team picking up $10+ million/season players at all. Their valuation tends to fall below the acceptable threshold.

The thing is, their payroll is ridiculously low, and their payroll budget is generally 10-20 million bucks higher. And that's realistic I'd say, but spending that money in the way they do in Mogul, by shipping off young cheap guys for old expensive guys, isn't logical. In real life, the Marlins are getting tons of money from the league and what not in real life, but they're being ridiculously stingy on player contracts. They could certainly support a $40 mil payroll or so, as they usually get up to in Mogul. (In my rosters, they start out with a payroll below $20 million and a budget about $20 million greater than that).

[ohms_law]

Yea...

FYI, this:

In my rosters, they start out with a payroll below $20 million and a budget about $20 million greater than that

is making them quite a bit more trade happy then they should be. The AI sees that and basically says "I need some veteran talent so we can win now, since I can afford it". The AI isn't at all into "Tanking". You might want to bump down their fan loyalty a few grades, for balance reasons.

[HoustonGM]

They're already at D-...and apparantly, I can't set it to F. It just refreshes at D-.

Either way, these are still fundamental problems with the AI, regardless of financial situation.

[HoustonGM]

Also, they usually sign a boatload of free agents in the first few days, which brings their payroll up to around $30 million, so when they're actually doing the trading, their payroll isn't that much lower (~$5-7 mil) than their budget.

[200tang]

Same game as the FLA/STL trade.

to CIN
Eddie Kunz (68/82)(AA) 20k
Brant Rustich (67/81)(AA) 20k

to NYM
Bronson Arroyo (84)(MLB) 8M

<Personally I don't see anything really wrong with this trade since Arroyo is their #3 starter and he has a 3.6 ERA>

Here's the trade that seems really weird.

To CIN
Justin Upton (85/95) (A)

To ARI
Adam Dunn (90) (MLB)

I don't see a need for this trade to happen and I can't see Arizona ever getting rid of Upton any time soon and then Cin trades Dunn away for Upton and stick him in single A.

[CatKnight]

I had four recent AI trades in winter that are leaving me a little puzzled. Rather than give you specifics, the situation's nearly identical in all cases so I can generalize.

In all cases, a very weak team is trading away one good player for 1-2 prospects. The good player is in his 80s overall. The prospects usually hang around 68/87 or thereabouts.

On the surface this is the AI entering 'rebuild' mode. Well enough. However, with these being winter trades the 'rebuild' tendency is accelerated. One of the weak teams is nearing the point where it's almost expansion quality - and wasn't all that good to begin with.

Further, from a suggestions standpoint, do we want teams giving up on the season in JANUARY? These rebuild trades look solid (or at least credible) for July....not Christmas.

Any thoughts?

[ohms_law]

Further, from a suggestions standpoint, do we want teams giving up on the season in JANUARY? These rebuild trades look solid (or at least credible) for July....not Christmas.

Good point. With off-season trading enabled, it's probably a good idea to adjust the AI for that anyway.

[HoustonGM]

I'm putting this thread in with the Computer Trades thread. It deals specifically with similar things raised there (the difference between offseason/in-season trading, for example).

[ohms_law]

Yea, I was thinking about doing that myself...