Time for a frickin' 9 innings thread on ILG, folks... ― schwantz, Thursday, August 26, 2010 10:26 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

who's your team? my phils are 36-27-2 (lol ties), ranked 2nd behind florida. my most dependable pitcher is javier vazquez. I am sad that roy halladay can't be upgraded anymore after reaching level 3.

my phils are currently 68-45-1, first place and heading soon into the playoffs

What's the deal with New York N + New York A? What are those letters supposed to stand for?

national and american? one's the yanks and the others the mets.

That makes sense!

Notice how some of the players like Manny Ramirez + Ruiz are represented by super white looking avatars at bat? Lulz to be had.

yeah they don't exactly have the best selection of avatars? everybody's really fat and their bats all have teal lightning bolts on them.

Am the nymets...15-16 currently but just coming off a 6 game win streak

Also, someone explain leveling up guys pls? Havnt been doin that

you can use the points you win for achievements to level up your guys (gives modest increases per stats).

I think your dudes will level up naturally just by playing enough games, but you can always speed up the process by using the card levelup option. however it's not always successful and you can end up wasting a lot of points, especially if you are trying to upgrade a dude who is a Rare or Hero card. generally I try to keep all my guys at level 3 or above.

The dilemma I struggle with is whether or not to invest points in leveling up "normal" dudes. Like, I play as the Cardinals so I have Pujols. But he's "normal" Pujols, so I'd hate to level him up big time if I'm just going to find a rare version later.

I found a rare version of Ryan Howard and he's great (but statwise not that much different than regular Ryan.)

anybody chanced upon Lance Berkman yet? does he look like a pallid bloated corpse to anyone else?

(also 9 innings won't let me play normal Ryan Howard and rare Ryan Howard at the same time. ;_;)

One question: you know how some of your players will have little traits ("slugger", "clutch", etc)? Are the stat boosts that come from those traits reflected in the stats you see on the back of the card, or are they on top of the stats?

the fate of the world rests on this answer!

I've got a golden Ryan Howard (don't remember the name for that quality, but I think it's the highest level) and he's a monster hitter.

there are 'tips' that display while the game loads but most of the time the game loads too quickly for me to read them. I feel like they hold the key.

^yea I hate those are so fast

I think John lannan has shut me out twice

playing as the Tampa Bay Rays (GO YOU RAYS). beating the dogshit out of the rest of the league but still somehow 4 games behind the fukkin Yanx in the AL East. got a golden Stephen Strasburg and he's maybe the best card in the game - 100s for control & power, 5 bars for all 4 pitches, like 80 endurance, etc. also drew a rare Jeter today but my infield owns (Cantu, Barmes, Sandoval, & Aaron Hill [who is inexplicably leading the league in home runs]) so we'll see. God help us all if the next version adds the ability to trade cards between players.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4096/4928015743_fc4fbafa33.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4928015827_6930ae060a.jpg

daaaaaaaaaaang, how many games in are you? I have a few players with stats like that (Brian Roberts, Ryan Braun), but I'm only 20 games in.

jesus christ

have no platinum dudes ;_; hate it when you get a special card of a shitty player

Ha, I've been buying upgrades. Too many.

Drawing a lot of gold cards and combining a lot of cards.

The rest of my team isn't that spectacular. I can't seem to get good cards for SS and LF. Haven't really bothered with the bench. What sucks with combining cards is that I'll combine 3 gold cards and get another stupid fucking coach that I already have. Or an ugly cheerleader.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4929283356_d7c2cd244f.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4928689053_1ddae9e8b0.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4928689375_888ec569c7.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4929283740_7ac90f3a7d.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4929283434_d1f2fd7e6f.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4928689135_1859e1fa2b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4929283884_3e401780a5.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4929283646_b948eed2f3.jpg

Whoops, catcher is McCann

Do ppl use inning jumps? Are they exactly what I think they are?

I use them when I'm getting totally blown out, like 10-0 after two innings or something.

I use inning jumps when all my pitchers are redlining and I can bear to watch.

fucking minnesota took 2 out of 3

who is this joe mauer fellah and how can I get him to play for me

Bought this based on the love shown here though I don't really follow MLB. My Orioles (good team?) are a dismal 5-13 but I've only just figured out the card system so things can only get better.

My Orioles (good team?)

http://i17.tinypic.com/6ptj2ua.gif

damn.

haha, although who knows, maybe the skill of the teams doesn't line up with real life. I'm playing as the Cardinals and when I picked them they didn't seem to be rated as highly as I thought they should be.

I started with Chicago N. I don't think I have any of the original players left since I replaced Theriot today.

changed a coach/cheerleader card out for one with BAT POW + 3 and hit 3 homers in a row next time out

I think the BAT EYE stat increases the probability you make contact and/or hit it to a favorable position on the field? not sure though

what's the stat next to running speed for fielders? kind of looks like a glove. is that the fielding stat?

it's the fielding stat, yep.

there are a lot of unexplained stat increases...for example, my brad lidge is BUDDHA, iirc, but I have no idea how that actually affects anything

Resilient in the face of batters hitting on him I think

Just realized that despite my bottom of the league standing, my team actually leads the league in batting average. My pitching is dismal.

is there a point to getting cards of people I don't give a shit about?

just wondering if I am supposed to do something exciting with my jerry manuel card

I combine all cards that I don't give a shit about in hopes that something good will turn up. HATE when I combine like 3 rares and it gives me another stupid coach.

what are the best coach cards? I have a cheerleader and a coach who give Point +4%. so technically I should be up 8%. but I don't know how that actually works.

also I figured out the best strategy in batting is to swing at every pitch. it sucks when the computer wises up to it and you end up at swinging at four intentional balls.

I got a gold pujols card. Whats up now bitches.

Beaten by an extra inning mo rivera DOUBLE and in the following game facing halladay and he goes 4-4 is some "y am I even playing this" level bs

verlander got lit up by the braves for 5 runs today and it's even worse cuz I'm playin as the phils :(

okay so my last couple of games have followed this pattern:

-reds jump out to 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st, even though I was careful to pitch around the strike zone using my best aces etc. etc.
-reds pitcher with stats below 70 shuts me out
-I have nerd rage

also don't forcibly try to upgrade your players. if it fails, let it be. if you try too many times it limits their max level. ryan howard will now never achieve level 6.

same here. My stl cards season is sadly mirroring the real stl cards season - I somehow got swept by the astros, I can't seem to break 4 runs in a game lately, and 90% of my hits are weak dribblers to second base.

Still, I'm somehow 19-14 or so.

nah it's not harder in season 2 (tho mine is still on easy -- if they let u upgrade btwn seasons go for it, i cant recall if it did or not)

also WOW & TEX's 117 power. never seen that card

^that should be wow @

how u have so many dope platinums my best 1 is like mike cameron

o i guess ur already in seas 2

im like ~ 45-12-1 seas 2

good cards from: 1. luck 2. paid money like an asshole 3. my coach is an upgraded +card% (right now at +9%). I think most of my plats are from homeruns and shit like that. Also gaming for points over stats ie. robbing myself saves to let a starter finish a game, etc. Also last season I had a million blowout games. Should mention that I have a cheerleader w/ +5 bat CON which is why everyone's CON is like 999999999

in fact except for grienke i think i got every plat there in-game, never ever get anything good from combine, or draw

I never do anymore. Seriously, I draw a gold card and it's like 30 points in various categories below my current guys.

exactly, the good thing is that this season i'll basically not change a single player.

people should go into the player rank and make the second field ILX or something, so we can compare "scores" whatever the f they mean!

err, why it's good i am not changing players: top of all of the player ranks. last year i only had one guy in top ten Ks because almost my whole pitching squad had a half-year of catchup to play. did we ever figure out how to use EXP?

i have no idea.. i guess i assume that EXP bumps up your stats?

anybody ever figure out how many inning skips it takes to reduce your EXP for that game?

the other day i pinch-ran for my starting pitcher, and in the bottom half of the inning.. there he was on the mound! huh? maybe that's some kind of s. korean rule?

i think howie kendrick has to have the best player photo (although i am partial to josh beckett's come-hither, kenny powers-esque pose)

http://f.cl.ly/items/2v3R3E1E353T1R3u0I3q/IMG_0041.PNG

I think that's just a bug (pinch hitting for the pitcher and having him return)

one of the "pro tips" that stayed on the screen long enough for me to read it: "difficulty of first 20 games has been adjusted"

that makes a lotta sense to me - i rocketed to the top of the league but the games are much harder now. i also just recently played my first NIGHT game.. ooh!

i have to say the difficulty curve is very very well done - as you get better, the opposition does too

btw Will M. the real way to rack up points is the real man's way - by playing Homerun Mode for like three hours straight til you can't see

I will try this Tracer! So much HR mode!

Also, Matt Cain gold card is consistently throwing fastballs north of 110MPH. INSANE

HR mode SO ADDICTIVE

finally realized that the timeout menu lets you see the speed of your baserunners, i.e. "Dash - D" or "Dash - B"

The computer is getting crazy good now (around middle of the season I guess.. sky has turned dark orange).. hardly ever swings at anything outside the zone and punishes me if I throw in the zone and don't get my pitching circle down to the minimum

Am I right in thinking that pitcher POW is becoming the most relevant stat?

Better luck next time ...

i liked HR mode so much i bought Homerun Battle 3D and... i don't really get it

idg HR mode - how can I use some of my power hitters? jimmy rollins loses and then it's game over

yeah the latest update seems to mean that the games are getting harder. but it still seems I win pretty easily, and yes I do have a POW +4 coach card or something like that.

you can't. you have to use your lineup in order. i've gotten to the 5th guy in the order once, i think. usually i puke out on #3. the pitchers get nastier too, throwing out of the zone sometimes..

i reallllly don't get the diff between coaches who are "card +5" and coaches who are "points +5"

i mean HR Mode is totally idiotic - i feel like a pavlovian dog or something - but after a tense game it feels so sweet to just bash em out of the park

points + 5 means you earn 5% more points for all your achievements, I think

kinda worthless

I really hate how when you fail at a levelup, it takes away one level from the max level of a guy.

i still have no idea why a platinum card is any better than a normal one. i see the same number of little level lozenges at the bottom. and normal cards are a hell of a lot cheaper to level up.

I've started just skipping all pitching innings. Just got too bored with it.

I've enjoyed homerun battle 3d. Although I always get me ass kicked in multiplayer.

Jeff I will admit to skipping most pitching innings as well but I often regret it - I'm a better pitcher than the computer. I never walk guys, for instance.

Something that has been infuriating me is that I can't count on doing a hit-and-run - even if the ball is right over the plate, the game often won't "let" me swing at it.

got handed my first ass whooping after 20 or so games of easy wins, by the 1st ranked la nats (aka dodgers)

the game is doing that thing where they are even hitting pitches way outside of the box into the gaps, and then during my at bats I always fly out to shallow center

fucking computer

me too; 11-1 at the hands of the rays

i reallllly don't get the diff between coaches who are "card +5" and coaches who are "points +5"
Points +5: each achievement gives you an additional 5% more points. Not really worth it.
Card +5: A +5% chance to get a card on any achievement. I don't nkwo if it actually works but I have a leveled-up Card+9 coach on alllll the time and I get a LOT of cards. I like it like that.

i still have no idea why a platinum card is any better than a normal one. i see the same number of little level lozenges at the bottom. and normal cards are a hell of a lot cheaper to level up.
They usually start with higher stats, and have 3 special abilities incl. one super-special ability (eg. slugger, prophet, etc). I have had some green cards better thna gold of the same player though, and red better than green, etc. It seems like it randomizes A) what stats it makes better and B) what powers the players get.

got handed my first ass whooping after 20 or so games of easy wins, by the 1st ranked la nats (aka dodgers)
As you get better players this happens less, I sucked from games 21-50 or 60 or so, then my team started to be awesome.

thanks Will!

I love this guy's player card:

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_mlb_experts__30/ept_sports_mlb_experts-517198773-1245661050.jpg?ym6tNdBDREnOrWpS

yeah seriously

my favorite player photo is still Howie Kendrick:

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/players/08/15/first.person0821/t1_howie.jpg

further:

- the difference in style between difft pitchers is terrific. some curveballs loop slowly in, others snap tightly.

- the stealing mechanic should actually work; as it is, it's just chance

- defensive substitutions, please!

- stamina depletion of opposing relievers, please! it's not fair that my guys' tiredness lasts through to the next game, but their guys magically "heal" overnight. it takes away one of the great strategic satisfactions of baseball: wearing down the relief corps so that the next day your opponent's no. 5 starter gets left in the game too long

- it is a bit too easy. i'm now into the next season (2011) and i didn't get a chance to switch it up to "hard"

- i love how in the world series everyone seems to play a bit better

oh oh oh and PLEASE

- when i send a runner, let me SWING THE BAT for fuck's sake. sometimes it lets me - but i can discern no pattern

I can see their guys stealing from a mile away but only average about a 33% throwout rate.

lol at manny's avatar being a thin white guy, also my team doesn't seem to do good against the first ranked teams. wondering if I should try to get more green/gold cards. I roll with mostly blue cards with good stats (a lot of cats over 100) but I wonder if that's what's holding me back. if so fuck em cause I'm not gonna give em money to gamble for good players.

first ranked teams ARE harder. i look forward to them, though, it's the only time i get a really good challenge.

i'm amazed at your 33% throwout rate - i have literally thrown out ONE GUY in my entire 9 innings career.

i have a couple of sweet gold cards but the rest are blues and reds and i'm beginning to max them out.

my card strategy is usually to go with a card +9% manager (to increase my chances of getting cards in the game) and then a cheerleader with +3 or +4 of whatever stat that day's pitcher needs topping up

has anyone ever evaded a rundown situation?

beat out a bunt?

I've beaten out a bunt once or twice I think...also ran a suicide on the computer once. have thrown the computer out a few times when it tries to stretch a double into a triple. have never ever thrown out the computer at home though on a hit to the outfield.

the newer updates seemed to have nerfed stealing bases - a regular strategy for me would be to single with rollins (my A speed guy), have him steal second, then hit him home. he always seems to get thrown out lately. whereas some of the computer guys I've seen are absolute roadrunners on the base paths.

I've beaten out a few bunts. I'm not sure I've ever hot a triple though! They are waaaay too rare

HIT

i've hit a few... they have to be wayyy down in the right-field corner with an A speed guy like ichiro

i ran a suicide against the computer in like my second game! don't think i've done it much since - it's far too easy to pop up the bunt for a double (or triple) play

still don't have any technique for bunting - i'm not sure if you're supposed to time the bunt button or just keep it held down or what

the other day I hit one to left-central, both the computers left and center fielder went for it and dove for it, the ball bounced between them and rolled to warning track

never seen that happen before, feel like if I had an A speed guy I could have had an inside the park homerun

a few times I've noticed that I pinch hit for a pitcher but the same pitcher is left in the next inning. I think I figured out the bug this afternoon. If you pinch hit for a pitcher AFTER the first pitch, it leaves the pitcher in for the next inning. Useful if you want to be a cheating bastard. However, the following inning, you'll be forced to relieve the pitcher.

the other day i hit a cycle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! jeter had a 1b + a 3b + a hr and I made a hit that should not have been a double but I needed to try to stretch it anyway and I somehow got there.

whoa did you get megapoints?

GUYS.

i have decided, upon season 2 being too easy, to start using all my points toward buying members of the same team.

yes, i am going to see what consequences - if any - the legendary and mythical "set effects" have.

i did that. got a full green + gold phillies team.

Wait...what?

What's the set effect?

.. i don't know! Mordy what happened?

idk. i just know that the game claims you get a bonus if everyone is on the same team. i didn't see any particular bonus however.

guh

I didn't know the context of Howie Kendrick's card photo until now thanks to this thread lolllllll