The Brewster

As always, I'm very curious how people are using the dev lab. Here's the first of two questions, which is related to the difficulty of the task.

I'm taking a different approach this year just to see what happens.

I aim to do mostly easy/medium with a focus on secondary pitch and plate discipline but my exception to that rule is I’ll do a Hard program for strength and conditioning. That’s such a game changer and breaking a fragile player is whatever.

RonCo wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 19, 2025 9:46 pm

I'm taking a different approach this year just to see what happens.

Looking forward to the results of the experiment. I totally admit I'm overcorrecting based on a one-off, but it scared the hell out of me.

BaseClogger wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 19, 2025 10:03 pm

I aim to do mostly easy/medium with a focus on secondary pitch and plate discipline but my exception to that rule is I’ll do a Hard program for strength and conditioning. That’s such a game changer and breaking a fragile player is whatever.

That's a good point. I'll keep that in mind for 63.

it's 50/50 right now, but i don't shy away from the difficult ones.

I like to take it easy with speed and defense. Though will occasionally roll the dice if there is a big gain to be had.

Like this year I sent Darren Wearne and Hector Garcia to improve at CF(hard). If they both succeed and can play scratch defense, that would be a solid CF platoon. If they both detrimentally fail, they are still decent corners. So not much to lose, a lot to gain.

I tried to pick the option that most accurately describes what I’m doing this year but here is the actual way I’m going about things.

First round is all defense: One is hard (CF) and the rest are hard easy or medium.

Second and third rounds will still have some defense: I think I have 2 other hard I’m considering but mostly easy and medium. One is a learn new position program.

2nd round long: I’m planning on 3 or 4 secondary pitch improvement programs, probably 2 or 3 strength and conditioning, and possibly 1 improve stamina. I was considering a couple of other programs but I’m pretty sure this is what I’m doing.

Trebro wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 19, 2025 10:59 pm

Looking forward to the results of the experiment. I totally admit I'm overcorrecting based on a one-off, but it scared the hell out of me.

True poker players I know don't consider themselves "gamblers." They call themselves card players. Their only goal is to play the hand properly and make the right bet. On occasion, they screw up or get a bad beat. At that point their goal is to forget it and still make the right bet going forward.

I'm not a card player, but I like that mentality for our little game here because even if you make the "right" call, it can still blow up in your face.

The goal is to make the right call going forward, regardless of the results of the last one.

I went hard, and I went young. I want star players, not a bunch of AAAA guys. Rolling the dice on my best prospects and looking to fill in their holes. Specifically, stamina programs for Fitzpatrick and Claudio Torres. Push their three staminas into fours and I have two aces on the cusp of the BBA. If they lose stamina, I still have two high end stoppers, only a hint worse off.