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Amaroq -> RE: Has this ever happened to you? (12/19/2005 9:22:14 PM)
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Rich, your workaround is fine, but I think ChiefT has a valid point also - the U.I. in this case shouldn't force him to put in a pitcher.
The idea of not having to make the replacement until the beginning of the next inning is okay, but still doesn't fix the problem. What if the pitcher had been batting fourth? Then CheifT doesn't know whether he wants to replace the injured player with a batter or a pitcher, and being forced to do so at the start of the inning is almost as bad as having it in the previous inning. He won't know until he sees the result of the third at-bat of the inning.
The change I'd like to see made is to not force a substitution until that player has to take the field. The following situations would all be taken care of:
Pitcher injured at end of inning. Choice of replacement not forced until either the pitcher's spot comes up, or until the team needs to have a pitcher on the mound.
Fielder injured at end of inning. Choice of replacement not forced until either his spot comes up, or until the team needs a fielder at that position.
Base runner injured and also called out. Choice of replacement not forced until the spot comes up again during the inning, or until the team needs to have a fielder.
Batter injured and retired. Choice of replacement not forced until the spot comes up again during the inning, or until the team needs to have a fielder.
Designated hitter injured and called out. Choice of replacement not force until the DH spot comes up again.
This would greatly facilitate the manager's ability to successfully apply double switches in the appropriate cases. It has a real world equivalent, because the umpiring crew doesn't need to have a replacement made until the player takes the field. Its strategically ideal because we're given more flexibility; flexibility is always a strategic advantage.
There would still be a number of cases where an immediate substitution would be needed: pitcher or fielder injured, but not on the third out of an inning; batter injured but reached safely (e.g., HBP); base runner injured but safe. Even in these cases, we need to have access to the double-switch functionality.
It has a negative side: with a pile-up of players injured but not yet subbed for, the player could make his last substitution and then be unable to make a replacement. Also, if the AI took advantage of the flexibility, and didn't make changes until forced to, it would have to 'look ahead', keeping in mind how many batters or pitchers it needed to reserve due to injury. So, it would be a bit of a programming challenge to work around both of those cases.
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