Let me preface my comments by saying I submit these with the utmost respect for what you guys have done for the game. I agree with most of what you say, but I just have a few things I disagree with. I speak of all this from a "curve-pitch" standpoint. Again I say this with all due respect, but I can't understand why you'd play straight pitch. You are taking away half the game (pitching).
1. Berenguer can hit 103mph on the gun- you say 102.
2. Boston is the best team, not Detroit.
3. Aldrete should be used for Uribe.
4. You underrate SF- they are right there with the other teams- especially with Krukow's movement.
5. Darrell is better than Dwight (Evans)
I firmly agree with your assessment about Minnesota- dead on about Puckett, Hrbek, Bruno. Frustratingly bad pinch hitting. Gagne sucks, but Larkin et al are worse.
I think Gooden and Clemens are vastly overrated. I start Ojeda and Hurst in my game 1's. Keep in mind though I play curves, and they are both filthy.
More to come upon response- I want to make sure these nuggets are being read.
Thanks again guys- truly great site.
You have made some excellent points. It's especially good to get more feedback regarding the FAQ:
1) You are correct about Senor Smoke, he can hit 103. Nolan Ryan can also hit 103 and some people have said Garrelts. I should have changed it awhile back, but finally did...
2) Many people think Boston is the best curve pitch team as well. That is now noted in the FAQ...
3) A couple of those team writeups are a bit dated, and San Fran is one such team. My personal preference is to go with Spilman at the 1 spot, Brenley at #6, and Aldrete at #8. Someimtes I go Aldrete at #6 too. Joel Youngblood is worthless after his first AB, should stay on the bench. Potsie doesn't use that lineup anymore, I'll try to get him to update his synopsis, thanks...
4) SF is a definite tier-2 team in straight pitch. Some people (like Dennis Kim) do not like SF in curves either, but it depends on your style. Krukow is a curve master, but does not have the stamina. If you are allowed to use two starters in a game, then SF is much better in curve....
5) Potsie and lipitz had a running joke about the Evanses awhile back. Even though Pots wrote it, he knows that Darrell is much better than Dwight. See our rankings for a more accurate (though admittedly still dated) outlook...
I appreciate all the input, good to have people correct some mistakes on there. Most of these can be attributed to laziness, but we should do a revision of the NES team writeups at some point....
PS - Be sure to sign up with a username. All the stuff on here gets read...
i agree with you about the chowds... i think they rule in curve style... of course, i like batting with righties more than lefties... the tigers are a solid lineup but their pitching is pathetic. darrell evans, while slow, rakes... he and gibby are a dynamic duo... but my money goes with jimmy rice as the best player in the game... he is consistent throughout...
I think Rice might be the best player in the game. Baylor is awesome too because of speed. Armas is slow as balls but has more power than any other righty in the game. I am not comfortable hitting with lefties, which is why Hrbek, Thrill, Gibby and D.Evans get slightly downgraded.
I play that you can only use one starting pitcher and 2 relievers. Not being able to double switch is a big negative. It would add a lot to the game.
I've gotten a few rare games in with Boston and I'm really coming around on Jim Rice. I used to think Burks was the top gun on Boston, but Rice gets the job done every game. I still think Jack Clark is the best righty not counting all-stars, but RBI can play...
Jack Clark can play but in a curve style game i think Jim Rice has got him beat.
obiwan kanobe clark is good but he, like jim thome, never gets anything to hit cause the guys behind him are not at all intimidating.
rice just rakes... he and burnzky are the best right handed hitters in the game.
Big Apple - solid contribution, and I could not agree more. Curve-style pitching is the best way to play the game, and definitely the most competitive. I have also played a "strikes only" version (where you can hit the corners, but every pitch must be a strike or the guy's automatically awarded first base), but I think that a "straight pitch only" game could be fun - but should primarily be used when playing RBI as a drinking game.
I'm on the fence about the rule where you can only use one starter (in non-tournament play)...it's more fair, but having to face two starters in the same game keeps the scoring down and the hits fewer. Both are fine by me, but I would usually start Stanley (although he blows in real life) and go to Clemens in the 4th. Not sure if that's cool in most leagues, but it's not a bad strategy. Detroit is overrated in curve-style...not a bad team overall, but they just live & die by the HR. In curve-style, you have to count on baserunners and making good contact once in a while. The ability to take a curve ball that's headed for the plate is a craft - sometimes it drops in the dirt, sometimes it doesn't...takes a Boggs-like eye to know when to swing at it.
As usual, Gwynn3k is right on...Boston is by far the best team in curve-style, and Jim Rice may be the best player in the game. With Boggs in front (consistently doubles) and Baylor behind him (great contact, A-speed), that's most dangerous 3 player combo in RBI. Rice once had 4 HR's in a single curve-style only 9-inning game for me - a record for us.
Big Apple - solid contribution, and I could not agree more. Curve-style pitching is the best way to play the game, and definitely the most competitive. I have also played a "strikes only" version (where you can hit the corners, but every pitch must be a strike or the guy's automatically awarded first base), but I think that a "straight pitch only" game could be fun - but should primarily be used when playing RBI as a drinking game.
I'm on the fence about the rule where you can only use one starter (in non-tournament play)...it's more fair, but having to face two starters in the same game keeps the scoring down and the hits fewer. Both are fine by me, but I would usually start Stanley (although he blows in real life) and go to Clemens in the 4th. Not sure if that's cool in most leagues, but it's not a bad strategy. Detroit is overrated in curve-style...not a bad team overall, but they just live & die by the HR. In curve-style, you have to count on baserunners and making good contact once in a while. The ability to take a curve ball that's headed for the plate is a craft - sometimes it drops in the dirt, sometimes it doesn't...takes a Boggs-like eye to know when to swing at it.
As usual, Gwynn3k is right on...Boston is by far the best team in curve-style, and Jim Rice may be the best player in the game. With Boggs in front (consistently doubles) and Baylor behind him (great contact, A-speed), that's most dangerous 3 player combo in RBI. Rice once had 4 HR's in a single curve-style only 9-inning game for me - a record for us.
detroit is definately a long ball team... they do not manufacture runs like most of the other teams in the tengen league. their big boppers are hit or miss... you dont want to make a mistake to them... as for the guys at the bottom of the order, you must give them respect as well for they will bite you in the ass if you dont. pitching is detroits achilles heel... however, doyle has been strong lately winning 70 percent of his starts. i dont play with detroit cause of their left-handed lineup. i prefer teams with balance if not more righties... i.e. minnesota and beantown.
hey gantry, i noticed a few discrepancies with the watn page.
gibson is no longer an announcer, instead the bench coach for the kittens
and denny walling is the hitting coach for the mets.. as if they couldnt get more impotent.
thats all for now
The page has been updated...
in response to mark_ryan's post, i always find that starting someone other than clemens is trouble. it seems like he doesn't have the same stuff coming out of the pen, and stanley just plain sucks, rbi and otherwise. i stuggle to combine stanley and that other chump out of the BO 'pen through two innings to close a game out.