Tuesday, April 29, 2008

MLB '08: Learning Something New

I was all set to write up an annoyed post about MLB '08 not getting pitcher of record stats correct. I've had multiple games now where I got a loss for games for which I did not allow the winning run, and it was always my understanding that the pitcher who allows the winning run gets the loss. Here's an example:

In a game against Bowie, I allowed one run in my six innings of work. (This is Road to the Show mode.) In the seventh, a reliever allowed another run, making it a 2-0 game. In the ninth, my team (Erie) finally put up a run and we lost 2-1. Despite only giving up one run, I got the loss, which I thought was totally wrong. So, I looked up the rule on MLB.com and here's what it has to say about the losing pitcher of record:
(d) A losing pitcher is a pitcher who is responsible for the run that gives the winning team a lead that the winning team does not relinquish.
So, if I'm reading that correctly, because I surrendered the lead and Erie never recovered to at least tie the game, that's why I get the loss. That still doesn't seem right to me, and I can't believe MLB never discussed this with me, personally, but them's the breaks. At least MLB '08 appears to have gotten it right and I got to learn something new.

Still, The Show ain't perfect. In another game I was pitching in a 0-0 game; I allowed a lead-off hit, followed by a home run. The score moved, correctly, to 2-0. So, why when the next hitter reached the plate was their a runner still on second base? I didn't even notice him until I gave up a hit to the next guy and the runner on second scored for a 3-0 game. I was dumbfounded for a few minutes while I tried to figure out if I blacked out during an at bat or something, but nope, the game put a runner on base where there should not have been one. I promptly turned the console off and started over. Fortunately, after having played about a dozen or so games, this seems to have been the only time this has occurred. Still, it was damned odd.