[IBL] A Couple First-Year Reflections (MNM)

[Matt Sivertson]

Hey David. I agree with the request for simpler MISs. The difference
between a simpler MIS and a more complex one isn't going to affect wins
very much, and having a simple MIS makes it so much more enjoyable and
faster to play.

On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 6:25 AM, genny <genny429 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello all - Hope this finds everyone well.  I wanted to jot down some
> thoughts/questions after year 1 as an IBL owner of MNM.  Nothing
> earth-shattering by any means.
>
> First, it has been a really fun experience.  The game is terrific, and all
> the owners I've played or dealt with have been great.  Pretty cool what you
> all have built over many years.  Thanks for letting me be a part of it.
>
> My thoughts/questions are prompted by a question you probably all face:
> how to keep participating in this unique and immersive experience in
> balance with other obligations.  I had difficulty at times last year
> getting games played, often needed an extension, and then found myself
> playing 2-3 games very late on work-nights via MIS.  It also led to pretty
> indifferent play of MNM, with an eye on finishing each week as the biggest
> priority.  Some of it is time-management, but much less than you'd think,
> with two kids and what seems like a second and third job coaching traveling
> baseball and softball for their teams.  Spring through August are just
> crazy.
>
> So toward the end of last year, I discussed with Sean in reflection on
> whether this was a good time in my life to play IBL.  Sean, as always, was
> awesome.  Tried to line up a co-owner, who was great as well, but
> ultimately fell to the same home-work-family-IBL balance struggles I was
> having.
>
> Now, in the rhythm of IBL, all seems well.  I like the offseason, have
> talked trade with many of you, and look forward to the draft.  I hope to
> make a go of it again next season, but I know the balance struggles will
> inevitably return - with a vengeance.
>
> So, there were two general areas I wanted to ask about:
>
> *Can I improve how I play:*  Not the team management side - lots of room
> for improvement there :) - but the nuts-and-bolts.  Here's how I do it:
>
> I play with two computer monitors.  On one, I pull up PDFs of each
> pitcher's card on half the screen and enlarge so easily readable.  I use
> those instead of the cards themselves to read results off the pitcher's
> card.  On the other screen, I have IRC open, and at this point I have been
> doing grs as I play and have that open too, toggling back and forth at the
> end of each half-inning to fill-in the results on grs or as otherwise makes
> sense.
>
> When playing via MIS, I either have it open or print it out beforehand and
> use the hard copy.
>
> I use paper copies of the charts and hard copies of each team's cards.
>
> Early on, I kept a scoresheet and did grs afterwards, but felt doing grs
> at the same time streamlined it a bit.
>
> Question:  How have any of you built a better mousetrap?  Anything you do
> before the game starts to make things run more smoothly (i.e. faster) when
> playing, most particularly via MIS?
>
> *Would it help to try to come up with a common MIS form/standards:*  All
> the MIS forms of owners made sense in their own way, and many seemed to be
> modifications of others.  But as a result, some, including the one I
> cut-and-pasted together from others I saw, take on a Frankenstein-like
> character of bolted-on parts.  It often made playing a different MIS week a
> bit of a chore (playing via ftf is the answer of course, but just tough to
> find mutually convenient time to do that each week).
>
> In addition, some are just hard to play.  For example, some of the
> hit-and-run conditions included calculating the number of HGs and Ks on the
> pitcher and hitter's card along with the ASR, and then using hit-and-run
> depending on the HG and K totals.  That's relatively time-consuming
> endeavor for a single play call, and it has to be rinsed and repeated each
> time a different hitter's card is subject to a possible hit-and-run.
>
> It leads me to wonder if it would be helpful to come up with a standard
> MIS form with some substantive parameters.
>
> As to form, I am not a great computer guy, but perhaps a standard MS Word
> or Excel format, with links/tabs to move easily around a uniform template.
> Many of you may have ideas about a common template/form that each owner
> could fill out, providing a uniform experience for other owners in playing
> and negotiating MIS forms.
>
> It also could serve to define the parameters of what is
> allowable/expected.  For example, if an owner would like the opponent to
> total HGs and Ks on cards, and that was deemed a reasonable part of an MIS
> (and I can see why it would be), require the owner making the request to
> include the HG/K totals of each of his possible hit-and-run hitters so the
> opposition does not have to add them up.  The requesting owner need only do
> that once, whereas the playing owners rotate every week.
>
> One limitation on this idea, even if it has merit, is time.  I would be
> happy to collect ideas, start from a template that there is some consensus
> already implements MIS reasonably well, canvass the various MIS and survey
> what sorts of information/variation is found between various owners' MIS
> forms, and/or take other information-gathering approaches, so everyone can
> weigh in.  If that sounds interesting (!) to anyone else, happy to help.
> Or would welcome a hand in that, and may need a hand in actually creating
> the computer side of any agreed upon form.
>
> Well, anyway, you guys get it.  And if the verdict is that MIS
> standardization isn't worth the time and effort, no worries at all.  Not at
> all sure how much easier/faster it would make MIS play, but thought I'd
> throw it out there.
>
> Thanks much everyone for any thoughts, and thanks again for all the
> collegiality during my first IBL year.  Have a great rest of the weekend!
>
> - David
>
>
>
>
>
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