Buck Miller II: 2023 Version, AIM Draft League Manager. Best used with modern draft seasons and with MBFs/BFs for pitchers on (but not required). Not designed for historic replays or with AIM off. Please include/distribute this file with the zipped manager file. INSTALLATION Buck Miller II consists of the four files, all of which must be located in your BBW director or folder (or sub-folder) in order to work properly. MgrBM223.msy, MgrBM223.dct, MgrBM223.lib, MgrBM223.mob To install, simply copy or move the four riles into you BBW folder. They may be located in a BBW season sub-directory or sub-folder. However, the manager will only be available if that season in loaded in League Manager. *********** IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE READ***************** 1) Buck Miller II sets aside either a 4 or 5 man starting rotation. Pitchers with more starts than relief appearances starts are first considered. Those pitchers are then ranked by actual starts from high to low. The top 4 (or 5 if the fourth best starter had fewer than 36 starts) are then set aside or considered at the team's rotation. Any pitcher falling outside that rotation can and will be used in relief regardless of whether they had actual relief appearances. Pitchers falling within that standard will NEVER be used in relief except if injury or ejection requires it. (2) Miller II (like versions I, III and IV) is NOT designed for historic or season replays. They are designed solely for draft league games. Use of the Miller managers in a historic season will lead to oddresults/stats. As noted above, in order to use Miller II, simply copy or move the four files into your BBW directory or folder. ******************************************************** BUCK MILLER II: OVERVIEW The enclosed/attached micromanager Buck Miller II is designed to handle modern draft league only replays. He is not designed to manage season replays of any type. Although created to guide modern seasons, he may be adequate in handling pre-modern (e.g, 1990) replays depending on your team's roster. Several important points to make: 1) Miller II, as stated above, sets aside a starting rotation. He will and does use any pitcher not specifically benched in League Manager or in your lineup/rotation setup that does NOT fall into the category as defined above (e.g., less than 15 starts). 2) Miller II selects closer by grades and not saves. So, relievers with few save totals but high grades will be used over pitchers having the opposite stats. A "regular" closer will have grades of roughly 13+ while a "supercloser" will have a grade of 17+. Note: these are adjusted grades that consider adjustments (homer and/or control grades or ratings). Miller II will, obviously, aggressively use the superclosers more than the "normal"-type closers (this is dependent on the starter's grade, QS et cetera). 3) Generally, Miller II generally follows the LaRussa one inning closer approach. That is, closers (both normal and super) will likely only pitch the ninth in save situations. Set up relievers will be heavily used before then. If a team has more than one closer, the closer with the lower grade will be used as a setup reliever for the superior closer. Note: Low reliever durability closers (1 or 2), especially the "super" types, with high innings and high RRs will be used for multiple innings. Miller II will be, however, be willing to pull your top closer for another one if the top reliever is struggling. Generally, superclosers will only be pulled if another closer (or supercloser) is available. And closers will be pulled in save situations only if a high grade is in the bullpen (this includes control adjustments as noted above and first batter effectiveness and platoon advantages, if any). 4) Miller II (like I, III and IV) hates to see relievers hit. You'll see a very aggressive use of double switches and "rearrangement" of the batting order to try and limit the times a reliever hits. Generally, unless the reliever is a "stud" pitcher or the game is lopsided or a team's bullpen is thin due to overwork, you'll likely never see a relief pitcher hit. 5) Miller II has a number of "bells and whistles" some of which may or may not be applicable to your team. For example, he has a couple of pinchrun to steal strategies (second or third) that may not apply to your team if you don't have a good base stealer on your bench (e.g., steal rating of 28 or higher). 6) Miller II (like versions I, III and IV) willl use a pitcher offensively either as a pinch hitter or as a pinch runner. But this will only happen if that pitcher appeared in that capacity. I.e., had more offensive games than defensive ones. He will, however, ONLY pinch hit for a pitcher. Additionally, Miller II has a pinch hit to bunt strategy that requires a "good bunter" be available; a pinch hit for a hit and run situation (that also requires a bench hitter with a good H&R ability that includes a low SO/AB ratio). Miller II, like the other trio, has an aggressive sub strategy in replacing star players in lopsided games. This includes PHing, PRing and subbing defensively for them. Miller II likes to use "itchy" players (and relievers) as replacements first. "Opener" and "Bulk Reliever" Strategies: With the 2019+ versions of the Miller managers a "opener" strategy has been addded. Briefly these are pitchers who were used for approximately one inning to face the opposing team's top 3-4 hitters. Afterwards "bulk" relievers - those who could pitch 3-5 innings would replace them. Miller defines these "openers" as those pitchers who averaged less than three innings per start. This is defined as innings pitched minus relief appearances divided by games started. After pitching an inning (on some occasions they may pitch an inning and a third) they will be pulled. Note: If your league is using "two" Ohtanis - a pitcher card and a hitter card - it's suggested that you zero out the offensive numbers on the pitcher's card. Otherwise Miller I may use the "card" offensively as a pinch hitter. You might then see Ohtani pitching and then being used as pinch hitter. So just leave his pitcher's stats and remove the offensive numbers. For additional information on this or other managers, visit The Digital Skybox at www.TheDigitalSkybox.website. Questions may be posted at the forum section linked at the main site.