Update: In the Strat-O-Matic Card Chances 2008 cardset I have added support for the ATG4 cardset so now it works with 2008 and ATG4.

Update 2: The Strat-O-Matic Card Chances 80s cardset now works with the 70s cardset.

Sample image

I have released two new Greasemonkey scripts for Sporting News Stratomatic Online:

Strat-O-Matic Card Chances 2008/ATG4 cardset
Strat-O-Matic Card Chances 80s cardset

These scripts will parse a player’s card and then show an output of the chances a player has on getting on base, hitting a home run, etc. The results also take ballparks effects into consideration. You can also change the default ballpark.

Everyday, these scripts really come in handy for me. Instead of relying on the Ratings Disk or the Player probability tool in the Stratomatic CD-Rom game I have all of the information right there on the same player card page. There’s no need trying to count the how many ballpark diamonds a player has or figuring out the clutch rating. Also, the pitcher cards even have Best Results calculated for you. I hope you enjoy!

To my knowledge the results are 100% accurate. Please let me know if you find any mistakes in the calculations.

For some reason there’s an HTML layout difference between Firefox 2.x and 3.x so I have designed these scripts to work in Firefox 3.x.

I was looking for a way to copy data from the roster chart with a Greasemonky script and then copy the data to the clipboard.  This aspect is doable.  There are programs out there that can automate mouse clicks and keyboard entries but I haven’t found a program that will work well with the CD-Rom game.  I was thinking about a way to automatically search for a player’s name with the CD-Rom player search.  Unfortunately, it’s not a very user friendly player search.  It will tell you where the player is but won’t take you to him!

So, you need to take note of the search results and then find the three letter abbreviation (above, it’s TIM) of the team that player plays for.

The CD-Rom game has a feature that allows you to see a player’s web page.  I was thinking maybe there could be a way to use this to link the player to Stratomatic Online.  Unfortunately, this isn’t working.  I get “Unable to start web browser:

I have the CD-Rom game installed on my flash drive.  Maybe this is why it’s not working.  I’m not sure what’s the problem.

Hopefully one of these days Stratomatic will allow users to import leagues and rosters from Stratomatic Online into the CD-Rom game with ease.  Until then, we have to do it the old fashioned way – which is quite tedious.  In the meantime, this is how I setup leagues in the CD-Rom game so I can test strategy for upcoming Stratomatic Online games:

1.  Duplicate the ’2008 Major Leagues’ league.
2.  In the duplicated league, cut/paste all players into Free Agents folder.
3.  Create a new league(your SOM Online team).  Just fill in League Year, 2 Character Abbreviation, and name of league.
4.  Create your team.  Just fill out Year, City, Nickname, and abbreviation and then click Ok.
5.  Now, drag your players into your team one by one.
7.  To make sure you haven’t made a mistake go to Team>PromoteDemote Minor leaguers and compare the number of eligible batters and pitchers to your team.
8.  Next, go to Team>Generate Computer Manager to setup default starting rotation and lineups to help you get started.
9.  Repeat steps 4-8 for the other teams in the league.  I usually do this as a face each new team.  Setting up divisions isn’t really necessary unless you want to do this.

It is a bit of a drag to keep up with all of the daily transactions being done in Stratomatic Online during the season.  What I do is only update the roster of my upcoming opponent for that day.  Of course, you will encounter some managers who go wild with adds and drops.  In these cases, I either just wipeout their team and start over or not even bother simming that opponent.

After the first couple series of the season (6 games) I’m usually able to predict how each manager sets up their rotation.  I also look back at previous games to view my opponents batting lineup patterns.  Predicting lineups can be a drag when there are injuries involved but with a little work you should be able to determine what type of lineup you’ll be facing.

I usually play all 3 upcoming games in Spectator mode on the Stratomatic CD-ROM game.  Yes, I sit there and watch how the game plays out.  I may go through the series once or twice.

Below is a list of options from the CD-ROM game that are used for Stratomatic Baseball Online.

Main Rules
Maximum Level - Uses Maximum rules (see below).

Bunt for base hit
Improve out distribution
Improve baserunning realism
Home field advantage
More baserunning decisions
Realistic throwing errors
Allow extra pre-1920 errors
Pitch-Around option
Correct Board Game Excesses

Stealing
Super Advance Steal system

Miscellaneous
Use Miscellaneous Rules

Injures
Use injuries

Groundball A
Allow GBA on Pitcher Cards

BP/Weather/Clutch
Ballpark Effects
Clutch Hitting

Strategy
Super Advanced Strategy Charts

Closer
Use Closer Rules

Pitcher Fatigue
Use SADV Fatigue & Pitch Count