MLB 09: The Show Online League

[tdawg]

So, anybody getting MLB 09 interested in an online league? I'm going to pick this up this afternoon and would be interested to try this. I'm thinking half-length seasons, say 81 games or something.

Trevor

EDIT: So, looking at the online options briefly last night, I don't think we can do a franchise online, only a season. Has anybody looked to see if it can be an online franchise so we can build our dynasties? I did see they implemented flex schedules, which I'm not sure about, since that rules out injuries and such. I guess it would be tough arranging a league with a straight-up schedule though, with people having to login each day to play their game to keep the league moving along.

 

[JoPh]

does it have anything special? or just normal baseball?

 

[anxi80]

im in. i never got to play online with '08 so id definitely be interested in giving it a go this time around.

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: JoPh
does it have anything special? or just normal baseball?

I'm not positive what you're looking for in something "special", but I'm imagining just a normal franchise with a shorter season length, and possibly more abbreviated playoff rounds, perhaps best of 3 like the college world series. I really know absolutely nothing about the online portion of this game and how deep the franchise mode is, if it's available online.

By the way, I currently play on Rookie because my batting sucks, but I'll force myself to play on a harder difficulty for purposes of the league.

 

[anxi80]

Originally posted by: tdawg

Originally posted by: JoPh
does it have anything special? or just normal baseball?

I'm not positive what you're looking for in something "special", but I'm imagining just a normal franchise with a shorter season length, and possibly more abbreviated playoff rounds, perhaps best of 3 like the college world series. I really know absolutely nothing about the online portion of this game and how deep the franchise mode is, if it's available online.

By the way, I currently play on Rookie because my batting sucks, but I'll force myself to play on a harder difficulty for purposes of the league.

ill keep that in mind and try to avoid throwing a lot of junk pitches. the only time ill do it is if im ahead in the count and have a waste pitch to burn. pretty much when i play my friends and computer i stay around the zone. my hitting used to be atrocious also but in 09 for some reason ive gotten a lot better. perhaps its because ive faced kazmir like 80 times in the demo and i can pick up his delivery and pitches a lot better now.

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: anxi80

Originally posted by: tdawg

Originally posted by: JoPh
does it have anything special? or just normal baseball?

I'm not positive what you're looking for in something "special", but I'm imagining just a normal franchise with a shorter season length, and possibly more abbreviated playoff rounds, perhaps best of 3 like the college world series. I really know absolutely nothing about the online portion of this game and how deep the franchise mode is, if it's available online.

By the way, I currently play on Rookie because my batting sucks, but I'll force myself to play on a harder difficulty for purposes of the league.

ill keep that in mind and try to avoid throwing a lot of junk pitches. the only time ill do it is if im ahead in the count and have a waste pitch to burn. pretty much when i play my friends and computer i stay around the zone. my hitting used to be atrocious also but in 09 for some reason ive gotten a lot better. perhaps its because ive faced kazmir like 80 times in the demo and i can pick up his delivery and pitches a lot better now.

I can lay off pitches from time to time, but really it's my timing that sucks. So adding the task of guessing location in addition to pitch, and using either the contact or power swing buttons will be a bit of a challenge, not to mention adjusting to faster pitching.

 

[Jschmuck2]

I'm in too. My game comes today. I'll need about a week or so to adjust to the always-different batting mechanics.

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2
I'm in too. My game comes today. I'll need about a week or so to adjust to the always-different batting mechanics.

Definitely. I don't want to jump into the online portion right away, especially since I'll be keeping myself busy with The Show mode starting this evening. I'll look into what options there are for online leagues tonight though, so we can start piecing something together.

 

[anxi80]

ok, they definitely tweaked the hitting. i was only able to play one quick exhibition game last night and in that game i managed to walk twice, which is two times more than i did in all of '08. im loving the game and cant wait until later to play some more.

edit: i was chuckling when brian giles game up to bat in dodgers stadium and all of the fans were chanting "overrated". nice touch.

 

[FuryofFive]

Yeah i noticed the hitting is tricky but pitching is easier though

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: anxi80
ok, they definitely tweaked the hitting. i was only able to play one quick exhibition game last night and in that game i managed to walk twice, which is two times more than i did in all of '08. im loving the game and cant wait until later to play some more.

edit: i was chuckling when brian giles game up to bat in dodgers stadium and all of the fans were chanting "overrated". nice touch.

I really like that they fixed the baserunning, in respect to pick off attempts. In 08, the game would sort of cut to a pick off animation and it was easy as hell to get back to first or whatever. But this year, it's all part of the same scene and you really have to pay attention. I've been picked off at least 4 times in the brief time I got to spend in the RTTS and I got caught stealing twice because I got twitchy trying to time my jump and broke for second before the pitcher made a move towards home.

My timing is getting better at the plate (rookie mode) and my player is starting to heat up a week and a half into spring training. Bring on April!

The training mini-games in the RTTS are a great addition as well as being able to create your player and get drafted--though I got drafted by the Detroit Tigers!

So far, I like what I see and can't wait to get home tonight to play some more.

 

[anxi80]

very cool. i think im going to wait until the weekend until starting up rtts. like 08, it consumed a good chunk of my day and i want to try everything else out before being consumed with that. perhaps tonight ill work on adding music for the walk-ups and also recording a few taunts and cheers. also if im going to be playing in an online league i guess i better practice and see my teams strengths and weaknesses.

 

[DukeFan21]

Love '08, actually am still in the middle of an RTTS. I was going to wait a bit to get '09 to see how the reviews were going to be, but I've seen nothing but positive things so far so I guess I'll pick it up quicker than I anticipated.