A few questions that i'm hoping to get answers to:

Don't know if my system has a bug in it or not, but a player I picked up my 1st season as a free agent is Angel Chavez. Anyway, whenever the game announcer announces him at the plate, he calls him Mario Alvarez, but then when he reports on how he did in his at bat, he calls him Chavez. For example, when coming to bat, the screen always lists him as AChavez. The announcer will say "now up at bat, Mario Alvarez" or "Alvarez already has 1 base hit today.". When the at bat is over, the announcer will say something like "and Chavez pops out to the second baseman" or "Chavez gets a base hit". I noticed it before when I was playing season mode a different time and was playing against this guy. Does this happen with your system? Any idea why?

When you sim a game and it says "player improved," is there an easy way to tell which player improved? I know if you actually play the game, there's a screen you can pull up after that lists the players who improved, but I can't get this screen when I sim games. It's annoying to have to scroll through the practice screen to try and figure it out, or the experience screens to see what bar is down to 0

There's a young player on the white sox that's really good - I try to trade for him if I can. He's called "Great Hart" in this game - has a lot of power, a strong arm, and plays LF & 3b. Anyone know what real life player he's based on?

Is there anyone out there who uses normal batting (ie, doesn't have the computer help out with hitting) and also does NOT have the computer pitcher show the pitch type and location? I can't imagine how I would ever make contact if I didn't know the pitch type before the ball left the pitchers hand.

How do you defend against a surprise bunt? I know of the shifts to use when expecting a bunt, but I can't seem to defend a surprise bunt no matter what I try. My catcher can't catch up to the ball, my 3b seems to insist on covering 3b even if no one is on base yet, and by the time my pitcher finishes his follow through and retrieves the ball, it's too late.

How do you defend a "high hop" to the 3b or ss? Even if a guy has d speed, it seems that by the time the ball comes down, the runner is standing on 1st. I've tried running under the ball and then jumping to get it, but it's tough to time it right, and for every ball I jump up and catch, there will be 2 I miss, and some,times the guy will wind up on 2nd.

Speaking of shifts, here's how I generally use them - please give feedback:
1. Outfield back: I use this of the guy has a power of A, of the guy is fast (c or more) with power of b or a, to reduce extra base hits
2. Inf back: I use this if I have a 3b and ss with decent arms and the batter has power of a or b and speed of d or lower. I give up a lot of base hits down the middle in this position, so sometimes I forget altogether. I'll also use this with a guy on 2b if I'm willing to give up an infield hit in the hopes of keeping that runner at 2nd
3. OF in: I use this if a base hit would win the game, or if the batter has low speed and power (under d)
4. Inf in: I'll use this if there's a runner on 3rd, less than 2 out, and the batter has power less than d

When setting your rotation, and listing your middles relievers, does the order of the middle reliever matter? Assuming they all have the same health status or mood, will the 1st middle reliever always be used 1st, the 2nd one be used 2nd, etc? Are they chosen randomly?

Once i get to the point where im drafting last, ive taken to skipping my 2nd pick. I then just go right to the "free agent" list. It seems much easier to pick my players as free agents when you can see there stats than to waste time trying t make a good draft pick. Anyone have a reason i shouldnt do it this way?

Thanks for any and all responses

Same for me as D-tigers.
Welcome back Philliesfan! We should also welcome back Andy Reid, who will return next year. Boo!

Phillies fan, I am quite impressed you're able to make contact with any pitch without knowing what it is. What's your trick?