2013 Baseball season!!!

[KevinG]

Things that should be eradicated from baseball (in order of importance):

 

1) Pitchers hitting in the NL

2) Charging the mound/Brawls

3) Collisions at home plate -- Verducci had a good column on this the other day

4) The Wave

5) Sacrifice bunts (If Wash bunts with Elvis in the first inning again, so help me God...)

 

1) Not in a million years.  The AL should abandon the DH.  Having a pitcher hit adds a bit more complexity to the game.  Double switches, bunts etc.  

2) Yes I agree

3) hmm... not so much, I like to see a good collision, plus these are grown men playing a game bad shit happens in a game it is the way it is.  

4) Absolutely.  

5) that is just silly.  Moving guys over to get into scoring position it is part of the game.  Also to do it right and well is hard.  What is next you gonna ban sac flys too?

[bleedorange]

1) Not in a million years.  The AL should abandon the DH.  Having a pitcher hit adds a bit more complexity to the game.  Double switches, bunts etc.  

2) Yes I agree

3) hmm... not so much, I like to see a good collision, plus these are grown men playing a game bad shit happens in a game it is the way it is.  

4) Absolutely.  

5) that is just silly.  Moving guys over to get into scoring position it is part of the game.  Also to do it right and well is hard.  What is next you gonna ban sac flys too?

 

1) Dumbest argument about the DH..."Oh no, what will ever happen to the double switch!?!?!?!"  Apparently, this is the most exciting play in baseball for delusional purists.  Also, nothing real complex about having a permanent .100 hitter at the bottom of the lineup.  Such a waste.

2) Amazing! We agreed on something.  

3) Read this article: Dumbest Rule in Baseball -- makes a lot of good points

4) See #2

5) I wasn't being serious about actually banning it.  However, I would like someone in the Rangers' dugout to hold Wash's hands to his side when he gets the urge to send in a sign for a bunt.  It's a dumb play and statistically decreases your chances of scoring a run.

[gogo]

Also, nothing real complex about having a permanent .100 hitter at the bottom of the lineup.  Such a waste.

 

Zito's .750 for the season.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

but the lack of a dh does make for so much more strategy as an nl manager. you cant just take out a pitcher whenever you want, you have to consider batting order, available pinch hitters, etc. it is inherently more complex. plus theres nothing as awesome as a pitcher helping himself out with a clutch hit. the argument about al teams being at a disadvantage when their pitchers are forced to hit or their dh forced to field or sit is bullshit. is it so ridiculous to expect baseball players to be all around baseball players?

 

but regardless, the dh will almost surely make it's way to the nl soon, which is a real shame imo.

[The High Heat]

Somebody needs to teach Greinke how to fight. Dude tried to shoulder block a moving bus.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

yeah, whether you think charging the mound should be banned (though doing it tends to get you a suspension so really it already is banned) or not that was dumb.

[KevinG]

I was reading about the DH and the article made a pretty good comparison to pitchers and NFL kickers.  A kicker's job is to punt the ball, after the ball is punted that guy does not run off the field in place of a designated tackler.  He is there he is part of the game.  Baseball is supposed to be 9 guys against 9 guys, the DH takes that out.  But as pointed out it is always fun to a pitcher help himself out.  All the DH does is allows aging players a few more years of making millions of dollars.  It takes a chess game and turns it into checkers.  

[bleedorange]

I was reading about the DH and the article made a pretty good comparison to pitchers and NFL kickers.  A kicker's job is to punt the ball, after the ball is punted that guy does not run off the field in place of a designated tackler.  He is there he is part of the game.  Baseball is supposed to be 9 guys against 9 guys, the DH takes that out.  But as pointed out it is always fun to a pitcher help himself out.  All the DH does is allows aging players a few more years of making millions of dollars.  It takes a chess game and turns it into checkers.  

 

Ridiculous.  The chess-to-checkers analogy might be your worst yet.  Yes, the AL is full of chimps as managers who don't have to navigate the murky waters of the double-switch and having pitchers risk injury by bunting or hacking away or running station-to-station on the basepaths.  It's a different game now.  We're in the 21st century.  There is a reason why every single level of baseball (except one) employs the Designated Hitter.  There is no reason to allow pitchers to hit.  It's dumb.  It's antiquated.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

to be fair even AL managers have acknowledged that the NL game is a more complex one to manage in many ways cuz theres no dh. not that theres no strategy in the AL, just that the NL is a different beast entirely.

 

maybe im spoiled by watching a great hitting DC pitching staff, but the idea that pitchers are guaranteed outs is way off.

[bleedorange]

2012 League Averages:

 

AL: .118 AVG .270 OPS

NL: .129 AVG .329 OPS

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

ok?

[bleedorange]

You said it wasn't an automatic out, but I forgot about the joy factor of seeing a .130 hitter actually get a hit.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

because a cumulative average speaks for every single pitcher in the league

look, im not saying any pitcher is gonna hit as well as an average position player would, but there are plenty of good hitting pitchers (mostly the younger ones that arent as many years removed from being position players as well) out there. whether it's a sac bunt or a solid hit, i do enjoy when pitchers help themselves out. it's a disappearing pleasure for sure (i would say the DH will hit the NL within the next decade) but still something i love about national league baseball.

watching opening day when kershaw shut out the giants and hit the game winning home run was fucking awesome

 

im all for protecting pitchers (hell i even supported shutting strasburg down) but keeping them off the field on offense to prevent injuries is ridiculous. one of the coolest things about baseball to me is that you play both sides of the game, and that includes pitchers hitting. 

[bleedorange]

And I say it's a practice that has been around for about 40 years too long.

 

I'd much rather watch a game where a pitcher has to battle a lineup of nine good hitters, where there is always a threat.

[KevinG]

And I say it's a practice that has been around for about 40 years too long.

 

I'd much rather watch a game where a pitcher has to battle a lineup of nine good hitters, where there is always a threat.

I would much rather watch a game where it is the nine men on the field vs the other nine on the field. The pitcher is not always an automatic out.

 

The DH was put in because pitchers can't hit what is next a DH for the short stop? Hell if want to see a good threat why don't we have an 9 offensive players and 9 defensive? You would certainly have a better hitting. Baseball is not football.

 

I just find the DH boring. I prefer the NL game.

[MrRain422]

The NL will have the DH within 5 years. Probably less.

[dagwave]

i don't consider managing in the NL more "complex". These guys have seen thousands of ball games - I don't believe the managerial strategy skill set is significantly different- there's really not that many outcomes, although my favorite Uncle Charley Manuel apparently struggled with the mystifying double switch early with the phils..... I'd put more weight in the small market/ big market shift to measure true managerial skill (see: joe maddon vs. joe giraldi )

 

there's a bigger shift from old school to new school in the managerial ranks, too.

 

Regarding DH- once introduced in AL, it's inevitable it will be in the NL. I'm actually surprised it hasn't happened yet. The DH will never be "walked back" from the AL/ offense sells tickets/ a whole new career path has been carved out (ryan howard, you will have a long career), and let's face it, when two games are on with a team rallying, i will always switch to the one that doesn't have the pitcher batting- and it's rarely late in the game.

 

oh, and AROD, you stupid silly schmuck. but, hey, maybe the New York Times got it wrong.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

I would much rather watch a game where it is the nine men on the field vs the other nine on the field. The pitcher is not always an automatic out.

 

The DH was put in because pitchers can't hit what is next a DH for the short stop? Hell if want to see a good threat why don't we have an 9 offensive players and 9 defensive? You would certainly have a better hitting. Baseball is not football.

 

I just find the DH boring. I prefer the NL game.

Yeah...there's nothing like watching a pitcher swing like a little leaguer.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Yes.  And with year-round interleague play, now is the time to do it.  It will probably happen soon.  Hopefully.

 

A sacrifice bunt is nothing more than a waste of an out. 

 

i get the feeling that Wash employs the bunt now because he got stung when the national press insinuating he was a managing chimp. Implying he didn't understand baseball because he didn't use the bunt.

Too many purists think that because something was done in the 1920's with success that it has to be done today

[The High Heat]

I'm not a purist (wouldn't mind having universal DH), but, depending on the batter, a bunt with a runner on and no outs is solid strategy in trying to avoid the double play. The numbers are always in the pitcher's favor, but there are better odds at a plating a run when the runners are closer to home.

[bleedorange]

I'm not a purist (wouldn't mind having universal DH), but, depending on the batter, a bunt with a runner on and no outs is solid strategy in trying to avoid the double play. The numbers are always in the pitcher's favor, but there are better odds at a plating a run when the runners are closer to home.

I don't have the numbers on me, but a team is more likely to score a run with a runner on first and no outs versus a runner on second and one out.

 

Obviously, there are some instances where a sacrifice bunt is well utilized, but it is highly dependent on the situation. The vast majority of the time, though, you're just giving up an out and killing your chances of a big inning.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

With a balanced schedule and interleague play every day of the season, the game must be made uniform. Either both have the DH or both let the pitches embarrass themselves.

Integrity of play and results is paramount.

But serioulsy, who would you rather see hit: Lance Berkman or Nick Tepesh? Big Papi or Ryan Dempster?

[Sir Stewart]

For years I fooled myself that I liked the NL better because of the pitcher being in the lineup instead of a designated hitter. I've stopped doing that. It's liberating.

[The High Heat]

When a manager does a double switch it's because he doesn't want any pitchers coming up to hit for the remainder of the game. So essentially the NL has the DH from the 6th inning on. I'm sure most managers would rather have one more pitcher on their roster than a fifth outfielder or a backup first baseman. There's probably only a half dozen pitchers who can really hit. The NL game is running out of time.

[Lammycat]

Heard an interesting take on the radio last week about how it's, generally, more difficult to wrap up a no hitter for a pitcher than to wrap up a perfect game. This came from no-hitter king Nolan Ryan, but it was an interesting take nonetheless. The theory being that when closing out a perfect game you are facing the bottom of the order as opposed to, possibly and usually, facing the heart of the batting order at the end of a no-hitter (due to a walk or 2 or 3).