This Week in Baseball 6/16 - 6/22

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

7:45pm and it's the top of the second. Let me again state what a boring ass style of baseball the Red Sox play.

[Dandy 0]

That the pitcher can do that is the point. You never see pitchers doing that in professional leagues.

I realize that. I didn't take it to mean that you were comparing Little League to professional leagues. I thought you were comparing Little League to another Little League.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

The Cubs got two hits out of the infield off of Kazmir, both which were deflected. Other than that, they had an infield single. And yet, here it is, the fifth inning and Kazmir's sitting on the bench watching his pen go to work. Those walks sure clog up the bases.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Reed Johnson is a shit-for-brains idiot. Who the hell tries to steal third base late in a one-run game with two outs and your best hitters coming up?

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Os got another win off a blown save (Valverde this time) though for some strange reason the Astros had brought him in with 1 out in the 8th..didnt think he'd get it anyway, but he blew it in the 8th.

 

 

[jimmy no nose 0]

Little league pitchers can hit because the competition is much, much easier. You can tell how advanced a league is by where their best hitters usually play. If the pitcher bats fourth, that doesn't say much for the league.

 

I'm not opposed to the DH. The NL "strategy" is overstated. If the pitcher comes to bat with runners on and less than two outs, he bunts. Otherwise he flails at the ball. A lot of effort it took for the manager to figure that out. It's not exciting, almost never exciting, to watch the pitcher hit.

I'll agree that the pitcher at the plate is rarely a source of excitement, but you seem to ignore the actual strategy that is involved. It has nothing to do with what happens when the pticher's in the batter's box, but rather in deciding when or when not to send him there. If a guy's struggling on the mound does a manager choose to leave him in with 2 outs because his spot's due up next inning or blow a guy out of the pen for one out? If a pitcher's doing well, but it's late in a tight game and a good scoring opportunity does he go pinch hitter to try to score or does he believe the pitcher can hang on? In the AL everything is based on the pitcher's performance on the mound and your offense doesn't have to be factored in. Look at some of Roy Hallady's complete games this year, probably none of those happen in the NL. I don't think you'll find anyone who argues that the parts you mention have some great strategy involved.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I just saw that Cecil Cooper and Rod Gardenhire were fined for their teams slow games. I thought I remembered seeing a stat a couple weeks ago that noted that the Twins were averaging some of the fastest games in baseball this year, maybe not I guess. I still think its odd they fine the managers.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Top 9th: Chi Cubs

- T. Percival relieved D. Wheeler

- G. Soto flied out to deep left

- M. DeRosa singled to right center

- K. Fukudome hit for M. Murton

- K. Fukudome doubled to deep left, M. DeRosa to third

- M. Hoffpauir hit for H. Blanco

- M. DeRosa scored, K. Fukudome to third on passed ball

- M. Hoffpauir struck out swinging

- J. Edmonds hit for R. Cedeno

- J. Edmonds walked

- R. Johnson grounded bunt out to third

 

1 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors

Chi Cubs 2, Tampa Bay 3

 

 

"Thata boy, Reed. Play ball the Neifi way!"

[Bored 0]

A's have unloaded on Brandon Webb of all people. Webb's line tonight: 3 1/3 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 2 HR

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I cant wait for next week lol. The threads gonna be fun.

 

 

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Little league pitchers can hit because the competition is much, much easier. You can tell how advanced a league is by where their best hitters usually play. If the pitcher bats fourth, that doesn't say much for the league.

 

I'm not opposed to the DH. The NL "strategy" is overstated. If the pitcher comes to bat with runners on and less than two outs, he bunts. Otherwise he flails at the ball. A lot of effort it took for the manager to figure that out. It's not exciting, almost never exciting, to watch the pitcher hit.

I'll agree that the pitcher at the plate is rarely a source of excitement, but you seem to ignore the actual strategy that is involved. It has nothing to do with what happens when the pticher's in the batter's box, but rather in deciding when or when not to send him there. If a guy's struggling on the mound does a manager choose to leave him in with 2 outs because his spot's due up next inning or blow a guy out of the pen for one out? If a pitcher's doing well, but it's late in a tight game and a good scoring opportunity does he go pinch hitter to try to score or does he believe the pitcher can hang on? In the AL everything is based on the pitcher's performance on the mound and your offense doesn't have to be factored in. Look at some of Roy Hallady's complete games this year, probably none of those happen in the NL. I don't think you'll find anyone who argues that the parts you mention have some great strategy involved.

I just don't think it's that big a deal. Great action in baseball comes from action on-field. Hitting, running, fielding, pitching. There is always strategy involved, but most idiot commentators these days can't explain what is going on, so you miss most of it. Defensive positioning, pitch guessing, bluffing a run, etc. From my time watching the AAA Red Barons in 2005-06, I had the unique opportunity to watch a mix of DH and non-DH games at the same park. I found the AL game preferable due to the lack of double switches (stat stringers hate that). Otherwise not much of a difference, except a tick higher offense.

[devo 0]

Er, why are all the posts regarding Randolph's firing missing? Did a miss a gigantic moronic argument while I was out today?

 

Edit: Never mind, saw the new topic. Sorry 'bout that.

[Guest Jesus Freaks on Coke]

Reed Johnson has been a positive contributor to this team; I'm not going to freak out on him for playing like a retard last night and compare him to Neifi Perez.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I'm not opposed to the DH. The NL "strategy" is overstated. If the pitcher comes to bat with runners on and less than two outs, he bunts. Otherwise he flails at the ball. A lot of effort it took for the manager to figure that out. It's not exciting, almost never exciting, to watch the pitcher hit.

 

How much effort does it take an AL manager to pencil a name on the lineup card to hit for all pitchers for the entire game?

 

The fact that an optimal strategy has been identified doesn't completely remove the fact that there is some strategy is taking place. (Never mind the fact that the situation you outlined isn't even always the case: there are pitchers who do hit well enough to get the green light to swing away and/or, later in the game, these situations usually prompt the manager to use a pinch-hitter from the bench in lieu of letting a reliever go up to the plate.)

 

As standard as they may be, these kinds of strategies or substitutions help create different game situations that don't usually occur in the AL. As a result, there's a little more nuance in putting together a bench for a National League team because these diverse situations occur a little more often. You may see more specialization on the NL bench for a "lefty masher" to combat left-handed situational relievers or a "contact guy that rarely strikes out" to make sure that runners advance on a given play; American League bench players, on the other hand, are typically acquired to give the everyday hitters a day off every once a while.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

MIB, I think there is an equal mistake in assuming the AL manager does not need to dictate much strategy. People assume that the only decisions managers need to make regard playing time and when, and that is simply not true. Should a team hit and run? Steal? Play the infield in? Overshift? Swing away on 3-0 count? There's plenty of strategy in the American League, if you know where to look.

 

An AL and NL bench are essentially the same. Backup catcher, utility infielder, spare outfielder, and either another outfielder or corner infielder, depending on who you use as your DH. The days of specialized bench construction died with the 12 man pitching staff.

[sfaJack 0]

Reed Johnson has been a positive contributor to this team; I'm not going to freak out on him for playing like a retard last night and compare him to Neifi Perez.

 

I actually don't have a huge problem with Johnson trying a bunt in that situation, although it's not the way I would have played it. It wasn't a great bunt, but, still, if Longoria and Ayala don't combine to make a great defensive play, it likely works and the game is tied 3-3.

 

The attempted steal of third base though? FAIL.

[andrew8798 0]

Sidney Ponson to sign with Yankees?

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8259628/Sources

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Sidney Ponson to sign with Yankees?

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8259628/Sources

Honestly, there isn't a fat pitcher that hasn't come through Scranton. Chris Britton, Heath Phillips, Ron Villone, Runelys Hernandez, Jose Veras, Colter Bean. Sidney Ponson would be an ideal addition to that rotation.

[Brett Favre 0]

Ugh, again?!

[The Man in Blak 0]

Al, I'm not arguing that the American League is completely devoid of strategy - the examples that you've outlined are prevalent in any baseball game, regardless of the DH or not - but I am saying that the pitcher's obligation to hit in the NL introduces more opportunities for strategy that don't occur as often in the American League because there is less of a reason to pinch-hit.

 

And yeah, I agree that there are general requirements for position depth - obviously, nobody's going to carry five outfielders instead of having a backup catcher - but the skill sets of each player can impact how successful a player can be in a PH situation and that impact can influence roster construction in the NL, where PH situations occur more frequently.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

For fuck's sake. Sidney Ponson? Again?

 

I heard Brian Cashman in an interview 2 days ago, where he literally laughed off the notion of bringing this waste back to the Bronx. And he goes and does anyway.

 

I think I would rather see Kei Igawa pitch again.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

It took a while, but Edmonds finally got hurt. If he has to miss time, I can only imagine what Hendry will offer up for someone like Coco Crisp. Could get ugly.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I think Guthrie has got to be getting the least amount of run support of any starting pitcher. He only allowed a run, but the Os only scored a run.

 

He could easily be 7-3 instead of 3-7 if the Os would just score some damn runs for him.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I think Guthrie has got to be getting the least amount of run support of any starting pitcher. He only allowed a run, but the Os only scored a run.

 

He could easily be 7-3 instead of 3-7 if the Os would just score some damn runs for him.

According to ESPN.com, he's 109th out of 116 in terms of run support (60 IP minimum). John Lannan is the worst, 4-8 with a 3.36 ERA thanks to 2.39 runs per game in his favor. He has pitched four consecutive quality starts and lost the last three, with a no-decision before that.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Another one-run loss with a chance to win it in the ninth. And Zambrano left late with shoulder/neck problems. Super.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Ponson's first AAA start is Saturday, which means I'll see his fat ass pitch next Thursday.

[devo 0]

ICEMAN~! Solo homer from Easley puts the Mets up 5-4 in the top of the tenth.

 

This'll be a pretty cool win if they hang on.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Ponson's first AAA start is Saturday, which means I'll see his fat ass pitch next Thursday.

 

I wish I could find the King Hippo/Ponson image I created a couple years back in honor of the occasion..

[MFer 0]

Well, at least the Tigers still have interleague play to fall back on when they're struggling. They're up to 3rd in the AL Central now, passing Cleveland, and are only 2 games back on 2nd place Minnesota. Their schedule up to the All-Star break looks fairly easy (St. Louis is the only team they'll play that's above .500), so it's time for them to make some headway in the standings.

[nogoodnick 0]

I'm thinking about going to a Yankees game but I'm on a budget. How is the view from the bleachers? Stubhub has tickets from $6.