only casuals would rather see another home run from Papi than a well-executed sac bunt by a pitcher
This is the part that bugs me. The arguments over the DH are usually framed as “Should, or should not, pitchers bat?”. About which, I don’t have strong feelings. I know most pitchers suck at the plate, and they hardly ever bat after the fifth inning anyway, even in the NL. But I DO have strong feelings that if you want to bat five times a game, you should have to play the field. Baseball is a game of trade-offs, and letting poor fielders DH takes one of those trade-offs away.
Wainwright pulled his Achilles running. It had nothing to do with batting. He didn’t pull a rib muscle. He could have, and probably would, have done the same thing (pulled his Achilles) covering first base.
The former are far more frequent than the latter.
Why is this an either/or? Which is more interesting, both teams having DH or only one? Things are just fine the way they are.
I’m mostly agnostic on this issue (I tend to lean slightly in favor of pitchers batting, but I’m also annoyed when #8 batters are walked with two outs, and I’m a Red Sox fan), but I think that’s overstating it. Taking a team at random: last year the Cardinals had 40 sacrifice bunts by pitchers, and Papi had 35 HRs. Unless you’re going to quibble over “well-executed” (which I would tend to define as “successful” anyway).
Dodgers have lost pitcher Brandon McCarthy for the next 1.5 seasons. UCL injury looks like it’s going to need Tommy John surgery to fix. Time to call up the AAA boys for their shot at the majors.
Dodgers are also showing why having a surfeit of outfielders in Spring Training isn’t a bad thing. Tonight’s line-up looks to have an outfield of Van Slyke (bench player), Pederson (rookie), and Ethier (bench player.) Depth is a good thing.
What a pisser. Kirk Gibson has Parkinson’s. He was a fierce competitor and sad to see him coming down with this.
I agree with you that there’s no need to extend the logic of the DH any further.
I disagree with your basic assumption, though, which is that pitchers hitting is a problem to be solved. The DH definitely creates more offense, but i don’t believe it solves a problem. For me, sports is about enjoyment, and having pitchers hit is, for me, at least as enjoyable as watching a DH.
Post bookmarked, for reference during any future discussion of baseball statistics.
For me, too. I also like to second guess the manager. “You were tied in the bottom of the sixth with runners on second and third with two out. Why’d you let the pitcher hit, you big dope?” Or “Your pitcher had a tie game after 6 innings. What the hell you doing taking him out for a pinch hitter, you big dope?”
How sad is this? MLB Network just announced that tomorrow’s White Sox - Orioles game will be played in the middle of the afternoon, and it will be closed to the public. On top of that, they’re moving the Orioles’ next scheduled home series against the Rays to Tampa Bay, although the Orioles will still be the “home” team.
Obviously, what’s taking place in Baltimore right now is far more serious than baseball. It just makes me sad to see that a sport that is ostensibly about the enjoyment of the fans is going to be closed to the fans.
Some fans like to watch the best players play. Some like to watch the manager. And some like to watch pitchers either flail bats helplessly or stand there staring while they strike out and get it over with.
Whatevs.
Has there ever been an MLB game played in front of no fans? I know this has occurred in European soccer as a punishment for fan misbehavior.
AFAIK, no, but there have been a few college football games played in empty stadiums.
This is the closest thing I could find.
For the series in Tampa Bay, I’m wondering what effort they go through to make the Orioles the home team beyond just wearing their home uniforms, if any. Do they fly out the Orioles’ PA announcer, or is the Rays’ announcer expected to act enthusiastic when announcing Orioles’ players? Do the Orioles get walk-up music? I know this isn’t the first time that a series has been moved for one reason or a another, but I don’t have any idea what effort is made to uphold the pretense.
That will seem odd to the players, having no crowd noise at all. The players won’t be able to fart without being caught by the microphones.
Seems it would only be fair for TB to give the Orioles a bigger share of the gate than what is customary. Any info on how that money is split?
I remember that Marlins home series played in Seattle due to a U2 concert in Miami. Besides the Florida wearing of home uniforms, batting last, and no DH, there were no differences between that series and any other Mariners home series.
On April 17, 1979, the A’s and Mariners played in front of about 250 people in Oakland. Of the 653 people who bought tickets, fewer than half came to the park.
https://onlyagame.wbur.org/2015/04/25/oakland-athletics-mlb-lowest-attendance
That’s what most Rays home games are like anyway, so …