Please, please, tell me, how would you pitch to Sosa, Big Mac? Walk them both and pray?
Even though this was to be a discussion to myself, I find this an intriguing quesiton I feel I must answer. Being a Cardinal fan, I was only thinking of this as a great opportunity (although unlikely it will really happen) to imagine these two slugging it out on the same team. I honestly never thought of how the other teams would pitch to them.
But, since most players are locked into contracts for the next few years, the lineup would most likely be:
Fernando Vina
Ray Lankford/JD Drew
Sammy Sosa
Mark McGwire
Jim Edmonds
Fernando Tatis
Edgar Renaria
Mike Matheny/Eli Marrerro
The #2-6 batting slots all belong to longball threats. Vina is one of the best lead-off hitters you can get. If the first two get on, you can’t walk them both, or you walk in a run. You can’t walk Sosa and leave the bases loaded for Big Mac. Even with two outs, do you walk Sosa and bring Mac to the plate? With two outs do you walk them both and then be forced to pitch to Edmonds who is batting .355 with 17 HR this year, on pace for 46 HR (or Tatis if you switch their positions in the lineup, who is injured right now but hit 34 HR last year)?
With that lineup, you have to pitch to one or the other and in some situations, you’ll be forced to pitch to both. If you don’t pitch to either of them, then you’ve got the other sluggers on the team to contend with.
The only thing I can think of is to try to pitch around them, don’t intentionally walk them and hope they chase some bad pitches, or at least keep the ball as low in the strike zone as possible, hoping they hit grounders or line drives, as long as the ball stays in the park.
With decent pitching, it seems the Cards would be unstoppable with that lineup.
sorry,
what was meant as a bit of silliness actually got serious for a second there because it involved that beloved of all pastimes: BASEBALL.
I’ll try not to let it happen again.
Yaaaaaaawn
Not only did Shayna post here, but was bored!
>>hangs head broken-heartedly<<
<<evil grin>> Well even you admitted you were boring yourself, so…
Besides, I was just kidding. I LOVE baseball, and ESPECIALLY Cardinal baseball. What the heck kind of St. Louis girl would I be if I didn’t, huh?
I miss Ozzie, though.
I miss Ozzie too. Cardinals games were so much more fun when he was around, I think I’ve only been to 2 games since they got McGwire, all because I can’t stand to see anyone other than Ozzie at short.
Well I don’t like baseball at all. And that was a dirty trick Bratman, creating a thread with such an intriguing subject “Nobody post here” and subjecting me to all this baseball talk. I’m leaving.
Yes!! We got rid of Moe, that lousy anti-American baseball hating fanatic.
Can we talk some more about Willie Mays now? One of the advantages of being old, is that I got to go to lots of 1950s and 1960s San Francisco Giants games, back when Willie Mays, Felipe Alou, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal played. And Maury Wills and Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale were all still with the Dodgers. Heck I remember when Bobby Bonds was a rookie and hit that grand slam at his first at-bat and then got beaned and was out forever.
Memories…
again… Your not the boss of me!
sniff, sniff ewww… somebody passed gas in your thread, I’m out of here!
Let’s go! What started out as a way for me to entertain myself (don’t get dirty, I didn’t mean it like that) has really gotten blown out of proportion here.
First, people just start posting away in my thread, regardless of the title of the thread. Now some of you, although I won’t mention any names (as_u_wish) is suggesting discussion topics and JuanDeCuba didn’t even have the decency to address me in my own thread, instead he misses Ozzie Smith.
Ok, let’s end this: I miss Ozzie too, everyone misses Ozzie, but Ozzie was getting too old to play, that’s life.
And NOW someone farted in my thread! That’s the last straw! Everyone out! Come on, party over, take your beer, put out your cigarettes and - hey, that’s not a cigarette! Give me that!
See, you people got me so worked up, I hit the submit button too soon.
Anyway, now that it’s a new day, I’m choosing a new topic:
Masturbation - love it or love it?
[discussion with self]
What’s your thoughts on this BratMan?
Well, BratMan, I have to say that I love it! What about you?
Oh I love it too, BratMan. It’s only a hobby right now, but one day I hope to make a career out of it.
[/discussion with self
Ya know BratMan, if you want some privacy you should probably close the door. If you leave it wide open like this you’ll have people just wandering in all the time.
[whisper] Some people like to run the water too. Just to cover the noise. [/whisper]
Seeing as this is my board all for me (although there have been some intrusions) I’ve decided to come in here and simply be bored.
:Yaaawwwwn:
Where’s my Playstation when I need it?
You can do what ever you want…just not with her! you can think about… you can dream about it… just don’t do it.
Now I’m being told what to do in my own thread! Where’s the lock on this door anyway?
::::::sniffs, stares, blushes, leaves:::::::
He loves me!!! Hi, honey!! <Actually, I knew that already, but it’s nice to hear him being just a little bit jealous! ;)>
Oops, sorry, BratMan. I’ll leave again, honest. 