Quote:
Originally Posted by alexad
Meant Patterson, and I have made the change. Anyway stolen bases are a lost art and when Freel got on in the past and attempted to steal, it played head games with the pitcher.
Taveras is not fast, he is really fast with blazing speed. NOt sure how 68 stolen bases is considered overrated. That could produce 68 runs for a team that is going to need them with the slap stick style of play we are going to see next year. The days of hitting them out of the park are over for Reds fans.
|
Stolen bases are a lost art because a lot of teams realize they are too risky to attempt. Yes, they play mind games with the pitcher--but they also risk the most valuable asset in the game: base runners.
Sure, in isolated situations a SB can be a good thing. In retrospect, we can say that stealing a base played mind games or this and that game or sitation. But all of the information I've read that tries to quantitatively measure the value of stolen bases over a season arrives at a similar conclusion: they are, at best, a non-factor in success--and can often be an impediment. If anything, the better statistic is stolen base success rate, not total stolen bases. That way, at least you are measuring the wisdom of a player's base running.
No, I don't think that we are entering an era of "slap stick" hitting. Small ball teams like the Cardinals were a thing of the 70s and 80s. The problem is the Reds FO still thinks we're back there.