It won't make a giant difference, but if we are running any numbers, I wouldn't do it under the assumption the pitcher is an automatic out.
It won't make a giant difference, but if we are running any numbers, I wouldn't do it under the assumption the pitcher is an automatic out.
If guess if I looked at the game on such a micro level I would prefer the DH as well.
Even in the NL the pitcher doesn't HAVE to hit, but unlike the AL there are consequences. Whether you choose to see it or not there is a lot of strategy built around that one simple difference. And that strategy doesn't begin in the late innings. It is a powerful disadvantage for the offensive team to have their pitcher leading off an inning - consequently it is a powerful advantage for the defensive team to force it.
You want to pitch around my #8 hitter to get to my pitcher, that's fine but you are increasing my chances of scoring a run the next inning. Or if I'm willing to pull my pitcher out of the game I can increase my chances of scoring this inning.
Last edited by puca; 03-20-2013 at 11:24 AM.
M2 (03-20-2013)
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
All good points you made.
I guess it all comes down to the fact that I think watching the pitcher hit is a real drag.
Even when the opposing pitcher is coming up, and it helps the Reds dance around an offensive threat, there's just a lot less excitement.
Runners in scoring position, 1b open, 2 outs, #8 hitter up, the threat is pretty much over. We still have to sit through 2 at bats which have a low chance of actually making anything happen.. It's all my opinion, but that's not exciting baseball to me.
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
So you are saying if not for the DH Mauer wouldn't have been able to start those 30 games at 1b? I have a hard time following that logic.
Nevermind. I wasn't following the back and forth close enough.
However, even without the DH we wouldn't be robbed of seeing Joe Mauer bat. Maybe we wouldn't see Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and and Ryan Doumit all get 4 ABs in the same game, but I could certainly live with that (even if I watched the Twins).
Last edited by puca; 03-20-2013 at 03:49 PM.
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