John Fay sez DH will likely be universal when baseball returns

[NeilHamburger]

I don't buy the argument that Votto playing first had anything to do with his last 2 years.

I would move Winker to DH. Go with:

Akiyama CF
Votto 1B
Suarez 3B
Castellanos RF
Moustakas 2B
Winker DH
Senzel LF
Barnhart C
Galvis SS

[mth123]

Votto's way better at 1B than Castellanos and Winker are in the OF. They're both amazingly bad in the field for being relatively young. Get one of them goofy dudes off the field.

Yeah, but Votto is old and has back issues. Let him bat and try to get on base 4 times a game and keep him healthy. I'd bet we'd see a return of some of the missing pop with more rest.

[mth123]

It's still a good play if you can make it 70%+ of the time, which fast players can do. Adalberto Mondesi swipes bases at an 84% clip. The problem is the game did go bigger and those guys are slow. I used to make fun of Sean Casey for being one of the naturally slowest humans I'd ever seen play a pro sport. Doubt I'd even notice him in today's game. You can time half the league to 1st with a sundial.

Sue, if the Reds had Eric Davis, Joe Morgan or Barry Larkin being successful (and not getting picked-off like Ryan Freel did all the time) let them run. There aren't many guys like that who can actually get on base enough to be worth playing.

[mth123]

I don't buy the argument that Votto playing first had anything to do with his last 2 years.

I would move Winker to DH. Go with:

Akiyama CF
Votto 1B
Suarez 3B
Castellanos RF
Moustakas 2B
Winker DH
Senzel LF
Barnhart C
Galvis SS

He hasn't been healthy Votto for a while. His back is hurting a lot and I still think its behind all the funky half swing adjustments he tried to make. We haven't heard a lot about it because he's a good dude who doesn't make excuses. Keep him as healthy as possible with more rest and watch the pop return. He probably won't hit 35 HR again, but 20 to 25 is doable with more rest IMO.

[Bourgeois Zee]

I'd be happy to bet Votto won't DH more than a handful of games.

[UPRedsFan]

I'm guessing it's more like

Shogo RF
Senzel CF
Castellanos/ Ervin LF
Winker/ Castellanos DH

Aquino will begin the season, I'm assuming, in AAA.

Good take. I'd slightly adjust it.

Against lhp: Shogo RF; Senzel CF; Ervin LF; Castellanos DH
Against rhp: Shogo RF; Senzel CF; Winker LF; Castellanos DH

Winker at least can read and take good routes. He can't run or throw, but he doesn't run in circles like Castellanos. Heck they even trusted him enough to play CF a few times.

My heart says no DH. But my head says it just might be a good business move for the NL. Less boring at bats, more offense for the average fan. And I do like how it paves way for Senzel to be in the lineup everyday.

[mth123]

I'd be happy to bet Votto won't DH more than a handful of games.

HE probably won't , but it will be a mistake. The guy needs to sit more. DH would keep him in the line-up. If Votto plays the field, I don't think he should play more than 120 games or so.

[757690]

HE probably won't , but it will be a mistake. The guy needs to sit more. DH would keep him in the line-up. If Votto plays the field, I don't think he should play more than 120 games or so.

If they play this season, there will only be around 80-100 games total. But I agree if it were a full season.

[Shoeless Jeff]

Since we are adding DH's, let's add DR's as well. As soon as Winker or Votto or one of the catchers get on base, we can call a timeout and replace them with a temporary pinch runner as well since they are not good at that. When I think of that, why stop there. Let's let each time have two starters at each position and they can switch them out as much as they want during the games. Put your better defensive player in when you are on the field and then play mix and match at the plate. "Start" both a lefty and righty at the position so you can avoid the lefty-lefty or righty-righty matchups. Or you could match a power hitter with someone who has a high OBA and use whatever you need at the time. Or even a better idea. Let's have TP's (tandem pitchers). We can have two pitchers going at the same time and they could switch off to different batters throughout the game to get good matchups. That way you keep the innings down on both arms and it wouldn't be until very late in the game that you would have to bring in a third closer. This would keep the game moving and eliminate all the pitching changeups (Mets actually were forced to do this against the Reds in the 80's I think when they ran out of players and had to put a pitcher in the outfield). The possibilities are endless!

[M2]

Sue, if the Reds had Eric Davis, Joe Morgan or Barry Larkin being successful (and not getting picked-off like Ryan Freel did all the time) let them run. There aren't many guys like that who can actually get on base enough to be worth playing.

We're on the same page. It's an era of bigger but boring. I'm hoping guys like Yelich and Acuna change that.

[jwdoc77]

Would you be allowed to double-switch?

Let's say this is your starting lineup:
1. RF Akiyama
2. DH Votto
3. 3B Suarez
4. 2B Moustakas
5. 1B Castellanos
(*)6. LF Winker
7. CF Senzel
8. SS Galvis
9. C Barnhart


Jesse Winker, the #6 hitter in the lineup, is due to lead off the next inning. Because Votto is moving to 1B, the relief pitcher (Stephenson) takes Winker's spot in the lineup.

But you don't want Stephenson to lead off the next inning. Let's say you want Aquino to lead it off. With a double-switch, you can have Aquino play RF instead of Akiyama, putting Stephenson in the #1 spot in the lineup..

1. RP Stephenson
2. 1B Votto
3. 3B Suarez
4. 2B Moustakas
5. LF Castellanos
(*)6. RF Aquino
7. CF Senzel
8. SS Galvis
9. C Barnhart

Absolutely....this is what I was getting at. Just as much strategy, but pitchers would hardly ever hit.

[Kc61]

I’m not a DH fan, but I’m for tinkering this season. This isn’t a normal season, can’t be, so it’s a good time to try things out.

Universal DH, three-batter rule, I’d experiment with anything within reason.

Then decide on permanent rule changes (or status quo) after the year is over.

The DH obviously helps Reds this year with an offensive team and few defensive standouts. That’s good too.

[BCubb2003]

I prefer the NL game, but we can’t honestly say that the DH has been bad for baseball. The AL isn’t a bleak shell of the game. At least NL teams wouldn’t be at a disadvantage in interleague games.

[REDREAD]

I used to think this, but it's not true anymore. The biggest decision that a DH removes is the decision to PH for a pitcher who is dominating and having to replace him with a new guy. Back in the old days, this was a major decision lost to the DH that caused me to hate it. These days, they take that pitcher out anyway DH or no DH. The rest of the stuff the DH might impact - the double switch, which PH to use, etc. are pretty basic and usually obvious moves that just about any 8 year old kid who follows the team could make.

I don't really care one way or the other, but I do think both leagues should operate under the same rules.

I agree 100%, the amount of strategy a DH removes is negligible.
They did more damage eliminating strategy with the new rule about how a reliever has to face 3 guys when he comes in (I think that is correct, I Don't remember specifics).

Universal DH means both leagues have the same rules, and honestly, most people do not want to see the pitcher hit. Sure, once or twice a year, it's exciting when a pitcher hits a HR (or something like that), but that's only exciting because it happens so rarely.

Baseball is trying to appeal to a greater audience. A DH hitting is more entertaining than a pitcher.
I'm glad they did this, better late than never.

Not only that, the DH might help reduce pitching injuries.. Maybe the impact is not significant, but it can only help.

The only downside, IMO is that the DH further widens the gap between small market and large market teams.
Large market teams can afford to buy a premium hitter for that position, while small market teams are more likely to just use a guy that would have normally been a bench player, to save money.
Maybe I should have said the gap between "clubs trying to win" and tankers..
Anyhow that's the only downside I see.

[REDREAD]

This is the case, and it's kind of sad in some ways (not all), but the data is the data.

You know how you could get 70s / 80s baseball back?

Another way to bring back 70s/ 80s games would be to change the rules so that stealing bases is easier, and thus tilt the numbers into making it a favorable strategy. Obviously, the 70s turf is not coming back, but
suppose they drew a line between first and second. If one of the runner's feet is behind the line, no pickoff throws are allowed. That could potentially be tinkered with so that the success rate of the average guy is increased, and guys with speed like Billy H would run on just about every pitch, as they would be 90%+ successful. Is that a good idea? I don't know, but if the fans want to see more smallball and stolen bases, it would bring more excitement than K/BB/HR outcomes that dominate today's game.