Manfred: DH in NL gaining momentum.

The Tariff King

The Tariff King

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On my phone too lazy to go to cnnsi to link

Thoughts? I'd be pretty upset because Chipper could have easily extended his career as a dh and gotten to 500 homers.
 
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Arena baseball. Reminds me of the old Griffey JR All Sport commercial showing the future of baseball. Might as well go to three pitchers and a center field blimp.

Players union gets what the players union wants.
 
I'm not a fan of it but the more high priced pitchers get injured while 'hitting' the more momentum this will get.
 
I have absolutely zero in the way of rational arguments against it--it's just my weird little bit of stick-in-the-mud baseball conservatism. I turn into a hurrumphing grandpa when it comes to ****ing with the idea that your lineup is comprised of nine guys, all of whom have a bat, and all of whom have a glove.

I like double switches. I like the extra layer of strategy when considering leaving a starter in a game for an extra inning even if he has to hit. I like the idea of planning around a soft spot in the order, and the little uptick in tension when dealing with a pitcher who can actually swing a little bit.

I'm not exactly a Luddite. I think Edgar Martinez should be in the Hall of Fame. I just think the game will be diminished a little bit when the DH is universal. But, yes, the game changes. It's changed in more meaningful ways than that over the years. But, having been raised on NL baseball, and always feeling like the American League was somehow second-rate, I'll miss the having the pitcher hit.

But...

 
smootness said:
Pitchers literally don't spend a single minute on hitting anymore, so why not. Sports evolve.
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Yup. And I think the important thing is mark a truce. Limit PA for DH. Say 300 PA. It would eliminate the guys who can't field at all. And would let teams utilize a variety of players at the DH.
 
zitothebrave said:
Yup. And I think the important thing is mark a truce. Limit PA for DH. Say 300 PA. It would eliminate the guys who can't field at all. And would let teams utilize a variety of players at the DH.
Click to expand...

The union would never allow a player to be limited to 300 PA as a DH, simply because the owners would rightly try to pay that player a lower salary. When the DH happens it will come with no restrictions.

I like the strategy aspect of a DH-free game, but it's inevitable that it will come to the NL. The National League is the only league that doesn't use the DH at any level of baseball. And the NL teams are at a competitive disadvantage in interleague play - most AL teams carry a dedicated DH, while when the NL teams are in AL parks they're usually putting a lesser player into the lineup than what their opponent has in their DH slot. The advantage (if there is one) that NL pitchers have at the plate over AL Ps is not enough to offset that difference.
 
zitothebrave said:
Yup. And I think the important thing is mark a truce. Limit PA for DH. Say 300 PA. It would eliminate the guys who can't field at all. And would let teams utilize a variety of players at the DH.
Click to expand...

That makes too much sense to ever be considered.
 
DirkPiggler said:
The union would never allow a player to be limited to 300 PA as a DH, simply because the owners would rightly try to pay that player a lower salary. When the DH happens it will come with no restrictions.

I like the strategy aspect of a DH-free game, but it's inevitable that it will come to the NL. The National League is the only league that doesn't use the DH at any level of baseball. And the NL teams are at a competitive disadvantage in interleague play - most AL teams carry a dedicated DH, while when the NL teams are in AL parks they're usually putting a lesser player into the lineup than what their opponent has in their DH slot. The advantage (if there is one) that NL pitchers have at the plate over AL Ps is not enough to offset that difference.
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Would they though? Imagine guys who can hit like Chipper, Chase Utley, or catchers who can hit like McCann or Posey gettingyears added on. IMO that will be worth it for them vs the loss of guys like Ortiz who truly suck at baseball.
 
I for one welcome the DH although I like my idea of a designated fielder better. This way we can get defensive specialist players that wouldnt otherwise make it to the majors or get enough playing time to show off their defense. Obviously cant replace the pitcher on the field so he still hits.
 
If that happens, I'm done with baseball. I'm sorry, try watching any AL game, it's long, it's boring, and there's no strategy involved.

And while people will argue watching pitchers hit is boring, and it's mostly true, it's more intriguing to see if that pitcher can move a runner over or get a hit or how the opposing team pitches around the 8 hole hitter in a critical situation, and then in a close game do you leave a pitcher in to hit or not with runners on to try to get the lead or extend the lead or the strategy of saving pinch hitters for late in the game.

I don't buy the AL has a huge advantage in the World Series or in inter league. Any competent front office should be able to find an additional bat to fill in or find a platoon type situation at a position to allow more flexibility to deepen a lineup in an AL game. Worst case scenerio is there seems to be plenty of guys that can hit but don't have a position to play because of porous defense that you can stauce away in AAA and save for those games.



Then again getting the DH may be the only way we can compete with Fredi at the helm, takes a lot of strategy put of the game. Although I'm not sure he could handle that either. I mean why DH Gattis and C McCann when you can C Laird and DH McCann.
 
Julio3000 said:
I have absolutely zero in the way of rational arguments against it--it's just my weird little bit of stick-in-the-mud baseball conservatism. I turn into a hurrumphing grandpa when it comes to ****ing with the idea that your lineup is comprised of nine guys, all of whom have a bat, and all of whom have a glove.

I like double switches. I like the extra layer of strategy when considering leaving a starter in a game for an extra inning even if he has to hit. I like the idea of planning around a soft spot in the order, and the little uptick in tension when dealing with a pitcher who can actually swing a little bit.

I'm not exactly a Luddite. I think Edgar Martinez should be in the Hall of Fame. I just think the game will be diminished a little bit when the DH is universal. But, yes, the game changes. It's changed in more meaningful ways than that over the years. But, having been raised on NL baseball, and always feeling like the American League was somehow second-rate, I'll miss the having the pitcher hit.

But...
Click to expand...

The other thing is that those double-switches gave us all another outlet for appreciating Tony LaRussa's genius.

He went to law school at FSU, you know.
 
I'd like to see a 'trade' take place to offset such a change. Maybe end interleague play (other than that one game each day, which would make THAT game more special perhaps) and that stupid All-Star Game winner gets home field advantage rule. Oh, and make the Wild Card playoff a 3-game series while they're at it.
 
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