Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MLB 2023

The red sox have had a very odd spring training. It started really well, they went to 9-0 in the beginning, then in the second half they slid to 13-10. Yes thats right, their record in the first-half of spring training was dramatically better than in the second half. The guys with the big contracts did noticeably worse than a bunch of AAA kids and non-roster invitees. It makes you wonder whether they shouldn’t have just ditched the entire team and gone with the new guys…
 
  • Like
Reactions: satcomer and pachyderm
Never fear that if you make a new stupid rule (outlawing the shift), someone will outsmart you.

And that is exactly what has happened. So MLB decided it didn't want the infield shift, so they outlawed it and now require 2 infielders to be on each side of 2nd base AND no infielder can be on the outfield grass.

So what have teams done, they simply put the left fielder in the deep gap between the 1st and 2nd basemen. While not exactly the same as the infield shift, it works about the same.

Make stupid rules and someone smarter will find a way around them.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: rhett7660, Silencio and pachyderm
Herdfan said:
Never fear that if you make a new stupid rule (outlawing the shift), someone will outsmart you.

And that is exactly what has happened. So MLB decided it didn't want the infield shift, so they outlawed it and now require 2 infielders to be on each side of 2nd base AND no infielder can be on the outfield grass.

So what have teams done, they simply put the left fielder in the deep gap between the 1st and 2nd basemen. While not exactly the same as the infield shift, it works about the same.

Make stupid rules and someone smarter will find a way around them.
Click to expand...
And all ofthis mess instead of managers and coaches dedicating time to teaching batters to hit the other way...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Herdfan
Pitch location also highly determines what the ideal swing is and where the ball is most likely to be hit. You're not going to as easily hit to the opposite field if the pitcher is throwing in on your hands. At best you'll get those muscled-up little flares into the shallow outfield.

Sabermetrics and the whole "three true outcomes" thing really did detract from the art of hitting as we knew it in the 70s and 80s. Guys like Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew are somewhat devalued today because they didn't hit for enough power, or could have had even higher OBP's if they had drawn more walks, but those are two batters I loved to watch back in the day.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pachyderm, TechRunner and Herdfan
Rafterman said:
Not so easy though. Teams don't want to mess with a guy's successful swing.
Click to expand...

Sure they do. It's all about "launch angle" to hit more home runs.

Any major league player can dribble a ball in the hole where the 3rd basemen used to be. Won't be a hard shot or a line drive, but it doesn't have to be. Or they could push a bunt that way.

Silencio said:
Sabermetrics and the whole "three true outcomes" thing really did detract from the art of hitting as we knew it in the 70s and 80s. Guys like Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew are somewhat devalued today because they didn't hit for enough power, or could have had even higher OBP's if they had drawn more walks, but those are two batters I loved to watch back in the day.
Click to expand...

Tony Gwynn is the best hitter I ever saw. Didn't see as much of Rod Carew because in his era there weren't as many games on TV, especially since he was in the AL and we mainly got NL games (WGN & TBS) on TV.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pachyderm
If it was easy to beat the shift, players would have done it, and every team would have voluntarily stopped using it. It's not easy, they couldn't beat it, so MLB banned it. Now they are moving a corner outfielder to accomplish the same thing, because it works. How does any other scenario make sense?
 
  • Wow
Reactions: pachyderm
Gregg2 said:
If it was easy to beat the shift, players would have done it, and every team would have voluntarily stopped using it. It's not easy, they couldn't beat it, so MLB banned it. Now they are moving a corner outfielder to accomplish the same thing, because it works. How does any other scenario make sense?
Click to expand...
bunt
 
  • Like
Reactions: Herdfan
Gregg2 said:
If it was easy, players would have done it. They didn't try very often, and the success rate was low. Also, the reward for success was limited. It didn't work, or they would have done it more.
Click to expand...
Professional players know how to bunt... bunt.
 
Well…

Beating the Shift

INTRODUCTION With the new MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in place, baseball has hit the ground running again; albeit, with some potential changes on the…
www.baseball-almanac.com
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: pachyderm
pachyderm said:
@Silencio I hate our pitching staff... and Casamigos Tequila... and the pitch clock.
Click to expand...

Our pitching staff will be like everything else about the team: bang average. Webb looked pretty dominant yesterday, long balls aside. I feel like he's going to be Matt Cain 2.0: an elite pitcher held back by the rest of his team.

Haven't tried Casamigos Tequila. I enjoy a good tequila, but haven't been in the habit of sipping it straight, but I like a number tequila-based cocktails beyond margaritas.

The pitch clock is weird, but I assume I'll get used to it. I watched part of the game yesterday and did notice the sprightly pace, but I'll have to give it a few months.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pachyderm
Silencio said:
Our pitching staff will be like everything else about the team: bang average. Webb looked pretty dominant yesterday, long balls aside. I feel like he's going to be Matt Cain 2.0: an elite pitcher held back by the rest of his team.

Haven't tried Casamigos Tequila. I enjoy a good tequila, but haven't been in the habit of sipping it straight, but I like a number tequila-based cocktails beyond margaritas.

The pitch clock is weird, but I assume I'll get used to it. I watched part of the game yesterday and did notice the sprightly pace, but I'll have to give it a few months.
Click to expand...
Probably great tequila, I just got sick of the adds while I was being made sick by a crappy performance.

VGDXKX7.png
 
  • Love
Reactions: Silencio
Silencio said:
The pitch clock is weird, but I assume I'll get used to it. I watched part of the game yesterday and did notice the sprightly pace, but I'll have to give it a few months.
Click to expand...
The Blue Jays/Cardinals game was almost 4 hours yesterday! Although it was a high scoring and high hitting game.

www.sportingnews.com

MLB Opening Day game lengths: How long were games on average in 2023 vs. 2022 with pitch clock? | Sporting News Canada

MLB saw a sharp downturn in average length of game with the addition of the timer.
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com

Average game time was about 2 hours and 45 minutes according to this article.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: pachyderm
It seemed like commercial breaks between half-innings were shorter. I haven't heard anything about MLB making new rules about how soon a lead-off batter has to be ready to hit, but it seems like that would be the only reason TV networks would shorten the commercial breaks. Now they're even doing split-screen ads with the live "action" shown on the other half. Most of that is done before the first pitch, but I saw some pre-season games where the commercial extended to at least the second pitch. I know that advertisers want to get their pitches in there too. ;)
 
Silencio said:
The pitch clock is weird, but I assume I'll get used to it. I watched part of the game yesterday and did notice the sprightly pace, but I'll have to give it a few months.
Click to expand...

In the 3-4 games I have watched, I am loving the pitch clock.
 
  • Like
Reactions: curdy
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back