Baseball shifts are as bad as Free Speech?

freerepublic.com ^ | 6/23/2018 | a little elbow grease

[a little elbow grease]

There is a haunting stirring in the baseball community to establish that fielders defensive “shifts” should be against the rules.

From BusinessInsider.com: “MLB's New Commissioner Is Open To Banning Defensive Shifts To Increase Scoring — Here's A Simple Way To Do It.”

Does this seem to anyone else as more than heavy-handed, almost totalitarian???

Do you suppose that they also will want to impel OUTFIELDERS NOT TO SHIFT, play deeper in the outfield when a power hitter comes to the plate?

Do they suppose to suggest that when a sacrifice bunt is most likely about to be attempted, that the first and third basemen should NOT BE PERMITTED to creep in toward the plate in order to get the ball and throw out the runner at second base for a force play?

Should outfielders not be permitted to shade toward the right field line when a strong left handed pull hitter comes to the plate? My, my.

Baseball has been shifting since Ted Williams and even before that. Now that we realize its effectiveness, we exploit the advantage. Personally, I don't think that this particular strategy EVER should be made illegal.

As a baseball fan said on reddit.com: “People hate the shift when their team hits into it, but love it when the opposing team hits into your shift. It's a part of the game now. Hitters will just have to adjust.

As Wee Willie Keeler used to say, “ Keep your eyes clear, and hit’ em where they ain’t: that’s all.”

I’ll just say this now …………. I find this idea of restrictions on defensive players’ shifts to be about the most ignorant, idiotic, witless, reactionary, vacuous, mindless, unintelligent, half-baked, harebrained, imprudent, unwise, and foolish idea of which I have ever heard.

“If all seven position players want to form a human pyramid behind second base then they should be allowed to.” LOL

________________

LEAVE THE GAME ALONE …………… and hit’ em where they ain’t.

[Ransomed]

I’m not sure if bullpenning for every game is feasible. It could be, but a crappy team will need to try it first. I think you would need one or two long slop throwing guys in any case for blow outs either way. Even then it’s hard to see how pens wouldn’t get toasted over 162. It would be more feasible if they were training every reliever to go 2+ innings. But that is way rare today.

Freegards

[Alberta's Child]

Enjoy the greatest sport ever created by man, likely with the help of God his own self.

Gotta disagree with you on that one. LOL.

It doesn't get any better than ice hockey:

[Mariner]

That’s just football on ice.

[headsonpikes]

Lacrosse on ice, if you want to get technical.;^)

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

The Phillies look pretty good this year.

They went into the season with two aces on the pitching staff, who haven’t disappointed, but the 3, 4, and 5 guys have been upside surprises - and so has the bull pen, even with some injuries. Their centerfielder can’t decide if he is a hopeless zero at the plate or an MVP candidate. Two weeks ago he had looked pathetic for weeks, and his average had dropped by over 50 points; last night he was 4 for 5 including, for the fifth game in a row, a homer. Their left fielder turned heads around the league in the last third of last year, this year not so much - except when he does.

In short they have pitching, and sometimes they have enough hitting, but if you look at the overall batting average of the starting lineup you wonder why they aren’t in the cellar. And the fielding has been inconsistent, too.

[Alberta's Child]

Oh, not at all. The skill required to play hockey is unparalleled in sports.

[Mariner]

Which is conceptually the same as Football, Soccer and Basketball.

Assaulting and defending a goal. How many sports are there over this simplistic concept?

Boring to me.

But many think Baseball is boring.

It must be a brain thing...different brains, different sports.

[windcliff]

Ping

[Mariner]

“The skill required to play hockey is unparalleled in sports.”

Yeah, right up there with hitting a curve ball on the inside corner lol There MIGHT be 10 people in the world who can do that in any given era.

To each their own. I know many have ZERO appreciation for baseball. None. Zip. Nada.

[Ransomed]

It’s the best game for sure. Baseball at the highest competitive level suffers visually in that when you play it really well it looks easy, and so when you fail at it, it looks like complete unskilled garbage. Most people have no idea what it takes to throw firmly and accurately to a target 90+ feet away, much less what a thrown baseball looks like at 95+ mph possibly coming at your neck.

Freegards

[a little elbow grease]

"The skill required to play hockey is unparalleled in sports."

___________________________

So true.

[a little elbow grease]

"Most people have no idea what it takes to throw firmly and accurately to a target 90+ feet away, much less what a thrown baseball looks like at 95+ mph possibly coming at your neck."

________________

One thing ....... the pitcher DOES NOT THROW 90 feet at all.

The distance is 60 feet 6 inches.

I'm sure a lot of batters would like the pitchers to back up a little. Some of those long-armed pitchers look like they are right on top of you.

;-)

[a little elbow grease]

http://www.businessinsider.com/rob-manfred-mlb-defensive-shifts-ban-2015-1

****

MLB's New Commissioner Is Open To Banning Defensive Shifts To Increase Scoring ((BARF ALERT))

(From 2015) -- In a recent interview with ESPN, new Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said, in an effort to increase scoring, he is open to banning one of the biggest changes to the sport in recent years, the increased use of defensive shifts.

___________________________

Does this jerkoff, Rob Manfred, want to prohibit outfielders from playing deeper when a power hitter comes to the plate? Would the outfielders no longer to be able to shade toward the foul lines against strong pull hitters?

Does this "totalitarian moron" want to prevent first and third basemen's defense against possible upcoming sacrifice bunts?

If this guy were in charge of the NFL would he prohibit the "shotgun" formation for the QB ....... the "prevent defense"?

Insanity.

[Alberta's Child]

Try doing all that on ice skates. LOL.

[Fido969]

Baseball is mentioned in the Bible. It’s in Genesis if you look carefully.

[Ransomed]

You throw 90 between bases. Like I said, most folks have no idea how hard it is to do accurately.

Freegards

[a little elbow grease]

"You throw 90 between bases. Like I said, most folks have no idea how hard it is to do accurately."

The converasation was about pitching, but nevertheless it is NOT hard to accurately throw a baseball from second base to first, from third to second, or nearly any throw of 90 feet.

********

Speaking of pitching and improving the HEALTH OF PITCHERS and the game itself:

In 1968, the mound was 15 inches high. A 10-inch height limit has been in place since the start of the 1969 season.

Being a student of KINESIOLOGY -- the scientific study of human or non-human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, biomechanical, and psychological dynamic principles and mechanisms of movement), I have learned that pitching down off a slope is much harder on pitchers' arms (elbows and shoulders) than throwing from a level surface. There is no question about this.

You want your team's pitchers to spend less time on the D.L., etc., then LOWER THE MOUND.

It won't happen any time soon, but I suggest that the mound should very slowly be eliminated. Eliminate the mound slowly so that pitchers can get used to the change.

[Ransomed]

The post I replied to was talking about how there are some that have no appreciation for baseball. My post was pointing out the fact that casual fans have no idea how hard it is to play because it looks so easy to do. If you think it is easy to throw between the bases at the highest level and at game speed, OK.

Good luck with lowering the mound to help pitchers. I think one of the best thing for pitchers would be to change the way these kids are scouted and promoted, with the biggest body frame kids throwing the hardest always promoted over others. I would love to see soft tossers and knuckleball pitchers make a comeback. Another thing that would help them is to actually call the strike zone accurately. But then offense would really take even more of a dive until the adjustment would be made.

Freegards

[a little elbow grease]

* You write: "If you think it is easy to throw between the bases at the highest level and at game speed, OK." -----

I didn't say it was "easy". It's certainly not difficult with some practice.

* You wrote: "Good luck with lowering the mound to help pitchers." -----

I said if it's ever going to happen it will take a long time... and it should be done gradually...... and I didn't say it was to help pitchers, I was talking about it would help their bodies/arms.

* You wrote: "I think one of the best thing for pitchers would be to change the way these kids are scouted and promoted, with the biggest body frame kids throwing the hardest always promoted over others." ------

That is a good idea.

*You wrote: I would love to see soft tossers and knuckleball pitchers make a comeback. ----

Me too, but knuckleballs are hard to throw ....... and catch. Ask Bob Uecker. Uecker was asked how he caught a knuckleball. ("The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up.").

Maybe we can bring back Rip Sewell's Eephus pitch to get those guys off balance. ;-)

[Ransomed]

I think throwing a knuckleball at the major league level with success must be one of the hardest things to do, despite it being looked at mosyly as the pitch of last possible resort to salvage a career. There are slow motion video around of RA Dickey’s amazing 2012 season that look like a looney tunes cartoon.

Here’s one from youtube, ha that thing is 80 mph which is way hard for knuckleball, a true corkscrew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1um8bZ7cbQ

Freegards