MLB Week 1

[Northside Hawk]

All valid points and by no means was I saying that batters hitting it to the side was the way around it. But as you pointed out it does create boring baseball. That said so do intentional walks to set up favorable matchups or take the bat out of a game changers hands in a clutch situation. I realize they're on two different levels, but I just don't see how you can mandate one and not the other even though a pitcher could just as easily walk a batter by throwing outside the zone to get the same results.

I disagree with the adaptation of rules however simply because they've become lopsided. Case in point as you mentioned moving the 3 point line back. While I have no issue with where it is now I think a professional sporting league is walking a fine line when they start modifying rules because players have become to proficient at something. What's next raising the hoop to 13 feet because players are dunking too much? Obviously being sarcastic, but you see my point.

I guess I always just thought of baseball as a simple sport filled with complex situations/strategy and decisions. So never really put much thought into why the positions are defined and/or what areas of the field these players are/aren't entitled to. TBH I never realized there were parameters defining where players can line up or defining their positions. I always just assumed it was what it was which was why I never really thought much about how the shifts affected the game and simply just thought of them as any other part of the game.

They're not raising rhe hoop to 13 feet but I've long advocated for raising it for the long mundane slam dunk contest. Do it like a high jump competition. Start the hoop at 10 feet and raise it three inches every round and eliminate competitors one by one until someone wins.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I never realize Orioles had fans.

Orioles, along with the Dodgers and perhaps Giants and Cardinals, used to be the most stable run organization in baseball.

Then again, the Copacabana used to be the hippest club on the eastern seaboard. They way the Orioles were run died out four decades ago and it ain't coming back

Neither is the Copacabana.

 

[Fryowa]

For the record I do believe the best hitters and bat control guys can hit away from a shift. They did it for generations. So count me in as one as one if those idiots.

When launch angle became all the rave and everyone tried to elevate the ball, defenses simply moved to where they knew the ball would be hit if it wasn't elevated.

I like the shift in terms of any hitter who's dumb enough to keep hitting into it deserves to keep making hard outs. If they would use all fields for a series teams would stop shifting in a hurry.

If you want to argue that pitching has never been tougher that's another story. But the pendulum of baseball always swings back and forth. Pitching dominated in the 1960's because A) the mound was higher, B) hitting backgrounds and shadows were terrible in outdated stadiums. Once they lowered the mound, roped off fans from sitting in hitting backgrounds, and built cookie cutter stadiums with fewer shadows, competitive balance swung back to neutral. All that said, pitching is still tougher today than it was then because more of them throw hard and Tommy John surgery has become so common and relatively quick to recover from that they aren't afraid to blow out their elbows on the slider. So it is a fair argument.

If you want to argue that high school pitching us ahead of high school hitting, you have a legit point. But my point is that the best of the best, i.e elite major league hitters, can handle a bat like a magician.

Like elite golfers, elite major league hitters have depth perception and hand eye coordination that perhaps .0001% of the rest of us have. They can do amazing things even with the best pitching.

It still boils down to Pitching is way too good. If it weren’t, you wouldn’t have seen almost every hitter struggle against the shift. The proof is in the pudding. Guys are throwing 98 mph sliders on the regular with 101 gas on top of that. These pitchers aren’t what guys were hitting oppo for generations. And pitching is developing way faster than hitting. There’s a hard limit to the processing speed of the human brain and nervous system, and todays pitchers are exceeding it. Hell, the very best HS pitchers today would dominate MLB hitters from 30 years ago.

But it simply boils down to this…

If hitters are good enough to hit away from the shift, why didn’t they hit away from the shift for the last 10 plus years? It’s not like they just decided not to.

 

[Northside Hawk]

It still boils down to Pitching is way too good. If it weren’t, you wouldn’t have seen almost every hitter struggle against the shift. The proof is in the pudding. Guys are throwing 98 mph sliders on the regular with 101 gas on top of that. These pitchers aren’t what guys were hitting oppo for generations. And pitching is developing way faster than hitting. There’s a hard limit to the processing speed of the human brain and nervous system, and todays pitchers are exceeding it. Hell, the very best HS pitchers today would dominate MLB hitters from 30 years ago.

But it simply boils down to this…

If hitters are good enough to hit away from the shift, why didn’t they hit away from the shift for the last 10 plus years? It’s not like they just decided not to.

I still think the launch angle fad had something to do with it. Hitters trying to get the ball in the air. The classic Kris Bryant swing where he goes down and golf's knee high and slightly below pitches to get them in the air.

Velocity certainly has never been better, and pitchers are being used in ways they would never have dreamed of being used in generations past. Five and fly is the catch phrase for a decent starting outing these days. Get that starter out of there before he has to face a lineup a third time, then bring in the bullpen troops, one inning at a time. There's eight of them out there in a modern bullpen so plenty of options. Most managers and pitching coaches have daily pregame meetings with their pen and guys usually have a decent idea if their number is going to be called that day.

The statement that there is a hard limit to the processing speed of the human brain and nervous system is a fascinating one. Is that based off a physiological study of any kind? I do recall hearing back in the 1990's or right after the turn of the century a cardiologist explaining that the human heart is governed to run a maximum low mile of 3:38. The physiology of a human heart will not allow a human to ever run faster.

I think milers are in the 3:42, 3:43 range right now. So they're getting close.

 

[HawkPowerlifter]

I still go back to being a traditionalist so change has been tough. Manfred is about finding ways to get the casual fan back to the ball park. Most fans realize the game has not changed much since it's inception. I do like that the games are shorter.

But anyone who knows baseball, knows the game is built on failure. Thus, it's going to be a bit boring to the casual observer. To a true fan, it's challenging and engaging.

I hate Sabremetrics, I think it's overtaken the sport and instead of a tool used by scouts and management, it's become something they pimp on broadcasts and etc. It concerns me that young players become so concerned about their launch angle and exit velo. But again, this game is built upon stats.

I do like what Donny Baseball says here:

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

 

[kicker22]

That's what people say about me as a Browns fan.

I have to be the only Browns/Orioles fan on the planet.

Absolutely no argument from me or anyone else for that matter. Congrats on maintaining your sanity it can't be easy.

 

[kicker22]

They're not raising rhe hoop to 13 feet but I've long advocated for raising it for the long mundane slam dunk contest. Do it like a high jump competition. Start the hoop at 10 feet and raise it three inches every round and eliminate competitors one by one until someone wins.

No I get it and never expected them to, but I don't understand why they penalize teams players for shooting too well when they moved the arc back. These are the best of the best and to me it seems like a slap in the face to those at the highest level that spent thousands of hours in the gym perfecting their art, that a league or anyone would say that were going to essentially punish you for being too good and change the rules. IMO it's just dumb.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I still go back to being a traditionalist so change has been tough. Manfred is about finding ways to get the casual fan back to the ball park. Most fans realize the game has not changed much since it's inception. I do like that the games are shorter.

But anyone who knows baseball, knows the game is built on failure. Thus, it's going to be a bit boring to the casual observer. To a true fan, it's challenging and engaging.

I hate Sabremetrics, I think it's overtaken the sport and instead of a tool used by scouts and management, it's become something they pimp on broadcasts and etc. It concerns me that young players become so concerned about their launch angle and exit velo. But again, this game is built upon stats.

I do like what Donny Baseball says here:

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

I could see pitchers, and maybe a couple already have, simply taking the penalty and the ball in the count if they're not quite ready to throw the next pitch, need a quick breather, or simply need to take a moment and collect themselves. As opposed to rushing things on the mound.

 

[99topdawg]

Orioles, along with the Dodgers and perhaps Giants and Cardinals, used to be the most stable run organization in baseball.

Then again, the Copacabana used to be the hippest club on the eastern seaboard. They way the Orioles were run died out four decades ago and it ain't coming back

Neither is the Copacabana.

The Orioles are absolutely loaded with great young talent right now. For the past few years they were often rated as the top minor leagues system. The kept them down and have now brought them up. Still have some good ones in the high minors. The problem is, before they all get good enough to win anything, they won't be able to afford to pay them.

 

[Northside Hawk]

The Orioles are absolutely loaded with great young talent right now. For the past few years they were often rated as the top minor leagues system. The kept them down and have now brought them up. Still have some good ones in the high minors. The problem is, before they all get good enough to win anything, they won't be able to afford to pay them.

And three of the other four teams in that division can. So Baltimore runs in place.

 

[99topdawg]

And three of the other four teams in that division can. So Baltimore runs in place.

I don't remember how many, but there are players that make more money that the entire O's roster. The owner is making money and money is more important than the product he puts on the field.