DH?

[RAGTOP]

Do you think if you grew up in American League city you might think that the DH was a good thing? Thinkin' of Red Sox without Big Papi just ain't a good thought.

Born and bred Red Sox fan, but I hate the DH rule. It just does not seem right to me. When you play a team sport, you play offense and defense. Even in baseball in the little leagues, high school, college and minors the pitchers hit. It is only in the American League of the pros that they don't.

NFL players don't play both offense and defense.

[LIPH]

love the DH. National League baseball is boring to me and spare me all the "that is the way the game is suppose to be played" crappola Nothing like watching a National League team have a promising inning only to watch the pitcher promptly strike out on 3 pitches in the dirt to end the inning .


LONG LIVE THE DH

Maybe this generation of pitchers can't hit because they never had to. Before the DH, guys Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson were pretty good hitters. The Dodgers used to use Don Newcombe as a pinch hitter on days he didn't pitch. In the '60s the White Sox had a pitcher named Garry Peters who was such a good hitter he sometimes hit 7th or 8th instead of 9th in the lineup.

Another reason to get rid of the DH - the Mets are playing Cincinnati right now. Bronson Arroyo pitched Monday night. The Mets announcer said in the 2004 and 2005 seasons Arroyo hit a total of 34 batters, more than any pitcher in the American League. Now that he's in the National League and has to come to the plate himself, we're 70 games into the season and he hasn't hit a batter yet. I don't think his control suddenly got a lot better.

[RAGTOP]

love the DH. National League baseball is boring to me and spare me all the "that is the way the game is suppose to be played" crappola Nothing like watching a National League team have a promising inning only to watch the pitcher promptly strike out on 3 pitches in the dirt to end the inning .


LONG LIVE THE DH

Maybe this generation of pitchers can't hit because they never had to. Before the DH, guys Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson were pretty good hitters. The Dodgers used to use Don Newcombe as a pinch hitter on days he didn't pitch. In the '60s the White Sox had a pitcher named Garry Peters who was such a good hitter he sometimes hit 7th or 8th instead of 9th in the lineup.

Another reason to get rid of the DH - the Mets are playing Cincinnati right now. Bronson Arroyo pitched Monday night. The Mets announcer said in the 2004 and 2005 seasons Arroyo hit a total of 34 batters, more than any pitcher in the American League. Now that he's in the National League and has to come to the plate himself, we're 70 games into the season and he hasn't hit a batter yet. I don't think his control suddenly got a lot better.

Bronson Arroyo is a perfect example of our much easier the NL lineups are. One major reason is the fact that 4 times a game they will face an automatic out at the bottom of the order. Bronson is 9-3 with an ERA around 2.5 I beleive. Didn't have numbers close to that in the AL which has the DH.

[green1]

NFL players don't play both offense and defense.

But they can and do as penny pointed out in her original post. But this is about baseball. Not the other sports. But I agree, I think that footbal should be iron man.

[RAGTOP]

Let me set up a scenerio...

Bottom of the ninth, 5-4 game. Runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs.

Now batting for the Boston Redsox, David Ortiz (crowd goes wild)

or

Now pinch hitting for Pedro Martinez... batting .115 Anderson Hernandez

What ending of the game would you be more intriqued to watch...

[green1]

Let me set up a scenerio...

Bottom of the ninth, 5-4 game. Runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs.

Now batting for the Boston Redsox, David Ortiz (crowd goes wild)

or

Now pinch hitting for Pedro Martinez... batting .115 Anderson Hernandez

What ending of the game would you be more intriqued to watch...

There have always been big games that come donw to a relative nobody that is either going to save the day and become a local hero or do what everybody expects and be cursed. That is part of the lure of the game. Simply because Ortiz fails over 70% of the time compared to Anderson almost 89% is irrelevant. The odds are the the hitter will get an out.

[LIPH]

That would be a pretty good trick since Anderson Hernandez has been on the disabled list, then the roster of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, since sometime in April.

[RAGTOP]

Let me set up a scenerio...

Bottom of the ninth, 5-4 game. Runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs.

Now batting for the Boston Redsox, David Ortiz (crowd goes wild)

or

Now pinch hitting for Pedro Martinez... batting .115 Anderson Hernandez

What ending of the game would you be more intriqued to watch...

There have always been big games that come donw to a relative nobody that is either going to save the day and become a local hero or do what everybody expects and be cursed. That is part of the lure of the game. Simply because Ortiz fails over 70% of the time compared to Anderson almost 89% is irrelevant. The odds are the the hitter will get an out.

I think most people would agree that they would prefer to see an Ortiz or Giambi in that situation than an Anderson Hernandez or an Willie Harris type. Maybe I'm wrong

[RAGTOP]

That would be a pretty good trick since Anderson Hernandez has been on the disabled list, then the roster of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, since sometime in April.

I think you got my point

[green1]

I think most people would agree that they would prefer to see an Ortiz or Giambi in that situation than an Anderson Hernandez or an Willie Harris type. Maybe I'm wrong

And what if, this person, instead of Ortiz racks one over the Green Monster? He would be a legend! People pay to see the game. With the highs and lows that are part of the game. That is why we love to watch sports. We root for the underdog. Look at the Sox in 2004 3 games down to the Yankees. Did anyone expect them to come back? No, and against the odds they did.

[fins2theleft]

I think the DH is a good thing, but only for the pitcher....i dont see the reason for anyone else. but i think its good for the pitcher's batting turn. if that pitcher doenst want to risk hurting thier trowing arm in some way, then the DH can hit for them

[RAGTOP]

I think most people would agree that they would prefer to see an Ortiz or Giambi in that situation than an Anderson Hernandez or an Willie Harris type. Maybe I'm wrong

And what if, this person, instead of Ortiz racks one over the Green Monster? He would be a legend! People pay to see the game. With the highs and lows that are part of the game. That is why we love to watch sports. We root for the underdog. Look at the Sox in 2004 3 games down to the Yankees. Did anyone expect them to come back? No, and against the odds they did.

you know why they came back? Because of the DH David Ortiz's game winning homerun in game 4 and his game winning hit in game 5. That was some of the best drama that MLB has ever saw and a lot of it was due to the DH. I rest my case.

[LIPH]

I think most people would agree that they would prefer to see an Ortiz or Giambi in that situation than an Anderson Hernandez or an Willie Harris type. Maybe I'm wrong

And what if, this person, instead of Ortiz racks one over the Green Monster? He would be a legend!

Ask Red Sox fans about Bucky f'n Dent and Aaron f'n Boone.

[Midnight Flyer]

Drop the DH. I've always lived in AL cities and my favorite teams are AL teams. Never liked the DH though. Was told once by a friend of mine who was a NL fan, "The AL is the wimps league!"

Also, as stated earlier, drop the inter league BS games. What's the point of the World Series if the teams have played each other in regular play????

[green1]

you know why they came back? Because of the DH David Ortiz's game winning homerun in game 4 and his game winning hit in game 5. That was some of the best drama that MLB has ever saw and a lot of it was due to the DH. I rest my case.

I do know why they came back. But I was citing that as an example of the drama that the underdog can generate. And you agree.

The DH rule was created specifically so they could pull, typically, the worst batter out of the rotation and insert their best one. Had nothing to do with protecting the pitcher's arm as the throwing arm is usually facing the backstop, not the opposing pitcher. It is a ploy to jack up the run count and increase the number of hits per game.

[RAGTOP]

"The AL is the wimps league!"

Also, as stated earlier, drop the inter league BS games. What's the point of the World Series if the teams have played each other in regular play????

The lineups from top to bottom are far superior in the AL than the NL (remove the DH and they are still better). Not sure how that makes them the wimps league .

as for dropping the inter league play... great I can watch the Sox play Tampa 27 times instead of 19 Yup you guessed it I like Inter league play .

Man it's starting to get lonely around here...

[LIPH]

The lineups from top to bottom are far superior in the AL than the NL (remove the DH and they are still better). Not sure how that makes them the wimps league .

I bet every National League team was hoping they wouldn't have any inter-league games against the powerhouse Kansas City Royals lineup.

[ejr]

love the DH. National League baseball is boring to me and spare me all the "that is the way the game is suppose to be played" crappola Nothing like watching a National League team have a promising inning only to watch the pitcher promptly strike out on 3 pitches in the dirt to end the inning .


LONG LIVE THE DH

Maybe this generation of pitchers can't hit because they never had to. Before the DH, guys Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson were pretty good hitters. The Dodgers used to use Don Newcombe as a pinch hitter on days he didn't pitch. In the '60s the White Sox had a pitcher named Garry Peters who was such a good hitter he sometimes hit 7th or 8th instead of 9th in the lineup..

The one time that I saw Drysdale pitch (same season I also saw Koufax pitch), he lost the game, but hit a homerun, on his birthday!
Another reason to get rid of the DH - the Mets are playing Cincinnati right now. Bronson Arroyo pitched Monday night. The Mets announcer said in the 2004 and 2005 seasons Arroyo hit a total of 34 batters, more than any pitcher in the American League. Now that he's in the National League and has to come to the plate himself, we're 70 games into the season and he hasn't hit a batter yet. I don't think his control suddenly got a lot better

[Big Red Parrothead]

Just to play devil's advocate for a minute, look at it from the point of view of a casual fan--someone who likes baseball, but doesn't really follow it that closely. Watches the local team when their games are on TV, but couldn't tell you what the third string catcher's OPB is with RISP and 2 out.

Now let's say he wants to take the wife and kids out for some "quality family time" at the ballpark. So he shells out $20 a ticket, another $10-15 to park, who knows how much for soda and various forms of sweet, sticky stuff for the kids and then takes out a second mortgage to go visit the souvenir stand. Now he finally gets to his seat and all he wants to do is see a fun game.

Given the above scenario, whom is he more likely to want to see--somebody like David Ortiz or Edgar Martinez? Or someone who is going to stand at the plate, swing like a girl (no offense to all of our wonderful BN ladies--it's just a figure of speech) at three high fastballs, strike out and walk back to the dugout like nothing just happened?

I'm not saying that is my personal opinion, but I follow baseball more closely than what the average person at a ballgame does. The whole point of the DH was to inject a little more offense and excitement into the game and, from the point of a casual fan--to whom all this "strategy" you talk about is meaningless, it has certainly done that.

[RAGTOP]

The lineups from top to bottom are far superior in the AL than the NL (remove the DH and they are still better). Not sure how that makes them the wimps league .

I bet every National League team was hoping they wouldn't have any inter-league games against the powerhouse Kansas City Royals lineup.

you can make the same case the Pirates in the NL. I'm not saying that the AL doesan't have it's share of weak teams. I'm saying in general the AL lineups are much stronger top to bottom. I'm sure both Bronson Arroyo (NL) and Josh Beckett (AL) would agree.