The MLB Thread

[Dannyyankou]

Lindor has now gone 25 straight at bats without a hit

[neumdogg]

Originally Posted by BTBaboon

It’s not good defense though. It’s boring defense. That’s my biggest complaint. Jeter’s jump throws, all the excellent plays made in the hole or behind the bag, etc - they’re a dying breed because there’s very little difficult in middle infield defense these days. It’s rendered glove skills at SS and 2B way less useful. Range doesn’t matter. No show of athletic ability anymore.

No show of athletic ability? Because of the shift? Cmon babs. These guys are trying to win a baseball game. How do you do that? You play smart. The shift is smart.

[Dannyyankou]

If we’re being honest, 95% of the time those Jeter jump throws were just for show lol

[BTBaboon]

Originally Posted by mr. testaverde

ooooh tough call.

i will lump him into the "i dont think so but i wouldnt be surprised if it came out that he did" category

at this point i think the only player who i'd be incredibly disappointed to learn he was on roids is mo.

Mo was definitely juicing. I mean, just look at him: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/aIcAA...Nkg/s-l300.jpg













Juicey steaks, I assume

[BTBaboon]

Originally Posted by neumdogg

No show of athletic ability? Because of the shift? Cmon babs. These guys are trying to win a baseball game. How do you do that? You play smart. The shift is smart.

You’re having an argument against a stance no one is taking.

The shift makes for boring baseball, that’s why it should be ended. No need to dig any further than that. It’s a straightforward issue.

[neumdogg]

Originally Posted by BTBaboon

You’re having an argument against a stance no one is taking.

The shift makes for boring baseball, that’s why it should be ended. No need to dig any further than that. It’s a straightforward issue.

But it's not. "The shift is boring" is a fan perspective. These are professional athletes that want to win games. I am sorry that it's boring TO YOU, but playing good defense is what they players should be doing.

[BTBaboon]

Originally Posted by Dannyyankou

Lindor has now gone 25 straight at bats without a hit

The problem is that he should have been worked with like 2 weeks ago on his hip rotation. But Chili Davis was a guy who didn’t believe in individual approaches for each hitter. And now it’s gone on so long that it’s mental as well as physical (though his last at bat was much better and hit hit a line drive to deep left center, just right at the center fielder).

Lindor struggling is almost definitely a large part of why Chili Davis was fired 23 games into the season.

“Dr. Dero” did a great breakdown of Lindor’s issue, all mechanical: https://youtu.be/wh6gKee2iX0

[TypicalBilly14]

Pujols being cut from the Angels per ESPN.

[BTBaboon]

Originally Posted by neumdogg

But it's not. "The shift is boring" is a fan perspective. These are professional athletes that want to win games. I am sorry that it's boring TO YOU, but playing good defense is what they players should be doing.

Yeah, that’s a good stance for an entertainment business to take

[TypicalBilly14]

Originally Posted by TypicalBilly14

Pujols being cut from the Angels per ESPN.

oops never mind, didn't backread.

[ToySoldier#34]

Originally Posted by neumdogg

But it's not. "The shift is boring" is a fan perspective. These are professional athletes that want to win games. I am sorry that it's boring TO YOU, but playing good defense is what they players should be doing.

Wait, huh? But, what?

[BTBaboon]

Lindor 0-for-26 now. Struck out with 1st and 3rd. Mets doing their RISP and LoB thing again.

Why they’re batting him 2nd while he fights through this slump, presenting him with high pressure situations while he’s so lost out there, is beyond me.

I think Rojas is on his way to being fired.

[sbuzzz]

Originally Posted by BTBaboon

I don’t buy the slippery slope argument.

They banned positioning in foul territory, for instance, and it didn’t lead to a wave of regulations against holding runners on first in other ways.

The shift makes the game less exciting, less interesting. That’s why you would ban it. Arguments about “they should learn how to hit it differently” are besides the point. The rule is for the entertainment of the fans, who cares about concerns about the batters?

Banning the shift is dumb because teams should be able to employ their defense however they see fit. There is a reason for three OFs and the infielders defending the way they do all these years. Now there is more information on how to stop hits. If my analytics say that Mike Trout hits a ground ball between shortstop and third base 40% of the time, why the hell would I not put a defender right there to stop it?

[sbuzzz]

Originally Posted by BTBaboon

You’re having an argument against a stance no one is taking.

The shift makes for boring baseball, that’s why it should be ended. No need to dig any further than that. It’s a straightforward issue.

Are you a big fan of men’s slow pitch softball?

I’d rather watch two teams doing all they can to beat each other.

Baseball can be very boring, but I still like it. And getting rid of the shift isn’t going to make it suddenly electrifying. It will make the sport a lot dumber though.

[mthawk07]

Originally Posted by BTBaboon

Here’s one: Do you think Puljos juiced?

I mean, he was never credibly linked to usage, but...look at him.

There was never an unnatural growth with Pujols like there was with guys like McGwire, Bonds, and Sosa. He was always a monster.

Edit: He also declined as he got older, unlike the more prominent juicers who peaked in their mid-late 30's.

[ToySoldier#34]

Originally Posted by sbuzzz

Are you a big fan of men’s slow pitch softball?

I’d rather watch two teams doing all they can to beat each other.

Baseball can be very boring, but I still like it. And getting rid of the shift isn’t going to make it suddenly electrifying. It will make the sport a lot dumber though.

Hate slow pitch softball, guys just standing around scratching their nuts and swinging for the fences for three hours ...

[mthawk07]

Originally Posted by ToySoldier#34

Hate slow pitch softball, guys just standing around scratching their nuts and swinging for the fences for three hours ...

What game are you watching that takes three hours? The league I was in, the games were usually over in about an hour, and only a small handful of people swung for the fences because most of them couldn't hit it that far. Granted, it was a rec league with a lot of over the hill people, but there was a ton of strategic hitting. Worst thing about that league was how bad so many guys were at fielding. Fucking woof.

[BTBaboon]

Originally Posted by mthawk07

There was never an unnatural growth with Pujols like there was with guys like McGwire, Bonds, and Sosa. He was always a monster.

Edit: He also declined as he got older, unlike the more prominent juicers who peaked in their mid-late 30's.

The question for Puljos, because he came up after the real height of the steroid era, would be: did he juice BEFORE he got to the show - and then continue to do so. He is just so damn big that you just naturally wonder.

I hope not, though, because he was so fun to watch (even as a fan of a somewhat rival team).

[mthawk07]

I also see that Stanton is on one of his patented hot streaks where he's just mashing everything in sight. I really miss those days when he was in Miami.

[mthawk07]

Originally Posted by BTBaboon

The question for Puljos, because he came up after the real height of the steroid era, would be: did he juice BEFORE he got to the show - and then continue to do so. He is just so damn big that you just naturally wonder.

I hope not, though, because he was so fun to watch (even as a fan of a somewhat rival team).

It's possible he did. I'm not naïve enough to think that a lot of guys weren't doing it back then, but he certainly wasn't doing it down the stretch of his career. But like you said, he was always fun to watch and will go down as one of the top 5 or 10 hitters to ever play the game.

[sbuzzz]

Originally Posted by BTBaboon

The question for Puljos, because he came up after the real height of the steroid era, would be: did he juice BEFORE he got to the show - and then continue to do so. He is just so damn big that you just naturally wonder.

I hope not, though, because he was so fun to watch (even as a fan of a somewhat rival team).

You want excitement, but you’re anti-juice? Pick a lane man.

[BTBaboon]

Originally Posted by sbuzzz

You want excitement, but you’re anti-juice? Pick a lane man.

Actually, and maybe an unpopular opinion, I’d be pro juicing if it were open/regulated/uniform across the sport.

[Dannyyankou]

"The shift makes for boring baseball"

Gleyber-

https://twitter.com/short_porch/stat...96274369835015

[Antiramie]

Originally Posted by BTBaboon

Actually, and maybe an unpopular opinion, I’d be pro juicing if it were open/regulated/uniform across the sport.

The potential for misuse and liabilities for MLB would make this impossible. Not to mention it was coerce a lot of players to take them who normally wouldn't to "keep up".

In theory, sounds fun. In reality, god-awful.

[DaveHead36]

Maybe instead of banning the shift, MLB just "restructures" it. The germ of this idea sounds time consuming and ridiculous, but in the same way a runner has to go back to the bag after every pitch so too the fielders have to return to their general vicinity before heading back. It creates a risk-reward factor. Yeah you might keep this guy from getting a hit but you're also wearing out your defense. Implementation of a pitch clock would help regulate time issues.

[BTBaboon]

Originally Posted by Dannyyankou

"The shift makes for boring baseball"

Gleyber-

https://twitter.com/short_porch/stat...96274369835015

That was just bad baseball by the defense all around. Error fielding the ball, then bad fundies. Pitcher should have covered 3rd but because he didn’t, the catcher did. The pitcher then should have covered home. He didn’t, and so the runner only had to be faster than a catcher in his gear.

Yucky.

Originally Posted by Antiramie

The potential for misuse and liabilities for MLB would make this impossible. Not to mention it was coerce a lot of players to take them who normally wouldn't to "keep up".

In theory, sounds fun. In reality, god-awful.

Well that’s why I said regulated and uniform. It’s a big “if” and will almost certainly never happen. Was just speaking theoretically.

[UNC41]

Originally Posted by BTBaboon

The question for Puljos, because he came up after the real height of the steroid era, would be: did he juice BEFORE he got to the show - and then continue to do so. He is just so damn big that you just naturally wonder.

I hope not, though, because he was so fun to watch (even as a fan of a somewhat rival team).

Pujols was also likely older than the 21 he claimed to be when he debuted, which could very well have contributed to him looking like a full grown man than your typical prospect.

[BTBaboon]

Lindor finally got a hit!

[ToySoldier#34]

Nice little 4+ hour Red Sox game

[Antiramie]

Would actually enforcing the no pine tar rule be a net positive for hitting? On one hand, spin rates would drop dramatically. On the other hand, pitchers would be more wild.