OT: The Other Sports Thread Part X

[NoNecksCurse]

MLB and the PA are talking about adding a pitch clock, limiting shifts and using larger bases. But no signs of coming together on a financial agreement.

Full endorsement for all 3 changes from me

 

[PredsV82]

Full endorsement for all 3 changes from me

How will they limit shifts? Gonna draw more lines on the field?

 

[NoNecksCurse]

How will they limit shifts? Gonna draw more lines on the field?

I haven’t read the details to be honest. Leege’s post was first i saw of it. Im assuming it’s limiting those shifts where the 3rd baseman abandons the whole left side of the infield and situates himself 5 foot in the outfield between the 1st and 2nd baseman. SS sometimes slides over to the right for better range if something is hit back up the middle.

i also understand the thought of just learn to hit the ball to the opposite field or hell just lay down a bunt. but the bottom line is MLB hitters aren’t doing that and the entertainment of the game is suffering terribly from lack of activity and runners on base.

 

[drwpreds]

I haven’t read the details to be honest. Leege’s post was first i saw of it. Im assuming it’s limiting those shifts where the 3rd baseman abandons the whole left side of the infield and situates himself 5 foot in the outfield between the 1st and 2nd baseman. SS sometimes slides over to the right for better range if something is hit back up the middle.

i also understand the thought of just learn to hit the ball to the opposite field or hell just lay down a bunt. but the bottom line is MLB hitters aren’t doing that and the entertainment of the game is suffering terribly from lack of activity and runners on base.

I also hate the shift with a passion. And my thing about those who say "just hit the other way- you've got the whole left side wide open"!!!!

So take Freddie Freeman for example- he gets EXTREME shifts. If he wanted to, he could probably hit over .400 by just dropping it down the 3rd base line. So he could hit .400 but he would likely have dramatically less power/rbi's etc. Is that what we want as baseball fans?? Heck no for me.

And some will argue back that if Freeman started doing that, teams would stop shifting. But in this case I don't think they would. I would rather have Freeman hit .400 slapping singles to opposite field with greatly reduced power/rbi's, etc than the 35/120 player he normally is.

I don't know how they will go about eliminating it or if it is even feasible at all, but I would love it if it disappears forever.

 

[triggrman]

I also hate the shift with a passion. And my thing about those who say "just hit the other way- you've got the whole left side wide open"!!!!

So take Freddie Freeman for example- he gets EXTREME shifts. If he wanted to, he could probably hit over .400 by just dropping it down the 3rd base line. So he could hit .400 but he would likely have dramatically less power/rbi's etc. Is that what we want as baseball fans?? Heck no for me.

And some will argue back that if Freeman started doing that, teams would stop shifting. But in this case I don't think they would. I would rather have Freeman hit .400 slapping singles to opposite field with greatly reduced power/rbi's, etc than the 35/120 player he normally is.

I don't know how they will go about eliminating it or if it is even feasible at all, but I would love it if it disappears forever.

I love small ball.

 

[drwpreds]

I love small ball.

So do I- while I am a die hard Braves fan and have been all my life, one of my favorite teams of all time was the mid 80's Cardinals teams. So much fun- Vince Coleman, Willie Mcgee, Ozzie Smith- etc, etc.

There is a place for both

 

[NoNecksCurse]

I love small ball.

i don’t hate it or love it. I’m a fan of baseball in general but I also realize the way the game is trending. Eliminating some of these shifts is a great start to increase entertainment value for the fans imo.

 

[triggrman]

So do I- while I am a die hard Braves fan and have been all my life, one of my favorite teams of all time was the mid 80's Cardinals teams. So much fun- Vince Coleman, Willie Mcgee, Ozzie Smith- etc, etc.

There is a place for both

If you beat the shift enough, they'll have to adjust, and you're batting average will skyrocket.

 

[Armourboy]

If you beat the shift enough, they'll have to adjust, and you're batting average will skyrocket.

Exactly. Those shifts work because they have taken the skill part out of baseball and teams are either unwilling to adjust to it or players no longer are taught how to drive the ball the other way.

Shifts have always existed and the only reason they worked was because the player didn't have the skill set to drive it into the opposite field. No one was shifting Pete Rose or Paul Molitor because they would chew you up and spit you out if you did.

The problem isn't shifting, the problem is baseball has turned into nothing but high speed batting practice. You leave it alone and eventually a team is going to come along that will take advantage of it and reset things.

There is a balance that can be achieved between small ball and powerball. In that place is a very entertaining game to watch and play.

 

[drwpreds]

If you beat the shift enough, they'll have to adjust, and you're batting average will skyrocket.

It is not that simple and I tried to explain my reasoning in my post with the Freddie Freeman example. Again, do we want all of the power hitters in baseball suddenly dropping bunts down the 3rd base line just to beat a stupid shift?? If it keeps them from hitting homers, I am going to keep that shift on for those kinds of hitters even if they hit .400 on nothing but singles.

 

[triggrman]

It is not that simple and I tried to explain my reasoning in my post with the Freddie Freeman example. Again, do we want all of the power hitters in baseball suddenly dropping bunts down the 3rd base line just to beat a stupid shift?? If it keeps them from hitting homers, I am going to keep that shift on for those kinds of hitters even if they hit .400 on nothing but singles.

Learn to actually hit and not swing for the fences every pitch. No one said bunt every time.

 

[adsfan]

MLB and the PA are talking about adding a pitch clock, limiting shifts and using larger bases. But no signs of coming together on a financial agreement.

The one Brewers game that I attended last season had a 30 second pitch clock. Maybe they were just trying it out?

 

[Armourboy]

It is not that simple and I tried to explain my reasoning in my post with the Freddie Freeman example. Again, do we want all of the power hitters in baseball suddenly dropping bunts down the 3rd base line just to beat a stupid shift?? If it keeps them from hitting homers, I am going to keep that shift on for those kinds of hitters even if they hit .400 on nothing but singles.

If you are shifting that far you are going to be hitting a heck of a lot more than singles cause that sucker is rolling to the fence. There are ways to manufacture runs without every guy needing to drive the ball over the fence, and that doesn't mean you need to do a ton of small ball to do it. Think of it like the NFL where despite many teams going to a pass happy offense they still strive to get a certain number of runs per game just to keep the defense honest. Removing the shift wouldn't be much different than requiring all NFL teams to play a 2 deep zone on every single play or telling NHL teams they can't play a 1-3-1 to protect a lead.

 

[PredsV82]

Dang. Grizz dropped 77 on NO in the first half

 

[Armourboy]

Dang. Grizz dropped 77 on NO in the first half

Holy crap

 

[adsfan]

I saw highlights of Middle Tennessee losing in 3 OT to UAB. That is a tough way to end the season!

 

[PredsV82]

After the Preds debacle I'm fully expecting the Vols to kick the crap out of Kentucky

 

[LCPreds]

If UT ends up winning today it's going to be really telling in regards to 'name recognition' if UK gets a 2 seed and the Vols end up as a 3. I'm not even saying that UK doesn't deserve a 2 but have this feeling that there is no way the committee is going to give 3 SEC teams a 2 seed.

Gotta finish this game though. TAM is super hot and feels like when you're playing a hot team that even a 12 point 2nd half lead isn't safe.

 

[Predsanddead24]

If UT ends up winning today it's going to be really telling in regards to 'name recognition' if UK gets a 2 seed and the Vols end up as a 3. I'm not even saying that UK doesn't deserve a 2 but have this feeling that there is no way the committee is going to give 3 SEC teams a 2 seed.

Gotta finish this game though. TAM is super hot and feels like when you're playing a hot team that even a 12 point 2nd half lead isn't safe.

Shouldn’t even matter if UT wins this game or not. Us and Kentucky have pretty similar resumes and we just beat them on a neutral court. This UT team is super exciting. Feel like they’re as good as any team we’ve ever had and are actually hot going into March unlike some of our teams in years past that peaked in January.

 

[LCPreds]

Shouldn’t even matter if UT wins this game or not. Us and Kentucky have pretty similar resumes and we just beat them on a neutral court. This UT team is super exciting. Feel like they’re as good as any team we’ve ever had and are actually hot going into March unlike some of our teams in years past that peaked in January.

Yep and the way this team is built around defense it should keep the scoring floor to a point where they can win any game. The problem of course is sometimes you watch these guys and wonder if they've ever shot a basketball before.

 

[LCPreds]

Huge win for the Vols today. We'll see if it even makes a difference in the seeding but either way they finally won an SEC championship for the first time since Bernie & Ernie.

 

[Adz]

Huge win for the Vols today. We'll see if it even makes a difference in the seeding but either way they finally won an SEC championship for the first time since Bernie & Ernie.

I was in college there last time they won an SEC Championship. A friend of mine dated Ernie a couple of times. We would "rate" him from the windows as they'd go out. Always low because we didn't want him (or her) to get the bighead. Didn't work and we looked ridiculous. Ha!

GBO

 

[PredsV82]

Huge win for the Vols today. We'll see if it even makes a difference in the seeding but either way they finally won an SEC championship for the first time since Bernie & Ernie.

A lot of times by Sunday most seeds are locked in. Sometimes makes for head scratchers but it is what it is

 

[LCPreds]

Never doubt that names matter. Would put the vols schedule and result up against Kentucky and Duke any day. Nothing wrong with a 3 seed I guess just doesn’t make sense when looking at the numbers.

 

[Predsanddead24]

Actually feel like Kentucky got a harder path than UT but still find it stupid. Oh well it’s never easy in March anyways. Sucks for A&M to get left out after their SEC tourney run.

Tough draw for you there V82.