KD in CA Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 What are your thoughts on the shift? It's been around forever but over the past few years its use has increased dramatically. It sounds like MLB is growing concerned about the drop in offense and is at least considering restricting it in some fashion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 I don't like the dramatic shifts of the past few years, but it's part of the game and a sign of the times. I used to play softball and occasionally we'd get cute with outfield alignments against batters who always hit to the same spot. The good batters adjusted, made us look silly and we'd go back to a more conventional alignment the next at bat. Todays batters rarely adjust, they just keep hitting into the shift. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Fan Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 Pretty much agree down to the tee with what Since the 70's wrote. I don't care to see it but if batters are good they should adjust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I'm surprised this discussion didn't gain more traction; I just noticed it, myself. I agree 100% with SinceThe70s. Small ball rules the day. The one-trick pony, all or nothing, HR hitters might be exciting - but the hitters who can actually adjust and hit a ball to the opposite field (on purpose) are better ball players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 It's no longer a shift. It's become standard positioning at this point. The "shift" is when teams move back into the original positioning. And no, they shouldn't outlaw it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I don’t like the endless parade delays of the current game when at the game, otherwise I just fast forward till the pitcher is set to deliver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 On 10/30/2018 at 8:46 AM, Gugny said: I'm surprised this discussion didn't gain more traction; I just noticed it, myself. I agree 100% with SinceThe70s. Small ball rules the day. The one-trick pony, all or nothing, HR hitters might be exciting - but the hitters who can actually adjust and hit a ball to the opposite field (on purpose) are better ball players. Some time between June 17 and today I saw a segment where they asked George Brett what he'd have done if they over shifted him back in the day and he said he would have hit .400 every year. Not everyone has the bat control of a guy like Brett, but dropping a bunt down third doesn't seem like too much to ask. Or at least it shouldn't be. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 On 11/2/2018 at 11:22 PM, SinceThe70s said: Some time between June 17 and today I saw a segment where they asked George Brett what he'd have done if they over shifted him back in the day and he said he would have hit .400 every year. Not everyone has the bat control of a guy like Brett, but dropping a bunt down third doesn't seem like too much to ask. Or at least it shouldn't be. Or the ability to hit all over the field, which he had Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greybeard Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Sometime around Father's day, the Dodger broadcasters commented that there were over 20 guys that were regulars batting under .200. This was extremely low historically. Between the shift and the reliever usage, batting averages were down this year. Fewer and fewer .300 hitters. Oh, also the fact that there are so many guys throwing in the upper 90's. I hope the Red Sox showed the rest of MLB that singles count. I am tired of the swing for the fences attitude. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 On 11/4/2018 at 9:38 PM, Greybeard said: Sometime around Father's day, the Dodger broadcasters commented that there were over 20 guys that were regulars batting under .200. This was extremely low historically. Between the shift and the reliever usage, batting averages were down this year. Fewer and fewer .300 hitters. Oh, also the fact that there are so many guys throwing in the upper 90's. I hope the Red Sox showed the rest of MLB that singles count. I am tired of the swing for the fences attitude. Small ball/manufacturing runs will always rule the day. Drawing walks, stealing bases, bunting, starters pitching deep into games .... all lost art forms. The Red Sox brought them back and won a lot of games because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 On 11/04/2018 at 9:38 PM, Greybeard said: Sometime around Father's day, the Dodger broadcasters commented that there were over 20 guys that were regulars batting under .200. This was extremely low historically. Between the shift and the reliever usage, batting averages were down this year. Fewer and fewer .300 hitters. Oh, also the fact that there are so many guys throwing in the upper 90's. I hope the Red Sox showed the rest of MLB that singles count. I am tired of the swing for the fences attitude. The Sox have been on the cutting edge in their scouting department for years. A massive amount of those guys are home grown, and the guys they bring in fit a specific mold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 (edited) The Red Sox are a swing for the fences first team, one of the best ever. They get away with pretending they do anything else besides spend the same amount of $$$ as the Yankees for the best pitching and power hitters. The game is all about hitting and throwing the crap out of the ball all the livelong day, there is no fanciness here.... caveman ball 100% of the time for the top teams. Edited November 7, 2018 by row_33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, row_33 said: The Red Sox are a swing for the fences first team, one of the best ever. They get away with pretending they do anything else besides spend the same amount of $$$ as the Yankees for the best pitching and power hitters. The game is all about hitting and throwing the crap out of the ball all the livelong day, there is no fanciness here.... caveman ball 100% of the time for the top teams. Boston led the entire league in on base percentage, batting average, hits and doubles. They finished 8th in home runs. They were 3rd in stolen bases and 6th in walks. Hardly a "swing for the fences first," team. They were also 6th in innings pitched by starters. They played baseball the right way and blew the entire league away in doing so. Edited November 7, 2018 by Gugny I fixed a typo. You got a problem with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 The AL East is about the power game, the stadiums are band boxes the Yankees and Red Sox are always first swinging for the fences as they have for decades and decades If you don’t watch AL East baseball you might get fooled into thinking it’s more than that... Boston grabbed the best pitchers and hitters and that’s how you win in the Al East the surprise is that an AL East team won, hasn’t been a good decade when they have to go to real stadiums in the Central And West with wind and long fences in the playoffs but Boston was so super stacked with the power caveman game that it didn’t matter, nothing more than that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 6 hours ago, row_33 said: The AL East is about the power game, the stadiums are band boxes the Yankees and Red Sox are always first swinging for the fences as they have for decades and decades If you don’t watch AL East baseball you might get fooled into thinking it’s more than that... Boston grabbed the best pitchers and hitters and that’s how you win in the Al East the surprise is that an AL East team won, hasn’t been a good decade when they have to go to real stadiums in the Central And West with wind and long fences in the playoffs but Boston was so super stacked with the power caveman game that it didn’t matter, nothing more than that I understand what you're saying, in general, about the AL East. But the Red Sox didn't fit that mold this year. Sure, they hit a lot of home runs, primarily due to playing in a little league park. But they manufactured more. The played a lot of small ball this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSHMEAB Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 How would you even go about outlawing it? Would you also need to regulate double play depth? It's a really silly argument. Like it or not, it's part of the game and it's not going to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 34 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said: How would you even go about outlawing it? Would you also need to regulate double play depth? It's a really silly argument. Like it or not, it's part of the game and it's not going to change. Disclaimer: I'm not in favor of regulating the positioning of infielders and outfielders, nor do I think it will happen But outlawing/regulating it would be simple. There are already rules in place with regard to positioning of pitchers, catchers and batters, extending that to infielders/outfielders is simple. A bad idea IMO, but simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSHMEAB Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 30 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said: Disclaimer: I'm not in favor of regulating the positioning of infielders and outfielders, nor do I think it will happen But outlawing/regulating it would be simple. There are already rules in place with regard to positioning of pitchers, catchers and batters, extending that to infielders/outfielders is simple. A bad idea IMO, but simple. Yeah. I take your point that it could be done. I'm just noting that it could be a slippery slope. A simple solution would be a 3rd baseman would have to be positioned to the 3rd bag side of 2nd, etc. Like you, I think it would be a terrible idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 9 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said: Yeah. I take your point that it could be done. I'm just noting that it could be a slippery slope. A simple solution would be a 3rd baseman would have to be positioned to the 3rd bag side of 2nd, etc. Like you, I think it would be a terrible idea. No doubt it would be a slippery slope with everyone wearing ice skates. Growing up I can remember my grandfather saying "hit em where they ain't" and me thinking easier said than done when the whole field is covered. Hopefully if the shifts continue the hitters will smarten up and heed my grandfathers advice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSHMEAB Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 (edited) 16 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said: No doubt it would be a slippery slope with everyone wearing ice skates. Growing up I can remember my grandfather saying "hit em where they ain't" and me thinking easier said than done when the whole field is covered. Hopefully if the shifts continue the hitters will smarten up and heed my grandfathers advice. The one place they'll never be in behind the fences. Someone alluded to small ball being the new model and I think that's incorrect. The forward minded organizations focus on home run hitters. Even Beane has somewhat abandoned his GOB philosophy. The best player on the A's is an all or nothing guy who rarely hit over .250 before this season. I just don't know if guys can ever truly acclimate to teams playing their tendencies. You can drop down the occasional bunt, but that doesn't seem like something that would work with regularity. I'm a Tigers fan so I basically took this season off. 12 years of contention with no ring to show for it. It'll be awhile before that team is even competitive. Edited November 22, 2018 by LSHMEAB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 6 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said: The one place they'll never be in behind the fences. Someone alluded to small ball being the new model and I think that's incorrect. The forward minded organizations focus on home run hitters. Even Beane has somewhat abandoned his GOB philosophy. The best player on the A's is an all or nothing guy who rarely hit over .250 before this season. I'm a Tigers fan so I basically took this season off. 12 years of contention with no ring to show for it. It'll be awhile before that team is even competitive. Whoever told you that small ball is the new model is out to lunch. The new model is the three outcome at bat: HR, walk, strike-out. I hope it swings back, but if it doesn't so be it. Until further notice I'll still watch. Hard to believe those Tigers teams didn't seal the deal. I'm a Mets fan. I've used this line before but the team is like cicadas. Every 17 years or so we wake up and make a lot of noise and then we go quiet. Was 1984 a thing for you? '86 was for me. Been a long f'n time. Sports aside, I hope you and yours have a Happy Thanksgiving! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSHMEAB Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 10 hours ago, SinceThe70s said: Whoever told you that small ball is the new model is out to lunch. The new model is the three outcome at bat: HR, walk, strike-out. I hope it swings back, but if it doesn't so be it. Until further notice I'll still watch. Hard to believe those Tigers teams didn't seal the deal. I'm a Mets fan. I've used this line before but the team is like cicadas. Every 17 years or so we wake up and make a lot of noise and then we go quiet. Was 1984 a thing for you? '86 was for me. Been a long f'n time. Sports aside, I hope you and yours have a Happy Thanksgiving! When I mention the Tigers collapse, most people, even baseball people, say something along the lines of, "at least they won a WS." Unlike the Phillies, there was most certainly not a WS title in the run. Very annoying indeed. And yes, 1984. I was 4 so years old so I have a vague recollection. Kirk Gibson was the man well before the Dodgers HR. So you've got me beat by two years. Happy Thanksgiving! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) Living in Toronto, an AL East city, has its ups and downs for what it means to be a baseball fan. with the DH and tiny stadiums and massive bankrolls the division is basically a slo-pitch organization , cavemen swinging from the heels no matter the count or score, no room for subtlety or the “small game” at all, no matter what hindsight analysis tries to argue otherwise Boston spends a ton of time in propaganda activity pretending they do anything but spend like the Yankees and swing for the fences, but it is total BS, don’t fall for this for one second (seems half the games are an early 6-0 lead staked out that gets challenged by an inevitable 7 run response and games take 5 hours to get through 8 and a half innings) most years I start to loathe this by July and watch games in the NL or AL Central, seems a purer form of the game but then I realize that nothing compares to watching the Yankees and Red Sox spend billions and try to hit the living crap out the ball every single pitch when I go to or watch a NL game I get frustrated that they let a pitcher go to the plate for grossly inferior appearances if I mention this to a local fan they just shrug and don’t seem to care at all about the concept Edited November 23, 2018 by row_33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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