Thursday, May 20, 2021

I JUST WANT TO WATCH THE GAME

 **I suppose color commentators feel they have to justify their existence, but why do we have to have every situation analyzed down to the smallest detail, using stats and formulas that very quickly lose their meaning because they're so technical. We use to say things like, "Hey he's a good hitter. You can count on him in the clutch," and then go back to just watching - and enjoying - the game. Now, the broadcasters tell us not only what a particular player has done in this situation in the past, but what his odds are to repeat that performance in the current situation. We always knew when Yogi Berra came up in a crucial situation, he would probably succeed. We didn't need statistics to tell us that. Watching the pitcher in silent prayer on the mound was all we needed to know. Please, let us go back to the Joe Garagiola method of situation analysis of a crucial situation: "We won't have to talk. Just listen, the crowd will tell us the story."

**I have never understood why managers feel they have to inject themselves into making unnecessary moves to assure a victory. If a pitcher is doing well, why take him out? Sure, maybe you can tell if a starter is getting tired after 6 innings and you should replace him, but don't do it just because he's reached a certain pitch count. And then why parade a different reliever every inning just because you have them? Pitchers don't always have their best stuff every time out, so why keep changing pitchers until you find the guy that's having an off night? Just to carry the ridiculous analytics to the extreme, Phil Mushnick of the NY Post, offers two more appropriate cybernetic theories. He suggests GLPC, - Game Lost to Pitch Count. Or try GLAPCGame Lost to Absurd Pitching Changes. I'll bet one or both of these occur every game. 

I think another reason these things occurs because managers don't want to have to justify any decision they make, to reporters or the front office. It was aptly put in the movie "Moneyball," when the manager explained to the GM why he was playing certain players against the wishes of the GM. "I'm managing the game in a way I can explain in interviews this winter." In other words, who cares if I'm right or wrong just so what I do isn't second guessed if it doesn't work. 

**This argument has reared it's ugly head again this week. It's the old 'Unwritten Baseball Rules.' Case in point: White Sox DH Yermin Mercedes hit a home run on a 3-0 count in the 9th inning against a position player who was pitching at the time. The problem was the score was 15-4 against the Twins. Unwritten Rules say you take in that situation. Even Sox manager Tony La Russa was upset that he swung, compounding the issue by suggesting some kind of punishment was due. I'm sure La Russa Thought he was only voicing what the players all thought, but even the players on his team don't agree with him. La Russa keeps proving he's out of touch with today's players.

I have never been in agreement with this rule. Aren't you supposed to try as hard as you can ALL the time?  If I'm at bat with two outs in the ninth inning and the pitcher is one out away from a perfect game, shouldn't I be trying to ruin that, regardless of the score? The opposing team is trying their best to get me out. They'll even stack the deck by putting on an extreme shift, in effect counting on the fact that I won't take advantage of that. If the third baseman in that scenario is playing 10 feet from second base leaving the whole left side of the infield empty, I'm bunting down the third base line for a hit. Nobody is going to throw a perfect game against my team if I can help it. If you want a perfect game, earn it the right way. Don't count on me not trying my best to beat you or prevent your perfect game. If you want to throw at me the next time we play you, I'm okay with that, but I WILL bunt again in that situation.

***THEY SAID IT***

"In the eighth and ninth innings, I was having a mini-panic attack every time I went out there. So I was extremely nervous."  -- Yankee catcher Kyle Higashioka on Kluber's no-hitter

" For 2021 season, Seattle is hitting .199 as a TEAM? Can we change their names from the Mariners to the Mendozas?"  -- Janice Hough 

"What a great country this is when tomorrow we can gather in large groups, indoors & maskless, to watch a horse on performance enhancing drugs run in the Preakness Stakes."  -- Brad Dickson

 "According to a recent study, tragedy makes you think about sex. In a related story, Toronto Maple Leafs fans are dirty minded"  -- RJ Currie

 "As of today, the Seattle Mariners as a team are batting .199; the Mariners have been the victims of two of this year’s no-hitters.  Seems like a correlation there."  -- Jack Finarelli

 "The Atlanta Falcons signed undrafted Jack Batho IV, a 6-foot-7, 315-pound tackle from South Dakota School of the Mines. Hey, if a guy from there can’t open a hole, who can?"  -- Dwight Perry

 "Two small planes collided over Colorado & miraculously nobody was hurt. Meanwhile every year at least one major league baseball player misses half the season after injuring himself with a can opener or dental floss."  -- Brad Dickson

"In 2019, Ohio Stadium, home to the Buckeyes, expanded seating capacity to 102,780. Not to be outdone, the Saskatchewan Huskies added another folding chair to their luxury box."  -- RJ Currie

"Marv Albert is retiring and he will be missed. He loved games of any kind, from stoopball to tennis. At nearly 80, he’s still a kid waiting for you to come out to play."  -- Phil Mushnick

 "Um, I just think it was a lot of fun,” he said, before complimenting both teams for playing well. “It was just fun to be a part of."  -- Corey Kluber on his no-hitter

Chad Picasner

 


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