Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter said over the weekend that eliminating that move from a pitcher’s repertoire could change the way baseball is played.
“Watch the stolen bases jump this year,” Showalter predicted.
He has a point.
“Relief pitchers are really squawking about it,” Showalter said. “I chuckle when these announcers always say, ‘Oh, that never catches anybody. Why do they ever do it?’ The things that keeps from happening were huge. These guys sit up there and say, ‘Why are they doing that?’ It shuts down the first and third. A right-handed pitcher had to have that move. Otherwise, you’re giving up 90 feet all the time.”
...“You’d better be able to defend the first-and-third offense this year,” Showalter said. “That’s one of our points of emphasis. You’d better be able to offense it, too. It’s going to be a big play.
“There are ways to find out if they’re covering (second base on a steal) by some things you can do. It’s a gimmie bag in some cases.”
So, what might Showalter’s Orioles do in an attempt to take advantage?
“It’s limitless,” Showalter said.
Curiosity piqued. We need to pay attention at Camden Yards this year.
Repoz
Posted: February 18, 2013 at 11:03 AM |
17 comment(s)
Login to Bookmark
Tags:
orioles
Reader Comments and Retorts
Go to end of page
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.
1. What did Billy Ripken have against Elroy Face? Posted: February 18, 2013 at 11:45 AM (#4371304)What the hell does this mean?
EDIT: As Mr. Deal has pointed out, I am honored to have unwittingly borrowed from Calvin.
Verbing weirds language.
Calvin link
He's saying that the now-balkable move was the best way to keep baserunners in check from stealing in first and third situations. He's suggesting that it's going to be like Little League where with first and third, you almost concede the stolen second base bag to the baserunner at first.
I don't know if that's true, but that's his argument.
Great, now Ben Revere is even less valuable.
Or, you know, just throw pickoffs to first...
I'm probably the biggest opponent to this rule change you're going to find, and I think he's out of his mind. Pitchers will step off a few more times. They'll throw over a few times. There's no reason to think allowing the fake-to-third, throw-to-first move was anchoring guys to first.
Sums it up for me.
Just because the optimal strategy has been get on base and hit the homerun, doesn't mean that is the best way to keep fans interested in the game. Anything that helps improve the fan experience by making you watch more that is going on is a good thing.
Of course I love the running game growing up with Whitey Ball.
It means that according to Buck, people are going to steal more often and that the running game is going to come back into style and if your team can't defend against the run, you are going to be behind the times and struggle against other teams that are ready to take advantage of the changes in the game.
You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.
<< Back to main