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LOL at the 'beauty' of pitchers hitting.I don't think its normal. I just don't care. I much prefer the NL and I watch a ton more NL, but its not like watching an interleague or AL game sends me into a tizzy. Keep your grubby hands off the beauty of pitchers hitting and I'll continue to ignore your DH perversion.I honestly have no idea how someone would think it's normal.
Bautista DHing today.Good to hear hope he's back soon. Sitting out again today though.He had a bat in hand and was ready to pinch hit, then sat down after Rasmus went deep.Uh oh, went from probably playing Friday to missing his second straight today. And away we go.That's great, now his ankle isn't.
They'll just bunt the last month of the season.The record for strikeouts in a season is 1529 by the 2010 Diamondbacks. They struck out at a rate of 28% of the time. Right now the Stros are striking out at a rate of 36%.Basing off of the D'Backs at bats for the year (5473), the Astos will shatter the record and finish with 1970 K's.
Used to be and probably will be again, but not right now. The NL is pretty loaded right now and with Yanks being down, I think the balance has shifted for the time being.AL teams win interleague because they're more talented top to bottom, not because of the DH. In World Series games, both leagues have significant homefield advantages the effectively cancel each other out. Afterall, an NL team needing to bat a bench guy is about the same deficit as trying to make Papi play the field.Guess it doesn't matter because the N.L. teams you are competing against have the same obstacle but A.L. teams are built with a DH in mind. Seems like an unfair advantage. Your D. Ortiz vs. my guy not good enough to start. Obviously not so always so extreme but A.L. has a built in advantage.I don't think its normal. I just don't care. I much prefer the NL and I watch a ton more NL, but its not like watching an interleague or AL game sends me into a tizzy.I honestly have no idea how someone would think it's normal.
Last time N.L. had the edge over the course of a season was 2003. 12-4, A.L. yearly advantage since 1997.
It's only a matter of time until the NL switches, but I'm OK with waiting as long as possible. I guess my anti-DH OCD is stronger than my everyone-is-not-the-same OCD.
Bautista DHing today.Good to hear hope he's back soon. Sitting out again today though.He had a bat in hand and was ready to pinch hit, then sat down after Rasmus went deep.Uh oh, went from probably playing Friday to missing his second straight today. And away we go.That's great, now his ankle isn't.
Just coming in to post the update. 
Houston will be bad for 2-3 more years. But that was just part of why I expect it to change. The AL East doesn't have several of the best teams in baseball like it did for much of the last decade. And the spending will even out too, with the Dodgers leading the way. Yeah, the AL has 7 of the top 10 spenders in terms of opening day rosters, but 11-14 are all N teams with young rosters that'll be spending a lot more in the next couple years.Doubt it. Sure they suck this season, but that's a major market with some guys coming into the organization with pretty decent track records. While payroll doesn't entirely track winning, they are correlated and AL has more of the big spenders.I bet this changes going forward with the Houston move.AL teams win interleague because they're more talented top to bottom, not because of the DH. In World Series games, both leagues have significant homefield advantages the effectively cancel each other out. Afterall, an NL team needing to bat a bench guy is about the same deficit as trying to make Papi play the field.Guess it doesn't matter because the N.L. teams you are competing against have the same obstacle but A.L. teams are built with a DH in mind. Seems like an unfair advantage. Your D. Ortiz vs. my guy not good enough to start. Obviously not so always so extreme but A.L. has a built in advantage.I don't think its normal. I just don't care. I much prefer the NL and I watch a ton more NL, but its not like watching an interleague or AL game sends me into a tizzy.I honestly have no idea how someone would think it's normal.
Last time N.L. had the edge over the course of a season was 2003. 12-4, A.L. yearly advantage since 1997.
I'm kind of torn on this. On the one hand, the Astros have been striking out at an alarming rate. Taking the first pitch forces their young hitters to be a little less aggressive. But the opposing team aren't idiots. It won't take too long to realize that they can get a free strike one.
And the hits keep on coming for my team, 4th player to hit the DL
Most exciting play of Opening Day - Kershaw's homerun off of Cain.rodg12 said:LOL at the 'beauty' of pitchers hitting.dparker713 said:I don't think its normal. I just don't care. I much prefer the NL and I watch a ton more NL, but its not like watching an interleague or AL game sends me into a tizzy. Keep your grubby hands off the beauty of pitchers hitting and I'll continue to ignore your DH perversion.Billy Bats said:I honestly have no idea how someone would think it's normal.dparker713 said:
This is absolutely ridiculous.
The team OBP is .234. You can't steal first base.This is absolutely ridiculous.
I don't care if you're striking out an extreme rate - sometimes the best pitch you get is the first one. You're team is not scoring and now you're telling your CLEAN UP hitter to lose his aggression? This is not a 19-20 year old kid in his first season, Martinez will be 26 this year and this is his third season.
I'm not going to kill Porter for this, but telling your clean up pitchers to take pitches is playing not to win (something the Astros do well).
They have zero aggression, and if you're team can't hit, why take the bat out of their hands and have them fall behind in the count? It's not like Joe Saunders is a k machine out there, he's a junk throwing, 4 or 5 starter.
And speaking of lack of aggression, the Astros have zero stolen bases this year. They have zero ATTEMPTED stolen bases this year. WTF they think they are going to do, string together a bunch of hits to produce runs?
I hope the Astros have a season of epic proportions. 125 losses, 2000+k's. Poor Bo Porter, enjoy your season, and keep taking the bats out of the hands of your players
Going to be awfully hard for the Angels to catch up with Texas/Oakland this year. Their rotation was already questionable and now they lose their ace? Looks like another third place or worse if Seattle improves.
Saunders clearly had control issues in his previous start. Plus if he doesn't have swing and miss stuff, it's less costly to put yourself behind in the count. And I'm no expert on the Seattle bullpen, but just looking at their roster it looks mediocre at best. Kinda seems like taking a few pitches would be a solid plan.This is absolutely ridiculous.
I don't care if you're striking out an extreme rate - sometimes the best pitch you get is the first one. You're team is not scoring and now you're telling your CLEAN UP hitter to lose his aggression? This is not a 19-20 year old kid in his first season, Martinez will be 26 this year and this is his third season.
I'm not going to kill Porter for this, but telling your clean up pitchers to take pitches is playing not to win (something the Astros do well).
They have zero aggression, and if you're team can't hit, why take the bat out of their hands and have them fall behind in the count? It's not like Joe Saunders is a k machine out there, he's a junk throwing, 4 or 5 starter.
And speaking of lack of aggression, the Astros have zero stolen bases this year. They have zero ATTEMPTED stolen bases this year. WTF they think they are going to do, string together a bunch of hits to produce runs?
I hope the Astros have a season of epic proportions. 125 losses, 2000+k's. Poor Bo Porter, enjoy your season, and keep taking the bats out of the hands of your players
I think it would be worse if this was the Stros logic. They aren't going anywhere this year. They are essentially an extension of their farm system. So if you are trying to teach your players patience in hitting, that might be one thing. But if you are pulling a guy b/c you are trying this hard to win a game in April when you might win 70 games this year, I think that is ridiculous. This just sounds like a new manager over managing and then doling out punishment b/c he is new.Saunders clearly had control issues in his previous start. Plus if he doesn't have swing and miss stuff, it's less costly to put yourself behind in the count. And I'm no expert on the Seattle bullpen, but just looking at their roster it looks mediocre at best. Kinda seems like taking a few pitches would be a solid plan.This is absolutely ridiculous.
I don't care if you're striking out an extreme rate - sometimes the best pitch you get is the first one. You're team is not scoring and now you're telling your CLEAN UP hitter to lose his aggression? This is not a 19-20 year old kid in his first season, Martinez will be 26 this year and this is his third season.
I'm not going to kill Porter for this, but telling your clean up pitchers to take pitches is playing not to win (something the Astros do well).
They have zero aggression, and if you're team can't hit, why take the bat out of their hands and have them fall behind in the count? It's not like Joe Saunders is a k machine out there, he's a junk throwing, 4 or 5 starter.
And speaking of lack of aggression, the Astros have zero stolen bases this year. They have zero ATTEMPTED stolen bases this year. WTF they think they are going to do, string together a bunch of hits to produce runs?
I hope the Astros have a season of epic proportions. 125 losses, 2000+k's. Poor Bo Porter, enjoy your season, and keep taking the bats out of the hands of your players
The incident fits perfectly with what I know about him from his time in DC. To borrow from Herm Edwards, he's a "you play to win the game" type, no exceptions to the rule. He was most well known in DC for getting into it with the Cubs' entire dugout when they got uspet about someone stealing third when the Nats were up several runs. The fact that the Astros aren't going anywhere wouldn't even enter into his decision. He'd say what he's trying to "teach" them is how to win baseball games. Not that I agree, but I'm pretty sure that's his thought process.I think it would be worse if this was the Stros logic. They aren't going anywhere this year. They are essentially an extension of their farm system. So if you are trying to teach your players patience in hitting, that might be one thing. But if you are pulling a guy b/c you are trying this hard to win a game in April when you might win 70 games this year, I think that is ridiculous. This just sounds like a new manager over managing and then doling out punishment b/c he is new.Saunders clearly had control issues in his previous start. Plus if he doesn't have swing and miss stuff, it's less costly to put yourself behind in the count. And I'm no expert on the Seattle bullpen, but just looking at their roster it looks mediocre at best. Kinda seems like taking a few pitches would be a solid plan.This is absolutely ridiculous.
I don't care if you're striking out an extreme rate - sometimes the best pitch you get is the first one. You're team is not scoring and now you're telling your CLEAN UP hitter to lose his aggression? This is not a 19-20 year old kid in his first season, Martinez will be 26 this year and this is his third season.
I'm not going to kill Porter for this, but telling your clean up pitchers to take pitches is playing not to win (something the Astros do well).
They have zero aggression, and if you're team can't hit, why take the bat out of their hands and have them fall behind in the count? It's not like Joe Saunders is a k machine out there, he's a junk throwing, 4 or 5 starter.
And speaking of lack of aggression, the Astros have zero stolen bases this year. They have zero ATTEMPTED stolen bases this year. WTF they think they are going to do, string together a bunch of hits to produce runs?
I hope the Astros have a season of epic proportions. 125 losses, 2000+k's. Poor Bo Porter, enjoy your season, and keep taking the bats out of the hands of your players
What's your beef with me, cuz? Gonna go into overdrive now little man.
I don't have a problem with a manager yanking a guy for disobeying an order or missing a sign. It's been happening that way for over a century. Porter is new and his team is young. If this his way to make a point that he's in charge,The incident fits perfectly with what I know about him from his time in DC. To borrow from Herm Edwards, he's a "you play to win the game" type, no exceptions to the rule. He was most well known in DC for getting into it with the Cubs' entire dugout when they got uspet about someone stealing third when the Nats were up several runs. The fact that the Astros aren't going anywhere wouldn't even enter into his decision. He'd say what he's trying to "teach" them is how to win baseball games. Not that I agree, but I'm pretty sure that's his thought process.I think it would be worse if this was the Stros logic. They aren't going anywhere this year. They are essentially an extension of their farm system. So if you are trying to teach your players patience in hitting, that might be one thing. But if you are pulling a guy b/c you are trying this hard to win a game in April when you might win 70 games this year, I think that is ridiculous. This just sounds like a new manager over managing and then doling out punishment b/c he is new.Saunders clearly had control issues in his previous start. Plus if he doesn't have swing and miss stuff, it's less costly to put yourself behind in the count. And I'm no expert on the Seattle bullpen, but just looking at their roster it looks mediocre at best. Kinda seems like taking a few pitches would be a solid plan.This is absolutely ridiculous.
I don't care if you're striking out an extreme rate - sometimes the best pitch you get is the first one. You're team is not scoring and now you're telling your CLEAN UP hitter to lose his aggression? This is not a 19-20 year old kid in his first season, Martinez will be 26 this year and this is his third season.
I'm not going to kill Porter for this, but telling your clean up pitchers to take pitches is playing not to win (something the Astros do well).
They have zero aggression, and if you're team can't hit, why take the bat out of their hands and have them fall behind in the count? It's not like Joe Saunders is a k machine out there, he's a junk throwing, 4 or 5 starter.
And speaking of lack of aggression, the Astros have zero stolen bases this year. They have zero ATTEMPTED stolen bases this year. WTF they think they are going to do, string together a bunch of hits to produce runs?
I hope the Astros have a season of epic proportions. 125 losses, 2000+k's. Poor Bo Porter, enjoy your season, and keep taking the bats out of the hands of your players
The T.R.E. votes for different rules in the same sport. Noted. Keep on sharing your baseball brilliance, I'm looking forward to more.
Mattingly should be fired on the spot for batting Juan Uribe 5th
At least I'm succinct, motormouth McGee.The T.R.E. votes for different rules in the same sport. Noted. Keep on sharing your baseball brilliance, I'm looking forward to more.
I'm finally seeing this just now.Premier said:Rays game just ended with a pitch that was a foot outside and literally almost bounced.
the Marlins
I'm finally seeing this just now.Premier said:Rays game just ended with a pitch that was a foot outside and literally almost bounced.
Holy crap.
Love how even Nathan says "WOW!" as he greets Pierzynski.
Eric Gregg is looking down, beaming with pride.
At least I'm succinct, motormouth McGee.The T.R.E. votes for different rules in the same sport. Noted. Keep on sharing your baseball brilliance, I'm looking forward to more.
I know, I've always had trouble putting my thoughts down to paper/keyboard. Plus I'm Italian, bad combo. 
i dont understand why michael kay and john flaherty were so stunned he was immediately tossed. Seemed obvious and dude has the track record
thats not rare
