Democrats Approve of the DH Rule Far More Than Independents and Republicans

[1951Campbell]

There's a lot of good stuff to mull over in this paper:

http://artsci.wustl.edu/~jgill/papers/qjps.zorngill.pdf

Thank God someone tried to answer this burning question. :D

[samram]

I guess it does confirm that there is some amount of yearning for the so-called "good ol' days" by conservatives.

I like the DH. I don't se the attraction of watching a guy stand around looking like a goof for 90 seconds and then he sits down and the game restarts. And it's not as if it takes a rocket surgeon to figure out the double switch.

[1951Campbell]

I liked the DH as a kid, because offense and home runs are fun, but then as I got older, I realized that it doesn't allow for self-policing among players, which is a big negative in my opinion.

But any crusade against the rule is, at this point, completely tilting at windmills.

[samram]

I think the anti-DH argument has also taken a blow because the AL has been the better league for almost 15 years now and AL teams have gone to NL parks and done very well.

[Myrtle]

I think the anti-DH argument has also taken a blow because the AL has been the better league for almost 15 years now and AL teams have gone to NL parks and done very well.

Good point.

I like the DH rule because it creates more home runs and exciting offense which is clearly more fun to watch. Plus, it gives the opportunity for good and aging hitters to still be valuable in the game even if their position had been replaced by a younger player.

Screw tradition.

[Dan Mega]

The DH is far better than the automatic out.

[maurice]

I like the DH. I don't see the attraction of watching a guy stand around looking like a goof for 90 seconds and then he sits down and the game restarts. And it's not as if it takes a rocket surgeon to figure out the double switch.

Agreed. As far as self-policing goes, it's smarter to drill the catcher or one of the middle-of-the-order guys. Why give a free pass to a guy with a .180 OBP and the top of the order coming up?

[Prope]

Alright, here is a question that has always burned me....

If you are a National League manager, why wouldn't you bat your pitcher in the #8 spot, and put somebody with a good OBP at the #9 spot? My thinking being, put the guy that gets on base a lot in the 9-hole, which allows the possibility of a run crossing the plate once 1-4 comes up.

Anybody??

[samram]

I think LaRussa tried that a few times, especially when Ankiel was viable. I think the reason is after the first time through, there's no real leadoff man, so why not delay the pitcher's first AB as long as possible?

[Bonzosa]

With the pitcher in the nine spot, he can at least try to bunt people forward and not be a useless out when he is due up. For example, that would put the #8 at second for the #1 hitter to bring in with 2 outs.
Roll the dice....
When it comes to it, you are just trying to delay the eventual...free out.
Plus if the guy at #9 has a good OBP, whats he doin' at the bottom of the order?

I must admit I love seeing Arroyo hit homers to help himself to the win. P homers hurt, bad. Like salt in the wounds.

That being said, I like it both ways and hope the neither league changes.

[Prope]

I think LaRussa tried that a few times, especially when Ankiel was viable. I think the reason is after the first time through, there's no real leadoff man, so why not delay the pitcher's first AB as long as possible?
Well that is a good point, and I suppose some teams do not have that option. I was just thinking that if you had a good lead-off hitter and another hitter similar to a lead-off something like that would be a good idea.

:shrug:

[samram]

Well that is a good point, and I suppose some teams do not have that option. I was just thinking that if you had a good lead-off hitter and another hitter similar to a lead-off something like that would be a good idea.

:shrug:

Seeing as it's never been tried, it could work well. Of course, I wonder if you had a guy who could lead off, would he be happy batting ninth.

[Prope]

Seeing as it's never been tried, it could work well. Of course, I wonder if you had a guy who could lead off, would he be happy batting ninth.
Greedy bastard hits in the order that his manager pencils him in, dangumit!!!

[1951Campbell]

Agreed. As far as self-policing goes, it's smarter to drill the catcher or one of the middle-of-the-order guys. Why give a free pass to a guy with a .180 OBP and the top of the order coming up?

I can see that.

But would a pitcher be less effective with a nice, deeply-bruised rib, too?

[maurice]

Re. batting a high-OBP guy 8th or 9th:

We went through this every time Ozzie announced his desire to bat Uribe or some other low-OBP slug 2nd and move Iguchi down to 7th. The difference between batting at the top of the order vs. the bottom of the order in any given game often is an additional plate appearance. Over the course of a 162-game season, that adds up to quite a few PAs. IMO, that's reason enough why your worst hitters always should bat in the last 3 or 4 slots.