July 26, 201412 yr I think a few stubborn hitters could eliminate shifting by learning to bunt. Agreed! If someone is willing to give you 1st base, learn to do what you need to do and take the base. That means that player can't drive in runs though if they just bunt to take 1st base, and isn't that is what Votto has been ripped for? Because he is willing to take 1st base on a walk instead of swinging at pitches to try to drive in runs.
July 26, 201412 yr The idea has merit... There have been numerous times rules have been changed even in baseball to swing the pendulum back to hitters. And I definitely see a point in that it pretty much eliminates one kind of hitter... It is great strategy by the defense, the offensive hitter just needs to adjust. It would be like someone telling Dick Lebeau when he first started to run the zone blitz, that he couldn't do that because it made it to hard on the offense.
July 26, 201412 yr That means that player can't drive in runs though if they just bunt to take 1st base, and isn't that is what Votto has been ripped for? Because he is willing to take 1st base on a walk instead of swinging at pitches to try to drive in runs. I don't have a problem with him walking, I have a problem with him standing there with the bat on his shoulder watching strike 3!
July 27, 201412 yr I was thinking today. I wouldn't mind seeing a rule where you need to keep at least 2 defenders on the third base side of second base.
July 27, 201412 yr It is great strategy by the defense, the offensive hitter just needs to adjust. It would be like someone telling Dick Lebeau when he first started to run the zone blitz, that he couldn't do that because it made it to hard on the offense. Again, adjusting isn't just something that is simple to do. When teams shift, the pitchers pitch to the shift. It's tough to hit an inside pitch the other way. Hitters aren't getting a lot of pitches they can take the other way, unless the pitcher misses his spot.
July 27, 201412 yr Again' date=' adjusting isn't just something that is simple to do. When teams shift, the pitchers pitch to the shift. It's tough to hit an inside pitch the other way. Hitters aren't getting a lot of pitches they can take the other way, unless the pitcher misses his spot.[/quote'] The good hitters can hit to all fields, and adjust to shifts.
July 27, 201412 yr If you are a hitter, how about stepping back from the plate in the batter's box. Turn those inside pitches into ones you can take the other way. Force the pitcher to go back outside where you are giving him something. I see the shift as strategy and the hitter needs to develop a strategy to defeat it. I don't like the idea of rules against the shift because I see htis as the core of baseball - a game of intellect and strategy. Plus, any rule you make to try and outlaw a shift is too hard to manage. Take Loogy's rule idea of two infielders only on either side of 2nd. If a team moves their second baseman to the outfield grass, is he still an infielder? How shallow in the outfield grass does a player have to play to be considered an infielder?
July 27, 201412 yr John Fay wrote a nice column in Cinti Enquirer today about how the shift has been a part of Jay Bruce's troubles this year. Makes one wonder whether teams will put a higher premium in future on young players who can hit to all fields.
July 28, 201412 yr The good hitters can hit to all fields, and adjust to shifts. Correct. A shift would have been laughed at by Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, and Wade Boggs... AND Peter Edward.
July 28, 201412 yr Ted Williams was an early target of the extreme shift. He was reluctant to tinker with his swing as it was darn near perfect. He had good success against it even before he was convinced that he could drive the ball to the opposite field without affecting his swing too much.
July 29, 201412 yr Correct. A shift would have been laughed at by Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, and Wade Boggs... AND Peter Edward. Well, yeah, but no team would show them a shift because those guys weren't dead pull hitters.
July 29, 201412 yr If Jay bruce KNOWS he is going to be pitched inside 75 % of the time and doesnt hit an addt 10-15 homers per season ( around 50 ) then he just isnt the hitter that we all think he is . If you know location of the pitch and cant hit homers as a power hitter you just are not very good . Down and in is HEAVEN for a lefty power hitter .
July 29, 201412 yr Jay Bruce Hot Zones - ESPN If you look at his Hot Zone for the last 30 days (change time setting to 30 days) he is killing inside pitching, it's away or inside off of the plate that he has struggled with.
July 29, 201412 yr Jay Bruce Hot Zones - ESPN If you look at his Hot Zone for the last 30 days (change time setting to 30 days) he is killing inside pitching, it's away or inside off of the plate that he has struggled with. Because he tries to pull everything and can't do anything with those pitches.
July 29, 201412 yr What should be illegal is not hitting the ball when a strike is thrown down the third base line ( 1 out of ten ) or better yet…..BUNT! It was different to watch a second baseman playing shallow right field last night! :jump:
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