May 3, 20197 yr The hitters need to adjust just like offenses adjust in other sports. It's no different than a zone in other sports compared to man to man.
May 9, 20197 yr The hitters need to adjust just like offenses adjust in other sports. It's no different than a zone in other sports compared to man to man. Ego’s are too big to bunt.
May 9, 20197 yr Two points. 1. The baseball is boring discussion is almost humorous to me. Soccer grows in popularity with 1-0, 2-1 games being almost the norm but baseball is boring. Any time someone makes the baseball is boring comment, ask them what their feelings are on soccer. Granted, many of the people may say they don't like soccer either and are comparing baseball to football or basketball. Nevertheless, the question remains, why is baseball boring and soccer growing in popularity? I contend a lot of it is in the packaging of the event. It really isn't about the game itself. It is about all the stuff surrounding the game. Baseball needs to keep making improvements in their packaging of their games to overcome the "baseball is boring" label. I personally put both in the same “boring” camp. I enjoy playing soccer, but other than the World Cup, not watching it. That said, with soccer you know it’s going to be 90 minutes plus stoppage. And while scoring can be low, there is pretty much something happening the whole time. Baseball can (and frequently does) stretch on for 3+ hours. And there are tons of dead spots. Baseball just feels like a much bigger time commitment and it drags so much.
May 9, 20197 yr I'm in the camp of if you want to beat the shift, take advantage of where they are not. As an old hometown hero used to say - hit ‘em where they ain’t.
May 9, 20197 yr Ego’s are too big to bunt. It's not about ego. If I put a shift on, and your big basher is bunting the ball, I win that battle, even if he gets on. I'm perfectly fine if he goes 4-4 with 4 bunt singles. You're still effectively taking the bat out of his hands.
May 9, 20197 yr It's not about ego. If I put a shift on, and your big basher is bunting the ball, I win that battle, even if he gets on. I'm perfectly fine if he goes 4-4 with 4 bunt singles. You're still effectively taking the bat out of his hands. That's one way to look at it especially if the guys behind you can't get you over and get you in.
May 9, 20197 yr It's not about ego. If I put a shift on, and your big basher is bunting the ball, I win that battle, even if he gets on. I'm perfectly fine if he goes 4-4 with 4 bunt singles. You're still effectively taking the bat out of his hands. How about your big basher bunts? Then the guy behind him bunts. And so on. Isn't on base percentage the key stat now?
May 9, 20197 yr It's not about ego. If I put a shift on, and your big basher is bunting the ball, I win that battle, even if he gets on. I'm perfectly fine if he goes 4-4 with 4 bunt singles. You're still effectively taking the bat out of his hands. Even your "big basher" is going to stay in the park more than he's not. Putting him on base every AB certainly isn't winning...
May 9, 20197 yr How about your big basher bunts? Then the guy behind him bunts. And so on. Isn't on base percentage the key stat now? Well the shift usually doesn’t get put on with runners on, so the next guy likely isn’t bunting. Think about it this way. There’s no guarantee the bunt will beat the shift to begin with. Not just any bunt will do. It’s got to be a perfectly placed, hard bunt, in order to be successful. Even good bunters won’t be successful all the time, let alone someone who doesn’t bunt well. Pitchers will also be pitching up and in... not an easy pitch to bunt the other way. A Bunt hit even 50% of the time doesn’t hurt as much as an extra base hit or a home run.
May 9, 20197 yr Even your "big basher" is going to stay in the park more than he's not. Putting him on base every AB certainly isn't winning... True. But he isn’t going to be successful bunting all the time either. If he bunts he’s got zero chance of an EBH or HR.
May 9, 20197 yr It's not about ego. If I put a shift on, and your big basher is bunting the ball, I win that battle, even if he gets on. I'm perfectly fine if he goes 4-4 with 4 bunt singles. You're still effectively taking the bat out of his hands. So how do you deal with a healthy Yankees lineup, putting Sanchez, Stanton, Judge on without recording an out?
May 9, 20197 yr So how do you deal with a healthy Yankees lineup, putting Sanchez, Stanton, Judge on without recording an out? I’m not. Again, as I said before, your not putting the shift on with runners on base. And your also assuming that the bunt will be successful every time. That’s not going to happen. Guys who haven’t been asked to bunt their entire lives, will not be successful even 50% of the time. It still will take a really good bunt to get on. So the real question you have to ask is would you rather have Sanchez, Stanton, or Judge bunting for a hit or swinging away. The Yankees certainly don’t want those guys bunting. Bunts have a zero chance of going into a gap for an EBH or over the fence. What the shift does is minimize risk for the defensive team. If he bunts, he might fail at the bunt, a bunt single doesn’t hurt you, and he WON’T Hit the ball over the fence or get an EBH. If he swings, you have a chance at taking a hit a way. If you don’t shift, you don’t tilt the odds in your favor in any way. That’s why the occasional bunt single doesn’t bother me, because bunting completely eliminates the worst outcome—-an EBH or Homer.
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