good lineup. Pena on base % is .328. Brantley .370. Thats probably why Brantley is the better option batting 2nd. Although, Pena may improve in that area. He needs to make better contact. Im sure he will.
I know Altuve like leading off and does a very good job at it. But I would like to see Brantley and Bregman platoon and move him into the honey hole between Alvarez and Tucker.. vs Lefties R Bregman R Pena L Alvarez R Altuve L Tucker R McCormick R Meyers R Gurriel R Maldonado vs Righties L Brantley R Pena L Alvarez R Altuve L Tucker R Bregman R Meyers R Gurriel R Maldonado
Wish Jeremy would walk more but he’s also been getting absolutely hosed by some called strikes that are clearly balls. Hopefully he earns more respect as he plays more or they finally put in an electronic strike zone
Do you think they go to a fixed strike zone with the electronic strike zone or find a way to make adjustments for the stature of the batter (and stance?)
There can be no electronic strike zone if it's not calibrated for every player. You give Altuve a 6' 2" guy's zone and he'll bat .150 with a 60% K%.
The electronic strike zone already accounts for this. I think it may be difficult to implement because of the umpires union. I’m big time in favor of it.
Thanks. I just wasn't sure since they have no problem changing the game as it was played for 100 years for frivolous reasons. Next up, Aluminum bats.
sorry I didn’t know you tuned in to watch the home plate umpire make balls and strikes calls. We already see at home what is what, and they come up with score cards based on that zone, if they had the tech in 1900 they should’ve implemented it then.
I agree with you that banning the shift is awful, but I still don't get how anyone was ever a fan of watching pitchers strike out on every at bat.
This. Makes absolutely no sense. There is no enjoyment in having pitchers hit. And no, the strategery in bunting and constant pitching changes does not make it better. It just makes it longer. I do not know why anyone would still be a fan of that...and I was firmly against our move the AL when it happened.
And it's still okay to have a pitching duel. The JV/Severino and Javier/Cole games were fun to watch as all 4 starters were pitching great. That is completely different than watching pitchers hit. Pitchers not hitting does not prohibit a pitching duel.
Why doesn't Framber throw his cutter more often? Considering Maldy's formidable reputation as a game caller this seems like an easy decision to me - the pitch has the highest swstr% and o-swing%, and the lowest xwOBA of any pitch in his arsenal but he's hardly throwing it at 5%.
I do not care to watch pitchers bat much any more, but I hate the DH. I still think the right solution is to eliminate pitchers batting and the DH. An 8 man line up does both and disrupts nothing.
I went to baseball reference, clicked on stats for the Houston Astros for 1995 (just clicked randomly) and went back to 1965 and checked batting averages (didn't care to dive deeper, and you did say "hitting pitchers" and that should lead to hits). There was one pitcher who hit .295 one season, and a handful of mid-.200s here and there. But the vast majority hit in the Castro/Maldy area. Imagine having those two guys hitting back-to-back every game. You see, when we remember the good ol' days, we have a tendency to remember the best of the best and we forget that most of the rest were not on the same level. Not to mention that with the universal DH, pitchers can't get hit by a pitch on their hands, get hurt running bases, get hurt fouling a pitch off a leg, etc. It doesn't mean that they can't get hurt pitching, obviously, but it does remove other unnecessary opportunities to get hurt.
Interesting. How many additional ABs would the average player get a season with just an 8 man lineup? Seems like that might really change some historical records. Probably would see the home run record (the real one, not Bonds) toppled amongst others.
