a couple more baseball thoughts
Got a really good response from Tiffany regarding my last post. Look for it in the comments and don't be afraid to write as well.
I could have seen Papelbon getting the MVP award. He was key in the series, obviously. But I felt like the Sox won it equally with offense as well as pitching, and I still like Ellsbury as the spark that got them not only through that series but past Cleveland before.
Matt and I had a good debate over the virtues of the 2004 team versus 2007. I think for the most part we agree that while the 04 lineup was more balanced and consistent, this one had more dangerous hitters in it, and that includes what Drew can do when he gets hot (though those are my words, not Matt's). Remember, at times this season even Crisp and Lugo got hot, despite their overall inconsistency. And that 04 team only had Cabrera for about two months.
The real difference to me is that Lowell versus Millar is a no contest advantage to this team. That extra big bat in the middle is dynamic. Many times in 2004 the Sox relied too heavily on Ortiz and Manny for the big hits. That's an unspoken reason why Ortiz had so many chances to be the hero late in games.
But more importantly, the pitching on this team was better in my opinion, particularly in that the 04 team had no dominant guy like Beckett, but rather four very good options. Schilling and Pedro weren't quite dominant on that team.
Third point, and this is one I've been hearing a lot lately about how the NL needs to adopt the DH. I want to make this clear. The DH is not the reason the AL is superior now. The reason for that is that teams like Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Anaheim and Seattle started spending a lot of money to match the arms race started by New York and Boston. Thus the whole league got better. NL teams have realized they can sneak into the playoffs, and therefore win the World Series, without spending the money on as many big name players. But as soon as the NL's current crop of rookies (Tulowitizki, Hunter Pence, Ryan Braun, and a ton of others who I've already forgotten because their teams stopped playing a month ago) grows up, the other NL teams will have to do something to match that and the cycle will swing back, most likely with money clubs like the Mets, Cubs, Giants, Dodgers and Cardinals leading the way.
So, with that in mind, there is absolutely no reason for the NL to succumb to the foolish pressure and add a DH. The National League game, though not as offensively powerful, is more exciting, and for that matter IT'S BASEBALL. Every guy has to play both ways. You would never suggest putting in a designated foul shooter in basketball. So while watching Shaq take free throws is about as painful as watching Randy Johnson attempt to swing without hurting himself, it's part of the game, and we should not allow players incapable of performing certain aspects of the game to get a free pass.
On top of that, wasn't it exciting when Daisuke drove in two huge runs with a clutch single for the Sox? A team with a good hitting pitcher has a huge advantage over one without. Shouldn't we reward pitchers for being more complete athletes.
And just for added measure, David Ortiz showed that he can play first base. So put him there, and just make sure to get him days off once in a while.
I hate the DH, and if not for the MLBPA trying to sustain the careers of an increasingly large number of guys who can't be called athletes so much as mashers, I feel the DH would eventually be eliminated in both leagues. But that's not going to happen.
At the least we can keep it the way it is.
I could have seen Papelbon getting the MVP award. He was key in the series, obviously. But I felt like the Sox won it equally with offense as well as pitching, and I still like Ellsbury as the spark that got them not only through that series but past Cleveland before.
Matt and I had a good debate over the virtues of the 2004 team versus 2007. I think for the most part we agree that while the 04 lineup was more balanced and consistent, this one had more dangerous hitters in it, and that includes what Drew can do when he gets hot (though those are my words, not Matt's). Remember, at times this season even Crisp and Lugo got hot, despite their overall inconsistency. And that 04 team only had Cabrera for about two months.
The real difference to me is that Lowell versus Millar is a no contest advantage to this team. That extra big bat in the middle is dynamic. Many times in 2004 the Sox relied too heavily on Ortiz and Manny for the big hits. That's an unspoken reason why Ortiz had so many chances to be the hero late in games.
But more importantly, the pitching on this team was better in my opinion, particularly in that the 04 team had no dominant guy like Beckett, but rather four very good options. Schilling and Pedro weren't quite dominant on that team.
Third point, and this is one I've been hearing a lot lately about how the NL needs to adopt the DH. I want to make this clear. The DH is not the reason the AL is superior now. The reason for that is that teams like Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Anaheim and Seattle started spending a lot of money to match the arms race started by New York and Boston. Thus the whole league got better. NL teams have realized they can sneak into the playoffs, and therefore win the World Series, without spending the money on as many big name players. But as soon as the NL's current crop of rookies (Tulowitizki, Hunter Pence, Ryan Braun, and a ton of others who I've already forgotten because their teams stopped playing a month ago) grows up, the other NL teams will have to do something to match that and the cycle will swing back, most likely with money clubs like the Mets, Cubs, Giants, Dodgers and Cardinals leading the way.
So, with that in mind, there is absolutely no reason for the NL to succumb to the foolish pressure and add a DH. The National League game, though not as offensively powerful, is more exciting, and for that matter IT'S BASEBALL. Every guy has to play both ways. You would never suggest putting in a designated foul shooter in basketball. So while watching Shaq take free throws is about as painful as watching Randy Johnson attempt to swing without hurting himself, it's part of the game, and we should not allow players incapable of performing certain aspects of the game to get a free pass.
On top of that, wasn't it exciting when Daisuke drove in two huge runs with a clutch single for the Sox? A team with a good hitting pitcher has a huge advantage over one without. Shouldn't we reward pitchers for being more complete athletes.
And just for added measure, David Ortiz showed that he can play first base. So put him there, and just make sure to get him days off once in a while.
I hate the DH, and if not for the MLBPA trying to sustain the careers of an increasingly large number of guys who can't be called athletes so much as mashers, I feel the DH would eventually be eliminated in both leagues. But that's not going to happen.
At the least we can keep it the way it is.
Labels: baseball
posted by Ryan Pipke at
3:13 AM
1 Comments:
Ok, I'm pretty sure that people who remember things that happened before Tek punched A-Rod in the face and the season turned around in '04 might object to someone calling that team more consistent. Sure, the team we had in the playoffs was pretty solid... but that year, the lineup was ANYTHING but consistent.
May I remind you: Millar was playing in the OUTFIELD, (with Trot on the DL for the 1st half of the season and us with no plan to deal with that) and God only knows who on first base (Ortiz, McCarty, Daubaugh, Youk, Mientkeiwicz AND Millar). The list goes on. Day to day Red Sox fans had no idea who would be on the field.
So while the team that we had in the end (and at random points in the middle) did hit pretty well all the way through he lineup, (although I remember fear deep in my belly when we signed Cabrara for Normar... and Pokey can catch anything, but he's not a hitter...) it is only because they won it all that we remember them as consistant now. They were, before going on a storybook run, down to something like 10 games out of the AL East as late as of July. That season was overall stressful.
August and September 2004 were a lot of fun though. And October was the best thing ever. EVER.
Other thoughts:
While I don't really understand NL ball (and was quite glad to have my personal NL guru to explain the double switch to me last weekend), I don't assume that the DH is the big difference maker. I imagine that it does have more to do with business. I remain glad that the AL has it though, because while Ortiz technically can play first base... Youk made NO ERRORS this year, and is generally amazing and lovable, and I want to keep them both.
Yeah, I have to get back to work.
-maggie
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