Randyman Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 Re: Alfonso Soriano? Buckbuster11 and MCH, you have made my point exactly. Barry USED to be a good defensive outfielder. I should have made that distinction in my original post. These days, his GIGANTIC bat more than overrides his defensive shortcomings in Left Field. In his days in Pittsburgh there were few, if any, better all around ball players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggs Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 Re: Alfonso Soriano? I tuned this convo out for a while but with all of this offensive talk, I need to chime in. Since when has baseball always been about offense? Sure, maybe in the beer league...err...American League...but give me the chance to put together a great pitching staff, a good defense, good speed at the top and bottom of the lineup, and a bunch of slap hitters and good bunters...I'll beat a team of power hitters all day. Sure, I'll take some power in my clean-up spot, but I could do without it. I think it was 2002 that the Marlins won the WS with a speedy slap-hitting lead off guy in Pierre, a great contact hitter in the 2-hole, and some great young pitching...they made the Yankee's look foolish, and I loved every minute of it. White Sox did it last season with their version of small ball, when they coined the phrase "smart ball". I hate this new mindset, home runs might be exciting, but come on. My Tribe's manager, Eric Wedge is the perfect example. I watched the majority of the games last year, and I saw he call for a bunt 4 times! When he did, the players couldn't put it down....Wedge calling for a hit-and-run...forget about it!! Dude gets a lot of credit, and he is a good motivator...but his game plan is better suited for softball. Small ball baby!! This thing used to be call "the thinking man's game"...since Sosa and McGuire went off it's become the roid hounds game... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdickey Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 Re: Alfonso Soriano? MUGGS.... I finally agree with you on something! HA! I wished that we could see more of the "small ball" aka "smart ball" being played; the game is a lot more exciting to watch, that's for sure. But just look at the MVP awards the past few years... in the NL you have to go back 20 years to find "basehtting" Willie McGee as MVP. The AL is not so bad, with Ichiro, Pudge, and Ricky Hederson. I became a White Sox fan last year, because of their style of play. It reminded me so much of how we used to play in high school and college. I really miss seeing it played that way. Lot's more fun and excitement! Mangers and players really had to think when they were on the field. Strategy was much more at stake. I miss it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master_Chief Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 Re: Alfonso Soriano? And add to that stolen bases. Can any of those guys out run a catcher's throw to second let alone third? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdickey Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 Re: Alfonso Soriano? At least the Little League is thinking along the same lines that we are.... SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Steroids aren't to blame, but even the Little League is reining in its power hitters. Construction started last week to push the fences back 20 feet at the home of the Little League World Series, cutting the chances for homers and creating a more spacious outfield that should lead to more doubles and triples. The fences at South Williamsport's Howard J. Lamade and Volunteer stadiums will be 225 feet from home plate once construction wraps up in July. The distance to the fences was previously 205 feet at both venues. The decision to push back the fences is not intended to thwart a growing population of pumped-up 12-year-olds but instead give outfielders more ground to cover. "While home run production has remained fairly constant over the last several years, we have noticed there are few doubles and triples," said Joseph W. Losch, senior vice president of Little League Baseball and Softball. "This move, while probably decreasing home run production by a small fraction, will increase the possibilities for other extra-base hits." Over the last 20 years, the Little League World Series has seen 571 homers — about one every 26 at-bats. But over that time there have been just 36 triples — one every 406 at-bats — and 502 doubles. Built in 1959, Lamade Stadium was 200 feet to the fences until 1996, when it was pushed back to 205. Volunteer Stadium, with 205-foot fences, was completed in 2001. The 60th Little League World Series is scheduled for Aug. 18-27. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggs Posted March 29, 2006 Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 Re: Alfonso Soriano? It's typical American mentality...brought to us by...the media. All it will take is Sportscenter and all the networks to hype "smart ball" like they hyped the Sosa v. McGuire homerun race, and next thing you know, everyone is talking "smart ball." Must be nice to be able to tell people what to think eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckbuster11 Posted March 29, 2006 Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 Re: Alfonso Soriano? [ QUOTE ] I tuned this convo out for a while but with all of this offensive talk, I need to chime in. Since when has baseball always been about offense? Sure, maybe in the beer league...err...American League...but give me the chance to put together a great pitching staff, a good defense, good speed at the top and bottom of the lineup, and a bunch of slap hitters and good bunters...I'll beat a team of power hitters all day. Sure, I'll take some power in my clean-up spot, but I could do without it. I think it was 2002 that the Marlins won the WS with a speedy slap-hitting lead off guy in Pierre, a great contact hitter in the 2-hole, and some great young pitching...they made the Yankee's look foolish, and I loved every minute of it. White Sox did it last season with their version of small ball, when they coined the phrase "smart ball". I hate this new mindset, home runs might be exciting, but come on. My Tribe's manager, Eric Wedge is the perfect example. I watched the majority of the games last year, and I saw he call for a bunt 4 times! When he did, the players couldn't put it down....Wedge calling for a hit-and-run...forget about it!! Dude gets a lot of credit, and he is a good motivator...but his game plan is better suited for softball. Small ball baby!! This thing used to be call "the thinking man's game"...since Sosa and McGuire went off it's become the roid hounds game... [/ QUOTE ] I agree. Hit all the home runs you want, championships will always be won with pitching and defense. As for the big power hitters. Some of these guys are a joke. Look at Adam Dunn for example. He hits 45 towering shots every year while batting a lofty .240 and striking out god knows how many times. Give me a couple slap hitters who can run like the wind at the top of the lineup and a couple guys in the middle like a Jason Bay who will hit 30 jacks that barely clear the fence, a ton of doubles and still bat at or over .300, a good defense and pitching rotation, and I'll show you a winning team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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