The 2023 Running Baseball Thread

Oblique tear?

 

Fascinating box score. 19 runs, 24 hits . . . zero strikeouts.

Average at-bat was 3.2 pitches.

 

I do wonder if Theo's next rule change recommendation will be to have one fewer pitcher on the roster and an added bench player. Perhaps would make starters stretch a bit more, result in fewer pen options and also the benefit of more offensive potential.

It would probably need a year or two of study in the minors.

 

We as a people (cough-cough) might be pining a bit too much for the days of the 130-pitch starter.

There is some trade-off between a guy lasting for a complete game and seeing specialists with elite talents in late-game moments. Both have their appeal.

And we also have to face that these guys weren't twisting off 89-mph sliders in 1955. They are putting more strain on their arms. Fatigue is a real thing.

 

Bullpenning really works!

 

Theoretically, starters would learn, as they used to know, how to pace themselves if they had to go longer. They'd learn to pitch to contact, contact on the pitcher's terms, saving the best stuff for the most stressful moments. I mean, Greg Maddux wasn't all that long ago. Pitching was once an art, not a feat of strength. It could be again.

 

Pipe dream, I'm afraid. Teams want power arms. That isn't going to change.

Incidentally, just stopping in on the game ... that score is surprising.

 

I think it's not so much what teams want, it's what they think they can get: There may be a Greg Maddux or two floating around out there, but there sure as hell ain't dozens.

 

Limit rosters to 10 pitchers and mere power would be less sought after.

 

If Greg Maddux were a college sophomore these days, some scouts would probably dismiss him because velocity.
Absolute magician.