"Purity" vs "Quality"

[Clayton]

This is a poll to see people's thoughts on the state of the game and its most divisive issues.


Purity
All-Star Game: This should just be an exhibition that has no impact on homefield advantage. The team with the best season throughout the year should be rewarded

DH: Pitchers were intended to hit and the game is deeper and more strategic without the designated hitter

Wild Card: The WC in general is a pretty lame idea but they should keep it as is to reward the team that was the best in the league throughout the year and the teams that actually won their division.


Quality
All-Star Game: The All Star Game is much more exciting when teams have something on the line and are actually trying to win the game. The fans are rewarded with a good game with all/most of the best players in baseball and you even find yourself rooting for guys on division rivals just for one game.

DH: The Designated Hitter makes baseball more exciting because no one wants to see a pitcher hit. Its better for the players, too, because hitters can sign big contracts knowing that they can play DH at the end of them. Pitchers can improve their craft without having to worry about using a bat.

Wild Card: The way it used to be before last year was much better. The one-game play in potentially lets in the 5th best team to play the best team and the Wild Card team doesn't stand much of a chance going in down their best pitcher.

So where do you stand?

 

[MilkSpiller22]

i am not sure if the all star game is now quality, but the DH and wild card both are neccessary to the game and business of baseball...

 

[Darkstone42]

 

[trojanfan12]

I side with purity on this (probably because I'm an "old guy")!!

All-Star Game: This should just be an exhibition that has no impact on homefield advantage. The team with the best season throughout the year should be rewarded

I think having the All-Star game decide home field for the World Series is the dumbest of dumb ideas!! It should be like every other sport and be awarded to the team with the best record, rather than be based on the outcome of a game that the majority of that teams players didn't get to play in!!


DH: Pitchers were intended to hit and the game is deeper and more strategic without the designated hitter

I love the strategy involved with a manager trying to decide when it's time to pull his pitcher for a pinch hitter. It's getting late in a close or tie game, both pitchers are pitching well, who is first to "blink", by pulling his pitcher to try and get a run or 2, but risk turning the game over to his bullpen!!

Wild Card: The WC in general is a pretty lame idea but they should keep it as is to reward the team that was the best in the league throughout the year and the teams that actually won their division.

I like the wild-card. It rewards teams that may be in the "wrong division"!! By that I mean, maybe the team that won a specific division has the best record in baseball and the team that finished 2nd in that division has a better record than one or more teams that won their division. Seems that if we truly want the best teams in the playoffs, then the wild card helps provide that.

It also keeps more fans interested for a longer period of time. Maybe the team that is going to win your teams division already has it clinched, but maybe your team has a shot at the wild card spot!! Chances are, you are still watching!!

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I love how you people love the strategy of a national league game... this is not brain surgery in fact it is very predictable, so where is the real strategy... the only strategy in baseball that really takes any smarts is how to set a lineup, when to take a pitcher out, and who to replace him with... The double switch is just too predictable to be anything special... the bunts, stolen bases, hit and runs, all happen in the AL as well, just not as much...

 

[Darkstone42]

I love how you people love the strategy of a national league game... this is not brain surgery in fact it is very predictable, so where is the real strategy... the only strategy in baseball that really takes any smarts is how to set a lineup, when to take a pitcher out, and who to replace him with... The double switch is just too predictable to be anything special... the bunts, stolen bases, hit and runs, all happen in the AL as well, just not as much...

I hate the DH because I think every player in the lineup should play in the field and every player in the field should have to hit. The DH just seems so arbitrary to me, and kind of like a "cheat code."

 

[Clayton]

The main problem I have with the DH is that it can't exist in one league and not the other without one league having major advantages in Free Agency.

As far as the Wild Card is concerned, its funny that it changed the year after the best day of regular season baseball ever


(I have no idea who put this together but I couldn't find the special that MLB Network did)

 

[HammerDown]

The DH is bullshit and so are designer steroids. It's criminal what some of these Caribbeaners are allowed to do to the game we love. I hate it. I want them caught and exposed.

 

[redlegs@hokies]

The Dh is a crime against humanity and the ASG needs some tweaking with the fan voting.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

DH in the national league is the future... you guys better get used to it!!!

 

[Clayton]

DH in the national league is the future... you guys better get used to it!!!

Yeah, it'll happen eventually. Probably within the next 10 years just because its benefits the players

 

[Sportsguy9695]

I went with Quality.I really liked when they finally made the winner of this game get homefield advantage. So players will givr it there all. More leagues need to do this

 

[trojanfan12]

I love how you people love the strategy of a national league game... this is not brain surgery in fact it is very predictable, so where is the real strategy... the only strategy in baseball that really takes any smarts is how to set a lineup, when to take a pitcher out, and who to replace him with... The double switch is just too predictable to be anything special... the bunts, stolen bases, hit and runs, all happen in the AL as well, just not as much...

Actually, there can be a great deal of strategy around the pitcher having to hit!!

In the AL, if a pitcher is throwing a good game and the game is close, the AL manager doesn't have to worry about whether or not he should take out his starting pitcher and leave the game to the bullpen (which can be dicey, even with teams that have good bullpens). He also doesn't have to concern himself as much with how much his bullpen has been used in prior games.

In the NL, the manager has to consider all of that. He also has to consider how good that pitcher actually is with the bat in his hands. Is he good enough to let him swing away? Can he handle the bat well enough that he can be counted on for a sacrifice bunt?

There's a lot more strategy involved than you are giving credit for and if the manager makes a mistake, it can cost his team the game!!

The DH is not without its' merits!! It has prolonged the careers of some great players/fan favorites because if they become too injured or old to be effective in the field, they can DH!! That's not necessarily a bad thing!!

 

[Clayton]

The pitcher doesn't even have to be throwing a good game for there to be strategy. Lance Lynn was pitching like butt the other day against the Cubs but when the Cards had 2 runners in scoring position and the pitcher due up, using a pinch hitter was out of the question because it was only the 4th inning (IIRC).

 

[trojanfan12]

I went with Quality.I really liked when they finally made the winner of this game get homefield advantage. So players will givr it there all. More leagues need to do this

You don't think that hurts the relevance of the regular season? Why should a team bust their collective butts trying to have the best record in baseball if one game that most of their players aren't involved in determines the HFA in the most important series of the season?

 

[redlegs@hokies]

I will never support the dh.

 

[trojanfan12]

The pitcher doesn't even have to be throwing a good game for there to be strategy. Lance Lynn was pitching like butt the other day against the Cubs but when the Cards had 2 runners in scoring position and the pitcher due up, using a pinch hitter was out of the question because it was only the 4th inning (IIRC).

Good point!! Hadn't thought of that!! Manager had to decide whether to risk going to the bullpen way early or hope that Lance Lynn could help himself out with his bat since he wasn't doing so with his arm!!

 

[Darkstone42]

Managers also have to cleverly pick their spots with the double-switch. Sometimes it works out that a double-switch will take one of your better players out of the lineup, but if you don't double-switch, the pitcher's spot could be due up in four or five at bats, and maybe the bench is getting a little short. They have to measure possible risk vs. reward there.

 

[redseat]

What's truly criminal is how much of an influence the MLPA has on Selig against steroids! I mean Selig comes out and say's here is a list of cheats... Yet because the MLPBA is so strong If a player appeals they won't be suspended this year.... It's Ludicrous!

 

[RobToxin]

With year round interleague play, there needs to be standard uniformity with the DH. Either all teams have it. Or no teams have it. One way or the other.