Unwritten Rules are Not Smart

[TheLeviathan]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/bo-porter-leaves-astros-dugout-to-confront-jed-lowrie-over-unwritten-rules-violation-075115326.html

 

I believe this piece of evidence is numbered 6,899,987 in the long list of why baseball would be better off doing away with this nonsense.

[Mr. Brooks]

I don't know much about Bo Porter but I now know he's a clown.

 

It's okay for him to use strategy in a 7-0 game (defensive shift), but it's not okay for Lowrie to use strategy to try to beat the shift?

These old school baseball unwritten rules are a joke.

[old nurse]

No unwritten rule was broken unless you think your team is so bad that you can't come back 7 runs in even 7 innings. It will be a long year in Houston as the manager does not believe his team is capable of much

[jokin]

And Bert went on the record officially today, for being all in favor of possibly injuring an opponent (and former teammate to current Astro players) in "retaliation" for employing a common sense strategy against a defensive shift (and still in the 1st inning of a game). Clowns to the left, jokers to the right.....

[Thrylos]

And Bert went on the record officially today, for being all in favor of possibly injuring an opponent (and former teammate to current Astro players) in "retaliation" for employing a common sense strategy against a defensive shift (and still in the 1st inning of a game). Clowns to the left, jokers to the right.....

 

Trying to make some sense of it all, but I can see that it makes no sense at all

[Mr. Brooks]

And Bert went on the record officially today, for being all in favor of possibly injuring an opponent (and former teammate to current Astro players) in "retaliation" for employing a common sense strategy against a defensive shift (and still in the 1st inning of a game). Clowns to the left, jokers to the right.....

 

I wonder if Bert stopped throwing his curveball when he was up 7-0?

[Brock Beauchamp]

Idiotic. If a team shifts, it is absolutely in his right to lay down a bunt and beat that shift, score be damned.

[biggentleben]

Baseball Prospectus has been tracking this and discussed it during their Wednesday email show on Effectively Wild. The percentage of bunts or "slap hits" against a shift increased by almost double in 2013 over 2012. There will always be some in the Ted Williams mode of "hit through the shift", but many (even including David Ortiz) have multiple cross-shift hits in the season already.

[TheLeviathan]

And Bert went on the record officially today, for being all in favor of possibly injuring an opponent (and former teammate to current Astro players) in "retaliation" for employing a common sense strategy against a defensive shift (and still in the 1st inning of a game). Clowns to the left, jokers to the right.....

 

Im glad I didn't hear that. I may have threw the remote through the TV. It's obnoxious that anyone would believe this much less get vocal support from others around the league. The only people that need to be beaned anymore are those perpetuating this nonsense.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I can see being irked by this play 7-0 in the 9th, but in the first? This isn't tee ball, there is no mercy rule, and not everyone gets a turn. Lowrie had the obligation to beat the shift in any way he could. Would the Stros have brushed Lowrie back if he poked a bloop single the other way? Talk about bush league

[Brock Beauchamp]

Im glad I didn't hear that. I may have threw the remote through the TV. It's obnoxious that anyone would believe this much less get vocal support from others around the league. The only people that need to be beaned anymore are those perpetuating this nonsense.

 

I'm actually okay with going after guys for showboating and general douchebaggery.

 

But trying to get his team back in a game? Of course not. Ridiculous.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

The Houston manager started jawing at an opposing player???????

 

Managers should only shout at other managers, bench coaches at bench coaches, and players on players. That's the only "unwritten rule" I saw broken here.

 

Umpires, of course, are fair game to anyone

[Joe A. Preusser]

Any preachy talk about unwritten rules being broken get me seething. If I played in the majors I would bunt for a hit up by 25 runs just to pizz on the "unwritten rulebook." Throw the whole thing out and play to win every minute of the game. Or go home and don't play at all.

[Thrylos]

Any preachy talk about unwritten rules being broken get me seething. If I played in the majors I would bunt for a hit up by 25 runs just to pizz on the "unwritten rulebook." Throw the whole thing out and play to win every minute of the game. Or go home and don't play at all.

 

Yeah but there are rules and there are rules. Case in point:

 

Someone takes

. What do you do if that happens to your teammate? I don't know about you, but I would bean that guy every time I saw him, and hard so he (at least) spends a few months in the DL himself, since baseball does not do anything for dirty play and dirty players like that.

 

I agree: Throw the whole thing out and play to win every minute of the game. And pay them with their own medicine. That's the other part of the unwritten rules...

[TheLeviathan]

I'm actually okay with going after guys for showboating and general douchebaggery.

 

But trying to get his team back in a game? Of course not. Ridiculous.

 

I'm generally in agreement, however, I'd rather the team only retaliate for ACTUAL rule violations. Particularly ones that could injure.

 

Doing something that hurts someone's feelings like show-boat? Please. You get paid a crap ton of money to act like a professional. If someone else isn't, let that team deal with it or deal with it yourself by beating them on the scoreboard.

[Joe A. Preusser]

Yeah but there are rules and there are rules. Case in point:

 

Someone takes

. What do you do if that happens to your teammate? I don't know about you, but I would bean that guy every time I saw him, and hard so he (at least) spends a few months in the DL himself, since baseball does not do anything for dirty play and dirty players like that.

 

I agree: Throw the whole thing out and play to win every minute of the game. And pay them with their own medicine. That's the other part of the unwritten rules...

 

I can agree with all of that.

[Mr. Brooks]

Yeah but there are rules and there are rules. Case in point:

 

Someone takes

. What do you do if that happens to your teammate? I don't know about you, but I would bean that guy every time I saw him, and hard so he (at least) spends a few months in the DL himself, since baseball does not do anything for dirty play and dirty players like that.

 

I agree: Throw the whole thing out and play to win every minute of the game. And pay them with their own medicine. That's the other part of the unwritten rules...

 

That slide was not dirty. To me, it looked extremely routine, and Gardy and the Twins agree with me.

 

Nishioka, Gardenhire and other Twins said they felt Swisher made a clean slide into second base, trying to break up a potential double play ball hit by Mark Teixeira in the seventh inning.

“He was just breaking up the double play; no issues there,” Gardenhire said. “[Nishioka] just got caught a little flat-footed. Swisher’s a clean player. That’s just a good baseball slide, trying to break up a double play. There’s no intent there.”

Swisher went to the X-Ray room to apologize to Nishioka.

“The first thing I said was, ‘I’m sorry, man. I thought you were going to jump,” Swisher said. “And he said, ‘It was my fault. I should have gotten out of the way.’ I was just trying to break up a double play. I didn't mean to do that. Especially with a guy like that, just trying to make his mark over here.”

 

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/119432044.html

[gunnarthor]

I love the unwritten rules part of baseball. Turbow's book on it was fantastic. Here is his post on it: http://thebaseballcodes.com/2014/04/19/bo-knows-no-such-thing-as-too-early-when-it-comes-to-well-timed-bunts/

[steve]

That slide was not dirty. To me, it looked extremely routine, and Gardy and the Twins agree with me.

 

 

 

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/119432044.html

 

Such an odd world baseball is; breaking a man's leg is clean play, but bunting is unsportsmanlike.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

infielders from Japan coming to the U.S. need to be coached to lift/jump when turning the double play. Unwritten sportsmanship rule in Japan not to slide hard into second, I guess.

[Thrylos]

That slide was not dirty. To me, it looked extremely routine, and Gardy and the Twins agree with me.

 

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/119432044.html

 

The fact that the Gardy and "the Twins" defended the perpetrator instead of defending their own player and not turning belly up to the Yankee jersey like they did, does not mean that the slide was clean, it means that Gardy and "the Twins" lack fortitude. And you can see the result in the standings and the scoreboard when they play the Yankees.

[Fatt Crapps]

The fact that the Gardy and "the Twins" defended the perpetrator instead of defending their own player and not turning belly up to the Yankee jersey like they did, does not mean that the slide was clean, it means that Gardy and "the Twins" lack fortitude. And you can see the result in the standings and the scoreboard when they play the Yankees.

 

 

Wow.

[Fatt Crapps]

Speaking of the unwritten rules, Gerrit Cole just got butthurt because Gomez flipped his bat. Cole must've attended Brian McCann's "How to play the game the right way" seminar.

[TheLeviathan]

I love the unwritten rules part of baseball. Turbow's book on it was fantastic. Here is his post on it: http://thebaseballcodes.com/2014/04/19/bo-knows-no-such-thing-as-too-early-when-it-comes-to-well-timed-bunts/

 

The unwritten rules are literally millionaires playing like kindergarteners. It's systematized excuses to not act like an adult.

[gunnarthor]

The unwritten rules are literally millionaires playing like kindergarteners. It's systematized excuses to not act like an adult.

 

No, they aren't and some type of them exist in every sport/game.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Did any of you see the replay of Go Go Gomez standing in the batters box to admire his triple, then jogging to first base until he realized the ball was not going out of the park, then swinging his helmet in the ensuing brawl...after G. Cole, the Pirates pitcher cussed him? How many rules, written or unwritten, were broken there? I know Go Go is a great talent, but I for one, am glad he is go go gone.

[Thrylos]

I know Go Go is a great talent, but I for one, am glad he is go go gone.

 

Can you elaborate on why it is so, especially if you look at his production compared to that of the sorry Twins' outfielders since he was gone?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I hate showboating and lack of hustle, both of which were exhibited by Gomez. To me the respect for the game is larger than winning or losing and the game was disrespected by Gomez. I've pulled for this same franchise since 1954. I don't like to lose, but baseball is more than just winning or losing. It's about pulling for a team which tries hard, which always hustles. It's about an organization which is community minded. It's about playing the game with respect and dignity. It's about being 8 years old and going to my first game in Washington with my grandfather to see the Senators. It's about coaching youngsters the right way to play a game and the right way to live their lives. It's about teaching my son to play baseball the right way. What was Gomez teaching the young fans who watched him flip his bat and admire his triple as he jogged to first base? Tell me one thing that is good about that. What was Gomez teaching when he was swinging his helmet during the ensuing brawl?

[Fatt Crapps]

What was Gomez teaching the young fans who watched him flip his bat and admire his triple as he jogged to first base?

 

I don't think that's in his job description.

 

His job is to hustle, however. I'm sure he'll get an earful from the higher ups.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

You may be right about the job description not including being a good example for young fans. I wish it did. But the fact is that he is idolized by many young fans, emulated by some, and watched by thousands. Part of the reason he is paid so much money is because his skills attract fans...young and old. I realize our society has become more "in your face", but I, for one, don't like it.