Game Thread Twins vs Red Socks 12:10pm cdt 4/15/2021 ad

[sampleSizeOfOne]

 

A bit of interesting trivia: Ms Keller is the scout who recommended the Twins sign Tsuyoshi Nishioka.

One can only go up from Ms. Keller jokes...

 

(with the possible exception of dead baby jokes)

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I have come to despise the shift. It's just one small aspect that makes baseball less fun to watch than it was in the past.

I like it. It's simply a natural strategy to play where they are most likely to hit the ball.

 

It's not the shift's fault that batters care more about loading up their swings than beating the shift. If you want to see batters try to beat the shift more often, you could do something to limit the velocity/break of pitches and/or deaden the ball. Complaining about the shift itself seems mis-placed.

[Cap'n Piranha]

 

my opinion, and people are going to hate it, but all games should be 7 innings long. could shave 45 minutes to an hour off of each game

 

I don't hate it.  I also think there's something to going to 3 balls and 2 strikes, or saying that 3 balls hit foul is an out.  The latter would cap plate appearances at 8 pitches.  I also think you make a rule that batters are not allowed to leave the batter's box once they step in to stare the PA, and pitchers are allowed to make a pitch any time a batter is in the box.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

my opinion, and people are going to hate it, but all games should be 7 innings long. could shave 45 minutes to an hour off of each game

Then you just get seven innings of boring. It doesn't fix the inherent problem with today's game, and that's the removal of most of the exciting action in the game.

[jkcarew]

 

I like it. It's simply a natural strategy to play where they are most likely to hit the ball.

 

It's not the shift's fault that batters care more about loading up their swings than beating the shift. If you want to see batters try to beat the shift more often, you could do something to limit the velocity/break of pitches and/or deaden the ball. Complaining about the shift itself seems mis-placed.

Yes. The batters can put an end to the shifts any time they want. For the most part they refuse. Don’t reward that by incenting even more pulling of every pitch in every count, against every pitcher and in every game situation.

[LVTwinsfan]

Bremer: "Arraez makes a diving catch!"

 

Diving is a very charitable description of what Luis did just now.

I was thinking the same thing

[MNT1996]

Riddle now hitting .200. He'll fit in just fine

[Aggies7]

 

Then you just get seven innings of boring. It doesn't fix the inherent problem with today's game, and that's the removal of most of the exciting action in the game.

i'd take 2 hours of that over 3.5 hours of slugfests that will undoubtedly occur if you move the mound back even one foot. and honestly shaving two innings off every game makes each inning matter even more and introduces strategy earlier in the game

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I like it. It's simply a natural strategy to play where they are most likely to hit the ball.

 

It's not the shift's fault that batters care more about loading up their swings than beating the shift. If you want to see batters try to beat the shift more often, you could do something to limit the velocity/break of pitches and/or deaden the ball. Complaining about the shift itself seems mis-placed.

I complain about the shift only in the context of other issues and also acknowledge it's a small aspect of the movement that has sucked life out of the game.

 

There's simply no reason to keep the shift, really. I used to like it but as it became deployed so often, I realized "but it doesn't have to be this way and there's really nothing interesting or good about it". The NFL and NBA change rules all the time to promote action, there's no reason baseball can't do the same and it's a really small change. Just keep two infielders on each side of second base and each outfielder in one of three zones. It'd hardly be noticeable on a play-by-play basis but once or twice a game, would at least entertain the crowd with a more exciting defensive play/miss.

 

Hitters aren't going to change so choose to change around them in the interest of the spectator, the people who make the game possible.

[ScrapTheNickname]

 

Then you just get seven innings of boring. It doesn't fix the inherent problem with today's game, and that's the removal of most of the exciting action in the game.

It's my feeling that all the major American sports have gotten stilted with age. As basketball players have grown exponentially the court and ball have remained the same size. Same with football. Baseball was once THE sport, now it is A sport. Our sports are tired. Our nation, once great at innovation, is tired. We were once a nation of players and doers, now we're a nation of watchers and typists (as I watch and type this).

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Yes. The batters can put an end to the shifts any time they want. For the most part they refuse. Don’t reward that by inventing even more pulling of every pitch in every count, against every pitcher and in every game situation.

To be fair to batters, facing modern pitcher velocity/spin/break, it's probably the optimal strategy to load up their swings for power rather than to trying to beat the shift (or more generally avoid striking out).

 

But like you say, limiting the shift does nothing to help that situation.

[USAFChief]

 

my opinion, and people are going to hate it, but all games should be 7 innings long. could shave 45 minutes to an hour off of each game

You're exactly correct.

 

I hate it.

[TouchEmAllGuy]

Pineda baby!!

[LVTwinsfan]

Great job by Big Mike

[MMMordabito]

Let him keep going, Baldelli!  He has a chance for Maddux.

[MNT1996]

 

Pineda baby!!

 

That's one big baby

[USAFChief]

I send him out for the 8th.

 

[Aggies7]

 

You're exactly correct.

 

I hate it.

lol it's no more ridiculous than some of the other stuff they've done. the runner at 2nd in the extra innings is an abomination. they're testing bigger bases in AAA. pitch clocks already exist. relievers having to face a minimum number of batters is another absurdity. if it's a "stats wont match" thing, think about how moving the mound would affect statistics

[bighat]

Need 2 more runs for this lead to feel safe with this 'pen. I'm guessing Duffey will be first out of the gate?

[IndianaTwin]

 

my opinion, and people are going to hate it, but all games should be 7 innings long. could shave 45 minutes to an hour off of each game

 

Don't like this idea. 

 

Though if they'd like to invoke this rule for the rest of today, I'd be fine with that. 

 

[mrtwinsfan]

gotta give pineada the 8th, 

[Brock Beauchamp]

lol it's no more ridiculous than some of the other stuff they've done. the runner at 2nd in the extra innings is an abomination. they're testing bigger bases in AAA. pitch clocks already exist. relievers having to face a minimum number of batters is another absurdity. if it's a "stats wont match" thing, think about how moving the mound would affect statistics

They lowered the mound and it’s hard to argue that was anything but a resounding success.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Shift to me is like hack-a-Shaq. It won't be employed any more when it proves ineffective.

[Aggies7]

 

They lowered the mound and it’s hard to argue that was anything but a resounding success.

for batters, yes. ask any pitcher and having a uniform mound height is much preferable to pushing it back a foot

[bighat]

 

 

lol it's no more ridiculous than some of the other stuff they've done. the runner at 2nd in the extra innings is an abomination.

It's probably the most damaging rule to enter the game of baseball in the history of the sport IMO. It's absolutely changed the game for the worse, and if it stays it's a tragedy.

[jkcarew]

 

To be fair to batters, facing modern pitcher velocity/spin/break, it's probably the optimal strategy to load up their swings for power rather than to trying to beat the shift (or more generally avoid striking out).

It’s smart until it isn’t...at some point OBP goes low enough and K’s go high enough to make beating the shift the better play. And almost every game has at least a PA or two where it still is the better play. And agreed, eliminating shift will get you more K’s not less...and at the benefit of a small number of singles. 

[LVTwinsfan]

my opinion, and people are going to hate it, but all games should be 7 innings long. could shave 45 minutes to an hour off of each game

and all football games should be 3 quarters and hockey games 2 periods, church should only be 1/2 hour and nobody should live past 60

[Aggies7]

 

It's probably the most damaging rule to enter the game of baseball in the history of the sport IMO. It's absolutely changed the game for the worse, and if it stays it's a tragedy.

i'm fine with it if it starts in maybe the 12th or 13th inning. but starting it in the tenth is like a shootout in soccer after 100 minutes of game play

[Aggies7]

 

and all football games should be 3 quarters and hockey games 2 periods, church should only be 1/2 hour and nobody should live past 60

lol football is fine the way it is because of how much action there is. don't watch hockey so I can't comment on that. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Shift to me is like hack-a-Shaq. It won't be employed any more when it proves ineffective.

Except that data continues to reinforce the idea that hitting into a shift is still more productive than trying to hit away from it. So the likely outcome is that we continue to see the same style of baseball, which isn't great to watch*.

 

*the shift is only a small part of this issue but one that's very easily corrected, IMO, because there's nothing inherently interesting or fun about the shift from a spectator perspective while no one says "I wish there were fewer line drives"