Random Thoughts

Why, why, why did somebody in Major League Baseball think it would be a good idea to have the Houston Astros move over to the American League? This is not only deeply offensive to those of us baseball fans who oppose the American League on principle; it is also deeply offensive because it makes no sense at all. 

The Milwaukee Brewers should have just been moved BACK to the American League, where they started. They were AL from their inception until the 1997 season. The Astros have been National since the beginning. 

But no. They have to go and RUIN the Astros. Ugh. 

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The officiating has been really bad, for the first time in my conscious memory. Missed calls on the bases, elastic strike zones, rules not enforced. Never in my life have I ever heard of the league fining officials for doing a bad job, yet that actually happened a couple of weeks ago. Shocking. 

Several times, during Diamondbacks games, my husband and I have suspected that the umps may actually be on the take, the calls were so outrageously wrong.

It's time for MLB to adopt instant replay, and even seriously consider the "Robo-Ump" option for the calls at the plate. 

Past time, actually. 

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Martin Prado seems to be coming out of his slump, and Miggy is showing signs of coming out of his! Yay! Gerardo Parra's assists are fantastic. In fact, the Diamondbacks' defense, in general, has been a thing of beauty to watch. 

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We finally got HD at home. The DirecTV guy was here at the house for FIVE HOURS. He had to install a new dish and two new receivers.  But the game in HD? A-w-e-s-o-m-e ! 

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I'm warming up to the new announcing team. Bob Brenly is really, really good. I enjoy his observations from a manager's point of view, which was expected; unexpected but equally insightful are his observations based on his experience as a major league catcher. I especially appreciate his distrust of umpires, his position on "robo-umps" for the calls at the plate, and his interactions with Steve. 

Steve seems to have toned down his silliness in the last few weeks, which is welcome. However, I am not all all happy that he continues to call Heath Bell "The Heath Bell Experience." Stupid and pretentious. Ugh. I could probably accept that if Bell were better, more reliable and more consistent. 

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On our bullpen and starting pitching: With JJ Putz out, we have to rely on Bell in save opportunities. Although he has improved in the past few outings, I do not trust him. I have also lost my trust in David Hernandez and Tony Sipp. Even Matt Reynolds let me down the other night. Ian Kennedy has been a disappointment this year, as has Wade Miley, who has been hot and cold. Pat Corbin has been incredible, which has been fantastic. Trevor Cahill? Who knows? 

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Does anybody doubt that Daniel Hudson, Willie Bloomquist and Adam Eaton are all on the trade block, once they return from their injuries? Aaron Hill, though, I don't think will be traded. I could be dead wrong, on all counts. But I don't think so. 

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And finally: I do not watch Sports Center. I do not participate in "fantasy league" games. Years ago, at the beginning of football season, we were waiting for a game to come on, and the men who do the pre-game show for either Fox or CBS (I forget which one) were on the TV, talking. I remember saying to my husband, "You know, I like football. It's a fun game. However, I do not like to listen to MEN TALKING about football. They are obnoxious, arrogant, know-it-alls who only want to be the Last Man Standing, always right in the their predictions, blah, blah, blah. It's like they think that if they are proven right, then everybody will know that they have the biggest d---, and are the manliest man; king of the hill. Yuck. Unbearable." Well, the same thing applies to any pre-game show in baseball. The during-game commentary is less obnoxious, and I do not mind it as much. At least, with really good announcing, the listener/watcher can learn something about the game.

But I just want any of my readers to know, if you care, that I don't watch those sports shows, nor do I listen to sports-talk radio (even worse), especially those shows that take calls from obnoxiously opinionated listeners. I only occasionally follow sports stories in the sports page of the Arizona Republic. This could make me outside the loop, not in-the-know, not up with the current trends or lines of conversation and controversy. I don't care. I'm OK with forming my own opinions.  

Till next time, Baseball fans! 

Not the Same Game

Sometimes, managers make decisions during a game that leave me scratching my head. I often forget about the whole right-handed/left-handed batter vs. left-handed/right-handed pitcher stuff. I just don't think about it. I do know that statistically, batters do better against a pitcher who uses the arm opposite of themselves. I've read that it's because the batter can see the ball better when it is not coming at him from the same side that is facing the pitcher.

So it's always a bit of a surprise when a manager substitutes for a hot-hitting batter when the opposing team changes pitchers. The Diamondbacks' manager, Kirk Gibson, did just this in a game against the Dodgers a few nights ago. It worked; the pinch hitter got a hit, we tied the game (or took the lead, I can't remember which), and when the defense came back out onto the field, all the players took their new positions, and the Skipper's brilliant foresight was revealed.

(I wish I could remember the exact details, but it all just vanished from my brain. My inability to keep all that in my brain only makes me admire the Skipper's mind even more.)  But what I do remember is that moment when I suddenly could see what Gibby had in his mind from the beginning: It was brilliant. He could see it in his mind from the dugout, during the game.  I couldn't see it until after it was done.

And here it is: If the Designated Hitter rule were used in the National League, none of that would have even been necessary. The DH would have just come up to bat, either gotten a hit or not, and the game would have continued. No shifting people around. So substitutions. No brilliant adjustments need be made by the Skipper. Ho-hum.

And this is the main reason I am opposed to the DH:  When the manager has to make substitutions, he has to know all his players, all the positions they can (or can't) play, which side of the plate they bat better in, whether they are better against right- or left-handed pitchers,  and if we do need them, can they play a position they may not be used to? He also has to know all the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing team's players, too. None of those considerations are necessary when all you have to do is send up your best hitter.

Besides, I think it's cheating. Here's why (and this involves another childhood story, so bear with me): When I was in junior high and high school,  in Houston, mixed intramural sports were huge, especially volleyball. One of the teams figured out that they could do this: At the start of a new "side," the front row of the serving team rotated players to the right. The player at net-right, though, would move back to the server position. The player at back-left, instead of moving up to the net, would "rotate out" (meaning leave the game), while the big, strong, tall guys (way better at the net than the skinny little girls) would "rotate in," at net-left. Their best players were substituting themselves in to play the net, crushing their spikes into the faces of the opposing team, which was playing by the rules. In other words, they had figured out a way to make sure that their best players always played the net. In other words, they were cheating.

Finally, one of the Phys Ed teachers caught on, and put a stop to it. The guys put up a fuss, but it was only a half-hearted fuss, because they knew damn  good and well that what they were doing was wrong. When you play volleyball, you play with 6 players. All 6 players play every position, from the beginning of the game to the end.

But, somehow, the Powers That Be in Major League Baseball have decided that substituting your best hitter in the place of your weakest  hitter is not, actually, breaking the rules. Apparently, in the American League, one set of 9 players can play defense, and a different set of 9 players can play offense. And that's just wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

But mainly, by removing the strategy from the game, the owners think they will get more people to ball park to spend their money, because people have shown that they will come out to the park to watch Casey at the Bat. And make no mistake about it: When the National League does finally give in, eventually, and adopt the Designated Hitter, it will be a decision that will be made purely for economic reasons. As the conventional wisdom has it, defense may win championships, but offense sells tickets.  And baseball is All About Making Money. It is a veritable Money Making Machine. The more fans come out to the park and spend their money, the happier the owners are.

So I suppose you could say that the point about the DH's being cheating is somewhat debatable (even though I don't think so). But this I know for sure, from watching (or trying to watch) American League games on TV: When you remove the need for any kind of strategy, what you remove is the mind.

And without the mind, what's the point of the game? Just to see who can muscle the ball out of the park more often? That is a game I have no interest in.

Play ball!

It seems to take April such a long time to get here! Spring Training does nothing to slake my thirst for the Real Thing, even though the Valley of the Sun is home to the Cactus League. There's just nothing like Opening Day!

So, there's a lot to talk about. The Diamondbacks made some pretty big moves during the off-season, most notably trading Chris Young and Justin Upton. I can't say that I was surprised. They were more valuable to us for what we could get for them in a trade than for what they were (not) contributing to the team. I think both Young and Upton are fine young men, and I wish them well. I was not sad to see them go, though.

I was more upset by the trades of Stephen Drew, before the season was over, and John MacDonald, during the off-season. I had a feeling they would trade Drew, once he returned from that terrible broken ankle during late 2011. It seemed to take way too long for him to get back to playing form. The longer they delayed his return to action, the more I suspected that the trade would happen. Johnny Mac, though, stepped in and did an admirable job at shortstop after Willie Bloomquist's back injury proved to be more stubborn than anyone expected. Mac made some dazzling plays at short. He was a trouper, and I was really sorry to read of his trade. Both men were professional, talented players. They will be missed.

So we have an all-new out-field, and a whole new left side of the infield. Although lots of in-the-know baseball people here in the Valley declared the trades that got us Prado and Pennington to be excellent moves,  I haven't made up my mind yet. I have to admit, though, Pennington was the hero in the first extra-inning game of the year (a marathon 5-hour, 32-minute win), and Prado has contributed some terrific offense. I guess I will eventually come down ont he side of "good trade."

I'm less impressed with our new announcing team. I like Bob Brenly. I've heard him before, during other games, and he is engaging and knowledgeable, and even funny, without being silly or stupid. That other guy--our play-by-play announcer that we stole from ESPN with the unpronounceable last name--well, I don't know yet. There have been some clever and funny moments over the first week of the season, but also some jokes that fell sort of flat. He seems to know what he's talking about, I guess.

But I have a bad taste in my mouth about the how the situation with Daron Sutton and Mark Grace played out last season. For the record, I loved our Sutton-Gracie team. They were often hilarious, but also extremely knowledgeable.  Sutton has a great voice for TV. Gracie is extremely charming, even though he messed up badly when he drove drunk.   I have no idea what Sutton did that was so terrible, other than simply refuse to obey his masters like a good little serf. At least, that was how it was portrayed in the Valley media outlets. I had often remarked to my husband and other interested parties that I thought they were the best announcing team in Major League Baseball, even before everything fell apart last year. I have and will continue to miss them.

I am planning future blogs on the Designated Hitter, on the Houston Astros defecting to the American League, on the progress of the Diamondbacks' season, and anything else that occurs to me that is baseball-related.  For now, let me just say that I am thrilled that Baseball is Back! Play ball!

 

Because it's not football

Chase Field, July 4, 2012

"Like watching paint dry." "Like watching grass grow." "Like watching glaciers move." And other similes of things that move really, really slowly, or not at all.  This is how most (normal) people see the game of baseball. It's also part of the litany of reasons I get from non-fans who feel compelled to explain to me why they do not, in fact, enjoy the game of baseball. It's too slow. It makes no sense. The rules are too complicated. Pitchers are easy outs (hence the evil Designated Hitter rule that separates the National and American Leagues). They often cite other reasons for disliking the sport that have to do with the business of baseball: the players make too much money; they cheat with steroids and pine-tarred and/or corked bats;  they are arrogant and entitled (a charge that could easily be levied against all professional athletes, not just baseball players). And on and on it goes. There's no shortage of the reasons for not liking the sport. 

It's also very clear to me, every fall, that football is the preferred American pastime. It gets a huge amount of media coverage, from the opening of training camp to the last snap of the season.  Even hapless, perennial losers get a huge amount of attention from sportscasters. I grew up in a town with consistent losers in both the Houston Astros and the Houston Oilers, until the 1980s when the Astros got Nolan Ryan, Craig Biggio, and Ken Caminetti, and the Oilers got Bum Phillips and Earl Campbell. Even then, with such enormously talented players, neither team could bring home a trophy, even though they taunted us by coming very close a couple of times. 

There's a lot of reasons for the preference for football.  I think tailgating is a huge one. People just love hanging out in the huge parking lots with their RVs and barbecues, drinking beer. Any excuse will do. Another one is that you don't have to be a scholar of the game to enjoy the game. It's a pretty simple game, after all. You get to watch hulking bruisers beat each other up over a small strip of real estate for an hour that takes 3 hours to play.  While execution is important, the strategy for winning stays the same from team to team.  You put together the two elements of a raucous party in the parking lot and cheering on gladiators in the coliseum, and you've got Romans who enjoy a good show, cheering a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down, as their whims and the amount of beer they've consumed dictate. Yeah, football is The Game. 

Meanwhile, across town, some pitcher is communicating his acceptance or rejection of a pitch from his catcher with barely perceptible head movements, while the batter is trying to remember what the sign for "bunt" is today. The runner on first is trying to read the pitcher's body language and ignore the first baseman whispering in his ear to run. The skipper is already thinking three batters ahead, and whom he will substitute in the pitcher's line-up slot, should he fail to get out of this jam with no runs scored against him. He's considering who is available in the bull-pen, who has closed out the game for the last three nights, who is good against the upcoming left-handers who can't lay off the down and away slider. He's thinking about whom to use as a pinch-hitter, and the likelihood of his getting on base, and if he does, should he bring in a pinch-runner to run for him?  The infield is ready, waiting on the balls of their feet; the outfield is also ready to run, either up or back or way over to the foul pole line, where a ball can get lost in the corner. All 10 players and all 4 umpires are running through the possible scenarios of where to play the ball with only one out, but the short stop, second baseman and first baseman are all anticipating the double-play grounder that will save their pitcher's bacon. Lots and lots of thinking going on here. 

And there you have it. If you do not see all that thinking going on on the field, then yeah, it just looks like a dull, slow, nothing-happening game; it's like watching paint dry.  Joe Garagiola, the Elder Statesman for the game of baseball who, at 84, still occasionally sits in the broadcast booth and chats with the play-by-play announcer at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, has famously declared (on more than one occasion) that "people do not come to the ball field to watch the manager think." Well, I have started this blog, in part, in order to disagree with you, Mr. Garagiola.  Watching the manager (as well as all the other players) think is the whole fun of it. It's why I watch. 

To come: How baseball gave me the best childhood in the world.