Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Here We Go Again

I understand that leagues need their stars and that injuries are bad for sports, but should freak accidents lead to absolute changes? It started when San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey got hurt in a freak accident and now the position of catcher hasn't been the same since. Now, St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright tore his achilles in another freak accident while hitting and now Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer proclaims that the National League should adopt the designated hitter so he wouldn't have to hit. Is watching pitchers hit boring? Sometimes, but there have been pitchers in the past that has made it entertaining since you know they worked on it. Apparently teams aren't emphasizing pitchers to work on their hitting. That may be fine and dandy in the American League, but if you're on a National League ball club that shouldn't be because a player is not going to have the preparation necessary and that's when the chances for injuries increases.

Call me old school, but the NL way of playing baseball has always been the more entertaining to me. Make these managers earn their million dollar contracts by making the right changes at the right times. The NL isn't as ready, set, go as the AL since managers really just have to set a lineup and worry about the bullpen. There's more to baseball than that and if the DH is adopted by the NL baseball will become a boring mess. The league is at an interesting intersection right now because the two things people complain about baseball is that there isn't enough action and that games take too long. If you have pitchers bat the game goes faster, but if you want more offense the DH should be implemented adding one more bat makes offense rise, but also makes the game last longer. As Madison Bumgarner mentioned "We’re not paid to steal bases and all that kind of stuff, but let’s be honest: How often do pitchers get hurt hitting?" Hopefully the league doesn't overreact by this freak accident and mess up the game I grew up loving with the pitcher in the 9 hole.

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