Universal DH: BOO!

It’s time for the universal DH because..Pitchers seldom get more than 2 plate appearances per game..very few bunt or can bunt anymore..injury risk running bases…bigger pitching staffs=shorter benches,less flexibility for managers..nobody pays to see a double switch. It’s time.

— Howie Rose (@HowieRose) February 11, 2022

While waiting to see if the players and ownership agree on a labor deal in time, some news did come out.  Howie "Mr. Mets Radio" Rose is not the only one pushing for this.  We have Deesha Thosar (see link), the NY Daily News prime Mets reporter talking about how "Mets fans can breathe a sigh of relief if the universal DH does come to pass ahead of next season."

Seriously? I have been a Mets fan since the 1990s.  I have not until recently seen much concern about pitchers getting hurt hitting and running the bases.  The article blames deGrom's injury complaints to being a batter. Oh please.  Again, when was this an issue before recently?  AL pitchers have and had aches and pains too.  It's bullshit to focus on that.  

What other reasons?  People want more offense.  That was as I understand it a general reason for the DH along with giving older hitters (and at least in time, hitters in general) who can't do much else a role. Some are upset you have to deal with someone with lousy defensive skills in the field.  Specialization got to the point where you had a LOOGY (Left-handed One Out Guy) coming in for one batter.  Bullpen games are now much more common.

There is a cost to that.  The expansion of careers also make it harder for younger players to have a shot.  More offense skewers the game too.  Less strategy. The fact pitchers (and others) can't bunt was something that developed for a reason.  As to "no one wants to see that," well I and others DO want to see more strategy.  I like pitchers hitting.  It is also something that is taught.  If people harp about how stupid it all is, sure, people will learn to think it stupid.  It isn't inherently so. 

Longer games.  As one person noted to me on Twitter, MLB supposedly is worried about games being too long.  Pitchers hitting shorten games.  Later in games, it also to some degree (though these days AL teams do the same thing for match-ups) leads to more switches.  

A rule requiring (unless the inning ends first) a pitcher face three batters to some degree was put in place to address that.  And, before starters were pulled earlier and earlier, pinch hitters for pitchers (a matter of strategy, which I'm there fore) didn't happen much anyway.  It added but a nuanced piece to the wider game. 

As Daniel Gold, a journalist and Mets fan noted on the Rose thread:

For shame, Howie. Pure rationalization to justify something that doesn’t need doing. It’s not “time” - it’s just a damaging change. (And lengthens the game even as MLB wants to shorten it.) I get it, it’s happening: but we don’t have to applaud it.

Change happens and it's a mixed bag.  I don't mind replays though at times they take too long and try to do too much for what amounts to eyelash differences.  But, like having some oversight of elections, it goes too far in my mind not to have them at all.  If only we had a replay when that poor journeyman was denied a no-hitter because of a bad call on the 27th out.

I liked the Yankees during their Joe Torre run (I thought by the end, he overstaid a bit, probably) and some of the games were exciting because the started was there in the eighth or even ninth inning. The bullpen games of modern day playoffs where five innings often is a lot to me is a tad ridiculous. And, yes, this is subjective, part of it is that I find them boring.  

But, one more hitter out of nine?  Come on.  The Big V development of changing extra inning rules also was not something I liked. I like the idea of extra innings in general.  Extra baseball is fun. I thought the "ghost runner" idea in a way interesting.  But, the 10th is too soon.  I am also less upset about the seven inning double header.  Still 14 innings of baseball.

Various other rule changes also didn't raise much comment for me. The three batter rule for each relief pitcher is probably not a bad idea and again adds a bit of strategy.  It does hurt specialty pitchers and you are stuck with a pitcher with nothing for two more batters. That can bite you in the ass.  OTOH, why shouldn't a pitcher have to at least face three batters?

The idea we should change the shift is proposed by some since it I guess somehow interferes with offense.  Oh please.  The shift was a strategic development to deal with offense and the right response to me is to work around it.  A shift, like playing back, can result in an easy hit, if you hit to what they offer.  And, yes, it works on averages, so sometimes it doesn't work.  It's silly when some announcer notes they would have been out with normal positioning without noting that.  Sure.  And, often non-out.

One Mets announcer (not Rose) finds bunts moronic.  Maybe, I'm wrong, but seems bunts developed in baseball (not just by pitchers) for a reason.  Sometimes, given the situation, it is a sensible play.  Late in the game, or even early against a few pitchers, advancing runners is on an odds level the right move.  You can get a run on an out/error.  Or, maybe two runs on a cheap hit.  It works too based on the available hitting talent.

The article notes there is also some agreement regarding draft picks or whatever.  I don't know what that exactly is about, but one thing I hear talked about is concern about teams tanking.  I also heard talk of more playoff games.  I think that is bad.  It waters down the game. 

I'm fine with the current wild cards.  No, I don't think it somehow unfair that if you don't win your division that there is a one-off.  Why is incentives to win your division and not be lackluster (since a few extra wins do not matter much) a bad deal?  No system is perfect.  Sometimes, you have a very weak divisional winner.  A tweak might be warranted somehow without changing division play and fun one-off wild card systems. 

There was one rule change in a recent year involving use of position players to pitch. Basically, I don't think it did much, since you nearly never do that unless in a blowout situation.  I think when that happens, it is sorta fun. The game is a lost cause and it gives the bad luck team's fan something to smile about.  A few think that cheapens the game.  I find that silly.

If anything, I think such little quirks might be invited somehow.  The Pro Bowl had a few twists (I cited one in my summary; the link added more).  We can think of some here.  The "ghost runner," for instance, is a cute idea.  I think it should come later, but it's a cute idea.  A position player pitching or something else quirky can also come in somehow.

So, I'm okay with wild cards and instant replay (if not taken too far), but find DHs and bullpen games not so copacetic. And, yes, as seen in a recent piece, I'm supportive of not allowing steroids and being concerned about such things as discrimination and sexual abuse infecting the game.  

In the past, if such things were "off the field" particularly, we looked away.  Now, not so much.  The last barrier is sex discrimination on the field with NFL starting to have women officials.  Maybe, MLB will have a woman umpire one of these days.  Or, woman coach.  Gay players.  Change can be good.

ETA: I saw a local baseball broadcaster spell out a new agreed upon playoff format involving seven teams per league with a first round bye.  

As one person noted, delay is not necessarily a good thing here -- players need steady play to be fully into the groove.  Even now, teams that make it or advance quickly sometimes seem not quite up to speed at first.  The competing interest, of course, is needing to win less games.

I am not a fan of four wild card teams. Two does it for me -- not everyone does, but the one game playoff is in my opinion fun and exciting. Two wild card teams extends teams in it without watering down the competition too much. There is likely going to be one weak team in the mix, but that's okay.  

Now, there will be two more, with marginal teams just needing a run (or maybe a bad couple weeks) and they can get in.  I think we have enough playoff baseball as is and don't need even more. I am not sure if the one-off system will now end though people have whined how it is "unfair." If you want to avoid it, win your division! The wild card provides an extra way in.

I think the DH matters more to the game itself though watering down the playoffs is likely to do so as well.  But, I do not think this is a useful addition.  Let's see how they handle extra innings.