Well, BC867, I know you are a proponent of older baseball strategy, as am I somewhat.
You obviously follow the team a whole lot closer than I do and know the team and players well. Who would you bat in the 7th and 8th spots?
Ah, thanks gimpy for the straight line.
I would definitely bat Ahmed 7th (especially with his emergence as a solid hitter),
then a speedster to hit 8th in front of the pitcher who, if he were on 1B, would be
trying to bunt him to 2B.
It would be old school as you mentioned. Modern strategy didn't seem to prove
successful for the D-backs these past two seasons.
Late in the game, perhaps as Steve and BB were getting as giddy as the rest of
us who stayed 'til the end, they were VERY outspoken about the D-backs need
to try to manufacture runs and the evils of "lift" -- strikeouts and popups with
runners on base.
They, too, are old school. Eventually, hopefully, the mentality of MLB will evolve
back to strategy. There are two stumbling blocks, however.
The Players Union, where home runs mean more than victories and the Designated
Hitter, where everyone is a hitter.
On that second point, there is no chance that the DH will be eliminated, so I have
become an advocate of it being adopted by the National League, just to become
competitive with the American League.
