Clay Dreslough
07-10-2002, 11:54 AM
Everyone in baseball seems to agree that Joe Torre, Bob Brenly, and Bud Selig did exactly the right thing last night by ending the game after 11 innings. That all pitchers were used up, and that it was a "no-win" situation.
I beg to differ. In the top of the 9th inning I was already thinking (and talking out loud to my wife) about what they would do if the game went into extra innings and they ran out of pitchers.
The first thing that came to mind, and something the rulers of MLB seem to have missed, is to bring in the position players to pitch.
Most of these guys probably pitched in high school, and I bet a few even pitched in college or the minors. I'm sure Nomar or any other infielder could go out there and throw some 60-MPH batting practice fastballs for a few innings without hurting their arm.
The only reason a meeting would be needed would just be to decide at which point BOTH teams would put the infielders on the mound and perhaps open the floodgate of hits. However, hitting a baseball is pretty tough -- as shown by the home run derby where the pitcher is TRYING to throw meatballs. In other words, each team probably would have scored a few runs in the 12th inning hitting BP fastballs, and the game would have ended with a winner.
What amazes me most is that in addition to making the horrible decision to end the game in a tie -- they also bumbled all over themselves making the decision. They stopped the game in the 11th inning to decide what to do. As if it didn't occur to anyone ahead of time that the game would go into extra innings. The fact that they didn't plan ahead is perhaps the biggest sign of incompetence here. It's like going on a long trip without checking the gas tank.
MLB has really shot themselves in the foot with this one. And I fear it's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how incompetently baseball is being run. Oh well.
Clay
I beg to differ. In the top of the 9th inning I was already thinking (and talking out loud to my wife) about what they would do if the game went into extra innings and they ran out of pitchers.
The first thing that came to mind, and something the rulers of MLB seem to have missed, is to bring in the position players to pitch.
Most of these guys probably pitched in high school, and I bet a few even pitched in college or the minors. I'm sure Nomar or any other infielder could go out there and throw some 60-MPH batting practice fastballs for a few innings without hurting their arm.
The only reason a meeting would be needed would just be to decide at which point BOTH teams would put the infielders on the mound and perhaps open the floodgate of hits. However, hitting a baseball is pretty tough -- as shown by the home run derby where the pitcher is TRYING to throw meatballs. In other words, each team probably would have scored a few runs in the 12th inning hitting BP fastballs, and the game would have ended with a winner.
What amazes me most is that in addition to making the horrible decision to end the game in a tie -- they also bumbled all over themselves making the decision. They stopped the game in the 11th inning to decide what to do. As if it didn't occur to anyone ahead of time that the game would go into extra innings. The fact that they didn't plan ahead is perhaps the biggest sign of incompetence here. It's like going on a long trip without checking the gas tank.
MLB has really shot themselves in the foot with this one. And I fear it's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how incompetently baseball is being run. Oh well.
Clay