You hear this primarily from the good folks on SNY every night, but also on YES, and even right here in our own private Idaho.
First, statistically, it is NOT better to walk Judge in any and all instances. I believe that the stats boys figured this out in Barry Bonds' Year of the Jolly Joy Juice.
Sorry, but you can't run with the Sabremetricians in the morning, and tell me that they're all wet at night. If
Second, let us remember, please, that baseball is, after all, an entertainment.
It's one thing for teams such as the D-Rays and the BJs to walk Judge when they're trying to win games that could determine who takes the division, or who gets home field in the playoffs.
It's another thing when the Yankees are playing teams such as the Red Sox who have, once again, control-burned much of their season so they can rebuild.
If I'm a Sox fan (awful shudder up the spine), paying even more extortionate prices than at Yankee Stadium, to watch a bunch of guys bungle through the motions, I do NOT want to see anybody strolling to first base. I want to see my guys pitch to Aaron Judge.
Sure, I want them to strike him out so I can scream oddly accented invective at the big bum all the way back to the dugout. "Yah, yah, who's YER Daddy now, you wicked sizah!" But I DON'T want to see him just walked.
The inability of these professional cynics to ever put themselves in the place of the regular fan makes me want to foam at the mouth (even more than I do now).
Yes, it's an ENTERTAINMENT. We want to be ENTERTAINED, by amazing athletic feats.
Do these blowhards go to the movies hoping that the director didn't go all out, so he can save some great shots for his upcoming, magnum opus? Do they finish books in disgust, wailing, "Oh, man, I couldn't put that down! Now what'll I do for the rest of the day?"
It's pretty simple, guys. People want to see the elephant. That's why they go to the circus.
I've been saying the same thing lately. Why do all of our announcers want to promote the idea of walking the big guy? Are they crazy? No, you're not showing your tremendous baseball acumen, not even you, Mr. Sterling.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree. Judge makes an out 70 percent of his official at bats. Of the remaining 30 percent, a relatively small minority are home runs.
Why NOT pitch to him? The odds are far and away in your favor. Though depending on the situation, there will be times it makes sense to walk him. Otherwise, try to get the guy out. You'll very likely succeed.
QUESTION:
ReplyDeleteWhy will this elephant leave the Bronx Circus?
ANSWER:
Because he will no longer want to work for peanuts!
(Sword dripping with blood, bodies strewn everywhere), Baboonius Maximus Decimus Meridius, Yankee General, bellows: Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained?
ReplyDeleteSorry, Hoss, couldn't resist, LOL!
Love it, Hammer!
ReplyDeleteLots of great phrases in this piece, Hoss. Especially like the Knights of the Keyboard! Never heard that before. In a way, I suppose we're all Knights of the Keyboard too! Only we don't get paid for our chivalric heroics. Too bad!
ReplyDeleteI never really got why the term "wicked" is so popular in New England and Boston. Is it some kind of etymological remnant of the Salem witch trials?
Oh, what exactly is a "sizah" by the way?