Look at what happened to Z the otherday, or Mark Prior bowling over Giles, or Wang last year in Houston.

Pitchers are far too valuable these days to risk injuries at the plate or on the base paths. The DH has been an enormous success in the AL, and is partially what they are the superior league.

Is your clinging to the past so great that you prefer to see pitchers take softball swings? And then when they do get on base, they blow out their hammys b/c they cant run properly?

I dont get this attachment to pitchers hitting. I couldnt care less, just make the DH universal or get rid of it all together. Both leagues should be playing with the same set of rules. I happen to prefer a universal DH.

After all, isnt the NL and one of the Japanese leagues the only ones in the world still allowing pitchers to hit?

Pitchers hitting gives them a small bit of control over what kind of run support they get. With the DH, the pitcher has no control whatsoever on run support. Sadly, you only see pitchers hit in the National League and in minor league games played between two teams that are affiliated with National League teams. Pitchers should be athletes just as position players are.

The DH has ruined the AL. Pitchers should hit.

disagrees w/ you in his column today. Good work. You couldn’t have more suitable opposition to sway the balance of your debate.

The debate on Carlos Zambrano’s bunt continues on in today’s column Phil Rogers – On Baseball. Phil’s "home office of Common Sense Central" maintains that it is time for the National League to start using the Designated Hitter rule. He goes on to say that MLB needs a standard set of rules the same as the NFL, NBA, and NHL. He maintains that pitchers have no business swing the bat or running the bases. Every time a pitcher takes the field he is an accident waiting to happen and why would you increase the risk of injury by including the ones faced by hitters and base runners (did anyone question the use of fragile Rich Harden as a pinch runner for Zambrano)? Rogers also goes on to say that this is an age of specialization and Z is paid to pitch not hit.

Why not take specialization to its natural conclusion and have an offensive team of hitters only and a defensive team of pitchers and fielders? You would need to expand the rosters but the salaries would adjust to the skill sets of the players (like the NFL).

Why not allow free substitution like other sports (NFL, NBA, NHL)? It could put more strategy into the game if you could put in defensive specialist with men on base?

And is the AL really superior to the NL or is it just a phase??

he is advocating for a DH in the NL in today’s tribune here.

You write:

I for one prefer to see a pitcher dig into the box, and be a player. The pitcher is an
athlete and trains (or should train) to be a baseball player (hitting and pitching).

But then you write:

The pros of a DH do outweigh the cons, there is no doubt.

So are you saying that, subjectively, you think the NL should continue to reject the DH but, objectively, the AL has done the right thing by employing it?

is it tends to favor large market teams that can afford to pay a DH gobs of money on top of the gobs of money they have already spent on their pitching staff. The Yankees and Red Sox can afford to pay the likes of Ortiz and Matsui to DH, while still being able to afford the Beckets, Matsuzakas (sp?), Burnetts and Sabathias of the league and afford other hitters that just happen to be able to play defense. Small market teams clearly cannot do this.

Without the DH, it levels the playing field a little further. Teams don’t have to even think about shelling out money on a player that will strictly hit and help the team in no other way.

There have been pitchers like Brooks Kieschnick with the Texas Longhorns and Bobby Thigpen of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. who hit well and played other positions when they weren’t pitching. Generally speaking, pitchers don’t hit in college because of the DH.

In the Southern, Texas, and Pacific Coast Leagues, pitchers don’t bat unless there are 2 NL-affiliated teams playing against each other. Pitchers with the Iowa Cubs bat against NL-affiliated conference foes (Memphis, Nashville, Round Rock, Albuquerque, and Round Rock) but don’t bat against AL-affiliated conference foes (Oklahoma and Omaha). Even, starting pitchers with NL-affiliated teams don’t bat in certain games.

How can we expect pitchers to be even half-decent hitters at the major league level when their at-bats are either limited or nonexistent at lower levels?

…but I’ll ask it anyway: Have there been any studies showing a correlation between fewer (or less severe) injuries to pitchers and the use of the DH?

required on if/when to PH for the pitcher and that every player on the 25 man could get in the game on any given day.

I love the double switch and seeing it get goofed by the manager and having catchers in the outfield and pitchers at third base.

A pitcher who can hit should be more valuable than one who can’t.

I understand the fear that an ace get’s hurt and the contract is for $91M, etc.., but I just view that as a better argument for shorter contracts.

I also like efficient and fun games, stolen bases, bunting over base runners, etc. IMO, the DH encourages GM’s to fill the roster with station to station soft ball players and slows down the game. I was at a White Sox game last week and, it remineded me, the AL game can be boring. Most pitching changes take place between innings and bench players have time to nap.

VIVA EL NACIONAL LEAGUE

We were by the Cubs bullpen on Sunday. I thought Z looked slimmer than he has in a long time. He’s never going to be Twiggy but he’s not really bad.

The Cubs have had a history of good hitting pitchers. Fergie, Sutcliffe, Wood and Zambrano have been among the best. (remember Wood hitting the homerun on the first pitch he faced off the DL in 2000?).

Wood and Zambrano both had quite a few games in which they drove in as much or more than they gave up. I think they’ve both outhit or equally hit the opposition as well.

Let’s hope this comes into play in October in the world series. Two ways this could be.

If Z is starting.

Close game Lou might be able to keep Z in the game longer and not go to a PH because he can hit.

Close game

Bases loaded 2 outs pitcher comes up to bat.

Z is much more likely than an AL pitcher to get a hit.

Here’s another question:

If the Cubs were to make the series would you do the rotation to make sure Z starts at home even if normally he’d start on the road?

look at the 9 hitter in the average AL line up, and you will see they are not exactly hitting the cover off the ball. Does that change the view any?

Also regarding the offensive difference with the DH, last season (I heard on 670 The Score) the AL runs per game average was less than 1 run above the NL.

Here are the BA of the 9 hitter for 12 teams yesterday from the AL

160
167
200
211
216
219
234
235
236
262
283
298

Since this whole discussion revolves around a pitcher not doing what he was hired/trained to do: Does anyone question the use of fragile Rich Harden as a pinch runner for Zambrano?

Torre was incorrect. 1961 was Torre’s rookie year, and Warren Spahn was 40 years old that year. Spahn did PH once in 1961 — for pitcher Carlton Willey on August 27, 1961. He lined out. He pinch-hit three other times while he and Torre were teammates, all for pitchers; he made outs all three times.

Spahn was a decent hitter; in 1872 lifetime AB he hit .194 with 57 doubles and 35 home runs. He was 1-for-7 lifetime as a pinch-hitter.

As of today Carlos Zambrano is 2-for-17 lifetime as a PH, both singles, with 8 strikeouts.

and not one stating this should not have been posted. WOO HOO. its a new record

SARCASM!