Frankel

[plasticman]

I gotta be honest HP, as a paying customer who attends MLB games live and watches many on TV, i\'d prefer to see a \'real\' player swing the bat rather than some pitcher make an out on purpose by not really swinging.

Maybe its just me, but i\'d prefer the player with the bat in his hand to actually swing it hard and try and do some damage.

[plasticman]

I can\'t imagine there\'s a player who could play in today\'s game who could party as hard as Ruth did and still be a top player. I\'m not sure Ruth ever exercised, he seemed \'overweight\', he was always seen with a girl, a cigar and probably had a very poor diet not to mention all the booze.

[HP]

You\'re not alone.  Enjoy!  I prefer baseball to \"hittingtheball\" or its cousin \"Ineedtoseelotsofhomerunsball.\"  \"Ineedtoseelotsofhomerunsball\" led us to the greatest modern innovation, \"whoistakingsteroidstohit70homerunsball.\"  The DH started baseball on this path and its ruined a perfectly great game.  You can have it.  

I saw a doubleheader at Shea once.  Mets won both games 1-0.  First game Seaver homered for the win, second game Cardwell.  May have been the other way around.  Seeing a pitcher get a big hit is a real treat, but I guess you would rather watch some old guy who can\'t play the field or run get up there every few innings and sit back down.  My dad and I got to Shea for 1PM start and we were home in Brooklyn by 5:30.  Four hours and every pitch counted.  That\'s BASEBALL my friend.  

HP

[plasticman]

HP, i dont mind if the pitcher actually tries to hit, but 90% of the time, the pitcher is bunting. While you may think that\'s \'real baseball\' i think its nonsense that a pitcher would be up there to bunt because he\'s got very little talent as a hitter.

[TGJB]

About half the strategic questions in the game surround that one way or the other, and some of us like that.

[BB]

\"About half the strategic questions in the game surround that one way or the other, and some of us like that.\"

Dead on, JB.

What used to kill me about the whole \"NL vs AL\" thing (I\'ve always been more of an AL guy) was that - while I always agreed the the DH was an abomination - I always hated that the NL was so dominated by artificial turf teams (this is the 70s and 80s I\'m referencing). I always thought that crap changed the game as much, if not more, than the DH ever did. I hated how it turned the game into a chop-fest/track-meet and cheated lots of great hitters out of well-struck hits.

And now? Now, it\'s the NL that doesn\'t have any parks that Dick Allen wouldn\'t want to play in (for you young \'uns, Google \"if a cow can\'t eat it\"). If I had the time and inclination to be a big baseball fan again, I\'d follow the senior circuit.

[HP]

GREAT point on artificial turf.  Awful stuff.  HP

[plasticman]

And some of us don\'t like it. HP suggests that he likes \'real baseball\' i dont consider an incompetent hitting pitcher bunting a runner from first to 2nd with one man already out (for example) as \'real baseball\'.

If you guys want the pitchers to bat, i could accept it if they were actually up there to bat. All they\'re up there to do most times is make an out on purpose when there are runners on base.

Now, if the leadoff man in the inning gets on first or 2nd and the pitcher is the 2nd hitter, i can totally accept the pitcher bunting the runner over, its a perfectly acceptable strategic move. But, i\'ve seen situations where the pitcher is at bat with one man already out and he\'s STILL bunting. To me, that\'s a bunch of baloney.

Some of you guys like to see \'strategy\', i\'d prefer to see a big lumberjack DH swinging the bat and trying to do some damage, especially if i paid money to get into the ballpark.

[sekrah]

plasticman,

There are plenty of big guys today who aren\'t in top shape.  Baseball has never been a sport where you needed to be in 100% fit condition.   Cecil Fielder was a truck and hit over 300 home runs.  Prince is even bigger than his dad, and although he\'s cut his weight a little in the past couple years, he was pushing 300 there a while ago and still cranking them out.  Adam Dunn, another overweight guy who can\'t run a lick, but can crush home runs.

CC Sabathia is obese.   Ruth was also obese, but he still threw as hard as anyone back then.  They said he threw as hard as Walter Johnson (low-mid 90s).   MLB players are not all the best athletes in the world.  Far from it.  It\'s much more of a skill game than other sports like basketball or football that rely more on athletic ability.

[RICH]

Plus travel must have been tough on all those trains

[magicnight]

Miff - Here\'s a story about the splits from Frankel\'s romp at Ascot.

http://www.anddownthestretchtheycome.com/2012/6/27/3120822/2012-royal-ascot-review-frankel-black-caviar

[plasticman]

Great post Sek.

There are so many reasons to think that players other than the top stars of yesteryear would have no shot to even make it to the show. Sure, the Ruths and Dimaggios might make the bigs, but many of their competition were not major league talent by today\'s standards.

[richiebee]

... I forgot: Was this string originally about the horse or the trainer?

Any good racing anywhere this weekend? Churchill going to twilight cards for
last 3 days due to blast furnace weather?

[Silver Charm]

Ritchie two for the price of one with Stakes races tomorrow at CD, Bel, Mth and Betfair.....Not bad so get all the work done and settle in around 4ish and enjoy till bedtime.

[belmont3]

Ruth was also a great pitcher.

Whitey Ford broke Ruth\'s record for consecutive World Series scoreless innings.

Whose record did Ruth break?

Why, none other than the Big Six who hailed from Factoryville, Pa: Christy Mathewson.