REDS APRIL GAMES THREAD

[kevin]

(04-02-2022, 12:03 AM)guyofthetiger Wrote: The Reds should try more bunting this year. With the defensive shift, the whole side of the field is baren. I keep wondering why not take the bunt for a hit?

That is a solid point. Why do they not bunt or hit towards 3rd base when everybody is from 2nd to 1st in a shift ?  I think the answer is that these million dollar players do not know how.  Most pro baseball players can not bunt.  They do not know how to hold the bat level or how to move up and down to the pitch.  These so called athletes don't put any practice time into bunting.  Really, neither do most American grade school or high school teams.  At the end of batting practice, the coach may say to lay one down.  The coach does not show how to do it because the coach does not know.  Bunting as Ty Cobb or Rod Carew or Ken Griffey Sr is a lost art form.  They really should practice bunting as much as a basketball player should practice free throws.  Many hours should be put into bunting and free throws until you can do it in your sleep, like a machine. 

So the reason they do not Hit Them Where They Ain't is because they spend all their batting practice time swinging for home runs. It would be like a golfer never working with his irons or chipping wedge or putter, and only smashing balls with his drivers. 

Asking a pro baseball player to bunt is like asking them to pick up a violin and play when they have never practiced on one.  They don't practice bunting, even in Spring Training.  So to ask them to bunt in a game usually just results in the batter looking foolish at it and it becomes a wasted At Bat.  

So why do they not bunt against the shift ?  ANSWER : They do not know how.  They never practice bunting.  Most pro ball players couldn't lay down a bunt if they stood at the plate for hours. 

MLB is trying to outlaw the shift, and the pitcher on a time clock will cut down on players looking at their shift cards after each pitch. I think we will see a return to more basic defenses as MLB tries to speed up the game and get back to 2 or 3 hour games and eliminate 4 to 5 hour games of players standing around looking at their back pocket shift cards. They are boring the Fans to death with these 4 to 5 hour games.  MLB is going to Speed The Game Up.  The Pitch Time Clock will speed things up.