2011-2012 Offseason Thread

[BSN07]

I think he has to be traded before the CY part kicks in' date=' so your vote only matters if the Sox trade him away. So it's someone else's problem if it happens.[/quote']

 

I believe this is true. It's ok a700, you can remove the tinfoil hat now

[a700hitter]

I believe this is true. It's ok a700' date=' you can remove the tinfoil hat now [/quote']You should read Madden's bio on Steinbrenner. He did some pretty underhanded things.

[jung]

Geez as the last gasp of the off season with ST games right around the corner, the MLB soap opera has been heating up so much the league might have a hard time making games interesting to casual fans.

 

Now the collector in the HGH overturn has commented about what he did or did not do.

 

Tito commented on what V did. V commented on what Tito said. Then Tito backs off of it today (probably a mistake for a guy with a media job). Maddon let us know what the Rays were not.

 

V starts digging at the Yanks while commenting on Tek's retirement.

 

Reality TV has got nothin' on MLB. Come to think of it maybe there is a TV show in this for Uncle Bud.

[Elktonnick]

Geez as the last gasp of the off season with ST games right around the corner, the MLB soap opera has been heating up so much the league might have a hard time making games interesting to casual fans.

 

Now the collector in the HGH overturn has commented about what he did or did not do.

 

Tito commented on what V did. V commented on what Tito said. Then Tito backs off of it today (probably a mistake for a guy with a media job). Maddon let us know what the Rays were not.

 

V starts digging at the Yanks while commenting on Tek's retirement.

 

Reality TV has got nothin' on MLB. Come to think of it maybe there is a TV show in this for Uncle Bud.

 

To me that is the beauty of baseball. It is a mirror image more than any other sport of our society and culture. Every great social and cultural event in our society over the past hundred and twenty years is reflected in MLB. That's why it is the greatest game.

[seabeachfred]

Batters who have stances that require added and extreme movements almost always have to make adjustments as they age. Yaz and Tony Perez both lowered their hands when they grew older. Bret Boone and others also made adjustments with positive results. Hopefully Crawford can adjust and improve.

 

Ted Williams said hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in an sport---and I totally agree with him. If that's the case, why do batters make it more difficult on themselves with some of the wierdest stances imaginable---like Crawford and Youkilis. Those two will have to adjust as their bat speed slows down with age. I coached for over 30 years and got some insights from men like Joe Gordon (AL MVP, 1942), Sparky Anderson, Ben Hines and o thers. They tried to make a difficult task easier by making it simpler. Moderate stance, maybe slightly closed, elbows and shoulders level, slight bending at the waist toward the plate because that's where your body is heading towards the ball (Ted Williams, Life, 1956). The top of the bat is t ilted towards one or two O'clock in what is called the launch position---Babe Ruth Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente to name a few. Then down and through with a quick swing and finishing high. Mays and Ruth had a slight uppercut swing, the ot her three actually hit down on the ball which is what I taught.

 

You're not going to make a good hitter out of a bad one but you can improve a weak hitter to a point with some good mechanics, something Youkilis along with Crawford are going to have to adjust to as their bat speed slows down with age.

[jung]

Well Crawford seems to have gone from very complicated even painful looking to much simpler presuming that new stance of his is slightly closed. What he had seemed really odd to me cause his upper body was square or as close to square as he could get under the circumstances and his lower body was way open. He was twisted at the hips and waist in order to pull that off.

 

Hope this works much better for him. Still waiting for media to ask him about the new stance. God forbid they actually ask a baseball question for a change.

[Bellhorn04]

Well Crawford seems to have gone from very complicated even painful looking to much simpler presuming that new stance of his is slightly closed. What he had seemed really odd to me cause his upper body was square or as close to square as he could get under the circumstances and his lower body was way open. He was twisted at the hips and waist in order to pull that off.

 

Hope this works much better for him. Still waiting for media to ask him about the new stance. God forbid they actually ask a baseball question for a change.

 

Cafardo has a pretty interesting piece this morning about some of the changes Valentine is instituting in the spring training programs.

[SoxSport]

Cafardo has a pretty interesting piece this morning about some of the changes Valentine is instituting in the spring training programs.

 

Cafardo's header on page 1 of the story reads "Valentine has his critics". But when you click on the story, the title reads "Why aren't these fans in Valentine's camp?"

 

Completely different headers, which tells you which side Joe Sullivan, the Sports Editor, is on.

 

Cafardo says Valentine is running a very creative, fundamentals oriented camp so far, and that criticisms of Bobby are mindless. He also implies it's a breath of fresh air compared to previous camps. Something a lot of people suspected, based on the poor starts and fundamentals of the Red Sox the last couple years.

 

Cafardo seems to be locking heads with his boss on this Bobby vs Tito thing. He'll be OK, since he appears to have an "in" with Bobby and LL. Not being Irish may help.

[SoxSport]

Ted Williams said hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in an sport---and I totally agree with him. .

 

As somebody who has played the game, I'm not sure I agree with Ted on this one.

There are other sports I found more difficult than baseball. The key is to start young. I was playing ball when I was 6-7 years old. Pedey is my hero. I'm the same size as him, played the same position, always was leadoff batter. The only difference is I have more hair plus he is about 100 times better than I was.

[SoxSport]

You should read Madden's bio on Steinbrenner. He did some pretty underhanded things.

 

Steinbrenner had a dominant personality--to put it mildly. He was a dictator. Obsessed with winning. Horse racing and baseball. Spent his father's money lavishly. He was also paranoid, and had some shadey dealings following people.

 

But he had a good side, too. He gave millions to MIT--just a stone's throw across the Charles River from Fenway. His father was an all-American track star at MIT--Olympian, I think--and George funded the Steinbrenner Stadium there named for his father.

[User Name]

As somebody who has played the game, I'm not sure I agree with Ted on this one.

There are other sports I found more difficult than baseball. The key is to start young. I was playing ball when I was 6-7 years old. Pedey is my hero. I'm the same size as him, played the same position, always was leadoff batter. The only difference is I have more hair plus he is about 100 times better than I was.

 

There is scientific proof supporting the fact that hitting (baseball or hard-pitch softball) is the most difficult activity an athlete can perform.

 

Apparently Teddy Ballgame wasn't just a better baseball player than you, but also a bit smarter.

[jacksonianmarch]

UN is right. Hitting a 90 mph fastball square is the hardest thing to do in all of sports

[VA Sox Fan]

UN is right. Hitting a 90 mph fastball square is the hardest thing to do in all of sports

 

I thought that was common knowledge. :dunno:

[a700hitter]

UN is right. Hitting a 90 mph fastball square is the hardest thing to do in all of sports

No one seemed to have a problem hitting Lackey. Players were claiming over each other to take dome swings at him.

[Bellhorn04]

UN is right. Hitting a 90 mph fastball square is the hardest thing to do in all of sports

 

Unfortunately statements like that are just waiting to get picked apart. I might be able to hit a 90 MPH fastball once out of 50 swings. But I could probably never kick a 40-yard field goal.

 

I'm not trying to be a smartass but like I say statements like that can usually be picked apart.

[User Name]

A facepalm smiley is very much needed here.

 

http://e.deviantart.net/emoticons/f/facepalm.gif

[jacksonianmarch]

Unfortunately statements like that are just waiting to get picked apart. I might be able to hit a 90 MPH fastball once out of 50 swings. But I could probably never kick a 40-yard field goal.

 

I'm not trying to be a smartass but like I say statements like that can usually be picked apart.

 

It's the act of squaring up a cylindrical bat that is 2 3/4 inches in diameter with a spherical ball maybe 4 inches in diameter that is moving 90mph is the most difficult thing to do.

[User Name]

It's the act of squaring up a cylindrical bat that is 2 3/4 inches in diameter with a spherical ball maybe 4 inches in diameter that is moving 90mph is the most difficult thing to do.

 

But hey, people hit Lackey so it's easy.

[VA Sox Fan]

A facepalm smiley is very much needed here.

 

http://e.deviantart.net/emoticons/f/facepalm.gif

 

No doubt about that!

[SoxSport]

UN is right. Hitting a 90 mph fastball square is the hardest thing to do in all of sports

 

 

Here's the trick: start when you're 7 years old, using a thin broomstick as a bat and a tennis sized pimple ball. Fast pitch against the wall of building, with the strike zone chalked out.

Switching to a baseball diamond when you're 8-9 with a thicker bat and a bigger baseball is easier. And softball is a piece of cake. Like hitting a grapefruit.That's how a lot of major leaguers did it.

 

I don't disagree hitting a 90 mph fastball is tough. But it can be timed, as long as it doesn't move. Some players find a curve harder to hit--or anything that changes speed.

[User Name]

What?

[a700hitter]

UN is right. Hitting a 90 mph fastball square is the hardest thing to do in all of sports

Teddy Ballgame started with this, but he was a bit of a blowhard. He was the greatest hitter that ever lived, but who is to say what is the hardest thing to do in sports.

[User Name]

Every scientific study ever done regarding the subject?

 

0.5 seconds reaction time for a 90 MPH fastball, and the difficulty of actually squaring up the ball even if you react.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ten-hardest-splash.htm

 

There's a lot of evidence regarding the subject here.

 

Also, i can see our good friend here actually has something in common with The Splinter.

[a700hitter]

Here's the trick: start when you're 7 years old, using a thin broomstick as a bat and a tennis sized pimple ball. Fast pitch against the wall of building, with the strike zone chalked out.

Switching to a baseball diamond when you're 8-9 with a thicker bat and a bigger baseball is easier. And softball is a piece of cake. Like hitting a grapefruit.That's how a lot of major leaguers did it.

 

I don't disagree hitting a 90 mph fastball is tough. But it can be timed, as long as it doesn't move. Some players find a curve harder to hit--or anything that changes speed.

I'll take my chances in making contact with a 90 MPH fastball as opposed to returning a 115 mph serve with all kinds of spin and english. First you have to chase the damn thing. Unlike a baseball which has to be thrown over a 17 inch plate, you have to run after the serve and get your feet in position to swing at the ball. Then you have to hit over the net and within lines. I don't have to direct the baseball. I don't think I could ever return a Samparas serve. That takes a tremendous amount of refined skill. Who knows which is harder.

[VA Sox Fan]

Every scientific study ever done regarding the subject?

 

0.5 seconds reaction time for a 90 MPH fastball, and the difficulty of actually squaring up the ball even if you react.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ten-hardest-splash.htm

 

There's a lot of evidence regarding the subject here.

 

Also, i can see our good friend here actually has something in common with The Splinter.

 

Science? bah!

[VA Sox Fan]

I'll take my chances in making contact with a 90 MPH fastball as opposed to returning a 115 mph serve with all kinds of spin and english. First you have to chase the damn thing. Unlike a baseball which has to be thrown over a 17 inch plate' date=' you have to run after the serve and get your feet in position to swing at the ball. Then you have to hit over the net and within lines. I don't have to direct the baseball. I don't think I could ever return a Samparas serve. That takes a tremendous amount of refined skill. Who knows which is harder.[/quote']

 

Returning a serve is #5 on the list.

[User Name]

Returning a serve is #5 on the list.

 

In the poll they ran, several tennis players (including Andy Roddick) identified hitting in baseball as the most difficult activity.

[VA Sox Fan]

In the poll they ran' date=' several tennis players (including Andy Roddick) identified hitting in baseball as the most difficult activity.[/quote']

 

That makes sense...because it the most difficult. And Roddick doesn't win much but his serves are insane.

[a700hitter]

Returning a serve is #5 on the list.

Isn't it just a poll?

[Dojji]

Isn't it just a poll?

 

It's a poll of people who have some idea what they're talking about.

 

Of the things a player needs to be able to do consistently in order to be adequate at their profession, hitting a baseball is right up there in difficulty, since coordination is much harder and pitchers are much more able to impact the event.

 

I could see returning a 100 MPH serve being right up there with it, but you have a much wider surface to make contact with and I believe you actually have more time to respond. Also the serve is hit and not thrown, so the server has less control over the release than the pitcher does.