Zero bunts this year with a dreadful O? how many tight games ?

[Gorman19]

Fans can ***** about Yelich, etc yet when your skipper manages like its 2018/19 vs now? It's obvious he has not adjusted to the reality of his 2020 O lineup.

 

Last night was just icing on the cake as a triple A player at best, late in the game, sings from his heels with helmet falling off twice down 3-0 in 7th. I thought the pitcher would have a hernia from laughing as he threw him the same pitch three straight times(2 were balls),

 

Ummmm, You need to figure out a way to get on base vs worrying about your launch angle or barreling it up! duh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

It's not solely CC's fault Yelich and the O sucked, however, it is apparent he's too damn stubborn to even attempt to play small ball ONCE in a while(I know, like Paul Chryst in Madison) it's a Wisconsin mortal sin to criticize a home grown manager/coach so before you rebut, check your bias at the door

 

0-2 sacrifice bunts this year? really?

 

I love the excuse, "players cant bunt anymore", Hmm, I have a possible solution........... vs admiring your launch angles in BP as you play home run derby, lay down 3-4 a night and PRACTICE IT(or are the inmates running the proverbial asylum like in the NBA?)

[homer]

welcome to the board

[Vgmastr]

[TURBO]

Nothing wrong with a vent thread... We all feel it.

[adambr2]

This team had a historically bad batting average. Doesn't do much good to successfully bunt runners into scoring position if you can't cash them in.

 

I think the reason the offense sucked has probably a lot to do with having 9 guys who hit pretty lousy and nothing to do with not giving away enough outs.

[MrTPlush]

welcome to the board

 

This is the only proper answer.

[JohnBriggs12]

If you have guys in your lineup for defense only, and are basically automatic outs against top of the line pitching, bunting seems to me like a reasonable strategy. Counsell had 57 career sacrifice bunts, and was on two World Series champions. I know the game has changed but it's not changed for the better.

[wildcat83]

 

 

Everything you need to know about bunting.

[wildcat83]

My serious answer is bunting does no good if the guy behind the bunter doesn’t get the run in. The Brewers were terrible getting runs in from 3rd with less than two outs.

 

You said yourself it was a terrible offense, why would you want to give away outs?

[pacopete4]

No matter what data can be shoved out showing that bunting is a poor strategy, the older generation will always feel that they would've won more games or scored more runs if they bunted more.

[dlk9s]

Damn, Gorman19 just kicking the Brewerfan door in, coming in like a hurricane.

[djoctagone]

with no brewers pitchers at the plate in 2020 (who are most likely to attempt bunting), you can understand why it became an even further lost art.

 

a successful (or failed) bunt by a pitcher gives the guys something to talk about and analyze in the dugout, and that can carry over to the other eight guys in the lineup.

[TURBO]

It would be nice if hitters could bunt away from the shift. You would think that with the amount of shifts being employed, some guys would work on the skill for free base hits and to raise the average...

 

Chicks dig the long ball though!

 

[ThisIsMyCrew]

No matter what data can be shoved out showing that bunting is a poor strategy, the older generation will always feel that they would've won more games or scored more runs if they bunted more.

 

I’m 28 and feel the same way as original poster on bunting. More than that though, the entertainment value as a whole has gone down for me. Sure on the pitching end strikeouts are fun. And offensively home runs are fun.

 

But the pitch to pitch, at bat to at bat, there isn’t much excitement for me. Knowing there is a low probability that any given pitch is put in play.

 

100% get the analytics part of it. But from a entertainment side, I’d rather more small ball. More activity. Stolen bases. Bunts. Hit and runs. Less strikeouts. Much easier said than done when guys are throwing 95+ all the time. Just my thoughts on it.

[homer]

bunting for a hit against the shift is one thing and I can get on board with that. bunting to move a runner to second is another thing and I am not on board with that.

[Underachiever]

It's really hard to bunt a 95+ mph pitch. Having said that, baseball in 2020 is really challenging my fandom. 4+ hours of Three True Outcome baseball is not fun.

[pacopete4]

Yes, I do believe that bunting against a shift has some merit to it but the moving of runners just doesn't add up. The statistics do not back it up to warrant it. As for more balls in play, I don't a bunt is exciting at all. More balls in play would be great and maybe backing up the mound a tad would allow more balls to get put into play.

[TURBO]

I wonder if backing up the mound would have a negative effect on injuries?

 

Since these guys have been pitching from the same distance for so long, I just wonder if adding another 6 inches or a foot would be an issue on the injury front.

[homer]

Also this:

 

Major League wall distances from home plate for the 1910's-20's:

Left Field Line: 345

Left Center: 401

Center Field: 453

Right Center: 371

Right Field Line: 318

[ctmyers]

My serious answer is bunting does no good if the guy behind the bunter doesn’t get the run in. The Brewers were terrible getting runs in from 3rd with less than two outs.

 

You said yourself it was a terrible offense, why would you want to give away outs?

 

I think the sentiment is that the guy batting is probably a terrible hitter anyways, so if the guy gets a hit, it's a minor miracle. If you can get a guy in scoring position, where it takes only one minor miracle instead of two, why not try it?

[owbc]

I think there's a lot of truth to this post. The analytics argument for not bunting is already becoming outdated. Pitching strategy and defensive shifts operate under the assumption that bunting isn't going to happen. The statistics were not calculated on 2020 numbers where offense is down considerably. It's no longer 2019 when every other pitch was a home run. It seems like managers have become slaves to the spreadsheets and the result was several teams with .215 batting averages getting shut out in playoff games or even a whole series in the case of the Reds. How is 36 strikeouts better than a failed sac bunt? I saw both the Brewers and Reds try and play for 2-3 run innings when they needed 1 run.

 

There was a complete lack of situational awareness--a night game in late September in LA against Kershaw--you might get one or two balls the whole game with an exit velocity over 100, and even with the right launch angle it might die in the cool, stable air and be another out. When you can only hit singles and doubles moving baserunners becomes incredibly valuable. And hopefully someone in MLB eventually realizes that. But more likely Manfred will juice the ball again and we'll go back to 2019 home run rates.

 

I also don't buy the argument about not being able to bunt 95 mph pitches. MLB pitchers historically were able to sacrifice with 50% success. Maybe it's 40% with 100 mph pitches with movement?

 

If I had to change one rule, I would make it easier to leg out infield singles and steal bases by making the bases bigger. It's not my idea but I think it's a good one. I like the idea of making steals easier because it will punish pitchers for BBs and make them more likely to throw juicy pitches to hit on 3-ball counts.

[jerichoholicninja]

"So you'd rather lose your way than win the old way?"

Alex Rodriguez when talking about bunting during one of the games.

 

I'm only posting it because it's stupid quote and I feel it fits in with the general direction of the thread.

[MrTPlush]

If I had to change one rule, I would make it easier to leg out infield singles and steal bases by making the bases bigger. It's not my idea but I think it's a good one. I like the idea of making steals easier because it will punish pitchers for BBs and make them more likely to throw juicy pitches to hit on 3-ball counts.

 

Pitchers are already punished for walks and they already throw juicy 3-0 pitches?

 

And how big are you making the bases that it would make any real difference.

[owbc]

If I had to change one rule, I would make it easier to leg out infield singles and steal bases by making the bases bigger. It's not my idea but I think it's a good one. I like the idea of making steals easier because it will punish pitchers for BBs and make them more likely to throw juicy pitches to hit on 3-ball counts.

 

Pitchers are already punished for walks and they already throw juicy 3-0 pitches?

 

If you walk two guys and have runners on first and second, the current strategy in MLB is entirely 3TO-based. Hitters want a 3-run HR and pitchers want a strikeout. Most of the time (at least when the Brewers were hitting) the pitcher got the strikeouts and a runner never even touched 3rd base.

 

Edit: the Atlantic league increased the base size by 3 inches, so not much. I haven't seen any stats on what difference it made.

[ctmyers]

"So you'd rather lose your way than win the old way?"

Alex Rodriguez when talking about bunting during one of the games.

 

I'm only posting it because it's stupid quote and I feel it fits in with the general direction of the thread.

 

Well, it's only stupid in that success can't be defined that simply. What seems to be more prevailing nowadays is that you can't win the old way, which is completely untrue. And the take that because A-rod didn't bunt much in his career, it should be an indictment on his philosophy, is also silly. He was paid to drive in the runs. Other guys with markedly lower skill sets should have been used in a way where they maximized Rodriguez's strengths. The same could be said about the Brewers.