The Bench Jockeys » yankees http://thebenchjockeys.com Inspired Content, Buzzworthy Discussion and Critical Analysis at the Intersection of Sports & Politics Wed, 05 Dec 2018 21:19:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.29 Age Old Debates – Chapter 1: The DH http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/05/16/age-old-debates-chapter-1-the-dh/ http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/05/16/age-old-debates-chapter-1-the-dh/#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 23:44:41 +0000 http://thebenchjockeys.com/?p=691 Watching Jorge Posada struggle to hit my weight (when I went off to college) I began pondering the age old (ok, actually since 1973) debate of whether or not there should be a Designated Hitter in baseball.  The theory being that it is more exciting to watch a professional hitter bat rather than a pitcher attempt to hit.  (However, Jorge may be letting the air out of this argument.)  With the implementation of the DH Rule in the American League, older positional players who would normally have been put out to pasture when their fielding skills diminished, could extend their careers while keeping their accountants happy.  But should some new blood have a chance?   Clearly more strategy is involved in  the National League, with the old double switch, the timing of pitching changes and the lost art of bunting, but who wants to see a pitcher take three straight strikes without even twitching at a pitch?  And there is nothing worse than watching a pitcher get hurt while attempting to add to the offense.  Just ask Chien-Ming Wang.

On the flip side, I think all Presidents could use a DH.  While those who sit in the Oval Office think they can do everything (the obvious character flaw in politicians being oversized EGOs) who wouldn’t need a little help in running the country?  Watching President Obama’s lack of business sense filter through the economy, it seems we would be better served if a professional businessperson came in and pinch hit.  President George W. Bush needed a designated speaker so he would never have had to open his mouth in public and record an error.  The DH concept could trickle down right into our homes.  What parent wouldn’t want a professional nanny to come in and discipline their kids when mom and dad were too gassed to continue the inning?  Wouldn’t most families love to have a designated kitchen cleaner for mop-up duties?

The first DH in baseball was Ron Bloomberg.  My favorite was Edgar Martinez, who spent his entire career with the Seattle Mariners.  As a baseball purist, I would dump the DH.  But in today’s ADHD society, the average  fan’s desire to see home runs, and the constant barrage of Top 10 highlights on every sports channel, it’s hard to see it going anywhere.

]]> http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/05/16/age-old-debates-chapter-1-the-dh/feed/ 0 Are the Phillies the Yanks of the NL? http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/04/12/are-the-phillies-the-yanks-of-the-nl/ http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/04/12/are-the-phillies-the-yanks-of-the-nl/#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:07:10 +0000 http://thebenchjockeys.com/?p=475 I have to come clean; I was one of the MANY Phillies phans that enjoyed smack talking my opponents in the off-season.  Generally, I try not to jinx my team or make predictions before the season starts, but with the starting rotation the Phillies put together for 2011 (Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hamels) I couldn’t help myself.  I got caught up in the wave of excitement, and yes, I may have said, on more than one occasion, that I would be surprised if the Phillies don’t win 4 out of every 5 games this season.  But here’s the thing… I never claimed we were going to win the World Series (out loud).  And I never said we were going to CRUSH everyone that got in our way.  So why is it that I have to keep defending the Phillies against this:  
 
“They are buying the World Series just like the Yankees! The Phillies are the Yankees of the NL!”
Really? Cause I’m pretty sure we haven’t won the World Series since 2008. And it’s not for lack of trying.  But if we really were the Yankees of the National League, we would have won more than one World Series in the last 25 years.  The Yankees have won (gulp) 27 World Series Championships; the Phillies have won all of TWO.    After many years of being the worst team in baseball or a fluke wild card winner, the Phillies phaithful are enjoying the expectation of success.  Sure Halladay and Lee are freakishly good, but Houston gave up on the injury-plagued Roy Oswalt, And Cole Hamels is homegrown. 
Overall… everything is cyclical: politics, baseball, health trends, peace/conflict…The Yankees win.. the Red Sox lose … the Braves win… the Pirates lose… the Rays win… the Dodgers lose… the Phillies win.. the Phillies lose… No matter how much money a team spends – which is another topic entirely – there are no guarantees in life or baseball.  So stop calling us the Yankees of the National League.  One year we try to secure a solid rotation and suddenly we are equated with the Evil Empire. I am crying Phoul. 
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