data.3news-bydate.test.rec.sport.baseball.104929 Maven / Gradle / Ivy
From: [email protected] (Roger Lustig)
Subject: Re: Braves Pitching UpdateDIR
Originator: news@nimaster
Nntp-Posting-Host: crux.princeton.edu
Reply-To: [email protected] (Roger Lustig)
Organization: Princeton University
Lines: 23
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] writes:
>> Not clear to me at all. I'd certainly rather have a team who was winning
>> 4-1 games than 2-1 games. In the 2-1 game, luck is going to play a much
>> bigger role than in the 4-1 game.
>But you still need the pitching staff to hold the opposing team to
>one run.
Not if you've scored four runs, you don't! Why strain even the best pitching
staff? Why not make it easier for them?
In the 2-1 game, the best pitching staff in the world can't compensate
for a blown call, a bad hop, a gust of wind. Winning close is the
wrong way to win; both keeping opposing runs down AND scoring a lot
yourself are insurance against the "Shit happens" aspect of baseball.
Not every great teamhas even *good* pitching. The Big Red Machine of
the 70's was league-average in pitching. But somehow, Rose-Morgan-Bench-
Perez-etc. managed to win 100 games more than once, peaking at 108.
Roger