Quote:
Originally Posted by Mavericks Ace
Well later game strategy lol.
Pinch hitting, double switching, that kind of thing.
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It's completely, completely overblown how much "strategy" is involved in an NL game.
It's just another common baseball talking point that broadcast guys can't stay away from but that really doesn't track on the field.
The decisions are really rather elementary.
If your pitcher is hitting before the 7th inning and is pitching well, you're not removing him. Period.
If your pitcher is hitting before the 7th inning and starting to struggle, you're not leaving him in (and in fact, some NL managers will leave their starter TOO LONG because the guy is due up in the next inning and they don't want to burn a reliever. Stupid strategy is still stupid and not fun to watch).
If it's the late innings, you pinch hit for your pitcher. If you have a strong defender you want to rotate in (like, say, Jarrod Dyson) you use the double switch. If you just want to avoid having a pitcher "hit" you just use a straight PH.
NL fans act like there is some secret code to the NL style of baseball sometimes. There's not. Anyone who has played past Little League, has half a brain, and is capable of paying attention can handle the strategery (used on purpose) of the NL game.