This comes from Barry Svrluga as he discusses how the designated hitter rule changes the way manager use personnel:
Expect the game Tuesday – and, if necessary, Wednesday – to be decided by exactly the players Maddon and Francona want to use, when they want to use them.
This is the argument both for and against the designated hitter, going back to Bill James in his Abstracts in the 1980s. James argued that the DH did not reduce strategy, that decisions forced on a manager due to the pitcher batting were not strategic. Strategy involves choices, and pinch hitting for a pitcher, or bunting with the pitcher are mostly the only choice.
On the other hand, forcing the manager to think ahead may be good. It’s not strategy, however, it’s personnel management. It’s putting managers in difficult situations and seeing how they come through. I see the value in both arguments, which is why I’m more on the fence about the DH than most. I would not mind seeing a rule for or against standardized, and I really don’t care that much which way it goes.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2f5hMl1
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