IceCold

That's 'cause the AL perverts the rules of baseball... In effect, they cheat.

leejo

Exactly!

Seriously, I like NL baseball better because having the pitcher bat sets up all sorts of situations and affects the way teams play for several batters prior to the pitcher's slot. It's just a lot more interesting and nuanced.

The AL just plops some aging slugger with bad knees in the 5 or 6 slot and lets them blast away.

Having said that, it would be nice for the sox to get the monkey off their backs. Maybe the cubs will win one soon and then we can all just die since the end will surely be near.

Pokerface

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Funny, but no. If pitchers could swing a bat like they do in Little League, then maybe the pitcher batting would be remotely interesting.

As it is, the "nuance" of trying to maneuver your lineup around a near-certain out is about as much fun to watch as a slow twisting of the private parts.

What happens between Little League and the Majors that makes pitchers suck at everything else? When you're 12, the best players on the team pitch, hit, and play half a dozen positions. Turn 20, and if you're pitching, it's like you forgot what the inside of a batter's box looks like.

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leejo

Well for one thing, the pitchers in the major leagues will make mere mortal batters look pretty stupid pretty often. Michael Jordan's struggles with those wicked triple A curve balls, e.g.

There's a lot more nuance in the NL style. Much more hit-and-run, suicide bunts, pitchers working around hitters, runners working to get into scoring position since 3 batters from now the pitcher's up, etc. etc. AL play is just much more akin to old-fashioned smash-nose football: 3 yards and a cloud of dust.

When's the last time you saw a double-switch in AL play? The pitcher batting has big implications in making changes, too: in the AL if the other side brings in a lefty with a man in scoring position, you bring in a lefty to pitch to him. In the NL you have to consider your batting order for the next couple of innings.

Some people like the homeruns, some people like watching pitching duels. I'm in the latter group. It's the thinking man's game.

_Ender_

I will agree with leejo on the fact that the AL seems to be more homerun hitting then the NL.. but thats because all the best players are on the AL because no body cares about the stupid NL.



<See got you. You thought I was going to out right agree with you, but HA! I slap you with an insult... too smooth I am.>

leejo

lol! Uh...ouch!

asch

While I prefer the NL and not having a DH, I do like how both leagues are different. The NL has to manufacture more runs than the AL does. It also makes substitutions more interesting when managers need to pull the double switch. I would think that managing an NL line-up is a bit more difficult than the AL.

I also think that having the two different styles along with the new rule for the All-Star game (winning team has world series home field advantage) was a great thing. It's possible this could bite the Cards in the arse.

_Ender_

Sox win, lead series 3 - 0

CingularDuality

Wouldn't it be ironic if the Cards came back from a 3 game deficit to win the World Series?

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_Ender_

I was thinking that same thing lol

asch

Talk about lightning striking twice.

Polska

**laughs at baseball**

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Turbinator

sox win the world series (now why on earth is it called world, when its USA only, heh) well and one canadian team (minus montreal which was sold)

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CingularDuality

Because there are no other teams in the world that could even begin to compete with MLB's playoff teams... They do it in the early spring, sometimes. MLB teams go to play against some of the Japan league teams. The Japanese get spanked... I don't think there are any other serious pro baseball leagues. It's not a very international sport, but it is growing. The Olympic Games showed us that...

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_Ender_

All in all, I am totally happy that the Red Sox finally won after years of getting close and coming up losers they came back from 3 - 0 against the Yankees to force and win a game 7 and then to sweep the Cards, the best team in baseball. I am however, disappoint with the World Series. Again this year, the Word Series to me was the Yankees vs the Red Sox with the real World Series being an after thought. I am greatful we won, but the Cards could of put up some type of fight. They seemed to of given up at the end of game 2.

On a personal note: I really wished my grandparents were around to witness this. They were both hardcore Red Sox fans and never gave up on them. They watched every single game, from the pre-season to the end of the season. I remember my grandparents telling me every year "This is our year.", only to be disappointed, but they always kept the faith - always believing that the Sox could win. Sadly they never actually got to see the Red Sox raise to greatness, to be the team that they knew they could be. My grandmother died in '99. My grandfather died last year. I miss them both, and I just wished they were here to witness this. They finally got their wish..