All right, this is a SERIOUS question...

[Dave Newman]

While I used to dig it as a kid, I no longer enjoy watching baseball. I find it boring as hell.

My younger brother, on the other hand, is huge fan...he plays in a league, and watches a lot of pro games.

He says that I don't fully understand the game - and am therefore unable to appreciate it.

There's something that he's been unable to successfully explain to me...

This age-old tradition of "guarding the lines" in the late innings. I don't get it.

I understand sacrificing the play up the middle, in favor of preventing extra-base hits. What I don't understand is why the strategy would change, relative to the stage of the game.

To my way of thinking, the idea in the first inning is to score as many runs as you can, while preventing your opponent from doing the same. In the eighth inning, the goal is still to score as many runs as you can, while preventing your opponent from doing the same.

In what way does changing the defensive philosophy make sense?

Break this down for me.

(...I know my Bro will appreciate it, as it would keep me from busting his balls. About this, anyway.)

 

[BigMark]

It's a simple game. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball.


Buncha damn lollygaggers.

 

[BearBryant]

you guard the lines in the late innings of a close game, not neccesarilly the end of the game.

 

[Dave Newman]

...But why, Bear?

Not to be a smart-ass, but again - you want to score runs. You want to prevent your opponent from scoring runs. How/when/why does this change, and how come guarding the lines would do a better job at this at some points, but not all the time?

(LOL @ BigMark)

 

[UncFever]

Early in a game hitters tend to swing away more....as in a harder swing with less control of where you place the ball. Later in the game you have less opportunities to score runs so a hitter may be less inclined to take the big swings and go more for a base hit to score that one run to tie the game or take the lead. So late in the game you have to prevent the one run instead of many that may decide the game. A hit down the lines will score a run from second easily in most cases and if it ends up being a long single or double will score a runner from first. This could be just one of the strategies that could be thought of during late innings.

 

[Dave Newman]

Hmm...

Gotta think about this.

 

[mathmajors]

Guarding the lines is a conservative defense, much like the prevent in football. You want to prevent the big hit to the corners, where there is always the potential for losing time while the runner makes his way around the bases.

You don't guard the lines during the early stages of the game in order to play a more aggressive defense. You play defense to where the batter tends to hit.

 

[Savio]

BORING!

 

[mathmajors]

Originally posted by Savio
BORING!

Go back to Technology.

 

[Piper]

Look at it this way. A runner is on first. You have a 3-2 lead. A double may score that runner. A single won't.

You don’t much care about that one run early in the game, you’d rather take the percentage and get the out.