Fox better quadruple check their routers because I will have a stroke if they have a snafu like TBS did on Saturday night.  I flipped away and then back to TBS like 6 times, but the Steve Harvey Show was stil on.  I checked on MLB.com and ESPN.com to see if the game was delayed for some reason, but it wasn’t.  It wasn’t until yesterday that I found out what had happened.  Now, if something were to happen to the audio I’d be fine, but I darn well better the video feed for every pitch.

I’m guessing a world series preview will be appearing shortly, so I’ll talk to you all again soon.

I believe that every player on every team in the league should be playing by the same rules, period.  Even if some rules are antiquated or just flat out idiotic, the playing field is level because everyone is playing by those rules.

Let me ask you, would it make sense to have a designated shooter in basketball?  What if we had Louis Williams playing only the offensive side of the court for Reggie Evans?  They could switch like a mini line change at halfcourt, Lou coming in on the offensive side and Reggie coming in on the defensive side.  Of course the designated shooter would be restricted to the western conference.  Eastern conference teams like us would only be able to use it when we played an away game against a western conference team.  This usage of the designated shooter would naturally be in place for the NBA finals as well.  Sure sounds great to me, how about you?  Do you see what I’m getting at?

Another thing that bothers me about the DH is that it is a one way position.  It’s all gain and no pain.  That is not the way sports should work.  The game should be played by who you have on the field (or on the court), IMO.  

To use my earlier example, in basketball guys have to play both ends of the floor.  If you want the scoring that Lou Williams brings, you have to give up the rebounding, defense, and physical play that comes with Reggie, and vice versa.  I think this forces guys to become more complete players, GM’s to place a higher value on other skills besides offense, and coaches to decide how much they are willing to sacrifice on one end in order to gain on the other.  I believe that all of these things make the game (baseball, basketball, whatever) better. 

In addition, I think that only having the DH in one league has led to an imbalance in the game.  For the mostpart, I see the 7-8-9 hitters in the AL as better than the 7-8-9 hitters in the NL.  As a result, AL pitchers become accustomed to working harder on a regular basis, with positive results for them.  (The most recent example of this would be Sabathia.  He was struggling a bit earlier this season in the AL but, once he was dealt to the Brewers, he left a trail of scorched earth in his wake throughout the NL.)  I think this is one reason for the continued run of success the AL has had against the NL in interleague play, the allstar game, and the world series.

Finally, not having the DH in the National league is also causing a distortion.  I am certain that a pitcher who spends his career in the NL will have better stats (WHIP, ERA, etc…) than an equal counterpart in the AL.  Think about how many fewer hits and walks an NL pitcher will surrender over his career due to facing opposing pitchers that hit, not to mention the weaker 7 and 8 hitters).  Also, think about how many extra strikeouts an NL pitcher can accumulate for the same reason.

I just think that everybody should be playing the same game with the same rules, regardless of where the games are being played.  For all the above reasons, I don’t see that being the case with MLB.  The way it stands now, I see the DH as an issue that needs to be resolved one way or the other for the sake of the game’s integrity.

You think that they are going to throw Moyer out there as a starter again.  I have a bad feeling that they will.  Look I appreciate the guy for what he has done for us the last couple of years, but he has really put us behind the eight ball with his performance this postseason.  I would rather see him in a Greg Maddux type long reliever role.

Anybody notice the guy behind home plate that had the Beat LA shirt on and that kept showing the Philly rally towel to the camera.  That was great

Just in case the official MLB rules are a bit too opaque, here are the DH rules from Wikipedia.

I actually enjoy the difference in the DH rule for the AL/NL.  It really gives a different type of ballgame to each league.  As we know, baseball is a chess match, strategically played by both managers in an effort to win each and every game.  These strategies are vastly different nowadays with this DH in place.  If the NL adopted the DH, we would have theoretically no difference in the way major league baseball is played.  I personally am a fan of the DH as it leads to more excitement in my mind, but I like the difference in the leagues even more.