04/19/24
May 04, 2008
Stolen Bases Are On the Rise: With stolen bases rising for the third year in a row Ryan Fagan examines five up and coming baserunners.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia to baseball at 02:09 PM - 5 comments
The Sox had two double steals today, both featuring Ellsbury. Bizzarro Sox! Far cry from the manufacture-runs-by-walks-and-hits-and-none-of-those-pesky-steals team of '04 (that did, admittedly, have one of the most famous postseason steals ever in the ALCS.)
posted by tieguy at 09:59 PM on May 04, 2008
It's about time to see the AL playing small ball, too. Steals are an important part of the game, eliminating double play chances, entering scoring position, etc. All they need now is to can the DH and they will really be playing baseball again.
posted by RAZORDODGER at 08:35 PM on May 05, 2008
White Rat baseball is back.
posted by giveuptheghost at 08:41 PM on May 05, 2008
I have Bourne on one of my fantasy teams; the 13 SB is great, but the .202 BA kind of tempers my joy.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 06:11 PM on May 07, 2008
Having any of these guys in your lineup will put a lot of pressure upon the opponent's pitching and defense. A walk turns quickly into a runner on second. Then, depending on the situation, a manufactured run is likely. Having speed in front of power is a good thing too. Shifts against pull hitters can't be employed to the extent they usually are, and a 2-base advance on a "harmless" single is the norm. Speed kills.