Allan Jenoff was seen kissing Large Marge and telling us:
 AJ> I think I was talking about Molitor.  The fact that you can come up
 AJ> with a counter example doesn't prove much.
Really? IF there was no DH, Molitor would still be getting time, just as
Andre Dawson, Pete Rose, etc. got later in their career. It probably extended 
his career but no more so than Pete Rose moving to 1st.
 AJ> fact is a player gets moved to the DH spot because he can't help his
 AJ> team defensively.  In the NL, they don't have that luxury.
Yes, they do -- it's called 1st base.
 AJ> Sorry, have the Yankees designated Fielder as their starting 1st
 AJ> baseman?
Puhleeze. You and I both know that he was the starting 1st baseman with
Detroit.
 AJ> best 1st baseman on 1st and his worst defensive player at DH.
Baloney. Chicago puts its worst defensive player at 1st base.
 AJ> Your point?  They get shifted from harder to easier positions.  Not
 AJ> from easier to harder positions.
YOU SAID "If he could play a defensive position, he'd be there already. And
if he were capable fo playing in the NL, he'd be there."
That's NOT about shifting from easier to harder (Unless you have a different
way of interpreting that than I do). The NL moves its players away from
harder positions to keep them around. When they become too much of a
liability, they limit their time on the field or they try like hell to switch 
him to an even easier position.
 AJ> relegated to DH to a defensive position unless you have absolutely no
 AJ> choice.
Oakland would love to put Mark McGwire at DH. NOT because he's a defensive
liability but because they'd like to give him one less opportunity to be
injured. Berrora saw 91 games at DH BUT he also played 17 in left and 54 in
right. The DH gives the manager options unrelated to defensive ability. Earl
Weaver saw that and he used the DH like a finely tuned instrument and for his 
genius, all that it got was whines from managers who didn't understand the
rules and changes to counteract Earl. If you look up the rules for the DH,
you will find NOTHING that says that the player has to be old or unable to
play defense. That some managers choose to do that is their fault.
 AJ> You know, DH of the future Joe Carter had those kind of numbers for a
 AJ> big chunk of this season.  No one sat him down.
You know, Allan, 1st BASEMAN of the future, Joe Carter, was going to come out 
of his slump.
 AJ> we place on his offense.  A mediocre 1st baseman will get a lot of
 AJ> offensive advice, little defensive advice.  A mediocre pitcher will
 AJ> get a lot of defensive advice, not much offensive advice.
Now, who is making excuses. Do you think that Baltimore would put up with Cal 
Ripken hitting like Alexander? Do you think that they'd even think about
keeping him in the lineup as a SS if he wasn't a good enough hitter?
 AJ> Pitchers can hit.  No one cares if they do or don't.
If they didn't then the AL wouldn't have adopted the DH.
--- TrekEd 1.00
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