but what I do like to see is a situational approach. Say 2nd and 3rd, 2 outs, or with 2 strikes, shortenting up the swing and driving a single the other way (remember that, DW?) to get the runs in, instead of continuing to swing from the heels hoping for a HR.

anyway, i would argue that most everyday baseball fans like smallball just as much. of course the crowd goes nuts when somebody belts a homerun or a double, as they logically should. but journalists and broadcasters have it in everyone’s head that you win because you do the ‘little things’. even when someone hits a three run homer, you always hear analysis about the double steal beforehand.

for the sake of this conversation i’ll concede that bunts, steals, sacrifices have their place. but as a general strategy you should never give away outs and plays like the hit-and-run and steals aren’t worth the risk. the whole concept of putting pressure on the defense is highly overvalued.

as far as the main point of this, your post doesn’t refute anything i said. you win games because you pitch and/or score runs and the best way to score runs has been and will always be getting on base and hitting for power. if you can manufacture one to tie it in the ninth, great. my complaint is people think this is incredibly valuable. it’s a very small piece of the puzzle, and i feel the mets overuse these strategies.

Are home runs a grand thing? Yes sir. Can every guy hit them, as often as he would like to? No. Especially not anymore. Can players’ efforts be derailed by trying too hard at the slugging, when they could be doing productive things that they’re more likely to get done? Might the excessive appreciation of the general populace for the slugging, and the lack of appreciation of the smaller ball, contribute to players possibly failing to direct their efforts in the direction that best suits their abilities?

The rest is for the birds, or people who take Joe Morgan seriously.

i love homeruns. not just in a caveman OOH OOH look how far ball go! way. i love it because runs are awesome, and getting some without making any outs is way better.

mets fans, even matt, just blow my mind. you guys seriously think the mets are winning because of jerry’s smallball? willie did the same nonsense. maybe not as many hit and runs but he certainly loved bunting and stealing at least as much.
how about, since jerry took over, the starting pitching has been great? delgado and tatis have been destroying the ball? wright and reyes are continuing their great years? production from murphy and evans? easley and endy finally coming around? dead weight like castillo and marlon have been off the roster for a while? no? just the hitting and running? great.

if you made a pie chart of reasons the mets have been winning the last two months, ‘jerry’s smallball’ would be the size of the ‘registered nazis’ portion of a ‘population of america by political affiliation’ chart.

Don’t take this personally, but I think the kind of baseball a person likes is a direct indicator of intelligence, at least baseball intelligence. The people who only know how to appreciate the slugging, over the intricacies of everything that goes into getting runs in, are just a little limited. ;)

Hit and run requires you to pretty much swing at whatever pitch is thrown. Wouldn’t call that plate selection.

/hates smallball