Quote:
Originally Posted by panerd
Yeah isn't he a part of the "bat the pitcher 8th" group? Used to bug me about LaRussa (along with using pitchers for one out like L/R matters against a .230 hitter) but unfortunately the Cardinals were good enough that he could claim the pitcher 8th strategy worked. I think Joe Madden uses it as well. Why not just lead off with the pitcher?
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The idea is that your 1-4 hitters are going to be much more talented than your 6-8 place hitters, so you want to maximize the number of opportunities your best hitters have to come to the plate with runners on base. Statistically speaking, it's actually a sound strategy.
Edit: Some
not-quite-scientific analysis.