Your baby pitcher needs to grow up and learn how to do something as simple as running the bases without getting hurt. If you didn’t want him running the bases, tell him to strikeout.

There are several arguments here, but I personally prefer the NL style of play. Natually, my favorite team is an NL team, so I am a little biased. I like the strategy involved with the NL style, and I believe it rewards deeper teams, because NL teams have to have a strong bench (especially pinch-hitters) and a deep bullpen.

I think at least part of the reason that pitchers are injured often while hitting (especially AL ones) is a simple lack of practice. A lot of these guys were excellent hitters in HS/college, but when they get to the minors, they start getting treated with kid gloves because teams want to “protect their investment”. And I don’t blame them for that – if I were investing as much money as teams are on players currently, I too would want to take every precaution to see my that money didn’t go to waste.

Also, Hank Steinbrenner needs to STFU. Injuries are part of the game. He wouldn’t be crying as much if a position player suffered the same injury, or if Wang suffered the same injury fielding his position. It does make me wonder what Hank’s reaction would be if Wang was hit with the foot injury while jogging between starts…

I nearly posted this myself last night, because I was curious to see what other baseball aficionados thought about the DH.

First of all, Hank Steinbrenner is a Steinbrenner and they like to run their mouth. I suppose if you are a Yankees fan, you love this family because they are willing to spend unpujolsly amount of money on their team and are quick to point out when their investments are not performing to their standards. While I don’t like the Yankees, I also really couldn’t stand George and now I already have disdain for Hank.

My thoughts are that players should play the whole game. Nobody makes it to the majors just playing RF really well. Why should anybody just be able to hit? Well, I think it has less to do about protecting the pitchers as it does with people wanting to see a 10-9 Yankees-Red Sox score. Everybody loves offense, few people love good glove work (unless its a “Web Gem”) paired with a cannon for an arm. So I saw the AL can keep the Big Papis, the Giambis, the Big Hurts while the NL plays the game as it was designed.

Message to Hank: The DH rule was not adopted until 1973. Also, there’s no crying in baseball.

...I just read this comment over at Deadspin, so it’s funny that I come here and see someone else posted it before me. It sucks that Wang looks to be lost until September, but it’s completely his fault. If you don’t know how to run across home plate without being injured there is something wrong with you.

Hank’s an idiot and the fact that he is in charge of a team with as much tradition as the Yankees is really a slap in the face.

Does little Hankie need his pacifier? Just shut up and act like a grown man.

Watching the replay of Wang, he wasn’t running full steam or anything. Its a fluke injury! They happen. And not getting into the strategy of the NL’s DH-less game, but what does he want next? When Jeter has a sore hamstring, should he be allowed to put in a designated runner for him to keep him from having to run the bases and save him for defense and at bats? The DH was a stupid rule anyway, every other player is required to play defense and offense.

The DH sucks the life out of American League baseball. By the way, that article had one of the greatest quotes of all-time! Something about Mussina saying “Turning corners, you just don’t do that.”

I dont even need to talk about anything anymore – obviously someone crying about an injury SHOULD be in the AL. At one point my friends and I were calling the AL the XL, with reference to the XFL. I mean, as Braves fans, we all got intimate knowledge, but some Yankee fans that are “die hard” dont even get what baseball is all about. Manufacturing runs, bunting, pitcher ABs….. THATS what real baseball is.
This Frenchy stuff? Swing for the fences every time? That’s lame. That’s bush league. THAT’S the XL. THAT is the result of over syndicated SC and people literally watching to see the Top Ten and the nightly HR contest

run the bases. Chien Ming Wang is a baseball player, not only a pitcher. Baserunning is part of the game and has been forever. Everyone needs to know how to run the bases. Also its not baserunning that caused the injury, he could have done that covering first base or running to back up a throw. It wasn’t a play at the plate or a base that caused the injury, it was his lack of foot strength.

Every team in every league has a “kids run the bases” promo at least once a year. Maybe Wang can do a rehab assignment with them?

“Keep those pitchers away from my athletes”...pretty sure it was Whitey Herzog…but I can’t find a link to provide you

This is just a freak injury. How many times do pitchers round third base every day in NL games, or AL pitchers in interleague games for that matter? I’m pretty confident in the fact that if didn’t happen to not only a member of the Yankees staff, but their top starter, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion because it wouldn’t have been blown up into what it has become.

Look’s like Wang injured himself rounding a base, which can be done fairly easily if you underestimate the size and hardness of the base. Pitchers have 4 days off, so on just one of those days leading up to interleague play the coach should pull the pitcher aside and tell him how to round it properly and to take it easy when doing it. 15 minutes max.

the horn after the pitch?

oh, and why did we forget to swing starting about 2 weeks ago?

that pitchers are treated like glass. Whatever happened to those guys who would pitch 300 plus inning in a season. Oh, the good ole days.

Let the AL keep the DH, and keep the DH out of the NL.

I’d like to keep one of my chief reasons why the NL is superior to the AL.