Hearing Tom McCarthy and Sarge Matthews debate in the top of the 5th whether Jimmy Rollins, leadoff hitter and reigning NL MVP, should be given the green light to bunt with no one out, the 45-year old pitcher on first, and a man on second was enough to nearly make my TV commit seppoku. It was the 5th inning with the lineup turning over in a 1 run game against the worst team in baseball, possibly including Rookie and low-A ball. And you want to give up an out to maybe score one run. You're that scared of a double play ball? With a guy who has an OPS of 1.001 with runners on this season? Arrrrrgh.
Bunting still has it's place in baseball and in flag making. But there are too many situations where bunts are uncalled for and yet they end up being called for by the manager, fans, and announcers. Excessive bunting is a great strategy for teams that like to lose by one run. For more, here is an interesting blog post by Larry Dierker.
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