OT: Scherzer near perfect

I still cheer for the guy 

heck of a way to give it up though.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/nationals--max-scherzer-comes-one-strike-away-from-a-perfect-game-223140043.html

As a former pitcher (who hit more than my fair share of batters) I oppose the rules as they are now.  If you obviously lean into a pitch AND get hit in your protective geear it should be a strike, not a free base.  That would bring judgement calls back to the game though.  

What's your opinion 'shoes?

TheNewBlueOrder wrote:

As a former pitcher (who hit more than my fair share of batters) I oppose the rules as they are now.  If you obviously lean into a pitch AND get hit in your protective geear it should be a strike, not a free base.  That would bring judgement calls back to the game though.  

What's your opinion 'shoes?

I agree. The combination of the warnings to pitchers at the drop of a hat and the incredible protective gear that some batters wear to the plate, shifts the balance too much. You're right that judgment calls are tough, but cmon. As an aside anyone that watched Florida during the women's softball WS could see that they were deliberately trying to get hit.

I don't think Tabata's lean was blatantly intentional. He wasn't crowding the play nor was he leaning over the plate or anything. He started his step/swing early, which is what you have to do when someone throws heat the way Scherzer does. He dropped his elbow a tad but that may very well have been him holding up from his swing because of the inside pitch with movement.

yep. watching UF against UM is how I learned that even though the batter stepped out of the box, she could still get a HBP called in her favor. they were definitely stepping into the pitches. Florida took a few tough pills and went out to get as many HBPs as they could. Not what I would call classy but they have a championship banner right now and UM has a runner-up, so....