Monday, May 10, 2010

Time to unwrite this unwritten rule

The unwritten rules of sports are as old as sports themselves. They're the unwritten codes of conduct, of respect that one team shows another. You learn them as soon as you start playing at a competitive level. They're almost an equivalent to life lessons; 'Don't run up the score' is like saying, 'don't kick a man when he's down.'
While I'm generally not opposed to most of the unwritten rules in baseball, there's one that seems to be brought up almost every time a no-hitter is in progress. It's a rule that just doesn't make any sense to me, whatsoever.
Apparently it's considered bush league to try to bunt your way on base if your team is getting no-hit, especially if you're losing by 4 or 5 runs late in the game.
This scenario came to fruition on Mother's Day when Evan Longoria tried to bunt for a hit against the A's Dallas Braden while he was in the middle of a perfect game. The ball rolled just foul (it would have been a hit if it stayed fair) and Longoria eventually struck out and Braden tossed the 19th perfect game in MLB history.
Now some people were upset with Longoria for trying to break up Braden's bid for perfection by dropping down a bunt instead of swinging away. They say it's cheap and that it violates the unwritten rule about breaking up no-hitters with a bunt hit.
To the people that believe this, I encourage you to wander off blind folded in the middle of rush hour traffic... or maybe you could be useful to society by posing as a traffic cone in a construction zone... you could even volunteer to be a tackling dummy for your local high school football team. If you believe this, if you're one of the baseball stupid that believes this, then I have no use for you and your opinion and thought making privileges need to be revoked.
Baseball is a game of rhythm. If the opposing pitcher gets in a good rhythm then you, as the batter, need to do anything and everything to try to break up his rhythm. You can take a little longer getting in the batter's box; you can try calling for time before he starts his wind-up. And yes, that means it you want to drop a bunt down the third base line in the 7th inning, even if you're losing by 1, 8 or 18, then you do it. Your job is to get on base and disrupt the timing of the pitcher. You need to get in his head as much as possible hoping that he'll lose focus long enough to serve up a gopher ball to your teammate that's on deck.
You never know what will happen from one batter to the next. Your bunt hit could be the first domino that needs to fall to get the line moving for your team. It could be the spark that ignites a rally. By getting on base you could get in the pitcher's head and make him lose his focus; you could steal a base or get into scoring position on a passed ball or wild pitch. There is so much that could happen from something as simple as bunting for a hit when the defense isn't expecting it that it's almost ludicris if it isn't attempted.
Here's one last nugget to consider... What's the difference between the first batter of the game reaching on a bunt hit and someone doing it in the 5th or 8th inning to break up a no-no?
Absolutely none.

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