Re: Joe Torre = Dodgers manager
"there must be some tactical decision making in AL games, that you can point out to me, that do not take place in the NL. Care to elaborate?"
Bottom of the 5th. 1-1 game. Nobody out, man on first.
NL: Pitcher is up. What will the manager do? One thing only.
AL: #9 hitter is up. What will the manager do? Bunt? Maybe. Hit away? Maybe. Hit and run? Maybe. Run and hit? Maybe.
In The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (1986), he addressed the question of whether the DH rule diminishes baseball by obviating the need for certain applications of strategy, "strategy" being defined in the minds of purists as (a) having the pitcher bunt with a man on and (b) pinch-hitting for the pitcher late in the game. Making use of the concept of standard deviation, James mathematically demonstrated that the DH rule actually increased the use of strategy, provided it was defined more sensibly not as the rote application of traditional moves in traditional situations but rather as the thoughtful consideration of options.
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