Beating the Shift

I saw Dan Uggla do it today. I saw him do it like it was no big deal. I also saw the opposing pitcher look at his defense in disbelief.

What the hell was the second baseman doing behind the bag, ensuring Uggla didn’t pull the ball for a base hit?

Great freakin’ question! It makes no sense to me and never will. I don’t care what kind of stats you throw in front of me…eventually guys will figure out how to beat it.

But the bigger question is why hasn’t Uggla, David Ortiz and company figured out how to go oppo?

Take a normal at-bat. Wait one split second longer to swing, and voila! It goes to the opposite field.

Seriously though. These are professional hitters. In BP every day they purposely hit it to the other side. It should be almost second nature.

But whether it’s out of greed or inability or something else stupid, they can’t seem to do it.

If Ortiz hit a grounder to the left side or even bunted it hard down the line, one of two things would happen:

1) he would hit 1.000
2) the shifts would stop and he could start pulling the ball again

Sometimes it amazes me that my basic logic is so beyond average human brain functioning. And I’m humble too.

Hey MLB teams…lookin’ for a manager? Call me…maybe?

It was only a matter of time until I referenced that song. If you love me, Call Me Maybe, baseball, or any combination of the three, follow me on Twitter @Jamblinman!