Beckham in the MSL

[jay santos]

Originally Posted by Archaea

What is the beauty of youth baseball?

I really don't understand the beauty of it. I can see some of the strategies, but fascination with it, does not come to me naturally. There were years when the Royals flourished that I enjoyed it.

I see the geometry, the shifts, the plays to move runners along, but all in all, it moves so slowly.

At the youth level, the skill level is so poor, nothing is really done.

The beauty that baseball guys would tell you about is the tension, the strategy, the chess moves of shifting an infield over or bringing in a pinch hitter. Do you hit and run or bunt or steal? Playoff baseball is entertaining, I admit.

But at a youth level, the skill level is not there to pull any of that off. And the skill level variance is so high that you have kids that have no chance to hit a ball standing up there for five minutes at a time trying to draw a walk, or you get a pitcher that can't throw strikes and have a walkfest. Snooze city.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by jay santos

The beauty that baseball guys would tell you about is the tension, the strategy, the chess moves of shifting an infield over or bringing in a pinch hitter. Do you hit and run or bunt or steal? Playoff baseball is entertaining, I admit.

But at a youth level, the skill level is not there to pull any of that off. And the skill level variance is so high that you have kids that have no chance to hit a ball standing up there for five minutes at a time trying to draw a walk, or you get a pitcher that can't throw strikes and have a walkfest. Snooze city.

This is my point.

Baseball lovers seem to be guys who want to down a bunch of beers, getting soused and eating lousy food, while paying a couple of hundred bucks for the experience.

Kid baseball is fine if you're watching your son.

At least in soccer you can watch you kid, even if he's not the star and you can see progression to a watchable level fairly soon. By the time they're in high school the skill is quite good.

What's interesting is that high school club soccer tams are better than high school soccer teams. Is there any other sport where the club teams beat the high school teams? I suppose, swimming may be one, and perhaps the tennis teams.

[il Padrino Ute]

The beauty of youth baseball is that they play it for the right reason - because it's fun.

Jay is correct in part about the beauty of baseball being in all the strategy and the tension that comes with it; however, Chuck Shriver said it best:

"The beauty of baseball is not having to explain it."

One either sees it and understands, or doesn't. Not as in understanding the sport itself, but the beauty of it. To me, there is absolutely nothing boring about baseball; there is nothing common about baseball; there is nothing slow about baseball; and there is nothing ugly about baseball.

As Red Smith once wrote: "90 feet between bases is as close to perfection that man has ever come."

I'm a baseball guy and I realize that I'm in the minority and that's ok.

[YOhio]

What I don't understand about soccer is how a team's best player and multi-million dollar guy can just show up in the middle of the season. Why didn't he come to America when the season started? Seriously though, what's that about? Can Real Salt Lake just go and get a Euro to play for them in the middle of the playoff run?

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

The beauty of youth baseball is that they play it for the right reason - because it's fun.

Jay is correct in part about the beauty of baseball being in all the strategy and the tension that comes with it; however, Chuck Shriver said it best:

"The beauty of baseball is not having to explain it."

One either sees it and understands, or doesn't. Not as in understanding the sport itself, but the beauty of it. To me, there is absolutely nothing boring about baseball; there is nothing common about baseball; there is nothing slow about baseball; and there is nothing ugly about baseball.

As Red Smith once wrote: "90 feet between bases is as close to perfection that man has ever come."

I'm a baseball guy and I realize that I'm in the minority and that's ok.

Well you must be damned Rocky intellectual, because only intellectuals like that sport.

I don't feel the tension, just the ennui.

[MikeWaters]

Yes, there is something ugly about baseball. Performance enhancing drugs.

[jay santos]

Originally Posted by YOhio

What I don't understand about soccer is how a team's best player and multi-million dollar guy can just show up in the middle of the season. Why didn't he come to America when the season started? Seriously though, what's that about? Can Real Salt Lake just go and get a Euro to play for them in the middle of the playoff run?

I don't really get it either, but I know soccer is funny like that. The good players take a few weeks off of the season to play for national teams. And players get traded around to different leagues that have different playoff seasons. I believe Becks just recently finished his club season in Spain.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Yes, there is something ugly about baseball. Performance enhancing drugs.

Let me know when you find a sport without it.

The major difference is the opposition players assert to stop random testing.

[YOhio]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Let me know when you find a sport without it.

The major difference is the opposition players assert to stop random testing.

I would really be surprised to see if performance enhancing drugs were regularly used in the NBA. Pot seems to be the drug of choice for NBA'ers and most coaches are lucky if their players pick up a basketball once a week during the offseason.