[IBL] V is for Venditte

[Larry Merithew]

On 06/08/2015 06:23 PM, Sean Sweda wrote:
> The IBL game does not allow a switch hitter to decide what side he 
> hits from, he is required to hit from the opposite side that the 
> pitcher is throwing.  This is because over 99% of all PAs by switch 
> hitters happen this way.  Venditte should be treated exactly the same, 
> except required to pitch with the same arm as the side the batter hits 
> because this will be true for the vast majority of his matchups.  Only 
> in the situation where Venditte faces a switch hitter do we have to 
> give someone a choice in order to break the stalemate.
>
> IMO giving the batter the choice in this situation would be incorrect 
> because it is completely antithetical to the decision tree that occurs 
> in reality. When Venditte faces a switch hitter with a significant 
> platoon split in real life he will have the option to force the batter 
> hit from his weaker side.  The defense dictates the matchup, the 
> offense merely gets to gain the platoon advantage afterward.
>
> I can see an argument for giving the switch hitter some kind of bonus 
> in order
> to simulate the platoon advantage that is  missing (Venditte's card 
> will be based mostly on PA with the advantage).  Standard platoon 
> advantages are very small though, we're only talking about a few extra 
> hits/walks.  If Venditte proved to be extremely poor without the 
> platoon advantage I could even see forcing him to use his fatigue 
> numbers.  However, we're going to be dealing with a tiny sample size 
> after only one season. I wouldn't be comfortable dinging him that hard 
> unless his MLB manager was consistently pulling him vs switch hitters.
>
> Sean
> < via mobile >
>
> On Jun 8, 2015, at 6:05 PM, Kevin Greenberg <greenbergk at gmail.com 
> <mailto:greenbergk at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>> Correct.  My point is that real control is in the hand of the 
>> offense.   Letting the defensive manager decide would allow each 
>> batter's weakest side to be exposed.   Probably not what we want to do.
>>
>> Maybe let D manager decide but allow a team to say "hit Righty 
>> against V no matter how he throws" or something like that
>>
>> On Monday, June 8, 2015, Sean Sweda <sweda at ibl.org 
>> <mailto:sweda at ibl.org>> wrote:
>>
>>     The MLB rule requires Venditte to declare which arm he's using at
>>     the beginning of the AB. The hitter is then allowed to choose
>>     which side to hit from.  If you want to see this in action watch
>>     what happens before Swihart's AB in Venditte's first appearance.
>>
>>     Sean
>>     < via mobile >
>>
>>     Kevin Greenberg <greenbergk at gmail.com
>>     <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','greenbergk at gmail.com');>> wrote:
>>
>>>     MLB is letting the batter select the side and then Venditte
>>>     picks.  So we should let the offensive manager designate if he
>>>     so chooses. If not, let the defensive manager.
>>>
>>>     On Friday, June 5, 2015, Russell Peltz <peltz38 at yahoo.com
>>>     <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','peltz38 at yahoo.com');>> wrote:
>>>
>>>         That's fairly straightforward.
>>>
>>>         I'm more worried about how to treat him for rest purposes.
>>>         Do we have to track how many batters he faced with each hand?
>>>
>>>         Could his left arm require a day of rest, but not his right arm?
>>>
>>>         *From:* Sean Sweda <sweda at ibl.org>
>>>
>>>             *To:* Nelson Lu <nlu at me.com>; Members <members at ibl.org>
>>>             *Sent:* Friday, June 5, 2015 6:03 PM
>>>             *Subject:* Re: [IBL] V is for Venditte
>>>
>>>             Venditte will get a single card with "S" listed as the
>>>             way he throws.  For LH or RH batters he would be
>>>             required to pitch from the same side as the batter (e.g.
>>>             considered throwing RH to a RHB), since that's what's
>>>             going to happen in the vast majority of his MLB
>>>             matchups.  This is functionally the same as how we treat
>>>             switch hitters, except they obviously are required to
>>>             hit from the opposite side as the pitcher.  When
>>>             Venditte faces a switch hitter the simplest solution
>>>             would be to require the defensive manager to pick a side
>>>             from which to throw and then require the switch hitter
>>>             to hit from the opposite side.
>>>
>>>             Sean
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
In MLB, the applicable rule is rule 8.01(f). Had to do a little digging 
to find it.


*Rule 8.01*

/*(f) A pitcher must indicate visually to the umpire-in-chief, the 
batter and any runners*//*
*//*the hand with which he intends to pitch, which may be done by 
wearing his glove*//*
*//*on the other hand while touching the pitcher’s plate. The pitcher is 
not permitted to*//*
*//*pitch with the other hand until the batter is retired, the batter 
becomes a runner, the*//*
*//*inning ends, the batter is substituted for by a pinch-hitter or the 
pitcher incurs an*//*
*//*injury. In the event a pitcher switches pitching hands during an 
at-bat because he*//*
*//*has suffered an injury, the pitcher may not, for the remainder of 
the game, pitch*//*
*//*with the hand from which he has switched. The pitcher shall not be 
given the*//*
*//*opportunity to throw any preparatory pitches after switching 
pitching hands. Any*//*
*//*change of pitching hands must be indicated clearly to the 
umpire-in-chief.*/


The general flavor of the rule seems to support the idea of Venditte 
choosing which arm he wants to throw with first, then allowing the 
offense to decide which side to hit from based off that.

Of course, if the batter is not a switch-hitter, then I agree with 
Sean's comment that Venditte should be required to pitch from the same 
side as the batter for the sake of simplicity.

Just a view from someone with a bunch of time on his hands ...

Larry
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