Edgy MD wrote: By the nature of the strategy, trying to manufacture runs diminishes your chance for a big inning while committing to the plating of a single run. Eh on you too. Can you tell me where people are generally trying to be cute? That squeeze last night was seemingly the first one called this season, clearly uncharacteristic and born of desperation, and clearly executed poorly by all three players involved. And it was probably a bad call by the manager. no, right there. I agree with all those things about the squeeze. There have been some hit and runs and whatnot the last few days too, seemingly born of the same desperation. I think it's exacerbating the problem. My 'eh' was that I don't really care if they should or shouldn't be better at manufacturing runs. Murphy's back now, and maybe Tejada, are the guys with the contact rates. Everyone else is too Two True Outcomes (Because apparently no one homers anymore) to be too creative with it. It's an old school train of though that the hit and run sorta forces the swinger to focus on contact but that only works if contact is his game. For guys like Duda it probably gets him swinging at pitches he feels aren't as hittable, and probably plays right into the shift.