No, If Giambi were hitting .250, he'd be at his weight. Giambi's at like .190
There's not much more thinking involved without a DH. There's still groundrules for how to pinch hit. Lefty vs. lefty, this guy's good against this pitcher, it's all pretty much laid out. Yes the manager has to make a call, but it's usually not a hard one.
Keep the DH. I couldn't agree with Brownie more. Pitchers hitting makes me sick. When there's an easy out in the lineup, nobody has any fun. Plus, it's a rally-killer sometimes, and that's just lame. I like having the split. It's interesting to see pitchers hit some of the time, but getting rid of the DH would be awful.
Hardly any double switches in the AL so yes it is harder in the NL. Tons more strategy which is why I like it.
There's almost no double switches and the manager only has to worry about removing his starter when his pitching starts to falter. (hence why he doesn't have to think much in a 1-0 game....his starter's still going strong.)
An NL manager has to decide whether or not to let his pitcher bat in the 7th inning when he has a 1-0 lead, or deficit, even though the pitcher is still going strong.
Obviously my rash statement was a generalization used to make a point in my usual sarcastic fashion, AL managers still have to strategize to a degree, but there's a heck of a lot more in NL non-DH games.
League Team years Record Wild Card Division Pennants Titles MSL San Diego Padres 2034-2059 2,217-1,995 1 6 3 1 TBL Arizona Diamondbacks 2005-2018 1,216-1,053 1 9 6 3 TSSL San Diego Padres 2015-2021, 2024-2028 1,017-928 0 7 3 2 TSSL Texas Rangers 2029-2033 396-414 0 0 0 0
Simplifying and repeating what the above two just said: In the AL, you don't have to worry about what to do if your pitcher comes up with a man on second and 2 outs in a 1-0 game. Do you leave a hot pitcher in but give up the run, or do you take him out, banking on a pinch hit?