Soriano comes up with the bases loaded and hacks away at three pitches way outside of the zone. Dodgers catcher Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin, Jr.sets up behind the left-handed batter's box for each pitch.

I always thought one of the benefits of having men on base, especially 2B, is that you can set up signals to let you know where to expect the pitch based on where the catcher is setting up, something as simple as outside or inside. On the amateur baseball teams I played with, we had these baserunner -> batter signals in place and you could either use them or ignore them. Not a big deal, but they were there, and as a batter I appreciated having the advantage. Maybe it's bush league, but I always assumed it was like this all the way up and down baseball, just one of those unspoken, flawed systems.

I guess I'm just curious as to wtf happened in that AB. It's Jeff Weaver, ferpetesake. Does anyone have any idea whether this sort of thing is totally "beneath" MLB players?

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ramirez couldve raised orange flags and lit flares out at 2nd and soriano wouldve still swung at all 3

Good point. Guess the proper response to "It's Jeff Weaver!" is "It's Alfonso Soriano!"

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At any level, you don't relay signs from second base unless you want to get drilled in your next at bat.

I never wanted to know anyway, because what if the guy on second is wrong? Also, catchers mix up their signs so you don't know what pitch is coming. As far as location, any good catcher will start inside and move outside or vice versa. Watch Yadier Molina catch. He's all over the place back there, so you never know where he's setting up until the pitcher releases the ball.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

that is why soriano is such a bad hitter. i think soriano himself could see martin moving into the left handers batters box before the pitch and he still swung at the ball each time. those balls probably wouldve hit a lefty in the back. i want to punch him

Soriano needs benched for a good week at least. Put Fox out there.

Soriano should have been taking a few pitches in that situation to see if Weaver would get himself in a hole, but of course Soriano is not going to do that.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

@Bulldog Scott, If you still play in the MSL I'm not letting on what the signs were because as far as I know we never got caught They were incredibly subtle and, like I said, only had to do with location, which was accurate a great majority of the time.

I'd argue that even in MLB, Yadier Molina is the exception rather than the rule as far as intelligent, "true" catchers go, and that's only going to continue as long as guys keep breaking in on the strength of their batting.

That said, I do realize it's an entirely different situation at the game's highest level, but I have to believe there's some way to relay that information with men on base, even if it's not directly from a baserunner.

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Dude, someone complained about something we did being "bush league" in one of those games, to which the response was "these are the bush leagues."

If the runner on second is able to pick up the signs from the catcher he's not going to think twice about relaying them. It happens every single day all around MLB.

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...