Questions That Came Up Today

During the Pig/Wahoo series (played with cards and dice), a few questions arose.

1. The first came about simply because we have come to depend too much on Hal to tell us stuff, like what happens when a non-asterisk base stealer wants to steal 2b after failing to get his lead.

Dustin Pedroia was on first with Garrett Richards on the mound. Pedrioa's steal numbers are (13-6). Richards is a +9 hold, leaving the catcher's arm moot. Pedroia rolled for his lead (1-18), but didn't get it. We were then confused as to what his secondary number would be. Turns out, the battery combo doesn't change. In this case, it's still +5 (max); it just now applies to the second number (1-11).

Note: For the record, the FFTs and Tweeners responded with the correct ruling. The Snakes and Buckeyes got it wrong. Glad others were confused, too.

Another Note: The Chief decided not to go, instead just hitting a home run. The bastard.

2. Question 2 - and the reason I am writing this post - has to do with using pitchers to hit. There were three scenarios, I believe, that came up and left us curious.

Scenario A: Francisco Liriano is part of the PigPen, but he also is a capable hitter (#8NL). If Liriano pinch hits in the top of the 7th for the shortstop, can he then come in to pitch the bottom of the 7th. The new SS would go to the DH's spot, and the DH would be lost. Sounds, okay, right? Unusual, but legal. I think. And would it matter if the guy he pinch hit for was the DH?

Scenario B: What if Liriano starts the game as the DH? Can he, at some point, take the field as the pitcher? The DH would be lost, of course, but it's legal, right?

Scenario C: In a move I know is legal, Adam Wainwright (#7NR) was the starting pitcher, but we decided to let him hit for himself and eschew the DH. Again, not a normal move, but completely legal. (The things we do to try to get N-power hitters into the games at The Reservation.)

I bring this up because I tried to recreate these moves on the computer tonight - and NONE of them is possible. The only way a pitcher can hit AND pitch in the same game is to first lose the DH (which can't be done in the initial setup at the start of the game). And even then, the pitcher must either already BE pitching in the game, or he must come in after the DH is lost. If he has already hit - even though he's still in the lineup at the moment - there is no way to drag him to the pitcher spot.

By the way, I checked and Wainwright had 62 AB last year (so 68 possible ABs for the Pigs), and Liriano had 42 (46 total). We ARE keeping track.