Stealing Signs
Recently we were talking about stealing signs and the notion that somehow it isn't ethical. Oh yes it is. It's part of the game and always has been. It happens all the time and leads to lots of intriguing situations.
You get a runner to second base and you'll see the catcher putting down multiple signs because they don't want the runner to relay to the hitter what pitch is coming. That's not unethical to do. If your opponent chooses to make things that easy by not using a bunch of signs, go ahead and take advantage of it.
Any edge that a pitcher or batter can have, believe me, they will try to take advantage of it. It's funny as far as hitters go, some of them don't want to know what's coming. They feel it doesn't help them.
It was pretty clear Sunday night in the first inning that the Twins knew what was coming from Mark Buehrle. So who's fault is that? Mark had to make some adjustments, which he did and then went on to win the ballgame. I've talked before about how successful Jose Contreras has been since he quit tipping his pitches.
Your bench coaches are always watching trying to pick up a pattern or decipher a sign, plus make sure your stuff isn't being picked up. It's the game within the game and that's the way it should be.
DJ