The stats freaks have gotten into this some in baseball.
The question is simple. Does good hitting create more runs than bad D allows, or is it the other way around.
We have all seen games where the poor pitcher has to effectively get 4 or 5 or 6 outs in an inning, and with those would-be outs on base, lots of stuff can happen.
An extreme case. My DD 1 was a fast base runner. One time she was at bat against a team with an average 3B. Wimpy ball hit towards 3B, fielder tosses it to first, DD 1 outruns the ball and is safe. DD 1 steals 2 and then 3. Next batter hits a wimpy ball towards 3B, easy out, except the 3B eats the ball rather than allow DD 1 to score. Runner on 1st easily steals second, since they don't want DD 1 to score from third. Instead of 2 outs, there are no outs and runners on 2 and 3. Her team scored 7 runs that inning. (Admittedly, DD 1's steal of second was the most dramatic steal I have ever seen, so this was a strong base runner against an average D).
Now, that wasn't even an error. It was an OK TB 3B playing a little further back. Suppose it had been a great 3B? Instead of a very strong base runner against an average D, a great defensive 3B might've gotten her out. The next batter would've been an easy out. DD 1's team might've gotten a bit of a 2 out rally, but 7 runs would've been doubtful.
But that really leaves the offense vs. defense question up in the air. If DD 1 had been an average base runner, no big inning, so great offense beat average defense. If the defense had been great, it would've killed the rally before it started.
In the end, the game ended up as a tie (league play not tournament), after DD 1 missed a chance at a good defensive play. So DD 1's great offense gave them the lead, but her mediocre defense cost them the win and they settled for a tie.
The question is simple. Does good hitting create more runs than bad D allows, or is it the other way around.
We have all seen games where the poor pitcher has to effectively get 4 or 5 or 6 outs in an inning, and with those would-be outs on base, lots of stuff can happen.
An extreme case. My DD 1 was a fast base runner. One time she was at bat against a team with an average 3B. Wimpy ball hit towards 3B, fielder tosses it to first, DD 1 outruns the ball and is safe. DD 1 steals 2 and then 3. Next batter hits a wimpy ball towards 3B, easy out, except the 3B eats the ball rather than allow DD 1 to score. Runner on 1st easily steals second, since they don't want DD 1 to score from third. Instead of 2 outs, there are no outs and runners on 2 and 3. Her team scored 7 runs that inning. (Admittedly, DD 1's steal of second was the most dramatic steal I have ever seen, so this was a strong base runner against an average D).
Now, that wasn't even an error. It was an OK TB 3B playing a little further back. Suppose it had been a great 3B? Instead of a very strong base runner against an average D, a great defensive 3B might've gotten her out. The next batter would've been an easy out. DD 1's team might've gotten a bit of a 2 out rally, but 7 runs would've been doubtful.
But that really leaves the offense vs. defense question up in the air. If DD 1 had been an average base runner, no big inning, so great offense beat average defense. If the defense had been great, it would've killed the rally before it started.
In the end, the game ended up as a tie (league play not tournament), after DD 1 missed a chance at a good defensive play. So DD 1's great offense gave them the lead, but her mediocre defense cost them the win and they settled for a tie.