[Dakota]

I don't pay any attention to the details of baseball rules, beyond being a fan, that is. (I know, Mike... but I do like MLB, in spite of the overpaid spoiled AAs, the steriods, etc.) I said that to say this: I was reading a thread on the BB board, and apparently some BB codes allow a 9 player lineup where one player is indicates as both F1 and DH. The apparent advantage of this is if the starting pitcher is a good hitter, the coach can bring in a relief pitcher later in the game and the starting F1 becomes DH for the relief pitcher.

In softball with the DP/FLEX, if a coach wants to do something similar, he specifies his "starting" F1 as DP and his relief F1 as starting F1 and FLEX, and then in the defensive half of the 1st inning, he brings in his DP to play defense for FLEX (that is, to "start" at pitcher), dropping back to 9 players in the lineup. The disadvantage of this is that the relief pitcher has officially left the game, with one re-entry remaining, rather than being an unused sub.

Has there ever been any discussion about allowing a starting lineup to show DP/FLEX as a dual role for one player in a 9 player lineup? This would mean the coach has stated his intent to play with DP/FLEX, but he has yet to name the "other" player.