MLB will experiment with moving the pitching rubber back one foot this upcoming season in the Atlantic league,according to the Athletic. In addition, they will experiment. with something called the double hook. A team will have a DH only as long as their starting pitcher remains in the game. Remove the starter lose the DH.
The first one is designed to create more offense. The second one? I have no freaking idea what this is supposed to accomplish as far as making the game better or more interesting.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
Neither do I. It seems that MLB is experimenting with change for change sake.Originally Posted by Bellhorn04
I think the idea is to force teams to go with the starter longer..as soon as the starter comes out, DH goes away.
It seems like it might be more aimed at the use of an 'opener' and 'bullpen games'.
I can't imagine many managers would let this rule dictate when it's the right time to remove their starter.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
That one, moving the mound back a foot, was proposed by the National Tommy John Surgery Assiciation.
RedSoxDirtdog 19
Calm down. I've been tamed.
Yes, I heard someone else comment on how this might not be the best thing for the health of pitchers.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
Maybe not, but it might help the health of a few hitters...
No comment on other measures like increased base size and limiting pickoff attempts at 1b?
Great, less DH usage? Barf!!!!!
It's a stupid suggestion.
If MLB wants to help their product and businees, I will (again? think so) make a much better set of recommendations.
1. Adopt the DH everywhere. No one likes watching pitchers hit. Except the other team. While some NL minor league affiliates let pitchers hit, the only two major leagues in the world that do are the Pacific Coast League in Japan and the National League. No one else.
2. Want quicker games? Stop mucking around with pick off throws and pitching changes. EXISTING RULE 8.04, already in the MLB rulebook, states "When the bases are unoccupied, the pitcher shall deliver the ball to the batter within 12 seconds after he receives the ball. Each time the pitcher delays the game by violating this rule, the umpire shall call “Ball." The rule is already in place, and when pitchers use it, it works very well. Ever seen Mark Buerhle pitch? You used to be able to go to the Cell on his day for a 7:10 start, watch him throw 7 IP and give up 6 hit and 3 ER, stick around for the end of the game, and still be home in time to watch the 10 o'clock news. Why? He worked quickly and obeyed the rules that no one wants to enforce. R.A. Dickey was the same way.
3. Stop making gimmicky extra innings rules.
4. A game is 9 innings. Not 7. If you're charging customers for 9 innings, give them 9 innings.
5. Dump the 3 batter minimum rule. Want fewer pitching changes? Crazy thought - stop letting teams use all 40 players for a full month. If your manager needs more than 26 players to win a game, the problem is not the size of the bullpen. And Bruce Bochy taught us all that if you let him have a 17 man bullpen, he is going to use a 17 man bullpen to its fullest extent. And this guy managed for a lot of years and taught God knws how many coache this strategy. And now it is our job to stop those coaches should any opf them ever become MLB managers.
6. Bring back Sunday double headers. Every MLB team used to play 2 games every Sunday, but it went away because ownership hating selling one ticket for 2 games. But it has three big advantages. 1) The extra game per week will have a long term effect on pitching changes, as managers will have to manage for subsequent games in mind. (See change 5.) 2) It would eliminate November baseball. Everyone loves October baseball, but no one loves November baseball. 3) It would help ESPN with their Sunday night broadcasts, as rather than having to guess before the season which August games will be meaningful and therefore be worth watching, ESPN would have a full slate to pick and choose from. And it would also prevent teams screwing over fans by bumping their Sunday afternoon game to Sunday night to accommodate ESPN.
7. Just drop the absolutely ridiculous blackout rules. They help no one and manage to screw over both fans and MLB at the same time. And for many teams, they also screw over the owners as well.
Moving the mound back? Just stop. MLB cannot even figure out what problem they are solving any more. If moving the mound back is supposed to generate more offense, won't that also run counter to shortening the length of games? does this league even have a direction any more?
This is the lengthiest post of your with which I agree with every word. I would add one other suggestion. Play more weekend games during the day, And play one weekday game in the afternoon. This will give kids a chance to watch a whole game, maybe even have the opportunity to go to a Day game on their own with some friends.
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
Their direction seems to be: fuck around and find out.
1. 100%. Having pitchers hit is a waste of time. Pitching is a full time job and the guys just don't PRACTICE hitting at any level.
2. I don't love the clock - hurrying pitchers is a potential path to injury. Besides the reason games are slow are TV commercials, and MLB ain't getting rid of those. Now, I think the league should look more into "scorebug adverstising" or other means to eliminate the commercial breaks between pitching changes.
3. The extra inning thing is so silly. I do get the concern for wanting the regular season games to end in a shorter manner. But the only way to do really do that is have ties.
4. 100%
5. Baseball has the minor league calendar exactly backwards. It makes much more sense to have expanded rosters in April than in September. And yes, the team should have to freeze an active 26 man roster every game.
No more blackouts for sure.
I'd also go to 32 teams and 4 divisions and get rid of the vast majority of interleague games.
Also fine additions. The common use of the "getaway day" day game does help somewhat, but making it a mandatory thing can only help for the reasons you cite, especially in the summer.
Saturday ghames during the day run in conflict with MLB's deal with FOX, who wants exclusive rights to Saturday afternoon baseball, so many teams play night games to avoid being blacked out. This is actually one instance where MLB actually tries to avoid their stupid blackouts. But to bring back league-wide Saturday aftermoon games, the deal with FOX needs to be reworked. And MLB would probably get less money from FOX, making it less likely.
The problem with their broadcasting and blackouts is MLB has a good product, one I have enjoyed for decades. Why do they go to such ridiculous lengths to prevent people from accessing it?
For example, I have been a Sirius XM radio subscriber for a long time now, back before the units were standards in cars. Back then, the only options were a 1 year subscription, a 2 year subscription, and a lifetime subscription. For the cost of a whopping $400, I purchased the lifetime subscription. That was 17 years ago. Now the Sirius radio unit itself was a gift from my wife and at the time had no MLB games, but once they merged with XM, I was able to get every game on the radio as part of that $400. Until yesterday.
Two days ago, I would flip around from game to game when driving and the Sox were not on. Two days ago. Yesterday, I got in the car and headed out and flipped to the MLB game channels and suddenly the creen said "Subscription required". WTF? Do they want to me not listen anymore?
I will probably pony up the $8.25 a month, because overall, I have gotten well more than my money's worth from Siruus XM. But the idea that they are once again trying to limit access to their product just baffles me...
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