Uh oh... "Experimental rules" in the minors

[Edgy MD]

If defensive shifts prohibited since the beginning of baseball, but players were doing their best to shift anyhow — perhaps by straddling one foot in the zone and one out — or by breaking from their position as soon as the pitcher began the windup, then the rulemakers would be challenged to see whether their rule was within the spirit of the game, or making a farce of it.



I agree with just about every one of Dino J.'s points. People who seemingly don't like baseball are trying to solve problems they haven't actually put much thought toward identifying.

[batmagadanleadoff]

=Ceetar post_id=57831 time=1615590910 user_id=102]


Baseball doesn't even _really_ have defensive players. The guy designated as 'RF' can play between third and the pitcher if he wants, on one pitch, and then hang out with his buddy in LF the next one. It's a group of 9 guys defending....

[MFS62]

=Ceetar post_id=57831 time=1615590910 user_id=102]
Might as well ban 70mph squibs through the infield because it wasn't fair that you didn't hit it at a guy.

[Fman99]

I blame Walter Matthau and "The Cool Carl Paranski Shift."



YrjJFNDQJbM

[whippoorwill]

=seawolf17 post_id=57793 time=1615567250 user_id=91]
STOP. CHANGING. THE FUCKING. GAME.

[Ceetar]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=57834 time=1615595027 user_id=68]


I've always had this pet peeve about baseball poets waxing poetic about how perfect baseball is

[MFS62]

Here's a writer from the Tampa Bay Times (Tribune Publishing) via Yahoo chiming in on the changes.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/want-fix-baseball-let-start-215700806.htmlhttps://www.yahoo.com/news/want-fix-baseball-let-start-215700806.html

The question is whether these changes will address what really ails baseball. While runs, hits, walks, stolen bases, errors and other stats have remained relatively static over the years, there are three ways that the game has changed dramatically. No. 1, home runs are double what they were in 1950. No. 2, strikeouts have basically tripled since 1930. No. 3, and by far the most important, baseball has somehow evolved from a two-hour game to a three-hour-plus game. And I don't see how defensive shifts, pickoffs, larger bases or robot umpires fix any of those problems.

Later

[Ceetar]

well for one, those aren't problems. they're just things.



Though quicker moving games are certainly nicer, and better for fans, fans are no longer the customer, TV Networks are.



Literally every 'problem' with baseball is because of TV Networks.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

Well, the networks aren't making managers use four pitchers in the seventh inning every game, or make pitchers throw eight half-hearted pickoff tosses to first everytime a semi-fast guy gets on base, or batters to step out of the box after every pitch to adjust their batting gloves.



Karl Ravitch was talking about extreme steps, like making all games seven innings. That's terrible.



I don't mind long games. I do mind games that grind to a halt for for stupid reasons. I'm OK with a pitch clock, and enforcing the rule about getting out of the box.

[whippoorwill]

Here's a rule I propose:



Starting pitchers must pitch 8 innings, no matter how much they are sucking, Unless there is a visible injury



Visible injuries would involve blood, compound fractures and/or vomit

[Edgy MD]

=Marshmallowmilkshake post_id=57870 time=1615683810 user_id=119]I don't mind long games. I do mind games that grind to a halt for for stupid reasons. I'm OK with a pitch clock, and enforcing the rule about getting out of the box.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

Edgy MD wrote: =Marshmallowmilkshake post_id=57870 time=1615683810 user_id=119]I don't mind long games. I do mind games that grind to a halt for for stupid reasons. I'm OK with a pitch clock, and enforcing the rule about getting out of the box.

I agree with you that they grossly confuse the issues of pace-of-play and length-of-game, and these two concepts shouldn't be that hard to distinguish.



But also among things that shouldn't be too hard is getting an ump to tell somebody to stop adjusting his uniform and throw the ball. Adding a clock is just providing cover for an ump not doing his job, and it changes the very fabric of the game.



I just please ask somebody to acknowledge the obvious — allowing a manager to hold up a game while his associates in the clubhouse review a play to determine whether or not to appeal is terrible. It adds countless minutes to a game, and sucks all the drama out of any close and/or meaningful play.

[Ceetar]

=Marshmallowmilkshake post_id=57870 time=1615683810 user_id=119]
Well, the networks aren't making managers use four pitchers in the seventh inning every game, or make pitchers throw eight half-hearted pickoff tosses to first everytime a semi-fast guy gets on base, or batters to step out of the box after every pitch to adjust their batting gloves.

[Frayed Knot]

=Ceetar post_id=57890 time=1615744888 user_id=102]


Sure but they're contributing to making each of those pitching changes take 3 minutes+... but I do think if they commited to hurrying the guy in, having him through 8 pitches, and going, instead of demanding teh full commercial break every time. ESPECIALLY if you don't cut away.

[Edgy MD]

I don't think it's really true that managers are using 4+ pitchers every seventh inning, although that might have been truer 10 or 15 years ago. Now that they've outlawed the LOOGy, it's going to be hard to blame game length on over-booking the seventh-inning anymore.

[Frayed Knot]

Well, the number of pitchers used per game has measurably increased over the years and every one that occurs mid-inning adds a break in the action at least as long as the two-plus minute gap in between innings.

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: Or, as I've advocated many times here, eliminating the eight on-mound warm-up pitches entirely. That would be the single easiest way to eliminate dead time and it confounds me that it never seems to be in the discussion while all sorts of whacky rules are advanced even though most have nothing to do with the supposed problem they're trying to address.

The argument I've heard is that pitcher's won't stand for it because of minute differences to the mound, etc. But you could probably negotiate to like ..4 pitches.



But the real time sink here I guess is that the play has to reset, and the next batter announced, as that's part of the strategy. And you have to give the team at least a moment to choose a pinch hitter as a result of a play, and theoretically then the other a moment to choose a pitcher as the result of the pinch hitter.



But still, after that if you ran a 30 sec commercial, one that's split screen or sort of "in broadcast" still, while the pitcher runs in, and then talk about the pitcher, his record, what/why he's in that situation, he's probably then ready to pitch and you're done. You got a commercial in, the pitcher is ready, you never broke away from the broadcast so it doesn't really feel like a break.

[Edgy MD]

I thought the rule was six pitches anyhow.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Instead of going to a commercial, just call it the "Geico Pitching Change" and have the announcers read a promo.

[Frayed Knot]

They can do it however they want, but if each change is going to take 2 to 2-1/2 minutes it hardly matters whether they cut away or not and nobody, not within the game or even the writers who are suggesting all kinds of stuff, are mentioning this huge area of dead time.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm thinking it might take less time if they don't cut to a commercial, but maybe not.

[Edgy MD]

If copious and profligate pitching changes are really seen as a major cause of the pace-of-play issue, then why are we expanding the roster to 26 players? Why are we softening on the DH? Why are we giving a team still one more roster spot for double headers, as rare as they are?



Each of these leads to more pitchers on the roster, and more pitchers on the roster leads to more pitching changes.