MLB messing with the game once again

[AngelsLakersFan]

17 hours ago, Blarg said:

If you watch games before the 80's one of the most significant time savers were using the same baseball until it left the park. Rarely do you see a pitcher requesting a new baseball. It's these little delays that add up as every ball that hits dirt or grass has to be inspected and replaced. 

I'm gona keep pushing my 'no timeout' rule change idea. If it was implemented this would be one of the more significant changes. There is no reason for a baseball to only be good for 3 pitches (the average life span of a ball). The game has developed dozens of reasons for pausing when it just doesn't need them. Put a limit on the number of times you can call timeout and managers / players will stop calling it for all of these mundane reasons.

[Blarg]

More dumb time out calls is handing off elbow and toe guards and batting gloves. If you can run to second base on a double with toe guard on you can certainly make it around the rest of the bases just fine. Wear what you brought to the plate and quit with the gear changing.

[AngelsLakersFan]

44 minutes ago, Blarg said:

More dumb time out calls is handing off elbow and toe guards and batting gloves. If you can run to second base on a double with toe guard on you can certainly make it around the rest of the bases just fine. Wear what you brought to the plate and quit with the gear changing.

Exactly. Just get rid of it all together. Why does a pitching coach ever need to visit the mound? If the catcher and pitcher want to talk it over, maybe force them to pay attention to the baserunners at the same time. Give managers 9 timeouts per game, plus 1 per extra inning and all of a sudden they will think twice about using that reliever against just one batter and will save their mound visits to all but the most crucial late game situations. 

[Junkballer]

1 hour ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Exactly. Just get rid of it all together. Why does a pitching coach ever need to visit the mound? If the catcher and pitcher want to talk it over, maybe force them to pay attention to the baserunners at the same time. Give managers 9 timeouts per game, plus 1 per extra inning and all of a sudden they will think twice about using that reliever against just one batter and will save their mound visits to all but the most crucial late game situations. 

I agree that mound visits to calm a pitcher down, coordinate signals or discuss baserunning should be severely restricted.  Pressure on the pitcher needs to be cranked up, not dissipated. This isn't little league, coordinate your signals and baserunning strategies on your own time or suffer the consequences.  Not sure what the Players Union would say about that though.

 

[Slegnaac]

On 2/22/2017 at 4:18 PM, Angel Oracle said:

At this rate, I am going to refer to him as Manlessfred.

Leave important elements to the game alone.

Instead, tell those freaking Red Sux and Skanks catchers to stop going to the mound every other pitch!

Just STOP it! 

In Detroit they have even made a dirt path from home to the mound!

[kevinb]

They should make 2 more changes. Add DH in both leagues, its ridiculous that the game is played two different ways because of just a rule. Not any other sport does that. 2nd make the strike zone computer/technology controlled. Easy peasy.

[Angel Oracle]

Agreed on the DH, as how many levels of baseball down to little league even have the pitcher hitting?

That's not to say that in the future, someone like Shohei Otani couldn't be the team's DH on his pitching days as the team's full time DH?

[AngelsLakersFan]

6 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

Agreed on the DH, as how many levels of baseball down to little league even have the pitcher hitting?

That's not to say that in the future, someone like Shohei Otani couldn't be the team's DH on his pitching days as the team's full time DH?

Im not super big on pitchers hitting or sluggers who don't own a glove. What I do enjoy is the strategy involved with leveraging the skills of weak hitters and weak defenders. I would like to see them alter the rules of substitution in such a way that would allow teams to pinch hit for pitchers but keep them in the game, or remove them from the game and be allowed to reuse the pinch hitter (like a DH). It's a hybrid approach that makes for an interesting compromise.

[California Cajun]

On Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 4:00 PM, fan_since79 said:

On the same day the powers-that-be messed with the game once again by making intentional walks automatic, Texas A&M's baseball team won a game with a walk-off wild pitch on an intentional pass.

Irony with a message. Leave the game of baseball alone, Commissioner!!

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/on-day-mlb-tweaks-walk-rule-texas-a-m-wins-on-wild-pitch-during-intentional-walk/

 

 

 

I don't like that change.  If they want to speed up the game, expand the strike zone and make the pitchers pitch fast.  Pitchers go over hitters before the game.  No need to mull over what to do.

Commercials are the biggest slow down problem.  Watch some classic games on YouTube and see how many fewer commercials you get.

[arch stanton]

4 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Im not super big on pitchers hitting or sluggers who don't own a glove. What I do enjoy is the strategy involved with leveraging the skills of weak hitters and weak defenders. I would like to see them alter the rules of substitution in such a way that would allow teams to pinch hit for pitchers but keep them in the game, or remove them from the game and be allowed to reuse the pinch hitter (like a DH). It's a hybrid approach that makes for an interesting compromise.

I'm exact opposite. I dislike specialization.

[Junkballer]

22 hours ago, Kevinb said:

They should make 2 more changes. Add DH in both leagues, its ridiculous that the game is played two different ways because of just a rule. Not any other sport does that. 2nd make the strike zone computer/technology controlled. Easy peasy.

As much as I am pro-DH, I've yet to meet a hardcore fan of an NL team that doesn't abhor the thought of switching over.  Its not something that MLB can do without NL fans going apeshit.

[WeatherWonk]

Just quit testing for "bennies", like it was in the 60s and 70s, and watch how fast the game speeds up. 

 

10 hours ago, Junkballer said:

As much as I am pro-DH, I've yet to meet a hardcore fan of an NL team that doesn't abhor the thought of switching over.  Its not something that MLB can do without NL fans going apeshit.

You know, if Manfred begins using the argument that the pitch clock works fine in the minors, then the same argument should be used for instituting the DH, league-wise. Pitchers hitting, now only exists in the NL. No where else in the minors, no where else in the world.

Having the DH across both leagues will speed up play because there will be fewer pinch hitters to wait for, too.

I am starting to get on board with some of these changes that speed up play. I dont necessarily want shorter games. I want more balls put in play, faster. That might mean more offense (which I hope for, especially a reduction in Ks) which might mean LONGER games, actually. 

I'm for changes that produce more offense. Institute the DH, make pitchers pitch to three or more batters. I'd also like to see rules that encourage stolen bases, which I think are probably the most exciting plays not involving a ball put in play off a bat. So maybe limit throws over. 

[kevinb]

5 hours ago, WeatherWonk said:

Just quit testing for "bennies", like it was in the 60s and 70s, and watch how fast the game speeds up. 

 

You know, if Manfred begins using the argument that the pitch clock works fine in the minors, then the same argument should be used for instituting the DH, league-wise. Pitchers hitting, now only exists in the NL. No where else in the minors, no where else in the world.

Having the DH across both leagues will speed up play because there will be fewer pinch hitters to wait for, too.

I am starting to get on board with some of these changes that speed up play. I dont necessarily want shorter games. I want more balls put in play, faster. That might mean more offense (which I hope for, especially a reduction in Ks) which might mean LONGER games, actually. 

I'm for changes that produce more offense. Institute the DH, make pitchers pitch to three or more batters. I'd also like to see rules that encourage stolen bases, which I think are probably the most exciting plays not involving a ball put in play off a bat. So maybe limit throws over. 

I don't want to change how the game is played. I enjoy baseball as a fan. I just think some of the more traditionalist need to realize that technology is here to stay and its only getting better. Don't put a runner on 2nd in extra innings, this isn't tee ball. But do add computer strike zones and add in more instant replay, if we have the technology to get a call right get the call right. Having a margin of error of 10 to 20% isn't making the game better. The closer we can get the game to a margin of error to 5% or less with technology we should.