MLB - NEWS & NOTES

great points Will and the batters stepping out every pitch to scratch their balls. change these little things about the game, not the game itself.

 

I agree it changes the fundenentals by eliminating lefty vs lefty matchups, but the same would apply to both teams.
A pitching change takes at least ten minutes to complete, so that's where I think they're coming from.

 

You can speed up a pitching change without going to a 3 batter minimum...it’s a dumb idea for a rule change.

Put a clock on the time you have to get a reliever to the mound to the time he throws his warmups. Or eliminate the warmup pitches for relievers completely...it really isn’t that necessary. They just got done warming up in the pen.

I’ve seen it take place countless times in way less than 10 minutes.

 

That was just my silly idea. Nobody who matters has actually proposed that.

 

As far I know the lefty vs lefty has just become popular the last twenty years, hardly tradition. Traditional baseball used very little relievers with the starter getting many more complete games.

A real baseball traditionalist could argue that bringing in one pitcher to face one batter has gotten out of hand and the fans have had enough of 4 hour games, they have a life outside of giving up 4-5 hrs of their day to a baseball team.

 

A lot of things popular now aren't tradition. Extreme defensive shifts....launch angles....defensive replacements....so on. Doesn't mean they are wrong. The game evolves. Strategy evolves.

I'm never for a rule that removes the strategy element. That's what separates good managers from bad ones.

If you don't want to give up your time to watch a game or go to a game.....don't watch, don't go.

 

Not sure if any of you guys remember Tom Trebelhorn. Played in the minors in the 70s and was briefly a manager for the Brewers and Cubs.

When interleague play became a thing in the 90s he brought forth an idea of having a designated pinch hitter, a DPH, instead of a DH.

The DPH could bat 1 time in each turn of the lineup. He could hit in any batting spot in the order...essentially pinch hit for anyone...and in each turn of the order you could put him in a different spot. First time through the order he could bat for the pitcher but the next time around could plug him in the 6 hole if you wanted. And he doesn't remove the player he hits for. I think the only catch Trebelhorn had was the DPH couldn't bat twice in the same inning unless the lineup turned over in that inning.

Pretty out there idea but I'd prefer that over a DH in the NL.

 

You can't say don't watch then, if you ignore the fans, you only lose out. Peak interest in the sport is way down from the 70s and one of the main reasons they found was the length of the game has gone up.

1970s
Football game 3 hrs
Hockey game 2.5 hrs
Baseball 2 hrs and 20 mins
Soccer 2 hrs
2019
Football 3 hrs
Hockey 2.5 hrs
baseball 3.5 hrs
Soccer 2 hrs

Obviously if they're addressing the issue that means they care what fans think.

 

Three top sports 1900 to 1950

Horse racing
baseball
boxing

 

The fans that complain about games being too long don't speak for all the fans....so, yes, I can say that.

I'm as interested in baseball today as the first time I ever walked into Wrigley.

If YOU don't like how long a game is....tune out. And let the rest of us continue to watch.

That's crap and you know it. They care what sponsors think. They care about money.

 

No sport should change rules to please it's casual fans.

 

That's funny, sponsors love long games, if they didn't care about fans there woildn't be this rule change.

 

Long games worry sponsors because they believe people will start to tune out. MLB has been receiving pressure from advertisers and cable networks for years.

If MLB actually cared about fans....a lot of things would be different right now.

 

Sounds like a deal could be completed for Realmuto today.

If it's the Phillies that definitely makes that destination more attractive to FAs. Getting Realmuto would likely make it easier to close the deal on Harper.

 

Speaking of money...

bww-as a cubs fan and chicago/illinois native i wanted to ask you a personal question about Wrigley Field. You know more than all of us about the lawsuits the Wrigley's had with the home owners and putting seats on their rooftops and charging people for them. Cubs went to the courts to fight them for years. Some were finally settled but in left field when the Cubs couldn't win the lawsuit, they put a huge scoreboard up to block the views of the homeowners and their rooftop seats. How do you feel about that ? To me it's shitty. Cubs squeezing out fans for not paying for a real seat inside the stadium paying them versus making a buck over charging xx dollars for a rooftop seat with a view that's still far from the field. to me both parties are trying to make a buck, but to block the view is kind of a slap in the face to people who are still Cubs fans. It's not like they are rooting for the exposing team. it's a bit of greed on both sides as well but since the Cubs have more legal power and muscle they win out or just block the views.

i went to college in Lisle/Naperville area and many of my friends are Cubs fans and they are differ on this debate. Some agree with the Cubs and some agree with the homeowners. Just asking which side you are on ? thx.

 

to a real baseball fan knows what goes into watching a game on tv or live. if they didn't they wouldn't be a fan of the game, so the length to real fans doesn't matter. it's the half of fan drinking IPA's at $8 a bottle who bitch about the length of a game or the soccer Mom that brings 2 crying kids to a game and after an hour the kids are crying their eyes out of boredom. those aren't real fans. stay the hell home.

 

after what we were discussing yesterday about Harper and Machado not wanting to play in Philly for whatever reason, getting Realmuto could easily change that and the stigma of Philly. That what happened when Jim Thome signed with the Phils after years of no quality FA wanting to go there. After 2008, they got CLiff Lee and the late HOF'er Roy Halladay to come to town !

 

I hated then....and I hate it now. Originally they put up some new signs to block views and then went with the scoreboard. It was a huge middle finger to the fans.

What really irked me is this....the Cubs got caught scalping their own tickets to fans once upon a time. This was before the Ricketts family bought the team. They set up an "independent" premium broker to sell tickets to fans at higher than face value...but ultimately that broker was owned by Cubs ownership. They got sued and somehow won and it was bullshit.

You can't crap on your fans that way and the Cubs have done it several times through history.

I love the rooftop experience....it's so unique and a lot of fun. But that whole thing was ugly.

I will say the alderman that runs that neighborhood is an asshole and has always been confrontational and combative with the Cubs. He and the mayors of Chicago made it hard for them to renovate a stadium that was in bad need of renovation. And the people who reside in that neighborhood are assholes too. They complain about night games, parking, traffic, and everything related to baseball but without Wrigley Field....their homes would not be worth what they are worth. That area is a desirable place to live because of Wrigley Field. There are some people that live there that rent out their parking spots in their driveways and alleys for $100 a game or more. So they are making like $8100 a season or more just because they live near the park.

I like do like the Ricketts family and I will say the improvements they have made to Wrigley are amazing. I wasn't on board with the jumboscreens....but they look amazing. Outside the ballpark is so much better than it used to be with the park they built and the hotel across the street. They turned it into something special without ruining the charm of an old ballpark....in my opinion.

 

great post. i was there once on the last day of the season in 1991 or 92. it was cold and overcast and Ryno hit a HR. i liked it a lot as it was my only time there.

i heard a funny ass story that a few years ago when the Cubs tore down the outside part of the stadium, that demolition let over 80,000 rats and probably 5,000 homeless cats out to run loose in the neighborhood. the locals complained of rats everywhere. oops.

 

I just read an article the other day that Chicago is the most rat infested city in the country. So not shocking at all.