Dude it's three batters OR the end of the half inning

All the roster rules about who counts as a pitcher is getting to be NFL level annoying

Crap, missed that, thanks! I feel better now!

I'm disappointed they keep renewing the provisional DH rule in the AL.

I don't like this "escape clause" for the 3-batter minimum.


"the substitute pitcher sustains injury or illness which, in the umpire crew chief's judgement, incapacitates him from further play as a pitcher."

Could be some gaming of this clause.

A line drive to the pitcher's forehead, probably ought to take him out of the game. But what if he wants to stay in the game?

A blister on the pitcher's pinky, and the pitcher says he can't grip the ball. But what if the umpire says it doesn't look that bad?

Should there be some sort of "X-days on the DL" for a pitcher who is allowed to leave early for an injury?

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"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

If you don't like that rule, then make sure you don't read about the proposed changes to the playoffs. It's enough to ruffle your jimmies.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Yeah, watching pitchers strike out to kill a rally is amazing.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

But then you would not have gotten this:

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"Go yell at an M&M"

Your argument will fall on deaf ears. BLeP doesn't appreciate game strategy and the decisions on whether or not to pull a pitcher/ let them hit. He sees pitchers as sub-humans who only need to play half the game for twice the money while letting aging players who can't play D make up the other half.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Their focus on reducing the length of the games is to be applauded. This one may not reduce drastically the overall lengths, but I do look forward to the last two innings not dragging on like the end of b'ball and football games. Lefty hitters sure aren't complaining while some lefty relievers are now out of work.

The elephant in the room still remains removing the home plate umpire from calling balls and strikes and expanding the strike zone call to comply with how it is written in the rule book. Talk about reducing the length of the game meaningfully, this is the ticket to that end.

FIFY - they strike out well north of 40% of the time, watching pitchers go up there and either stand like a statue or flail helplessly isn't fun. And there is just as much strategy in pitching situations in the AL. They are just different.


They came up with the DH for a reason. In 1968 - before the DH - pitcher hit .132/.167/.171, good for a wRC+ of 1, in 9,024 PA's. In 2018 .115/.144/.148 in the major leagues in 5,135 plate appearances. That’s a -25 wRC+. https://tht.fangraphs.com/...of-pitchers-hitting/


And no pitcher who isn't named Ohtani works on their htting. Even in the NL. There is just too much risk of injury for something that isn't the reason they are in the majors. AL pitchers are worse than the NL, but not by much. "AL pitchers, in 2018, posted a .109/.129/.147 slash line; in 2017, .118/.154/.143. Both lines ranked well below their National League counterparts, who were good for a .116/.145/.149 line in 2018, and a .125/.157/.163 line in 2017."


Baseball fans want to be able to go to games without taking out a mortgage, more action on the field which means something other than K's and HR's, less down time, etc. MLB give us 3 hitter rules and stupid ass playoff plans.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Pitchers can't hit for shit. Why would anyone want to watch high school level hitters face major league pitching?

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

I think a solution would be that if the pitcher claims an injury or illness to avoid the 3-batter minimum, that pitcher can't be used for the next 3 games. Or even forget the injury or illness requirement and simply make it any relief pitcher who doesn't meet the 3-batter minimum or pitch to the end of the inning is disqualified from the next 3 games. So the strategy of pitching to just one batter is still available, but it comes with a price.

What's Don Mattingly going to do?

And there's a solution to an umpire's interpretation of the strike zone that is more accurate than any umpire's call.

To speed up the game, I'd like to see a rule that a batter can only call time to step out of the batter's box once per at bat. You can step out the box after a pitch, but once you step back in, you have to stay until the next pitch.

We could speed it up even more if we went to the rule we used playing softball in Boy Scouts and no one to call balls and strikes. 2 pitches. The pitcher is on the same team as the batter. I just don't think the length of the game itself is the problem. It is what is happening on the field during the 3:10 that pisses people off, not the 3:10 itself.

And I have much more problem knowing that 10 or so teams have no interest in competing for that year. I don't know how to fix that, but it has been bad and is getting worse.

We have had umps calling strikes forever. Yes there is discrepancy, but it is pretty are for them to be consistently bad. I actually kind of like there being a little variance as long as the calls are consistent.

Maybe we need the robo ump strike zone to vary just a little bit game to game. :) "Ohhhh, looks like the robo ump is giving the outside corner today!"

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Robo umps are so far from being reliable it is laughable. Robot umps calling balls and strikes should not happen.

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~Brad

If you're only watching the game for offense, then I'd agree. If you're paying attention to game strategy and how decisions are made from both side of the diamond, especially for the 7th and 8th batters. The dynamics change depending on the score, inning, pitch count, etc. I find that level of the game highly intriguing and one of the reasons I like watching the game. Just tossing some other dude in there who's only purpose is to hit makes the game more boring for me.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

^^^This - choosing your opponent brings a reality TV element to it. Not good.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

Look at tennis, the technology is there if they want to implement it