Meet the Mets (For Mets Fans Only!)
Can get really stupid and have something akin to the NHL overtime system. First, two or three innings with fewer players in the field - say three infielders and two outfielders. If tied after that, some kind of pitcher against batter only "shootout".
I doubt the extra innings rule change will happen. I also don't believe they'll require pitchers to throw to 3 hitters.
The easiest way to shorten the game would be to move one 30 second commercial out of the between-innings and replace it with a :15 spot in the inning between batters. Voila! Fifteen minutes shaved off game time.
Another rule change should be to put a time limit on mound visits, and a time limit on pitching changes. A team should have X number of seconds from when the manager crosses the baseline until the new pitcher has to throw a pitch to the next batter. That will eliminate stalling by managers at the mound, and it will likely shorten game times a bit.
And they other change should be a time clock on pitchers and batters. No stepping out after every pitch to go through some ritual of adjusting gloves or helmets or whatever it it they think they need to do.
None of those changes would fundamentally change the way the game is played, they would simply eliminate a lot of the pointless stalling that a lot of managers, hitters and pitchers engage in.
Sudden brainstorm: Allow a pitcher to throw one in there even if the batter isn’t in the box, except after foul balls. Incentive for both to stay on their toes.
(OK, so the batter stays on his toes while the pitcher decides to shake off a cycle of signs, and then another. Maybe the batter can relax a little, but he’s still in the box and has to set his stance as soon as the windup begins. If he relaxes and the pitcher quick-pitches, his bad.)
DaveSchmidt said:
Sudden brainstorm: Allow a pitcher to throw one in there even if the batter isn’t in the box, except after foul balls). Incentive for both to stay on their toes.
(OK, so the batter stays in his toes while the pitcher decides to shake off a cycle of signs, and then another. Maybe the batter can relax a little, but he’s still in the box and has to set his stance as soon as the windup begins. If he relaxes and the pitcher quick-pitches, his bad.)
there was a time when batters wanted to stay in the box, and pitchers wanted to get the hitters to move around. In the days of Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson, a guy who "dug in" and got too comfortable at the plate was going to get a pitch thrown at his head. How did it get to be the norm for hitters to jump in and out and reset themselves five times in an at-bat?
ml1 said:
DaveSchmidt said:there was a time when batters wanted to stay in the box, and pitchers wanted to get the hitters to move around. In the days of Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson, a guy who "dug in" and got too comfortable at the plate was going to get a pitch thrown at his head. How did it get to be the norm for hitters to jump in and out and reset themselves five times in an at-bat?
Sudden brainstorm: Allow a pitcher to throw one in there even if the batter isn’t in the box, except after foul balls). Incentive for both to stay on their toes.
(OK, so the batter stays in his toes while the pitcher decides to shake off a cycle of signs, and then another. Maybe the batter can relax a little, but he’s still in the box and has to set his stance as soon as the windup begins. If he relaxes and the pitcher quick-pitches, his bad.)
Generational attention span deficit.
ok I posted on wrong thread but, again, bikini chicken fights will save baseball.
Mesoraco back to the Mets. I like that move. I prefer him as the backup to d'Arnaud, though they are both injured all the time.
ml1 said:
DaveSchmidt said:there was a time when batters wanted to stay in the box, and pitchers wanted to get the hitters to move around. In the days of Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson, a guy who "dug in" and got too comfortable at the plate was going to get a pitch thrown at his head. How did it get to be the norm for hitters to jump in and out and reset themselves five times in an at-bat?
Sudden brainstorm: Allow a pitcher to throw one in there even if the batter isn’t in the box, except after foul balls). Incentive for both to stay on their toes.
(OK, so the batter stays in his toes while the pitcher decides to shake off a cycle of signs, and then another. Maybe the batter can relax a little, but he’s still in the box and has to set his stance as soon as the windup begins. If he relaxes and the pitcher quick-pitches, his bad.)
Frank Robinson was the only batter I ever heard Bob Gibson speak well of. Robinson crowded the plate,dug in, and dared the pitcher to throw at him. He was so tough he intimidated most pitchers, and even a headhunting mean cuss like Gibson respected him. Of course, it helped that Robinson's bat was so quick he was still able to massacre inside pitches.
mfpark said:Frank Robinson was the only batter I ever heard Bob Gibson speak well of. Robinson crowded the plate,dug in, and dared the pitcher to throw at him. He was so tough he intimidated most pitchers, and even a headhunting mean cuss like Gibson respected him. Of course, it helped that Robinson's bat was so quick he was still able to massacre inside pitches.
When a friend shared Thomas Boswell’s tribute last night, I replied how much I would have loved seeing Robinson and Gibson go mano a mano. By the time I was watching baseball, it would’ve taken an O’s-Cards Series.
I like limiting pitchers from doing their pre-pitch antics. Like in football, put a clock that the pitcher can see in the backstop above the umpire's head. Give them 15 seconds which starts when the ball is in the pitcher's glove. It will beep at 15 seconds so the umpire knows. If the ball doesn't make contact with the bat or catcher's glove in the allotted 15 seconds, it's automatically a ball. How about requesting new balls all the time? Should we limit that? How about throws to first? What about limiting innings played? I realize baseball is unique as far as the length of time spent to decide a winner, but maybe we cap it at 12 innings? Or if not that, cap the game time to four hours? We'll have ties, to be sure, but it happens in other sports.
This seems to me a problem with timing pitches: How do you make exceptions for holding runners on base? Does the timer apply only when the bases are empty?
That's a good question. Perhaps with men on base you get 20 seconds? And no beeping. But how would the umpire know if the pitcher went over his time limit? And what would be the consequence if he did? Maybe it's a vibrating thing a la fitbit that the ump wears on his wrist?
DaveSchmidt said:
This seems to me a problem with timing pitches: How do you make exceptions for holding runners on base? Does the timer apply only when the bases are empty?
yes.
So the Post says we could have had Thor in exchange for our lazy catcher and butterfingers 3B. Mets would’ve gotten Realmuto.
Would’ve pulled the trigger on that deal.
Robert_Casotto said:
So the Post says we could have had Thor in exchange for our lazy catcher and butterfingers 3B. Mets would’ve gotten Realmuto.
Would’ve pulled the trigger on that deal.
Mets seem to have come out ahead by not making the deal. The keep Syndergaard and add Ramos instead of Realmuto.
Live attendance down, TV watching up. Sure, time between every pitch drives me a little batty like everyone else, but all in all I worry less about length of game and more about $20 steak sandwiches.
Train_of_Thought said:
Live attendance down, TV watching up. Sure, time between every pitch drives me a little batty like everyone else, but all in all I worry less about length of game and more about $20 steak sandwiches.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2018/10/04/2018-mlb-regional-tv-ratings-in-primetime-shows-continued-strong-popularity/#627766cd6257
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/the-atlanta-falcons-absurdly-cheap-food-and-beer-prices-just-got-even-cheaper/
the $20 steak isn't steak-umm with cheez whiz. It's a Pat LaFrieda filet mignon. I'd suggest budget conscious families shouldn't be buying the kids filet ;-)
Forget about timing pitchers. Ridiculous concept, really. And the idea of limiting time to hold runners--well, how about we just stop throws over to first base altogether? Silliness.
The whole point of being a pitcher is to throw (ahem) the batter and runners off their timing. Putting a clock on them defeats key parts of the enterprise.
I would be more comfortable with a clock on the batter to stop the anal compulsive gloves-cup-hat-arm bands-cup-hat-pray to Jesus tics.
The idea of stopping games at an arbitrary inning is also anathema to the game. Then again, I still hate soccer shootouts at the end of tie games.
I am not a blind originalist--heck, I like the DH, hard baseballs, and one pitch relievers--but some of the stuff being discussed here and by MLB-Players Union are ridiculous.
mfpark said:
Forget about timing pitchers. Ridiculous concept, really. And the idea of limiting time to hold runners--well, how about we just stop throws over to first base altogether? Silliness.
The whole point of being a pitcher is to throw (ahem) the batter and runners off their timing. Putting a clock on them defeats key parts of the enterprise.
I would be more comfortable with a clock on the batter to stop the anal compulsive gloves-cup-hat-arm bands-cup-hat-pray to Jesus tics.
The idea of stopping games at an arbitrary inning is also anathema to the game. Then again, I still hate soccer shootouts at the end of tie games.
I am not a blind originalist--heck, I like the DH, hard baseballs, and one pitch relievers--but some of the stuff being discussed here and by MLB-Players Union are ridiculous.
the pitch timing rule has been in the MLB rule book pretty much forever. Rule no. 8.04:
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 12-second timing starts when the pitcher is in possession of the ball and the batter is in the box, alert to the pitcher. The timing stops when the pitcher releases the ball. The intent of this rule is to avoid unnecessary delays. The umpire shall insist that the catcher return the ball promptly to the pitcher, and that the pitcher take his position on the rubber promptly. Obvious delay by the pitcher should instantly be penalized by the umpire.
all the clock does is alert everyone to how much time the pitcher is taking, allowing the umpire to enforce the rule that is on the books.
mfpark said:
Mets are making a run at Gio Gonzalez, formerly a stalwart of the Nationals. Solid, if aging, lefty who gives a consistent 30 starts each season and probably has another season or two left in his arm.
Although I would love to see them sign another outfielder and a shortstop, there is a good reason to go for more pitching. Sbenois on Facebook linked to an amazing article the other day that shows that batted balls at Citifield do far worse than in any other park--and this holds especially true when you compare the Mets' batting on the road versus at home. The gap is astounding, and the reduced BABIP at Citi affects visiting teams as well.
No reason is obvious for this, but the results are inarguable. So the Mets should indeed focus on great pitching first. And batters who join the Mets should expect their offensive numbers to fall simply by virtue of 82 home games in the stadium where BABIP comes to die.
I have instructed my new family Doctor of Meteorology to please call the Wilpons and offer to do a heavy duty wind study of Citifield. Something is seriously strange there.
Here is the article. It is absolutely worth reading and absorbing. And when you are done, read it again. Crazy stuff.
ml1 said:
Train_of_Thought said:the $20 steak isn't steak-umm with cheez whiz. It's a Pat LaFrieda filet mignon. I'd suggest budget conscious families shouldn't be buying the kids filet ;-)
Live attendance down, TV watching up. Sure, time between every pitch drives me a little batty like everyone else, but all in all I worry less about length of game and more about $20 steak sandwiches.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2018/10/04/2018-mlb-regional-tv-ratings-in-primetime-shows-continued-strong-popularity/#627766cd6257
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/the-atlanta-falcons-absurdly-cheap-food-and-beer-prices-just-got-even-cheaper/
That was my point.
Whoever orders a filet cheesesteak has a slight pronunciation problem.
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Right? You could go 0 for 5 with no walks and magically score the game winning run!
(I know there are a couple of ways this can happen such as errors and fielder's choice plays but those involve some form of putting the bat on the ball. Except HBP. Or dropped third strikes. Darn it, baseball is a funny game).