Baseball in the Time of the Big V

Tournament or bracket-style baseball? Bring it on. Universal DH? Sorry pitchers, but unless you’re raking from the nine-hole, you can sit this one out.

This is from an article about the potential changes to fit the times if baseball comes back this year.  Hey, take that anti-DH stuff to the AL! You report for the METS! Also, if part of the concern is to shorten games given a reduced period of time / need to fit in more games given there might be fewer places to play etc., wouldn't the DH extend games?  Having the pitcher hit, which adds additional strategy (including pinch hitters, double switches etc.), to me is a net positive.  Mets pitchers repeatedly are for various reasons amusing to watch hit too. 

To me, it is rather stupid really to think otherwise -- a single minded offensive mindset that again clashes with the additional whine that the game is too long.  It is one player out of nine.  The main benefit amounts to allowing a defensive liability (often older) hit but the NL approach as noted introduces new slots too.  Anyway, we probably have too many players and teams as is.  Extending the life of a few bats is not necessary.  But, apparently some people like that sort of thing.  Tongue out.

At the same time, MLB has to be careful with its desire to squeeze in as many games as possible. If that results in the season trickling into late November or December.

Currently, Mets baseball are a lot of specials, Howie Rose (radio vet) joining Twitter years after his Mets daughter (a spicy media rep herself) and replays of a lot of the same games.  SNY started with a replay of last season (only the wins, which is a bit stupid), using a sort of marathon approach of games during the day.  I think they should have basically continued doing that with previous seasons.  Work backward or something.  There is also the conceit (I checked out one such game) of the SNY trio calling a computerized game.  It was pretty good really, them being into it.

I already saw reference to baseball in South Korea and Taiwan with empty stadiums, robot fans and so forth. The talk is now to have some sort of schedule in a Spring Training location, such as Arizona, which as Gary Cohen noted earlier still is a rather complicated and dubious enterprise.  But, with talk of "re-opening" (as if we were in "lockdown" for years) already in places like Georgia and the NYC mayor flagging June 1st as a date when a "road map" will be released [for now, Gov. Cuomo continued the "PAUSE" until at least May 15th], figure it is rather likely something will come out here.  The next step is likely not to be normal, mind you, but some middle path. This is likely to include sports.  Basketball would seem a lot easier to do though.

Anyway, I'm game, shall we say, for some creativity.  OTOH, realizing the financial needs and so forth, trying to force too many games in is problematic as well.  It is hard to tell what will happen but a basic issue here is that there is likely not only to be less time [we already lost not only a month but there will need to be at least a week or two of spring training like preparation, I gather] but for now the teams aren't going to be playing in their normal locations, traveling around the country. So, that is one more reason you need to condense and/or fit games in less places.

I rather the best product possible here even if it means only a fraction of games. If this amounts to, let's say, half a season, make it half a season. Don't try to go out of the way with seven inning or whatever affairs with people on second base to force conclusions.  Some of that might be a good idea, but do not overdo it.  Maybe, do a mix.  And, just to note it, along with the DH, I think normal extra inning games are okay.  If you are at home, you don't have to watch it all.  If you are going there, and you cannot survive a few extras a year that go past let's say 11 innings, how did you survive watching nine? (Many don't.)  There are a rather few extra inning games.  If you want to avoid suspended games or deal with special situations like DHs or All Star Game situations, fine.

There were various tweaks in recent years like pitch clocks and the like. One that was to start this year was that a reliever (or "opener," I guess!) needs to be there for at least three batters.  The exception, of course, would be someone who comes in to get an out to end an inning.  The person doesn't have to hang around to pitch to two more batters, I presume.  But, if a pitcher is starting a second inning, as I understand the rules, he would have to pitch to at least three batters [one of the new fake automatic walks can help here].  So, though a shortened game might make this less notable, this new rule has various effects, including the tail end of a starter's day.

(A pitcher can be removed for an injury, but if a manager tries to stretch someone, it looks like they might be stuck with him for three batters, not one or two.)

As with everything else, this is just blather on my part in some fashion, and what will be, will be.  There are changes that are good, there are changes that are bad.  I'm not horrified at instant replay though it is likely overused.  Pitching clocks probably helps some over the top "rain delay" types as does limits (rarely met) to mound visits. I'm not sure about this three batter rule though pitching changes do feel overused at times with the presence now of an additional bench player only adding to the possibilities there.  And, in certain contexts, even other changes might be okay.  I like the DH though.

January (lead-up to/impeachment) and March (Part 1 -- normal; Part II -- not) seemed rather long.  Not sure about February.  Guess ordinary.  April seems to have gone fast.  Perhaps, it is a sort of weird normal abnormality.