Baseball a leisurely game that should be left alone – The San Diego Union-Tribune
Sez Me …
Am I missing something here? Is baseball dying? Is it in ICU? Are priests around the world, not to mention the Pope, giving it extreme unction?
No. Baseball is not in need of a Sacrament. It is thriving.
And yet they continue in their efforts to MacGyver it, because, well, this is 2017, and it should be like the bullet train (except the one in California, which is a boondoggle and going nowhere).
This game of ours is not an amphetamine. Its pulse was slow at birth. It was intended to be slow. It continues to be slow. It always will be slow. If it is a tortoise, it is the tortoise who won.
It is a sport to be savored, not gulped. Slow is part of its charm.
Commissioner Rob Manfred says there will not be many rules changes this season because the players union isn’t cooperating.
Good.
It’s all about speeding up games. I’m surprised he hasn’t asked for them to be cut to six innings.
One of the proposals being considered: When a game goes extra innings, the 10th begins with a runner already on second base. This is such an idiotic idea I don’t know what to say, except it comes from people who brought us the designated hitter (the worst thing to happen to baseball) and have done nothing to outlaw The Shift (which has a chance to surpass the DH).
Another: Put a clock on pitchers. This would be a great idea — if they could get one umpire on earth to enforce it.
Another: Raise the strike zone. I don’t know what good it would do, because every ump has a different strike zone and commissioners past and present have been afraid to police it. Are umps not employees?
Andy Green the other day suggested having a 10-swings-per-team home run derby after 12 innings to decide tie games. He was joking, I guess (I hope), but Andy is a creative manager.
A change that will be made: The intentional walk, a part of baseball since a horse first gave its hide, no longer will be the same. Four wide ones? No. All a manager has to do is signal the ump from the dugout and the runner automatically will take first base.
This will speed up the game? An intentional walk takes about a minute of dead time. There were 932 intentional walks last season, or one every 2.6 games, according to ESPN.
Things have happened during intentional walks. Pitchers have thrown balls too close to the plate and batters have nailed them. There have been wild pitches. Last Tuesday night a Long Beach State player stole a base during an intentional walk.
Baseball should be Garbo. Leave the damn game alone. …
Ken Whisenhunt says the Judases must learn how to finish. They’re halfway there. They know how to leave. …
Attention Ham and Eggers: Once and for all, do not allow the Sooners to rush their Conestogas into Mission Valley for a land grab. …
Enough with the coziness of StubHub Center. Judases are there out of desperation and will thrill the national media if they host a playoff game with a 10-seat press box. Football games are fun to watch at Southwestern College, too. …
If the NFL had any reproductive organs, it would not allow games there. Or, for that matter, in Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium. …
San Diego leads the world in new stadium renderings. Last in building them. …
Every architect should live here. …
Per source: FatChance.com is the favorite to get our new stadium naming rights. …
But we’ll always have Comic-Con. Saying that is kind of comical. …
It’s the NFL. Some team will intercept Jay Cutler before he retires. …
Chiefs are a favorite to land Tony Romo. Why? Alex Smith has one more playoff win than Romo. Two. …
Rich Eisen doesn’t need Michael Johnson to coach him if he wants to run a faster 40 at the Combine. He just needs to find some Jamaican yams. …
I didn’t watch a second of the NBA All-Star Game, but given the defense and final score, I’m guessing Gary Zarecky and Paul Westhead were coaching it. …
Vlade Divac. What the hell? …
The thimble has been removed from Monopoly. Trump, what a character. …
Jim Buss may have been given The Big Haircut from sister Jeanie, but he got off lucky. He could have been vice president of the North Korea Lakers. …
In AP poll history, Gonzaga’s 58-point win at USD was the largest margin of victory by a No. 1-ranked team on the road. Basketball here is at its worst since 1999. …
If the NCAA allows Mississippi to escape with nothing more than Ole Miss’ self-imposed bowl ban, it is Perry Mason’s Hamilton Burger, can’t win anymore, and has to get out of the prosecution business for good. …
SEC. Sure Everyone’s Clean. …
If they made a documentary on Meryl Streep, she’d be nominated for best actress. …
Oscars. Fake. …
Speaking of Sooners. QB Baker Mayfield caught. Baked. …
And here I was, planning a nice, safe trip to Sweden. …
There is one Howard Johnson’s remaining. I assume it’s in Rock Ridge. …
Why wasn’t Sean Spicer around to bar us from Mike McCoy press conferences? …
It’s amazing how much more comfortable I feel writing in Tom Brady’s filthy Super Bowl jersey. Thanks, Roger. …
The American flag was raised 72 years ago Wednesday on Iwo Jima. Heroes. Playing games does not make you one.
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