Spring Cleaning

Baseball is a part of our past, Ray, and it
will be again

The similarities between baseball and the state of affairs in America is eerie.  Broken and battered both continue to try to get back on the track of prosperity, popularity and goodwill.    Baseball and America have always mirrored one another.  As things start to improve in our nation's economy, baseball begins a new season.  This all following an off-season where the Phillies have put together "The Great Wall of Philadelphia" with Halladay, Lee, Oswalt and Hamels,  the Red Sox crack the safe to sign Carl Crawford and trade for Adrian Gonzalez and the Cardinals find themselves pondering whether or not to break the bank to lock up, maybe, the greatest player whom ever graced a diamond. Oh by the way he is on the back end of his career.  

Heading into this season the competitive balance in baseball is better than it has been in a long time.  There are only about 7-8 teams that have zero chance of making the playoffs.  No other professional sport is as wide open as baseball.  Sure the Red Sox, Yankees and Phillies are going to make the post-season more often than not but Brewers, Rockies and A's fans shouldn't be shocked if their teams are still breathing come October.  Just like every other sport and just like in life we have our fair share of misfits too.  Apologies to the following fan bases because you aren't going anywhere:  Pirates, D-Backs, Mariners, Astros & Orioles.  If you are a fan of any of those teams keep an eye on Double A and Triple A stats because next season is here already. 

The best way to decribe baseball's 4
day opening weekend

Baseball has had its fair share of problems adapting to the 21st century.  The ability to evolve is the only way to survive in life no matter what it is that you do.   Baseball has shown the beginning stages of its evolution.  The Opening 4 Day Weekend is the first step.  College Football, The NBA and The NFL all don't start the the season on the exact same day.  Baseball is going to capitalize with a few games every day over the course of 4 days.  To quote our good friends at Guinness it's "Brilliant".

Umpire Huddles=Baseball Tradition

Now what's the next step in the evolutionary process?  That's easy.  Can we please have instant replay on homeruns and bang bang plays on the bases before the next Presidential election.  You can stick a dude with a monitor in the press box.  If a play is too close on the field, he can buzz the home plate umpire while he reviews it.  You are talking maybe, at most, 3-4 plays a game.  If each one of those reviews takes 2 minutes you have added 8 minutes to a game.  Managers arguing and umpire huddles eat up that much time anyway.  The one exception would be balls and strikes.  Just like penalties aren't reviewable in football the strikezone would be exempt for baseball.   PROBLEM SOLVED! Due Date: By 2012

The only double switch you should
ever see.  OK maybe not.

I would love to see both leagues go to the DH in the next few years.  Here is where tradition clouds the better judgement of baseball purists.  They say that pitchers hitting add to the strategy of managers.  How?  Every 4 days or so Tony Larussa pulls off a double switch with a utility infielder?  Wow, how compelling.  Sports are at their best when someone who is the best at what they do goes up against someone who is the best at what they do.  Watching pitchers get blown away by 95 mph fastballs isn't entertaining.  Could you imagine in the NFL if the AFC made one player play on both sides of the ball all game.  That's what the national league does with pitchers.  It's not worth having them hit because they succeed at it twice a week.  DH in both leagues please.  Due Date:  By 2014 

The biggest complaint people have about baseball I hear is the length of the season.  One quick note, baseball plays 162 game regular seasons.  That is the exact same amount of games that they played in 1961.  50 YEARS AGO! The season isn't any longer than is was five decades ago.  The problem isn't the season is too long.  The problem is we don't have 7 months to give to anything on a day in day out basis.  Even our jobs give us 2 off days a week.   Baseball isn't going to get rid of games.  If you cut 8 games from the schedule you are only saving a week, at the max, and going to cost owners millions of dollars in revenue and sales.  This is the biggest task so I saved it for last.  Baseball needs to bring back double headers.   Every other weekend play a split day-night double header on Saturdays.  Owners can keep their 162 games and money and you can save some time.  Double headers, just every other weekend, will shave two weeks off the regular season calendar.  Your playoffs start in September and the World Series would start around October 10th.  Everyone wins!  Due Date: By 2015

These are all fantastic and sensible ideas.  But we are talking about Major League Baseball.   That's why they will never get done.