It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about baseball and specifically the Yankees. Perhaps I have been in mourning over the way the Yankee season ended.
We all worried about our starting pitching going into the playoffs. Ironically, while it wasn’t great, they did pitch well enough to keep us in games 2-6. The culprit of course was the lack of timely hitting with runners in scoring position. Many of those at bats ended in strike outs. Funny thing is the Bombers, led the league in RISP during the 2019 season. Since the subject matter is the baseball playoffs… games take far too long. People say that true die-hard baseball fans love this, and why would I want something I truly love to be shorter? As if a great two-hour movie couldn't get worse if they added another 30 minutes. Sometimes less is more. Game 1 of the World Series started at 8:08 p.m. ET and lasted three hours and 43 minutes. That gets us an end time of 9 minutes till midnight. Imagine a hypothetical casual fan lives in the Eastern time zone and has to wake up at 5:30 a.m. Are we reeling that fan in? I've even talked to die-hards who say they simply can't stay up that late on a weeknight. I know I struggled to stay awake, but since the Yankees weren’t playing, I chose to bail out before the end of some of those games. Nats fans had it rough. I personally love pitchers' duels, but if a game is going to last four hours, please give me a slugfest (like 2017 World Series Game 5, which seemed like it lasted all night but was one of the best games ever). Game 3 was a lot closer to a snoozefest. I can handle great pitching and defense in a close game, but not when it takes almost 4 hours. Part of the problem is the strike zone and how it’s called. You never see a pitch over the belt called a strike, yet in the rule book, it’s strike. Check it out. Then there is the umpires and their inability to consistently call balls and strikes which of course causes arguments and raises pitch counts. I hate the idea of a computer calling pitches, but after what I’ve seen over the last few seasons, bring it on! I was happy for a limit on mound visits, which has worked and no one even notices any more. The next step after computer called balls and strikes, is the pitch clock. I've been to minor-league games and they flow a lot better. You really don't even notice it. Baseball has changed dramatically over the last 5 years (and not always in a good way) . Some of the changes were needed, many put into place to gain back younger viewers who seem to struggle with focusing on a game, that’s not fast paced with plenty of home runs and high scores. Baseball desperately wants their attention and money. I hate to change such a traditional game, but it’s time, not just for the millennials, but for us old school die-hards.
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WhatWhatever strikes you as interesting, absurd, ridiculous, funny or serious about all sports, then this is the place to hear my slant on it. My focus will be mainly on the New York area, but anything going on in sports anywhere is fair game. If you are interested in sausage race results, basket weaving, or politics, you may wish to click elsewhere. Your comments are always welcomed and encouraged. Archives
December 2019
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NHL 12/5/19 1 Bruins 2 Capitals 3 Islanders 4 Blues 5 Oilers 6 Flyers 7 Hurricanes 8 Avalanche 9 Jets 10 Coyotes NFL 12/5/19 1 Ravens 2 49ers 3 Seahawks 4 Patriots 5 Saints 6 Cheifs 7 Vikings 8 Packers 9 Bills 10 Texans |