7 inning pitchers rule

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by bravos4evr

this is starting to be not true! so many relievers have become specialized on doing one thing (get leftys out for example) that it is probably easier to win if you threw 4 relievers at a lineup every game.

much less fun to watch tho

I am sure you are right. I liked watching games, though, much more when the presumption was that your starter was going as deep as he could, when there weren't long delays between every pitch, when batters weren't intentionally trying to jack the pitch count, when there weren't 10 pitching changes a game, etc. Without looking it up I am guessing games are a half hour longer than they were in the 70s on average, if not longer.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I am sure you are right. I liked watching games, though, much more when the presumption was that your starter was going as deep as he could, when there weren't long delays between every pitch, when batters weren't intentionally trying to jack the pitch count, when there weren't 10 pitching changes a game, etc.

Amen, brother.

Perhaps they could just keep playing during the commercial breaks and then just show the actual pitches after the ad, like they do in golf. A pitcher walking around the mound, a batter adjusting his batting glove after every pitch and a golfer walking 200 yards between shots are all equally exciting, almost as exciting as 8 hours of coverage for the two minute Kentucky Derby.

[bravos4evr]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I am sure you are right. I liked watching games, though, much more when the presumption was that your starter was going as deep as he could, when there weren't long delays between every pitch, when batters weren't intentionally trying to jack the pitch count, when there weren't 10 pitching changes a game, etc. Without looking it up I am guessing games are a half hour longer than they were in the 70s on average, if not longer.

Oh, I am by no means in favor of watching this happen. But it's probably optimal for winning.

IMO, they need the pitch clock like in the minors to help speed things up.(and ditch replay with the exception of plays at the plate and calls involving borders, like homers and fouls...etc)

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by bravos4evr

Oh, I am by no means in favor of watching this happen. But it's probably optimal for winning.

IMO, they need the pitch clock like in the minors to help speed things up.(and ditch replay with the exception of plays at the plate and calls involving borders, like homers and fouls...etc)

I think I would also be in favor of a maximum number of fouls until it counts as a K.

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I think I would also be in favor of a maximum number of fouls until it counts as a K.

Seriously?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

Seriously?

Sure, why not? You can't bunt foul on strike three. So why not speed the game up by saying you can't foul off more than, I don't know, five pitches? 10 pitch at bats. Move it along.

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Sure, why not? You can't bunt foul on strike three. So why not speed the game up by saying you can't foul off more than, I don't know, five pitches? 10 pitch at bats. Move it along.

10 pitch at bats and you're going to have 1-0 games, which will even further destroy baseball's fan base. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison, either. It is MUCH easier to make contact with a bunt, therefore you should be able to put the ball in play on 3 attempts or less. Fouling of a pitch with a full swing is a strategy for batters to stay alive while attempting one of the most difficult things in sports: hitting a baseball pitched by a MLB pitcher.

And people need to stop looking for ways to change the game in order to speed it up. The game isn't the problem. Advertising and money are. I'm sure back in the day they didn't have 3-4 minute commercial breaks every half inning. Plus, they already changed the game with the intentional walk rule, and games are still 5 minutes longer on average this year than last year.

[Peter_Spaeth]

If you can't work a walk or put a ball in play within 10 pitches I have no problem calling you out. With an unlimited number, teams just use it as a way to jack up a pitcher's pitch count, and it's mostly boring and time consuming.