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I love it. That shit slowed the game down too much. Being a Yankee fan, I remember getting so pissed when Ricky Henderson would get onto first base because I knew there'd be like 15 throws over to first to try to keep his lead shorter. It rarely worked anyway but it slowed the game to the point of being unwatchable. That was when I first heard the phrase "speed slows the game down", and it really did. Actually they also had Steve Sax with Henderson a few years and Sax stole pretty often too, so it was doubly bad to watch those games.

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Oh my god. They actually did it. Amazing.

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Thanks Chuck, E.L. and Harmy!

Pitch clock is a necessity. Hate to say it but if pitchers are gonna take eight years to throw the damn ball, MLB games are going to take as long as your average Cricket match soon.

And yes, the pickoff move was the worst thing in baseball. Get to pitching. Also thrilled they're FINALLY wising up to shifts, if it were up to me I'd ban them outright.

Cricket cut games from like 5 days to 4 hours with some recent rule changes. My boss is from India and was really excited to tell us about them the other day. (Don’t ask about them as I zoned out about 0.3 seconds in).

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

I don't mind throws to 1B, but then again, I liked the slow pace of baseball probably because I grew up on hockey. But the balk as a punishment seems like too much. I would have been happier with a decrease in the pitch clock until the next batter.

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What would Mad Max be like with EVs?

I wonder if they’ll do studies to see how many rushed pitches lead to hits, thus more offense, but also longer games. That would be ironically fun.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Longer due to offense > longer due to nothing.

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Thanks Chuck, E.L. and Harmy!

I am getting old. I actually enjoy 5-day cricket matches and long baseball games. Why do we always have to speed things up? Do we all have a funeral to go to? The world has gone and gotten itself in a big damn hurry. Besides a 4½-hour baseball game allows you to get properly drunk. I mean we all love the OT hockey games which can go on for as much as 6 additional periods in the playoffs. Take your time. Enjoy the moment. It may never come around again.

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Bíonn macalla ag an bheatha sa tsíoraíocht. Liverpool FC: 2019 and 6-time Champions of Europe. 2020 and 19 time English Premier League Champions YNWA. JFT 97

Skip I get your point but in an OT hockey game the puck is constantly in motion and any moment could be huge. A pitcher standing there glaring at a runner for 30 seconds is boring at any time. Especially if they keep doing it.

And Jeff, I agree with you too. I just think it would be funny if games wound up longer instead of shorter.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

The game of baseball has always been a rather leisurely watch and I've had no issue with that whatsoever. And really, that's not the issue. If games today were like they were 10-20 years ago, there would be no changes. But recent tactical changes have made the game absolutely UNBEARABLE to watch. One could blame the very heavy influence analytics has on the game (way more than any other sport) but really it's still just idiots at the top making bad decisions, they're just doing it based on spreadsheets.

A few of the issues at hand:

1. Analytics tells us that "small ball" is not the way to go. Hitters should go for broke every time they're up at the plate, and pitchers should hurl the ball as hard as they possibly can. Nominally, more home runs, more strikeouts, and more fastballs should be a good thing, but it's not. Pitchers now take a lot longer between throws because they're having to huck it as hard as they can has stretched out a normal baseball game to interminable lengths. Not to mention the fact now that you're burning through arms a lot faster, you're having to make visits to the bullpen a lot more, which also adds to the length of games. MLB has put limits on this now, and that's probably necessary. And yes, unfortunately, a pitch clock, loath as I am to admit it, is also probably necessary.

2. They also now have players shifting all over the damned field, effectively cutting the effectiveness of pull hitters like the Splendid Splinter himself, and it's idiocy. This ain't football, the players should line up where they're supposed to be lined up. They're now limiting shifts, but if it were up to me I'd ban them outright. Hey shortstop, move your ass over onto the baseline between 2nd and 3rd and fucking STAY there...until the ball is hit of course.

3. There's also the fact pretty much half the teams in baseball are just tanking it. When half the league isn't even trying on purpose, the results on the field speak for themselves. Couple this with the push by baseball to effectively destroy the minor leagues and there's a very big reckoning happening in baseball, probably soon now that minor league players have officially unionized.

Obviously the incessant pickoff throws is not a new phenomenon, but I'm still glad those will finally be limited. Unfortunately MLB is run by a bunch of people (especially Manfred) who seem to have a real disdain for the game.

Anyway, rant over. Look, baseball in its current form is NOT WATCHABLE. These changes are kinda lame, but necessary.

Imagine if Aaron Judge had been on the Yankees their first year in the new stadium when I could have hit a ball out? He'd have shattered the home run record.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

I love that we're all watching Judge as if Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa never existed. Fuck those guys.

Thumbs up on this one! I was just happy he didn't get it against the Sox.

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Yeah. A Mets fan friend was going off about how Judge isn't going to get the "real home run record" and people jumped all over him saying this is the CLEAN home run record.

Next time MLB has rule change proposals- I say if a guy is walked intentionally he gets 2nd base on the walk. Takes away the double play set up, makes him more likely to score, etc. I know pitchers would just keep balls closer to the plate but that's the point. If a pitcher misses a little from throwing a ball slightly out of the zone, it could end up out of the park.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Jays at home for the Wild Card and the neighbours and I have tickets for game 2, along with a Guerrero Jr. powder blue jersey from the kids for my upcoming birthday.

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Thanks Chuck, E.L. and Harmy!

That's awesome Jeff!!

Where are the seats?

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What would Mad Max be like with EVs?

Judge with #62. The AL/non-roid home run record.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

200's but no idea where.

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Thanks Chuck, E.L. and Harmy!

Otherwise smart people on my timeline are trying to say the vitriol aimed at McGwire/Bonds/Sosa is misplaced and we don't know if Maris's record is "clean" because he might have been taking amphetamines at the time. Fuck that noise, this is the record, and those other guys can get stuffed.

I understand juicing/doping is likely still going on and is far more prevalent in sports at all levels than we'd like to believe, but that doesn't make me hate the guys who very obviously cheated (and are all assholes to boot) and all but ruined baseball for me.

Of course, the Rockies have played a part in ruining baseball for me as well, but you already all know that.

And that's it for Eck.....Dennis Eckersley is done doing the color on NESN for the Sox....First Remy and now Eck. Its a changing of the guard while watching Sox games that's for sure.

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