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Well, we can't start a new season without another silly rule change, can we? I thought there was a rule against making a travesty of the game,
2:30 timer between innings, so the breaks don't drag on to 2:40, which will shorten games by less than three minutes, but add a whole new layer of enforcement and technological frivolity... If they really want to shorten the game, 1:30 would be plenty, but then where would the commercials go?
Batter gets fined ($500) for stepping out of the box. Jim Palmer speculated that David Ortiz will go up to the plate and hand the ump a check for $500 and say "I'm going to walk around". No game penalty -- just a lunch-money fine against players making ten thousand per at bat. I can't remember ever seeing a pitcher ready to pitch, already got the sign, but has to wait for the batter to get back in the box. Even if the batter is in the box, it's a "quick pitch" violation of the batter is not ready.
Well, we can't start a new season without another silly rule change, can we? I thought there was a rule against making a travesty of the game,
2:30 timer between innings, so the breaks don't drag on to 2:40, which will shorten games by less than three minutes, but add a whole new layer of enforcement and technological frivolity... If they really want to shorten the game, 1:30 would be plenty, but then where would the commercials go?
Batter gets fined ($500) for stepping out of the box. Jim Palmer speculated that David Ortiz will go up to the plate and hand the ump a check for $500 and say "I'm going to walk around". No game penalty -- just a lunch-money fine against players making ten thousand per at bat. I can't remember ever seeing a pitcher ready to pitch, already got the sign, but has to wait for the batter to get back in the box. Even if the batter is in the box, it's a "quick pitch" violation of the batter is not ready.
Which is the part you are seeing as "making a travesty of the game?
I'm thinking why not wait and see how it works out before condemning or praising the changes. If it winds up making more problems than it solves, I'm confident that MLB will fine tune it for further seasons.
Remember Mike "The Human Rain Delay" Hargrove and his prolonged rituals between each pitch? I do not object to seeing that sort of behavior outlawed.
Another player who would have suffered mightily as a consequence of the rule changes was Rickey Henderson. He was a genius when it came to ways to waste time on the ballfield. I recall attending a game where he was slightly hurt and not starting. In the late innings, they decided to send him in as a pinch runner. First there was this long delay while Ricky found his sliding gloves and had to make innumerable adjustments to his equipment before finally emerging from the dugout. He advanced toward first doing his special slow jog which very much reminded one of a mime doing "man running"..lots of motion, very little progress.
When Rickey arrived near the bag he did not stop, he slow jogged right past it and continued until he was half way out in right field. There he paused and went through a series of stretching exercises, finished with that, made some more equipment adjustments, and then slow jogged to first and finally took the bag.
Here are my predictions for the year. Feel free to quote this in September when 5/6 of my last place teams win their divisions and 5/6 of my first place teams finish in last:
AL East:
1) Baltimore
2) Boston
3) NY Yankees
4) Toronto
5) Tampa Bay.
Outside of TB, you can make a case for any of the other 4 finishing as high as 1st or as low as first. Baltimore may have the best team overall, but they don't look to do anything well. Boston has a good lineup, but the rotation is awful. They do have a surplus of outfielders they can still trade for Hamels, which might push them over the edge, but Wade Miley and Rick Porcello aren't going to push them over the edge. Yankees lineup is awful, and have a lot of lingering question marks in the rotation, but bullpen is the strength which I think can keep them in the Wildcard race most of the year. Blue Jays like the Red Sox have a pretty good lineup, but pitching is a question mark, and looks like they'll break camp with a couple key back-end of the bullpen pitchers who haven't pitched higher then A ball. Tampa Bay is rebuilding.
AL Central:
1) Kansas City
2) Chicago WS*
3) Detroit
4) Cleveland
5) Minnesota
I'm probably gonna kick myself at the KC pick, but I think they can pass Detroit this year. So too can the White Sox who's bullpen last year was a complete dumpster fire, and they fixed that in a big way. Think Detroit's window has closed, but have them finishing in front of Cleveland & Minnesota.
AL West:
1) Anaheim...........ooops Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2) Seattle*
3) Texas
4) Houston
5) Oakland
Anah....Angels won division last year, they should take it again this year. Seattle will get a Wildcard spot this year with Cruz in the lineup. I didn't think Texas could have worse injury luck then they did last year, but not a good start with Darvish out for the year. Astros are still a year or 2 away, and I STILL have no idea wtf Billy Beane did with the A's this winter.
Wildcard game:
Mariners over White Sox
ALDS:
Mariners in 4 over Angels
Royals in 4 over Orioles
ALCS:
Mariners in 6 over Royals
NL West:
1) Dodgers
2) Giants
3) Padres
4) Rockies
5) D'Backs
This is still the Dodgers division to lose. Giants have had a bad spring, but I put no stock in ST play, the Giants will be a force all year. Not sold on the Padres I've been burned way too many times (see Marlins 2012; Jays 2013), and even with the shorter fences that's still a big OF and that OF defense will be abysmal. Over/under 107 games Tulo & CarGo start together this year?? I'll go under because either A) One or both will get injured (likely both) or B) if they are relatively healthy one or 2 probably gets traded. D'Backs are another team that looks like they can have an abysmal defense.
NL Central:
1) Cardinals
2) Pirates*
3) Cubs*
4) Brewers
5) Reds
This and the AL East look like the 2 toughest divisions to pick. Like the Dodgers in the West, the Cards are still the team to beat, while the Pirates will lock down one of the 2 wildcards. I've got the Cubs getting the 2nd Wildcard beating out the Giants, Brewers, and Marlins. I've got the Brewers finishing in front of the Reds.
NL East:
1) Nationals
2) Marlins
3) Mets
4) Braves
5) Phillies
Like the Cards & Dodgers, the Nats are the team to beat. Really like what the Marlins did, they'll be a force up until the last week or last day of the season, but ultimately come up short. Mets will be competitive too with de Grom and a healthy Harvey. Braves & Phillies will be 2 of the worst teams in baseball this year.
NL Wildcard:
Pirates over Cubs
NLDS:
Nationals over Pirates in 4
Cardinals over Dodgers in 5
Status:
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Location: Suburban Dallas
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A few tidbits here:
I'm ready to see my Astros get started with their campaign. They just named Luke Gregerson as their closer. What will be interesting to see is how their new offense will click, as they've beefed up their bats. The key now is for everyone to stay healthy. Pat Neshek, along with Gregerson, will make for some great bullpen moments. And Neshek's had a great spring (1.29 ERA).
I feel sorry for Rangers fans and what they are about to endure, and they will sorely miss Yu Darvish. If their spring has been any indication, then I certainly don't see them contending for the next few years.
The Cardinals are showing that they can still compete for the division, and until someone else dethrones them, they will finish nowhere but first. Pittsburgh is the most likely candidate to really break through.
I sense that the Dodgers and Giants will be battling it out all year, and I think it'll come down to the wire in September. You watch now. They'll have some exciting moments in the coming months with their annual donnybrook.
The team I'll be taking a look at (when I'm not watching the Astros) is Kansas City. I'll be interested in how they'll respond to last year's success. Can they sustain it for another year? We'll find out soon.
Here are my predictions for the season on my blog page via this link:
Anybody else purchase MLB.TV or MLB extra innings for this season?? If so, what teams are you most looking forward to watching this year aside from your own teams??
For me as a Nats & Jays fan with MLB.TV besides the Nats & Jays I'm most looking forward to watching the Mariners, Cubs, Astros, Padres & Marlins this year.
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