10 Suggestions to Improve (Reds) Baseball
by obc2 on Mar 29, 2009 1:20 PM EDT
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Print- Speed up the pace of the game just a little bit. There's too much time between pitches in today's game. I watched the 75 WS on dvd this winter and the pace of the game seemed so much more palatable. Batters weren't stepping out of the box after every pitch and pitchers weren't constantly stepping off the rubber.
- The time has come for baseball managers to hang up the uniform and wear real clothes. Seriously. Have them dress in MLB approved team gear and it'd be ok to keep the ballcap. But anyone over 50 looks ridiculous in a uni.
- Sunday games revert back to an olde time experience at the ballpark. In between inning promotions are nixed. Instead, organ music blares from the PA. Scorecards are distributed at no cost to entice kids of all ages to keep score.
- Ballplayers are employed by the organization and its time for the ballclub to mandate that players sign autographs pregame. The common argument is that ballplayers always catch grief when they decide to walk away from the rail. Easy solution. Organize it and have 5-10 players signing for 15 minutes an hour or so before the game. Have a couple team employees on the field to shoo the ballplayers away from the rail at the given time. That way the ballplayers arent the bad guys for stopping. .
- I think im becoming a proponet of the 154 game season and shorter playoff series. Baseball in late Oct/early Nov in Northern cities is ludicrous. More doubleheaders.
- After the fifth inning its time for the ushers to leave their posts. It isnt terribly difficult to move down to the better seats at GABP but its embarassing to see all the empty "good seats" during early and late season games. Let the folks have a better seat...who cares?
- Every ballclub should institute a HOF at their ballpark. I guess a couple teams would have to be exempt due to ballpark constraints but most now have the Retro parks with puh-lenty of room to renovate. I also think every ballpark should have a food booth owned/ran by a former ballplayer (i.e. Boog Powell or Manny Sanquillen) and a Hot Dogs From Around MLB stand which would have Chicago style dogs, Nathans all beef dogs, Dodger Dogs, Fenway Franks, Cincy Cheese Coneys, ETC.
- Ban the two handed point to heaven after stepping on home plate. Ban idiots behind home plate on cel phones waving to people watching the game on television. Ban batting gloves on days over 50 degrees. Ban ballplayers carrying cans of dip in their back pocket on the field.
- Hire Madville to sing the Seventh Inning Stretch in Cincy. I'm here to tell you that I think this has great potential and I'm not even joking. I also want the old Longines clock returned to GABP dammit.
- Salary cap. The fact the Yanks have a $200MM payroll is ridiculous. I think its great for baseball overall to have evil empires to root against but its hard to get geeked up over Taveras/Rhodes/Hernandez additions when the Yanks went Sabathia/Texeira/Burnett. Not even remotely comparable.
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I'll get right on it gramps
why didn’t you say something sooner?
"balls"-Slyde
by The Crushinator on Mar 29, 2009 1:29 PM EDT reply actions
suck it up
I’m glad to see the Reds have stopped Batting Glove Night : )
There is nothing more ridiculous than seeing Softball Dude put on two batting gloves and stepping to the slo pitch dish. Really? If SD then gets on base the gloves must be removed and put halfway into the back pocket. The highest of unintentional comedy is if said ballplayer morphs into Softball Dude Who Runs Bases Carrying Batting Gloves In Hands. This, I assume, prevents breaking fingers when diving headfirst into bases.
"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see."
—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on turning 21
I always put mine in my back pocket.
I also always wore a glove under my glove in the field. Good thing I’ve been banned from softball or you’d probably start hating on me.
Education is what you get from reading the directions. Experience is what you get from not reading them.
guilty
consider me “red” faced
"Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!"
by "Red" Moskau on Mar 31, 2009 7:52 PM EDT up reply actions
I wear gloves in softball
Because I make a living with my girly hands and don’t need blisters.
When I get on base I just unstrap them and leave them on. Then they fall off when I go first to third on a single and pump my fist and scream like a Viking in celebration.
I miss the old days of the internet when men were men, hot girls were middle aged men, and hot underage girls were FBI agents.....
He also wears them to charm the young ladies...
andto bed too, or so its rumored….
How can we stop stupid people from voting? LOBOTOMY ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? KILL THEM ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? START A FILIBUSTER !
I'm on board with most of it
I don’t get the batting gloves thing though.
Speeding up the game would be awesome. They waste way too much time between every pitch.
I really like the Sunday home game idea, maybe make that your designated autograph day.
I think a salary cap is mandatory for baseball.
Any right handed power hitting outfielders out there?
batting gloves
too much fidgeting going on with them. Sean Casey tightening them before every pitch is a perfect example.
then again i get PO’d when basketball teams high five the shooter after missed free throws also.
"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see."
—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on turning 21
2+3 are my faves
My goal in life is to be able to wear a suit and a ballcap at the same time. I think other should support this.
And I’m always sad when I notice that I’m the only one keeping score. And I’m always the only one keeping score. The scorecards cost next to nothing, why not just give ’em out? Maybe this will also lead to APBA baseball coming back…
...because there's already someone posing as Jacob Brumfield
I don't wear jerseys, I'm 30+
Get me a crisp pair of jeans and some button-ups.
by Brendanukkah on Mar 30, 2009 1:32 AM EDT up reply actions
Not sure about the batting gloves ban,
but I would crack down on the body armor guys wear that allows them to crowd the plate.
Love 3 and 9.
Don’t see the need for a cap. As long as players are under team control for their first six years, there will always be clever small market teams that can compete with the big boys. Plus, with no cap the Yankees would go crazy with scouting and international signees. I’d rather see them spend the dough on AJ Burnett.
Agree on the salary cap.
Overspending is still overspending. It’s better the Yankees do it instead of the “small market” teams.
I have been advocating for suggestion 3 for some time
all organ, no at-bat songs or promos on Sundays. That shit is so obnoxious.
People need batting gloves to avoid blisters. Banning them would be ass-stupid.
The ushers idea is totally on point and I think practiced at other stadiums.
My one suggestion would be to stagger inter-league throughout the year so the divisions can be evened out. It is totally ridiculous and unfair that there are six teams in our division and 4 in the AL West.
"I usually shoot it pretty straight."- a boating enthusiast
11. Get those goddamn kids off my lawn.
"Karma - there it was. The meaning of life, straight from Carson Daly's lips to my morphine-laced ears." -Earl Hickey
by BLee2525 on Mar 29, 2009 4:36 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
it would take a long a crippling lock out or strike to institute a salary cap
"Oedipus ruined a great sex life by asking too many questions!"- Dr. Stephen T. Colbert DFA.
It would take more than that.
Like, a seismic shift in MLB revenues or player salaries.
The Players’ Union obviously doesn’t want a cap, because they don’t want any sort of artificial ceiling on the money they can make.
The dirty little secret is that the Owners don’t want it, either. MLB players make a significantly smaller percentage of the league’s total revenues than their NFL, NHL, and NBA counterparts, all with a salary cap. The owners don’t want make the amount of money they have to spend on players a collectively bargained number. They’d rather decide that for themselves based on the actual amount of money they’re making.
"Karma - there it was. The meaning of life, straight from Carson Daly's lips to my morphine-laced ears." -Earl Hickey
I've heard that about the percent of revenues MLB players receive
But it’s not clear if those figures account for the considerable player development costs, which are obviously much higher in MLB than the other two leagues. I’m not saying they don’t, I just don’t know. Baseball seems to have such a strong union compared to the NBA and especially the NFL, so I’d expect their players to have at least as large of a slice of the pie as their peers.
But yeah, a salary cap ain’t gonna happen.
Totally #2
The Connie Mack look ought to make a comeback.
Kind of like Mike Nolan (awesome).
There’s a reason why the NBA fined George Karl.
Youth wins games; veteran presence wins championships!
#3
You could really flesh that idea out. I bet ticket sales would be strong if it was done well.
I up for it !!! Each game I could bring in a Celebrity Singer to lead the crowd in take me out to the Ballgame
Plus a back up Gospel Choir
And a NASCAR giant to lead us in the Pledge.
And this is just for April.
Why is obc so mean to me when I offer an introduction to a beautiful 25 year old Red's Cheerleader.
i said it with love
we gotta shake GABP up and you’re the forward thinker for the gig.
"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see."
—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on turning 21
All it takes is a little imagination, a little courage and a litte -
How can we stop stupid people from voting? LOBOTOMY ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? KILL THEM ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? START A FILIBUSTER !
NFL games take 3 hours to play
and no one complains about the length of the game (and is the biggest thing going in sports) yet people want to complain about baseball taking too long.
I don’t understand that one.
www.crosleyfieldterrace.wordpress.com
I think it's the ratio
of action to waiting around. Football does take three hours to play, but there are strict limits on how much time there can be between plays. And there’s lots of action between the timeouts and huddles. Football has been tweaked to appeal to people with short attention spans.
I was raised a football fan and came to like baseball relatively recently. I used to think baseball was about the most boring sport there was, with the possible exception of golf. Precisely because so much time was spent waiting around for something to happen. (That, and the fact that when the inning ended, all progress was wiped out. Unlike football, where field position carries over. Makes it really easy to turn off the TV after the inning is over, while football tends to keep you riveted even after possession changes.) TV coverage often shows plays from earlier games – sometimes years earlier – to liven things up. Which I found really confusing. I’d think there was a home run, then realize no, that was a home run the player hit off that pitcher last year.
Now that I understand more about baseball, though, I don’t really want the game speeded up. I find long at-bats exciting – a psychological battle between the batter and pitcher, where I used to see them as waiting for something to happen.
Jorge Posada is especially fun to watch. Being a catcher, he really knows how to get into pitchers’ heads. I’ve seen him drive pitchers from the game with his carefully timed calling time. They just get so mad they lose the strike zone. You can practically see the steam coming out of their ears.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
Last year one of the Mets, I think Carlos Delgado, was doing that not long after the Bud called for speeding up the game. I forget the name of the ump but he told Carlos to get in the box and he kept futzing with his gloves. He signaled for the pitcher to throw and he did. He called a strike and Delgado’s look was priceless. Screw Delgado. Screw Posada. Play ball!
if the umpire wants to speed up the game
Fine. As long it applies equally to both teams. You can ask for time, but he doesn’t have to give it to you.
But I also enjoy the psychological battle of a long at-bat.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
You're both right
The step out of the box move is the counter to the throw over to first move in the might psychological battle. As long as the ump calls a ball everytime some Steve Trachsel-type takes a nap between each pitch, I’m on board.
Fastest way to speed up the game? 1 non-injury mid-inning replacement per game. End this ceaseless 3 pitchers to face 4 batters in the same inning nonsense!
"Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!"
by "Red" Moskau on Mar 31, 2009 7:58 PM EDT up reply actions
why do we have to speed up the game?
i like it just the way it is. football is a 60 minute game that takes 3 hours to play. baseball is a 3 hour game that takes 3 hours to play. every single action in a baseball game is important to the outcome of the game.
and the question i have for you is what kind of fan would want to see less baseball??
My millions are unconventional!
by Charlie Scrabbles on Mar 31, 2009 9:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Actually I'd like to see all the baseball and less of players messing with their:
Hats
Crotches
Gloves
Bats
Shoes
This alone could cut the time of a game by 1/3 and allow the game to develop a bit of tempo which is always beneficial in creating dynamic tension…which is what baseball is ultimately all about.
How can we stop stupid people from voting? LOBOTOMY ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? KILL THEM ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? START A FILIBUSTER !
Agree wholeheartedly
Ballgames used to be completed in less than 2 hours in “the good old days” and they still played 9 innings.
"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see."
—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on turning 21
In 1960, the average 9 inning game took 2:33. In 2008, it was 2:50, so the average increase hasn't been drastic
but, the number of games that have taken more than 3 hours has ballooned over the last 3 decades. My first thought when I see this following graph is that reliever specialization is what is lengthening the game the most. All of those pitching changes add additional time.
"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty
by Slyde on Apr 1, 2009 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
You might want to fix your legend in the second graph...
We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.
yeah, thanks
caught it just before I posted my second graph below
"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty
I also forgot to adjust for the fact that there are more games now than in 1960
here’s the graph by rate rather than raw numbers, still looks about the same though:
"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty
Maybe the length of the games is prolonged by more TV advertiesments.
How can we stop stupid people from voting? LOBOTOMY ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? KILL THEM ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? START A FILIBUSTER !
Is that only for televised games?
Or do they just have standard time increments between innings these days?
We want to build long period of time. I didn’t come here for the shot run.
It's not standard
One reason Yankees games are so long is that there’s more ad time built in. My friend the Pirates fan can’t believe how long Yankees games are.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
that could be some of it
but I doubt it’s a cause for the drastic jump that we see. Really, it’s probably the aggregation of a bunch of different things. 5 more minutes for commercials, 8 more minutes for pitching changes, 4 more minutes for shenanigans.
"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty
12 to 15 minutes for The little gnome guy to pull Dusty's head out of his ass.
That’s Dusty’s head out of Dusty’s ass…..
How can we stop stupid people from voting? LOBOTOMY ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? KILL THEM ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? START A FILIBUSTER !
8
What I don’t get about people waving is why do they do it non-stop as long as they are on camera? I could see a quick wave if one of the grandkids is watching the TV, but why oh why do they keep it up. I’d have the usher tell them that they have to stop or leave the game.
Personally, I'd have them shot.
The nerve of those 15 minuters.
How can we stop stupid people from voting? LOBOTOMY ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? KILL THEM ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? START A FILIBUSTER !
you'll have a great perch from the press box
...because there's already someone posing as Jacob Brumfield
that's right, obc!!!
..and folks, this is just a “don’t i wish” exercise, keep the reality out of it with work stoppages…
- is the most important, but as I said above, let’s prevent the Tony LaRussa’s of the world from using 4 pitchers to face 5 batters in the same inning. RIDICULOUS! You’re a pitcher? Then PITCH!
Best argument for #2?
- is just brilliant.
- whatever it takes to keep the World Series out of November. 154 games would be my last resort. Of course, starting the game before 8:30 PM local would help with the cold, no matter where you are. Doubleheaders are my preference.
- is my favorite. Also, free hot dogs for anyone in attendance after the 12th inning.
- couldn’t we expand revenue sharing to do the same thing? That’s more of the NFL-model. You don’t have to have NY/LA/BOS in the playoffs every year to keep interest— we’ll watch the Arizona Cardinals v. Baltimore Ravens, we’ll watch Royals v. Astros.
"Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!"
umm
- 3 is brilliant,
- — do whatever it takes
- is my favorite (ushers off duty)
- is balancing the economics
- I’m an idiot.
"Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!"
Fuck the salary cap you communist!
I say the game is perfect the way it is. Teams that give away big contracts are taking on “systematic risk” (ask AIG) due to injury. As long as “compenation picks” are in place the competitive balence is real.
Let’s say there is a salary cap and the Yankees are limited to 150 million a year. How much do you think they will spend in the draft? Or on Latin American prospects, probably 40-70 million. If that happened no small market team would EVER be able to compete. You can’t address talent inequities by addressing only the MLB franchise, it would only make the problem worse.
The thing we need is mandatory slot salaries/contracts in the draft, so agents can’t talk players into holding out or play chicken at the signing deadline.
by Dave from Louisville on Mar 31, 2009 10:58 PM EDT reply actions
Mandatory salaries?
Is that communist? FWIW, its a league. There is no communism or capitalism in it.
The Yankees derive a significant amount of revenue from taxation and the anti-capitalist distortions of broadcasting regulation. They also don’t share those broadcast revenues equitably with teams that they broadcast.
Not against capitalism-- or the players making every nickel they can
But the teams aren’t starting with the same amount of revenue— and it’s not because one is more brilliant or accomplished than the other (in a lot of cases). The Yankees (to pick on the most obvious case) will always have the most money ONLY because they are located in New York. When you have more money, you can afford to take more capitalistic risks, and be more capitalistically successful. I’m not advocating full NFL model— Mike Brown might buy the Reds and just pocket the revenue sharing from the Yankees instead of the Cowboys— but something has to be done to equalize the inherent revenue disparities.
"Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!"
by "Red" Moskau on Apr 1, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Point is the draft needs to be fixed.
by Dave from Louisville on Apr 1, 2009 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree with Dave here
The easiest way to fix the draft is to have a slot system a la the NBA, no more ML contracts, and make every first year player enter the draft.
I miss the old days of the internet when men were men, hot girls were middle aged men, and hot underage girls were FBI agents.....
Bob DuPuy
president of MLB was on CNBC this morning. He said MLB is expecting attendance to decline this year – by the largest amount since 2002. But he’s “guardedly optimistic.” Apparently, MLB is taking the results of this poll to heart, and is trying to lower prices, at least for some games. (The poll finds that the cost has become the major concern for fans, overtaking player salaries and ’roids. The length of the games was a concern for only 6% of those polled.)
He also said WBC attendance was up 8.7%.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
interesting
The recession should be factored in even more than this. Family vacations are being cancelled. Weekly jaunts to Applebees are being changed to weekly jaunts to Wendy’s. Established restaurants are closing in neighborhoods throughout the city.
I’ve been a longtime advocate of the Frontier League. Granted its nothing like MLB. But I can park for free. Grab a ducat for $7. And have $1 beers. Baseball is baseball and these kids flat out hustle and they mingle with the crowd pregame. My kids greatly prefer a trip to Champion Field over GABP.
"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see."
—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on turning 21
I'm a big fan of minor league baseball
Free parking, $8 tickets, ushers who aren’t Nazis. What’s not to like?
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
#2? Nah.
We’re all just a few health shakes away from not looking like a hat is going to pop right off our head, right?
As an aside, I quit smoking over the winter long enough to gain 15 pounds. Jesus was that dumb! I’d hate to see myself in a jersey right now.
He had alot to say.
He had alot of nothing to say.
We'll miss him.
Meanwhile
Paul Janish struggles to keep his weight up during the season.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
You quit smoking?
It’s like i don’t even know who you are anymore, man. One of my fondest memories is me you and obc crowded in a men’s bathroom stall 15 minutes after I met you guys. I guess I could have worded that better…..
I miss the old days of the internet when men were men, hot girls were middle aged men, and hot underage girls were FBI agents.....
I know!
sukr and cigarettes is like Dusty and veterans.
Not to worry, i did say “long enough”. As I’ve regressed from o.p.‘s to buying again, my appetite has plummeted. I’ll be back down to “husky” before you know it, peak shape for stall-sharing…You big hunka smoking love
He had alot to say.
He had alot of nothing to say.
We'll miss him.
select group
Meet me and odds are you’re in a bathroom within 15 mins. That’s my signature move. That and Rabitty!
"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see."
—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on turning 21
Senator Bill Craig
How can we stop stupid people from voting? LOBOTOMY ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? KILL THEM ! How can we stop stupid people from voting? START A FILIBUSTER !
One small comment
on the idea of a salary cap…
I can totally see being for it…I was myself for a while…but I have changed my mind.
I think what would solve the problem would be a 2 team MLB expansion.
Put one franchise in Brooklyn or some other borough of New York.
Put the other in Boston.
Given that the Boston team would need to be an NL franchise, this would necessitate either the NY franchise also being NL or the moving of one franchise between NL and AL.
And then do away with these supremely idiotic territorial restrictions.
This would have the desired effect of bringing the revenue streams of the two really big spending clubs more inline with the other clubs. It would also piss off the Yankees, and who doesn’t love doing that? :)
"I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball" - Pete Rose
How so?
The Yankees already have another baseball team in their market. The Mets. Who don’t spend that much money, even though they could.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
The idea being
that the NY revenue stream would be split three ways instead of two.
The Mets certainly do not spend as much as the Yankees, ’tis true. But they consistently have one of the highest (if not THE highest) payrolls in the National League.
"I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball" - Pete Rose
by Officer Dibble on Apr 2, 2009 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions
I really don't think it would affect the Yankees much
They’ve been very aggressive about things like TV rights – not just in the US but in Japan. And unlike Mets, they’ve been willing to spend that money on their team.
I don’t think a new team would affect the Sox much, either. Red Sox Nation is not going to embrace a new baseball team.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
Minimal effect
NE is rabid over the Sox. I mean foaming at the mouth batshit crazy over the ballclub. Even the women regularly watch the games or ask for score updates. A new NL team won’t change that.
And the Yankees are the Golden Franchise where all of NY’s finest can frontrunner hop. I do think NYC would support a third team as the Mets and Yanks are pricing the common fan out of the ballpark.
"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see."
—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on turning 21
what do you mean, "even the women"?
The Yankees fanbase is more female than male. And nationally, it’s about even.
What really drove home to me how obsessed the chowdah heads are is how even winning all those Super Bowls didn’t mean anything. They only care about the Red Sox.
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
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