SPORTS

[GaryCooper]

[jamesjazzguitar]

UCLA loses let again to Gonzaga. I'm not sure Drew Timme can make the grade in the NBA, but he was the best player on the court last night.

[GaryCooper]

Miami is no longer a sleeper.
G.C.

[GaryCooper]

SEC basketball is an embarassment to the fans of the league.

G.C.

[umop apisdn]

Thanks for that info. I can see why MLB would be involved since it could increase the international fanbase especially in certain countries, like Mexico and Japan. As for the injuries, I don't know of any Dodgers being injured, and since the Astros cheater Altuve was, I guess I shouldn't be such a Debbie-downer! (Yea, this Dodger fan is never going to forgive and forget what happened in that World Series, back in 2017).

Die hard Cubs fan here, but I am a baseball fan first. I will never forgive the Astros for cheating through multiple seasons. People try to rationalize Altuve's involvement by saying he didn't use the cheating system. However, he sure was a beneficiary when his cheating teammates were on base and he was driving them in. He's not much of team leader if he couldn't get them to stop cheating, especially when they assign the blame to Carlos Beltran who was only on the 2017 team.

I still say Aaron Judge is the rightful MVP of that season. That championship should have been vacated.

Regarding the WBC, I think it's a fantastic showcase for the sport. I understand frustrations about injuries, but the position players thinks it's worth the sacrifice. I wish the USA had more pitches, but I can see why teams/pitchers would be hesitant with the additional workload and risk of injury.

I had watched a few tournaments and this was the most entertaining one. The Japan Mexico game was riveting with such a memorable finish. Wainwright getting out the bases loaded jam giving up only the one run was a masterful performance.

The Dominican Republic team not doing that well surprised me. I knew Japan would be a force since they've been planning this tournament for 6 years. All 7 of Japan’s games this tournament were watched by over 40% of the country. I've love to go to a WBC game and a game in Japan once in my lifetime.

[laffite]

It would have been nice to have dissolved the Astros. The players to be chosen by other teams in a draft. The league would then put up a notice for a new city to have a baseball team. But it certainly would be difficult. Why is Altuve singled out here, wasn't it a collaborate effort? I am obviously not an expert on this subject.

[Uncle Charlie]

MLB owners and managers must hate the WBC. So many injuries. I’ve always thought it’s all the strength training players due now vs. 50 years ago. Players in the’70’s didn’t lift weights - they smoked cigarettes. Yet somehow they stayed on the field. Last year or the year before, the Yankees set a new record for games missed due to injury. This year, three of their five projected starting pitchers will be on the IL on Opening Day. Look at Giancarlo Stanton. The guy is a beast. A physical marvel. But he hasn’t been able to stay healthy through an entire season since he was in Miami. Maybe the players should reach for a beer instead of a protein shake…

[GaryCooper]

U Conn. is now the big favorite to win it all. But there are surprises every now and then. Texas, Miami, FAU and Creighton are capable of pulling it off.
G.C.

[umop apisdn]

It would have been nice to have dissolved the Astros. The players to be chosen by other teams in a draft. The league would then put up a notice for a new city to have a baseball team. But it certainly would be difficult. Why is Altuve singled out here, wasn't it a collaborate effort? I am obviously not an expert on this subject.

I am only singling out Altuve here, because he seems to get a pass in other baseball discussion groups I frequent just because he didn't use the banging scheme.

I'm still angry because they were barely punished. I wouldn't have wanted the Astros to be dissolved, because that would have been unfair to the fans. What should have happened is something like this:

1. Vacate World Series championship and playoff wins, including pool money distributions.
2. Loss of international draft pool money for multiple years. This is a big deal in the sport.
3. Loss of draft picks for multiple years.
4. Ban coaching personnel for at least 5 years.
5. Ban front office personnel involved with creation of the sign stealing system for at least 5 years.

I agree that sign stealing or looking for any advantage has been a part of baseball since the beginning. However, the use of real time video and smart devices is a bridge too far. The player reaction in early 2020 illustrates it. They are all looking for an edge, but so many players spoke out against what the Astros were doing. The Astros sign stealing setup with monitor and trash can could be seen steps away from their dugout entrance on their own World Series commemorative video.

I watched Yu Darvish struggle with his confidence as a starter after that World Series when he signed with the Cubs the following year. There are probably pitchers who did badly against the Astros and then were sent back down.

I was born in 1980, so I was too young for the greenies era. I grew up during the steroid era. I'd be okay with Clemens or Bonds getting into the Hall of Fame eventually because of their careers achievements before they took steroids. I would also be okay with Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez not making it in ever. Selig should not be in the Hall of Fame for enabling it all.

[Uncle Charlie]

It's going to be interesting to see how these new time and other new rules to speed up the game play out. I assume they are going to keep that 20 second time clock on the bottom right of the TV screen inbetween pitches. It seems wrong to me, inflicting time upon the game. As a baseball fan i want an estimate time of a rain delay, nothing else, i want to be suspended in time, not rushed or ruled by time. Hate the phantom man on second in extra innings too.

I can’t stand the phantom runner in extra innings. It was fine during the Covid season but there’s no reason to keep doing it. Especially since the time clock is already shaving a half hour off the game. I think it’s very telling that they use it in the regular season but not the postseason. It’s like an admission that it’s a stupid gimmicky rule and they wouldn’t use for a “meaningful” game.

[umop apisdn]

It's going to be interesting to see how these new time and other new rules to speed up the game play out. I assume they are going to keep that 20 second time clock on the bottom right of the TV screen in between pitches. It seems wrong to me, inflicting time upon the game. As a baseball fan i want an estimate time of a rain delay, nothing else, i want to be suspended in time, not rushed or ruled by time. Hate the phantom man on second in extra innings too.

I can’t stand the phantom runner in extra innings. It was fine during the Covid season but there’s no reason to keep doing it. Especially since the time clock is already shaving a half hour off the game. I think it’s very telling that they use it in the regular season but not the postseason. It’s like an admission that it’s a stupid gimmicky rule and they wouldn’t use for a “meaningful” game.

Ugh, I hate the Manfred Man too. It's the dumbest rule they've come up with.

I am coming around to the pitch clock only because I remember games when were played at a faster clip. So the pitch clock is just bring the game times back to what they were in the 1980s and 90s. I remember the Cubs playing the Dodgers in 2016 when Pedro Baez came in for relief. He was taking 30-45 seconds between each pitch. If I recall correctly, no one was even on base. It was exasperating because there was no action.

I want more action and less fidgeting around. Hopefully, these changes are not just an excuse to add more commercials.

I am kind of ambivalent on limiting pickoff throws because I love a good right-handed pickoff move.

For me, the jury is out on the shifting rules, because I think the player should adjust their approach. However, I can see that pitching improvements of the last 10 years is outpacing hitters ability. With the usage of sticky stuff and the increased spin rates pitchers are seeing, no wonder why hitters are stuck with the three true outcome approach.

More and more pitchers are throwing 100+ mph, but I don't think reaction times have improved nearly as much. I wonder if the mound needs to be lowered at some point.

I played baseball as a little girl with my neighborhood friends while carefully avoiding the neighbors' irascible dog. It was something out of The Sandlot: made up rules tailored to not having players or equipment.

Instead of watching the 2016 World Series with my friends in a bar, I watched it with my father who taught me about American sports. Baseball is my companion sport.

[Dargo]

So, what do the learned assembled here think of the idea (an idea I think is a good one anyway, and one which still keeps the "human element" in play here) that in order to keep incorrect and controversial balls & strike calls from having more of a negative and direct affect on the outcome of a game, that each manager be given two or maybe three opportunties to challenge a questionable call made by the home plate umpire and by use of the now standard use of the televised strike zone graphic, and/or a call made by a line judge as to if a batter had actually checked his swing or not and in this case by use of the reply cameras.

Remember here, I said ONLY two or three opportunties here throughout the game, and which I would not think would slow down the game in any messurable or significant degree as the managers would have to use them judiciously, and once again all this in the name of "fairness" and "accuracy".

(...so, whaddaya all think?...you already know what I think about this now)

[laffite]

I think ho,e plate umpires be retired and let the automatic television strike zone take over. I am fed up with the bad calls. Technology is so advanced that forgoing the human element can be eschewed without guilt.. We al know humans are fallible, time to move on.

[txfilmfan]

I think ho,e plate umpires be retired and let the automatic television strike zone take over. I am fed up with the bad calls. Technology is so advanced that forgoing the human element can be eschewed without guilt.. We al know humans are fallible, time to move on.

Tennis stopped using humans to call lines in all major tourneys after COVID hit. Before that, the technology was used only as a challenge backup. Now only the chair umpire can overrule the automatic line calls, and it rarely happens.

[Dargo]

I think ho,e plate umpires be retired and let the automatic television strike zone take over. I am fed up with the bad calls. Technology is so advanced that forgoing the human element can be eschewed without guilt.. We al know humans are fallible, time to move on.

Tennis stopped using humans to call lines in all major tourneys after COVID hit. Before that, the technology was used only as a challenge backup. Now only the chair umpire can overrule the automatic line calls, and it rarely happens.

Good point made in what appears to be a defense of laffite's argument here, Tex.

However, considering the idea that Baseball especially has always been much more "history-bound" than the sport of Tennis, I would think such a drastic change as taking away the homeplate umpire position isn't likely to happen in our lifetime, anyway.

(...and thus the reason why my earlier suggestion would seem to be a more logical and practical move that would and could be done by the MLB)