The number of strikes they have missed completely inside the box is staggering. By the way... to digress, what is your opinion of the 3 batter reliever minimum. I think it's great. Blum apparently hates it.
I like it. Prevents that crap we saw last season from the Rays in the playoffs. That was getting on my nerves.
He talked about it at some length. What I remember is that he didnt like it that managers hands were tied where it came to strategies they would normally have at their disposal using pitchers in the later innings. This is not his total story. Just the part I remember.
I don't mind it but i think there are some kinks they could work on. For instance, I think once an inning is over, then the 3 batter rule shouldn't apply anymore. That way you can bring in a new reliever to start the next inning and it doesn't have any impact on the pace of play.
I have mixed feelings on it. I liked the idea of there being guys that specialized in getting out tough lefties, I thought it made the game more interesting. However I think the three batter minimum improves the over all quality of guys pitching and I does force managers to consider staggering line up L/R. Ultimately guys like you and I will watch either way, but if the league believes it will attract more fans I am for it. On a tangent, I will say I am concerned about the culture around ownership and the players as well. Baseball continues to shoot itself in the foot and while the game remains strong in traditional places like NY, CHI and BOS.... I have noticed a real strong drop amongst Millennial aged and younger people. I don’t think the problem in the actual game... I think it is the way it is marketed, the ownership culture and the branding by the players.
Not Nook, but I am not a fan under most circumstances...30-man rosters are freaking huge. Pitchers don't pitch to less than 3 batters often when there was only 25 men. I hate that the rule protects hitters that can't protect themselves. It also protects teams from being stupid and wasting a roster spot on a situational player that can only pitch to one batter. That said, the expanding of normal roster may make it a necessity as roster spots aren't as precious.
Except COVID has happened and it makes sense with 30-man rosters (while this big) whether rule was in place before or not. 26-man rosters...a batter/team should be forced to deal with a lefty specialist if they are weak to it.
Baker said Yordan Alvarez is maybe 10 days, two weeks away from being ready. Jose Urquidy would be two weeks away if he's going to be a reliever, and three weeks to a month if he's going to be a starter. Dusty Baker said top prospect Forrest Whitley felt arm discomfort while throwing during Summer Camp in Houston and again while throwing in Corpus Christi. No word on his immediate future yet. Devenski, Paredes, Bielak, Sneed and perhaps Pressly aren't available today. Abreu is a question mark. Baker said Brantley has been limping since he stepped on Joe Kelly's foot Tuesday night and his leg is sore. "I thought it would be better to give him off before he ends up pulling something. We certainly can't afford to lose Michael Brantley," he said.
A DH that was shutdown during spring training 1.0 with bad knees.... yea, he might take awhile to get ready.