GameTwo = 3:18

The Houston Astros bounced back to win game two of the 2022 World Series 5-2 over the Philadelphia Phillies in a game played at Minute Maid Park in Houston.  The game was completed in three hours and 18 minutes.  But, keep in mind Houston didn't bat in the ninth inning.

The game was seven minutes longer than Game Two of the 2021 series between the Astros and Atlanta Braves.  Last night's game was 52 minutes longer than game two of the 1972 World Series between the Oakland A's and Cincinnati Reds.  That game 50 years ago featured A's Hall of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter outdueling the Reds Ross Grimsley 2-1 at old Riverfront Stadium.

Last night's contest featured 24 plate appearances in which the batter failed to put the ball in play.  There were 17 batters who whiffed and seven more that took a walk.  And to drag it out even more there were five pitching changes in a game that was never close.

MLB Games are Just Too Long and Boring

Greetings oh  blog reader.  As I write this I am watching the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds play a divisional game from Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.  The game is being played at a snail's pace and honestly isn't any fun to watch.  It just moved into the top of the 5th and is almost two hours old.  Major League Baseball is boring because the games are too long.  I was offered tickets by a friends to a Cardinals game earlier this week and fortunatly I had other plans.  Fortunate because it was 93 degrees and I knew the game would last over three hours.  The seats were great seats, but also in the sun.  So while I love the game of baseball I was glad I didn't go to the Cards and Marlins game.

I've written about these long games on several occasions.  The average game time is well over three hours in the National League and even longer in the American League.  There are several reasons that the times have gotten out of hand.

For starters, umpires are not calling the strike zone as it is written in the rule book.  The book says a pitch over the plate from the letters to the knees is a strike.  But, for must umps, the strike zone exists between the waist and knees.  Batters take extra pitches looking for a free pass.  This results in more pitches seen in each at bat, which results in a longer game time.  For most hitters and pitchers the game is a cat and mouse contest.  The pitcher gets the ball back from the catcher and he steps off the rubber and does any number of things from rubbing up the ball, to walking around the back of the mound to blowing on his hand to God only knows what he will do next.  While the pitcher is wasting time the batter is stepping out of the batters box.  The hitter goes through a litany of tightening his gloves, looking down the foul line to the base coach for signals, knocking dirt out of his cleats, taking a couple of practice swings and then stepping back into the box.  If you're lucky the pitcher will throw to the hitter and the game resumes for one pitch.  If not they go through this routine again. Each at bat is too long, the inning becomes even longer and the fans get bored waiting for something to happen.  This could be resolved by the Commissioner of Baseball, Rob Manfred, issuing an order that the hitters will stay in the box and the pitcher on the rubber.  If they don't the pitcher is assessed a ball for each violation and the hitter is assessed a strike each time he steps out of the box.  It wouldn't take long for them to learn their bad habits won't be tolerated.  The commissioner also needs to order umpires to call strikes as they are written in the rule book.  If not they get a warning, that if repeated enough could result in suspension or termination.  The commissioner needs to realize fans do not go to the games to watch the umpires call balls.

If MLB is serious about picking up the pace it would also limit the amount of times between innings to 90 seconds.  As it is now MLB allows some networks to run up to three minutes of commercials each half inning (ESPN/ABC is a prime offender).  Baseball makes a ton of money off of TV rights so its TV partners need to show as many commercials as possible.  But, if the TV networks went to a grid system, they could charge more for each spot and reduce the number between innings.  MLB has to remember the fans in the stands who have to sit and wait every time TV shows a commercial.  These are the same fans who in some cases are paying over $100 per ticket to get into the ballpark. Baseball needs to show some consideration to those paying for tickets and not roll over for broadcast rights holders. If baseball would reduce the amount of time between innings it could result in a savings of at least 24 minutes per game.

If baseball is serious about shortening its games it's not that difficult.  My guess is nothing will change any time soon because of the amount of money being made by MLB and its business partners the way things are at this time.

The Class of 2017

Congratulations to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2017.  Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Piazza become the 311th and 312th members of the National Hall of Fame.

I consider myself fortunate to have seen both Griffey and Piazza play in person.  I saw Piazza when he played for the Dodgers early in his career and then later in his career when he was with the New York Mets when he would play against my beloved St. Louis Cardinals.  Piazza had a .308 lifetime average over his 16 season career.  I initially questioned his election to the Hall.  This was his fourth year on the ballot and he made it with over 80 percent of the vote this time around.  I think his election may help other catchers with similar numbers make it into the Hall.














I saw "The Kid" play in Seattle in the early 90s at the old King dome when vacationing in the Pacific Northwest and then later in his career when he and the Reds would come to visit the Cardinals.  Griffey was elected on the first ballot and there is no doubt he belongs in the Hall.  Griffey's 630 Home Runs were all natural unlike many of the juicers of his era.  Griffey was always fun to watch in the outfield and would make the difficult look routine.  I can remember watching Junior go above the wall in the old Seattle ballpark and rob more than one player of what looked like a sure home run off of the bat.  Griffey is one of the best outfielders I have seen and to me his talent and likeability brought many fans back to the game after the strike of 1993.



In addition to Griffey and Piazza two other men joined the Hall of Fame this afternoon.  Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe was the recipient of the J.G Taylor Spink Award and was enshrined into the writers wing of the Hall in Cooperstown.

Joining him in the broadcaster's wing was the late Graham McNamee who is the recipient of this year's Ford C. Frick  Award.  McNamee was a well known announcer of the 20's and was among the first to broadcast a World Series on the radio for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).

Congratulations to all four of these gentlemen on their selection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

My take on Baseball's Post Season

It's taken me about three weeks to get past the Cardinals being eliminated from the MLB playoffs to be able to write about their demise and this post-season.

The Cardinals were beaten by a better Chicago Cubs team three weeks ago.  The Cubs pitching and timely hitting for power was more than the worn out Birds pitching staff could handle.  I am a fan of Cardinals manager Mike Matheny but also think he may have over worked his staff during the regular season.  But, then who am I to argue with his success.  The Cards won 100 games this year, more than any other club in Major League Baseball.  Matheny did a great job of running the Cards even when the club was torn up with injuries.  I will remember this season because of all the lost games to key players all season long.

As far as the rest of the Playoffs:

-I was surprised at how easily the Mets swept the Cubs in the NLCS.  I thought the Cubs had their best chance in years to make it to the World Series.  But the Mets' pitching was even better than the Cubbies.  And pitching and defense win championships.  As I write this the Mets are down three games to one in the Series.  The Mets' defense has cost them two games already and I would not be surprised to see the Kansas City Royals clinch the Series tonight.

-Royals and Blue Jays players showing up the other team after hitting home runs is disgusting.  José Bautista's flipping his bat after his home run in the final game of the Blue Jay - Rangers' series was sickening.  Bautista had better be looking for a fastball in his back the first game they meet in 2016.  Likewise, Kendrys Morales' behavior after jacking a homer against the Astros was also immature.  His skipping around the bases like a six year old girl will also be welcomed with a fastball to the back the first time those two teams meet next year.

I am looking forward to the 2016 MLB season and watching my beloved Cardinals play in the NL Central, the toughest division in baseball.  The Cubs are going to be good for a while, the Pirates are good and the Brewers and Reds should also get better.  And it all starts in just 155 days! Woo-Hoo!

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Just Do It

Its been a busy busy month to say the least.  But, this weekend Major League Baseball will wrap up its 2014 campaign.

My beloved Cardinals lead the National League Central by a game over the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The Pirates have won like every game in the month of September (OK I exaggerate), while the Cardinals are playing a little better than .500 during the same time frame.  Bottom line is the Birds need to win or the Pirates need to lose a combination of three games this weekend if the Cards are to win the division and avoid that nasty playoff play-in game next week.  The Birds are playing at Arizona (with the worst record in the National League) while the Pirates are in Cincinnati to play a Reds team that seems to have packed in about a month ago.

The Cardinals have gotten it done all year when they needed to.  So this weekend Redbirds "Just  Do It."

National League All-Star Team

Major League Baseball is back at it again asking its fans to select the All-Star team.  This is a ludicrous idea because most baseball fans can't name many more players than those on the team they support.  Which is why you have moronic selections each year.

I'm no expert, but after watching the game for 55 years, I know who can play and who isn't living up to their hype.  So, with that in mind here are my National League picks for the upcoming All-Star game which will be played in Minneapolis at Target Field on July 15th.

C      Jonathan Lucroy          Milwaukee Brewers
1B     Paul Goldschmidt        Arizona Diamondbacks
2B     Anthony Rendon         Washington Nationals
3B     Todd Frazier               Cincinnati Reds
SS     Troy Tulowitzki           Colorado Rockies
OF     Giancarlo Stanton       Miami Marlins
OF     Yasiel Puig                  Los Angeles Dodgers
OF     Andrew McCutchen    Pittsburgh Pirates

Of these players only\Tulowitzki, Puig and Stanton are currently leading at their positions.

I Love a Pennant Race

OK, I haven't been very faithful in writing.  Yeah, I know I keep using the excuse I'm busy.  And it's not exactly as if you Mr. and Mrs. Reader are asking for more.  So, I do the best I can and if you don't like that, well too freakin' bad.

As I write this I'm watching my beloved Cardinals play the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin.  The Cardinals lead it now 6-4 on Matt Adam's gargantuan Home Run in the top of the ninth.  But, the bigger picture is the National League Central divisional championship race.  All season the Cards, Pirates and Reds have chased each other for divisional supremacy.  Already tonight the Reds have come from behind and beaten the Pirates 6-5.  If the Cards, or Birds as we call them in the Saint Louis area, can close out the Brewers they will up their lead to two games over each of their rivals.

If...and that is a big IF, the Birds hang on to win, the Cardinals magic number will be seven with eight games remaining.  Any combination of St. Louis wins and the second place teams losses will guarantee the Cards yet another divisional championship.  How 'bout them Birds!

When Will this Winter Let Go?

As I write this I am looking out the window at about seven inches of snow on the ground.  And if you are wondering when this was written it is March 25th, 2013.

Yesterday the Saint Louis area got hammered with over a foot of snow at the Airport.  According to the folks at the National Weather Service who keep track of such things, this is the largest snowfall the area has ever had in March.   Locations to the north had more snow and areas south of the Airport ended up with less.

Yesterday was the second Sunday in a row it has been cold and snowed.  Last weekend's Saint Patrick's Day celebration was hindered by the cold wet weather.  It was the first time in years I've been home on St. Patty's Day by seven in the evening.

I and everyone I know is tired of Winter.  The St. Louis Cardinals will open their regular season next Monday in Arizona and then play the home opener the following Monday April 8th against the Cincinnati Reds.  Hurry Spring!

The Stinky Bird Season Ends

The St. Louis Cardinals as you know missed the playoffs losing out by a half dozen games to the Cincinnati Reds, who also bowed out of Post-Season play in quick fashion. The whole division sucked this year.

But, back to the purpose of this post. I had said the Cardinals would win their division easily back in April. But, I also said injuries could put a damper on that activity. Well, key injuries to the four and five starter positions and the loss of David Freese at third base due to injuries contributed to the team's eventual downfall. In addition the bullpen struggled and the team's management didn't really help out very much when players were needed to fill the gaps.

It's history now, but I keep thinking of what might have been. Oh well, there's always next year.

Redbirds are Stinking it Up

This year's version of the St. Louis Cardinals is an enigma. They win when they have to against relatively good teams, but then when they play the lower division outfits, they stink up the place.

The team has lost four in a row now and really aren't playing very good defense and at times just lack hustle. This squad should have been 5 - 10 games out in front of the rest of the division by now but instead are 4.5 behind the Cincinnati Reds at the start of play today. Granted the Cards have been beaten up by injuries all year and have lost their 4 & 5 starters. They've also lost games at third base and in the outfield due to injuries.

But, as hurt as the team has been this year, they still have more raw talent than anyone else in the NL Central. My thought is something is missing from this squad. And my guess is there is a divisiveness or dissension on the team. If that's the case it's manager Tony LaRussa's job to figure out how to make everyone play nice together. But, the bottom line is the Birds are not winning like they should be and now are in serious danger of missing the playoffs. I may be wrong, but this club doesn't look like it has any fight in it and it is just going through the motions.