A New Season, But It's The Same Boring Game

Major League Baseball is back for the 2022 season with a number of rule changes and gimmicks designed to speed up play and add interest to what has become a dying business.

MLB's first weekend is in the books and the times are just as long as they have ever been despite gimmicks like electronic pitch signaling and larger bases.  This year also marks the use of the designated hitter in all National League games.  This is a change the league resisted for 45 years but finally at the will of MLB "experts" was added despite numerous NL team objections.

I have yet to watch a game in its entirety because I don't care to waste time watching batters wander in and out of the batter's box and pitchers waste time blowing on their hands, adjusting their hats and walking around the back of the pitcher's mound.

Until baseball forces these players to play instead of wasting the time of thousands at each game MLB will continue to lose fan support and that translates to lost revenue for both sides.

Make the pitchers throw the ball to the plate in 15 seconds when no one is on and 20 seconds when a base is occupied and it will speed up the process and the hitter will have to be ready too.  If not, then a strike will be called against them.  Unless, a stick is poking out of their eye, the batter will no longer be granted time out at will. 

Another way to keep things moving is for the home plate umpire to call the strike zone as it is written in the rule book;  from the knees to the letters.  Currently the strike zone is being called from the middle of the thigh to the waste.  Make the hitters swing instead of waiting for called balls.  Now, when the hitter gets ahead in the count he is looking to drive the pitch into the next time zone.  This fascination with long homeruns is being fueled by MLB.  You need look no farther than the daily highlights on the business' own application.  This obsession with home runs has become detrimental to the rest of the skills in baseball.  Stealing bases and "small ball" have become a lost art.

Until, Major League Baseball starts enforcing the rules, the games will grow longer and even more tedious.  It will deteriorate even further until it finally starts hurting both the players and owners economically.  As a former season ticket holder to a major league baseball team, I guarantee you I will not buy another ticket unless the game swings back to what it used to be.

Saint Peter's Rules on National Peacock Day

The feel good story of the 2022 NCAA Basketball Tournament continues Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia.  Just a short time ago, the #15 seed Saint Peter's Peacocks knocked off the #3 seed Purdue Boilermakers 67-64 in a sweet sixteen game in Philadelphia.  Saint Peter's becomes the first #15 seed to ever reach the elite eight in the Men's tournament.

The Peacocks were led by Daryl Banks III with 14 points and Clarence Rupert with 11.  The Boilermakers top scorers were Trevion Williams with 16.

Saint Peter's is now 22-11 and will face 8 seed, basketball blueblood North Carolina late Sunday afternoon.  The Boilermakers end their season at 29-8.

Great Year Bengals!

Congratulations to the Cincinnati Bengals  on a tremendous 2021 football season.  They made it to the Super Bowl only to lose to a west coast team playing on its own home field.  Not exactly an equal playing field.  Cincinnati ended the year at 13-8 and could have won the NFL Championship game but the officials seemed hell bent on throwing flags against the Bengals in the last two minutes of the game.

I didn't watch the game except for the last seven minutes because I refuse to support a league that dumps all over fans and pockets billions of dollars each year while hiring felons to line the owner's pockets. In fact I didn't watch any games in their entirety all season long because I just don't care anymore.  It turns out there's much more to life than watching the national felons league on Sunday afternoons.  Fall is a beautiful time of the year with many outdoor events and activities to be shared with family and friends.

I'm glad the season is over and all of the hype from the media (ESPN to name names) is over for another six months.

Now, one can only hope the greedy players and owners in Major League Baseball will fight over a new collective bargaining agreement all season and we won't have to watch what is now the world's dullest sport.

Congratulations Big Papi!

In the event you missed it, David Ortiz has been elected as the newest member of baseball's Hall of Fame.  Ortiz was named on over 78% of the votes in his first time on the ballot.  75% was needed to win election into the hall.

"Big Papi" as he was known to Boston Red Sox fans and his teammates was a powerful player who slammed 541 career home runs, ranking him 17th in baseball history.  In addition to the 541 HRs, Ortiz ended his career with a .286 lifetime batting average along with 1768 RBI.  And during an era in which PEDs were used extensively, Ortiz was tested frequently and every time was clean.

I was fortunate to see him in person in mid September of 2015 at Fenway Park.  I was on vacation and took a tour of the park early in the afternoon prior to that night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays.  During our time on the field I was within about 30 feet of Big Papi and he was enjoying life laughing and joking with his Red Sox teammates.

The tour ended with a trip to the top of the Green Monster in left field while the Sox took batting practice.  I was visiting with some Blue Jay fans when another fan yelled "heads up".  I looked up to see a baseball screaming about ten feet over our heads before departing Fenway and landing across Lansdowne Street.  I knew he was strong but that blast removed any doubt of how much power he really had.  He repeated this two more times while I looked on in awe.

I had a chance to buy tickets to the Jays - Red Sox game that night, but because of having to leave early the next morning and the length of American League games I decided against it.  I should have gone to the game.  That same evening Ortiz slammed a three run homer to deep left center field off of Jay's starter Drew Hutchinson.  I looked it up today and it was his then 32nd homer of the year.  He would go on to hit 37 that season even though he was in the twilight of his career and 39 years old.

Ortiz's WAR was 55.3 which was a little lower than some of his peers in the hall, and I really didn't think he would get elected in the first year he was eligible.  But, I am glad he is the Hall of Fame's newest member.  Congratulations David Ortiz!

How 'Bout Them Dawgs!!

Those words are hard to write for a Mizzou fan.  But, those words have never been more true.  Congratulations to the University of Georgia which won the NCAA Collegiate Football Playoffs on Monday night over the University of Alabama.  The Bulldogs camefrom behind in the fourth quarter to beat the Crimson Tide 33-18.

The score was not indicative of the game.  It was even until late in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs intercepted a bad Alabama pass and ran it back 79 yards to seal the victory.

Georgia ended the season with a 14-1 record and avenged its only loss to 'Bama in the SEC conference championship game in December.  The team under coach KirbySmart then came back to beat Michigan in the national semifinals on New Year's Eve 34-11 and then won it on Monday night in Indianapolis with the victory over Alabama.  Alabama ended the season at 13-2, with its only previous loss coming at the hands of Texas A&M in early October.

I watched Georgia play my beloved Missouri Tigers the first week in November and Georgia dominated them 43-6.  It could have been worse.  Next fall the Bulldogs will come back to Columbia and while Mizzou will be much better, I am afraid it still won't be enough to knock off the champs.

This must have been a magical past three months for residents of the state of Georgia and the Atlanta area.  First the Braves won the World Series over Houston but now the 'Dawgs are national champions.  Congratulations to Kirby Smart, his coaching staff and the players.  How 'bout them Dawgs!