Patrick L

Watching the XFL and their new rules makes me think of some new rules in NFL. Team who wins coin toss and the start of the game gets the ball 4th and 10 on thier own 15. They can eithe punt or try to convert a 1st down at the 25. However if they don t convert opponent gets the ball 1st and t0 at their 15. second half starts same way with a coin toss. and winning team gets ball 4 and 10 from thier own 15. Touchdowns are seven points automatically. Why need to kick a what is usually an extra poiint. Teams can go for 2 like normal. After team scores touchdown or field goal they get ball 4 and 10 at their own 15. They can try to convert to keep possession or punt. No kickooffs. This could help a team who is behind. They can go for it on 4th and 10 on the 15 to maintain possession and try to come from behind. Overtime becomes sudden death. First team scores wins

Saves go to the pitcher who actually saves the game.  (determined by the official scorer)  For example  bottom of 7th bases loaded  visitors lead 5-2.  Reliever gets final out.  Top ninth score still 5-2 but seventh inning pitcher gets save.  Closer gets a finish.  The finish can be earned by the pitcher of the 9th inning if he comes in with a lead of 3 or less.  If the closer comes in 2 bottom ninth.  outs score 6-2 bases loaded he can receive a save but not a finish. No finish to be awarded.   Also for starting pitchers who do not nor cannot go the requisite 5 innings.  The official scorer.  can determine if a win should be awarded to any relieve pitcher.  If the official scorer determines none of the relievers deserved a win, there is no win awarded nor save nor finish.

There is talk of this and why not?  Why do managers need what is now 20 seconds to look at a replay to decide whether or not to challenge?  Look at the 1984 Ron Cey Home Run Contraversy on Youtube.  Cey hit a homer that was clearly a foul ball the reds charged out of the dougout immediately to argue.  Then a brawl ensued but the point was if a manager believes a umpire blew a call he should know imediatley to challenge.  They did in the day of no replay in the form of arguments.  Also if you are going to eliminate video tech during games, have an umpire in the booth at the game not in New York that can communicate with the crew chief that the play needs to be challenged.  They do this in football why not in baseball. 

On Monday's Hot Stove Harold Reynolds broke down the comments made by Carlos Correa about Altuve not cheating not wearing a buzzer and earning the MVP in 2017/  Reynolds tried to show the accuracy of Correa's comments in a video breakdown.  If you saw this has it changed your opinion of Altuve?

It is the announcers job to promote thier team and make people want to watch. How do Astros announcers make other than Astros fans want to watch knowing that they cheated in 2017?

In college football if a college team violates the rules they are ineidgable for a postseason bowl games. WHy isn;t this the case in MLB. The team is only fined and penalized by losing draft picks. Yes A.J. Hinch and Joey Cora got fired but tht doesn;t penalize the players. I say make them inelidgable for the post season. Same with Red Sox If they are found guilty of wrongdoing.

Not only would Zobrist be re united woith Joe Maddon again, but he s a proven leader. He can play infield as well as outfield. I don t know how much 1st base he has played but with Ohtani DH ing in games he doesnt pitch Zobrist could spell Pujols at 1st base. The outfield now looks as if it will be Upton Trout and Goodwin from left to right,. Goodwin can run and play defense but his hitting might be lacking. Zobrist in right could help to fill that gap. Zobrist is also a proven leader. Cubs missed his leadership while he was out with a leave of abscense.

I heard of a proposed three way trade for Kris Bryant where Nolan Arenado would go to the Cubs Bryant to Atlanta and prospects to the Rockies. However with Atlanta signing Marcel Osuna could a three way deal send Bryant to the Nats? Nats like the Braves need a 3rd baseman but with Atlanta signing Osuna it seems they added offense they were looking for in the outfield. Cubs are still in their window of opportunity so would this trade of Bryant for Arenado be a good idea?

Yes some say it could be Joe Girardi but Grace like Sandberg is an all time fave. Unlike Sandberg Grace has been coaching with the D'backs so he has MLB coaching experience. Also look at the trend of hiring inexperienced managers in Woodward in Tex Calloway in NY and Kapler in Philly.

If the Nats start Corbin, then win the wild card game then they can start the division series with Scherzer game 1 and Strasburg game 2. This would be an advantage in a 5 game divison series. Nats could be up 2-0 and then have Scherzer come back for a deciding game 5. Corbin then would be able to go on normal rest in game 3 with off days before game 1 and game 3.

There has been some talk about putting a man on second in extra innings in order to keep a game from going 15 0r 16 innigns. How about this scenario? after 10 innings youstart the 11th with runners at 1st and 3rd 1 out. A batter who would bunt would have to execute a perfect bunt to get the runner in from 3rd. If he doesn't the runner from 3rd has to hold up. There is also the possiblility of bunting it into the air and it turning into a double play so it wont be as easy as it sound to get the runner in from 3rd. And by starting the inning with 1 out a double play ends the inning. The batter could swing and hit a sc fly I get it but he could also ground into an DP. If you start with just the runner at 2nd it's easy to bunt him to 3rd and a sac fly with one out scores him. With 1sst and 3rd 1 out there are more possibilities to get out of the inning. Point is you can;t make it easy but you can;t have games going 15 and 16 innings with teams using all their players.

He has solidified the 2nd spot in the lineup, enabling Joe Maddon to move Bryant Rizzo and Baez to the middle the run producing spots in the order. Now I realize his defensive metrics aren't that great but neither is Schwarber's. I think the Cubs cound re-sign Nicholas and then maybe trade Scwarber for another need.

Youo have cheap homers in Yankee Stadium that would be outs in other ballparks. Last night Puig hit a homer at Angel's stadium that Trout played off the wall but because it went over so called home run line it was a homer. Yankee stadium is a band box with high school dimensions. As announcers noted they don't eve n show the measurement to right center.

Imagine if Len Kasper of the Cubs was on Fox calling the final out of the 2016 WS. Like Harry Caray calling Bob Gibson's record breaking strikeout performance. Dick Stockton's call of Carlton Fisks HR in Game 6 at Fenway. Back in the day the WS was broadcasted by announcers from the home teams. This would be far better than having to listen to Joe Buck's generic calls.

Many criticize Rockies players saying away from Coors field they wouldn't be that good. So why cannot the same be said of certain Yankee Players? Yankee stadium is a band box. Routine fly outs go for home runs. At least Coors field adjusts to the high altitude by creating a bigger outfield. Look at Aarron Judge's home and road splits for example.

Last night in the Dodger game Joc Pederson argued that he fouled the ball offf his foot but the ump ruled it fair and he was out. Why not reviewable? similar pla happened to Javy Baez the other day. Replay can show everything with slow motion so why do they make certain plays not reviewable?

Many players when the retire become coaches managers GMs or broadcasters Just thinking that I have never heard of a former player becoming an umpire and are they allowed to do so.

This year The Atlantic league are going to experiment with potential rule changes we could see in MLB during the next CBA. Some I like. Some I am opposed.

The Ones I like:

1. 30 second pitch clock. between pitches. I would say 35 seconds though between batters.

2. 3 batter minimum for relief pitchers.

3. Ban on infield shifts. You can shift the second baseman up the middle but do not enchroach on the ss position and vis versa. But no more 3 men on the right or left side of the infield.

The rules I don't like:

1. Robotic strike calling. Leave the human element in the game

2. No mound visits. When a pinch hitter comes up the pitcher and catcher should be allowed to discuss scouting reports. I say use the format last year 6 in the game but no more than 2 per half inning.

To me think Javy had earned the right to be the Cubs everyday SS. I think with Addison Russell not only having to serve a suspension for DV but his underachieving season last year, Addison has to re establish himself as a secondbaseman or a utility infielder. Ben Zobrist and Ian Happ are also qualified to be at 2nd but they can be moved around. Baez is excellent at either SS or 2nd but I think it's his right to chose where he wants to play.