We might hate the new 10th inning rule, but it probably saved the Yankee bullpen from a wipeout

No self-respecting baseball grunt likes Rob Manfred's "Fuck You, Fans" rule, which sticks a runner on second base to start the 10th. Aside from pissing on 100 years of tradition, it effectively kills the rare but magnificent marathon game, the 20-inning affairs that still characterize the seemingly endless summers of our youth. 

I still remember Jack Reed. I was watching.

But why kid ourselves? Baseball is an industry, and you don't leave your product - all those coat-hangers - out in the sun. With shadows between pitchers mound and home plate, and with every batter swinging for a walk-off YouTube moment - (which, in itself, can be monetized) - Thursday's game might have lasted 20 innings and sabotaged the Yankee bullpen before its second game, when Corey Kluber gets his chance.

Today, in an alt-Yankiverse, we can see Michael King or Luis Cessa on the Injured List, having thrown twice their allotment of spring pitches. (Or, it's also just as easy to imagine either having blown Wednesday's game without a free runner on second.)

We can hate the rule. We can hate where the game is going. But this tinkering has gone on for years, and the minor leagues now serve as a test lab for new rules. 

And once you start dabbling with the rules, old records fly out the window.

Personally, I don't think a runner on second is not such a bad thing, just not in the 10th. Maybe the 12th? The 15th? I dunno. At some point, it's fair to give managers and bullpens an exit ramp on an endless game. It just seemed rather sudden this week. And now I'm remembering Jack Reed.