Sunday, February 26, 2023

The Doomsday Clock

First Impressions…

Not about the Yankees. About baseball.

Granted it has only been one game, but it was the first time I’ve seen the rule changes implemented. The main one, the one that is going to both save and destroy the game of baseball, is the clock. 

Pastoral timeless baseball is dead. The spaces between the action, where we relax into game, ponder the situations, build tension… gone.

The clock removes the beauty, the opportunity to appreciate a play, to THINK… gone.

Instead, it moves like a freight train. It was like watching using the “Condensed Game” feature on replay. It barely registered. 1-2-3 innings are over in the time it takes to eat a hot dog.

Maybe I’ll get used to it, but I did not like it. I felt rushed and baseball is supposed to be the opposite of rushed.

The Broadcasts Are Going To Be Different

I was forced to watch the Phillies broadcast yesterday and, being the first game of Spring Training, there were some bugs but, the one major takeaway was, there is no time in-between the pitches to do anything.

There was barely any time to show a replay, much less from a couple of angles. That great stab by the shortstop? Might as well have been a Jalon Brunson spinning drive to the hoop ending in a reverse layup. Great while you see it but on the next thing.

There was no time to tell a story.  Even a short anecdote could take two or three batters to complete.

All I could think of was that the YES three-man booth is going to get very weird as everybody tries to get their schtick in what is now, an absurdly tight window.

This is both good and bad. Mostly bad.

Good, in that it will cut down on the prattle. Bad, in that we won’t get the history, the perspective, the humor, the banter, and in the case of John and Suzyn the complaining and occasional show tune.  

There can never be another Vin Scully weaving the game into a greater story about life. No Rizzuto talking about calzones. No Paul O’Neil making fun of the size of Michael Kay’s head. (Actually, I’m OK with that last one). 

The personality of the booth… gone.

And, when you lose the stories, the history, the situation, the contemplation, and the relaxation, then baseball as we know and love it… gone.

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MLB Just Screwed Itself Big Time

Yes, the game now fits in under three hours making it easy to program. Yes, the faster pace does make for a game that fits the modern attention span and yes, there was a part of me that was happy to watch a whole game and then get on with my life. So there’s that.

But, the Lords of Baseball made one mistake. One Huge Mistake that will undermine their greedy little plans to monetize every aspect of the game…

There is no time to get a bet down. No time for their precious in-game, in-at-bat wagers. The game moves too fast.  Maybe that plays into their plans. Maybe without the time to contemplate whether the pitcher is getting tired or not betters will make more wrong choices but a 15 second clock between pitches just isn’t enough time to answer the phone much less place a bet on it.

Good. Screw them. Maybe they'll slow the game down again.

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Last

The bigger bases are a plus. They may look huge but apparently they only shorten the distance by 4 ½ inches. I say that’s bupkis and it’s better to give the modern ballplayer and their larger feet the extra room.


10 comments:

The Archangel said...

I agree that many of the things that made baseball unique and cerebral will be gone.
However, the delays between pitches and every batter being Mike Hargrove [aka The Human Rain Delay] will not be missed.
There won't be endless signs being transmitted so individual players might have to think independently.
New stratgies may emerge, like timing pickoffs, more pitchouts.
Maybe a BB will be more valuable because of the stolen base threats and swinging form the heels may decrease. I'm interested on where the new rules will take us.
Plus, the analytics guys must be going bonkers.

Doug K. said...

Archie,

I agree that the game needed to be speeded up and I guess I, and everyone else, will adjust to faster pace. It may very well be a "better" game without all the crap you mentioned but the experience was SO different.

It really did feel more like basketball to me. Just watching something taking place and occasionally being engaged by it as opposed to truly being a part of what was going on.

It's like those shots of fans in the stands during a pivotal moment of a game. The face holding. The anguish. The expectation that rides on every pitch. That's gone.

It's that level of engagement, those moments, that drew me to the game in the first place. It's why baseball is my favorite sport. I feel like I really know the players and the exquisite anticipation of their success or failure IS the entertainment.

But I hear you. There was way too much garbage. I guess we will see how it plays out.

edb said...

The clock might just work. However, Baseball has been screwing itself for years.

ranger_lp said...

So today is confusing...

The Yanks are playing the Braves on YES but only on their streaming platform...

Meanwhile...at the same time..

The Yanks are playing the Blue Jays on MLB...

Yes, I know it's split squads...but still confusing...

Publius said...

I like it all. The game had grown lethargic and flabby. The changes reward and encourage athleticism.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Good piece, Doug.

I'm all for the pitch clock, though; I think it's the only way to get these guys to speed it up. I also think the ban on the shift will probably help the game, though I'm still chagrined they couldn't do it the old-fashioned way. Teach guys to bunt and hit to the opposite field, period.

Not sure about the bigger bases. I still fear they will lead to more injuries.

Worst change: making the Manfred Man permanent. Seriously distorts the game in bad ways.

Still needs to be done: Stop messing with the unis, get rid of the replay reviews, and teach pitchers how to pitch to contact.

I know, I know: it will be a cold day in hell...
Well, maybe at least in SoCal.

13bit said...

We need MORE guys in the booth. Fat guys with big mouths. And we need MORE sloth and flab on the field. We need guys drinking beer in the clubhouse instead of taking speed. We need dudes gasping for breath after a single. We need 5 hour games of stultifyingly slow action, where everybody just zones out and our mouths fall open. Fuck this "fast game" bullshit. We need achingly slow nothingnesss. Pitchers on valium, I tell you. Pitchers on valium.

Oasisdave said...

I've been progressively hating baseball more and more over the last 10 cheating, sped-up, silly COVID Season fanless, cheating, years

cabish47 said...

The pitch clock cuts fat from the game. Knowledgeable fans can concentrate on the GAME and not rely on blathering for entertainment. Our engaged minds will speed up to appreciate situations.
Now if only the time between innings would be shortened. Fat chance of that.

JM said...

When I was a kid, sub-two hour games were not that incredibly unusual. Sub-two and a half, pretty common.

Rizzuto was still Rizzuto. Red Barber was still Red Barber. Mel Allen was still Mel Allen. You get the drift. I don't see how faster games hurt them, their commentary, or their greatness.

The long, drawn-out, three true outcome stallfests we've had to live through since then have been painful, not fun to watch, and boring.

And O'Neill is terrible. Wish they'd get rid of him, already. I'm sick of banter and bullshit. Talk about the game or shut up. And let Kay actually voice his opinions instead of sucking up to the ex-players like they always know better.