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2023 SPRING TRAINING


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Oh my god. Scorers are responsible for the clock so my buddy had to go with all of the other scorers to Austin for training. That was only a few weeks ago. And today he said it’s a shitshow with their work chat blowing up with questions. One of the examples he gave were scorers asking if it’s an immediate violation at 8 seconds for batters and if umps would get a buzz. The answer they got was it isn’t and it’s up to the ump to actually look at the clock to know. So basically it’s going to be impossible to be consistent.

Relying on the least reliable officials in all of sports. Good work, MLB. 

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Meanwhile - it looks like Manny Machado's strategy worked

He and the Padres are finalizing an 11 year, $350 million extension

Since the old deal he was gonna opt out of was 6 years, $180 million this adds 5 years and $170 million in new money (It runs through 2033 and has no opt outs)

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2 hours ago, Craig H said:

Oh my god. Scorers are responsible for the clock so my buddy had to go with all of the other scorers to Austin for training. That was only a few weeks ago. And today he said it’s a shitshow with their work chat blowing up with questions. One of the examples he gave were scorers asking if it’s an immediate violation at 8 seconds for batters and if umps would get a buzz. The answer they got was it isn’t and it’s up to the ump to actually look at the clock to know. So basically it’s going to be impossible to be consistent.

Relying on the least reliable officials in all of sports. Good work, MLB. 

Football and baseball both refusing to have some type of obvious 'signal' to referees when a clock expires is certainly something, have they never watched basketball. Imagine if in the NBA there was no sound and no light on the backboard for the shot clock, and referees were just expected to keep track of the clock. Its an equally bad idea to what the NFL and now MLB do.

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It’s nuts. The scorekeepers are also not under NDA, but they’re not supposed to talk about their experiences in public and there are people in private texts talking about being leakers if the price is right because every part of how MLB handled the clock and other changes has been poor. And it’s not growing pains. My friend had his trip to Texas for training booked midway through the season. MLB has had a ton of time to make this work and from the sounds of it, their thought was to leave it up to the umps which is always the worst fucking decision. 

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Well, I had a screenshot to share of more details, but posting a picture is horseshit on here and their board won’t accept a Google Drive link. Here’s the text…

Quote

MLB Friend: lol, a question from the VP came in and ended with "we didnt look good yesterday"

Other friend:  So lemme see if I got this right.  Pitcher has 15 seconds to throw a pitch, but batter has to be in box, ready to go at 8 second mark.

So it's basically a 7 second clock, not 15.

MLBF: here's the thing with the strike out walk off thing - the ump has the ability to restart the clock - he should have imo and he missed

ump makes a whirly bird (basically a home run signal) and you are supposed to restart

"looking up at the pitcher" is fucking dumb, either be ready to hit by 0 or not

 

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That's just complaining from people doing something new on the first day, IMHO.  There are kinks to work out, of course.  It's important to note that this has worked really well across thousands of games in the minor leagues.

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20 minutes ago, Tabe said:

That's just complaining from people doing something new on the first day, IMHO.  There are kinks to work out, of course.  It's important to note that this has worked really well across thousands of games in the minor leagues.

I agree with you, the issue is more why are they so unprepared to bring it up to the MLB level. They had all offseason to train people, or have the people responsible for it working in the Minors more directly involved on the pro level, etc. I think they will work it out the same as they did in the Minors, but if there are mistakes that impact the result of real games its a different situation than if a mistake changes the outcome of a AA game that no one will know about. There will be more eyeballs and more pressure as its such a major change, and the level of preparation seems to not be where it should be for a national sports league.

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1 hour ago, Kevin Wilson said:

I agree with you, the issue is more why are they so unprepared to bring it up to the MLB level. They had all offseason to train people, or have the people responsible for it working in the Minors more directly involved on the pro level, etc. I think they will work it out the same as they did in the Minors, but if there are mistakes that impact the result of real games its a different situation than if a mistake changes the outcome of a AA game that no one will know about. There will be more eyeballs and more pressure as its such a major change, and the level of preparation seems to not be where it should be for a national sports league.

That's literally what they're doing right now - working it out in real game situations but games that don't matter.  That's exactly what spring training is for.

 

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55 minutes ago, Tabe said:

That's literally what they're doing right now - working it out in real game situations but games that don't matter.  That's exactly what spring training is for.

 

I like your optimism that they'll be able to sort out all the new rules in four weeks, that doesn't excuse the lack of planning to make sure all the players and staff are fully trained and familiar with the ins and outs of the new rule. Which was part of the problem with the 'walk off' pitch clock violation the other day, the player was confused as he was watching the catcher, who wasn't ready yet himself when the violation occurred (seems the rule is the catcher only has to be in the box at nine seconds, otherwise they don't have to be "ready" at a certain time, its the pitcher that matters). Personally, I am in favor of the pitch clock, I think its a good idea. I still predict a rocky April.

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33 minutes ago, Kevin Wilson said:

I like your optimism that they'll be able to sort out all the new rules in four weeks, that doesn't excuse the lack of planning to make sure all the players and staff are fully trained and familiar with the ins and outs of the new rule. Which was part of the problem with the 'walk off' pitch clock violation the other day, the player was confused as he was watching the catcher, who wasn't ready yet himself when the violation occurred (seems the rule is the catcher only has to be in the box at nine seconds, otherwise they don't have to be "ready" at a certain time, its the pitcher that matters). Personally, I am in favor of the pitch clock, I think its a good idea. I still predict a rocky April.

Again, first day bugs.  The players ARE fully trained.  Be in the box and ready to go.  That's got nothing to do with the catcher.  Is the clock ticking?  Yes?  Get in the box.

And, as I'm sure you know, no amount of training will fully get everybody up to speed.  Short of doing individual instruction 1-on-1 with every single player, umpire, and official - and then testing them afterward - there's no way to guarantee people being ready.  They go over the stuff, teach people what they need to know, and then they have brain farts during the game.  Remember Donovan McNabb several years ago not being aware that NFL games could end in ties?

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For people that use MLB.tv:  they just announced that new this year, you also get TV/Radio broadcasts of (your team's) AAA/AA affiliates with your sub.  As if I needed MORE baseball to watch. 

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1 hour ago, Tabe said:

What are your specific objections to it? 

I'm going to be a dumb sourpuss about this, but I believe in the romanticism of baseball. 

It was the only team sport where there was no timer, where the pitcher was the one who decided the tempo of the game.  There was time to think, time to breathe, time to feel the air of the night.  Baseball was meant to be a game where there was a lot of thinking going on.  This match up is bad for us, so let's make a change. This runner is inhumanly fast, so I need to do whatever I can to throw off his timing. This batter thinks I'm going to throw down and out, but I'm going to challenge him inside instead.  This fielder is way too far off the base, so I'm going to try to take it.  

A million different decisions.  All with the opportunity to be thought out, all with the opportunity to be second guessed, all with the chance to change the entire flow of the game.  It's a brilliant game, it's a thinker's game. 

And that's just it, the game flowed at its own pace. There was no need for a clock because that fundamentally changes how the game operates.  

The game can take 3 hours?   Good.  Let it.  I don't care.  

I do not need a clock in my baseball.  I do not want a clock in my baseball.  I do not like that pitch clock Sam I Am. 

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A certain amount of the push to a pitch clock is to acquiesce people who've been whining for years and i'm sure they'll find some other way to demand more changes.

A faster tempo will likely be an improvement but it's gonna drift into the background in a few weeks when half the league loses their TV deals due to the Sinclair bankruptcy.

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2 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

The game can take 3 hours?   Good.  Let it.  I don't care.  

This just shows you the difference between someone who roots for the Yankees and someone who doesn't

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