I've always been under the belief that you shouldn't write angry.
So, I cooled off for a couple of hours before I started writing this.
I know it's been a while, and I'll probably tell you why some other time, but not today. I have something else important to say:
Nine-inning baseball games should not take four hours.
OK, sure, the official time of game for Wednesday's National League Division Series game between the Dodgers and Cardinals clocked in at less - six minutes less. But even that was too long.
Everyone knows how much of a sports fan I am. I tend to watch what I can, when I can. And baseball still is an important game to follow. But, man, Major League Baseball, you're losing fans with this.
They'll point at their TV partners, who want to suck all the drama and ratings they can out of the game. And, yeah, they'll be right to a degree. But looking over sporadically at the game Wednesday night, and it wasn't just TBS slowing things down. It was everyone. The players, the coaches, the managers. Everyone.
There is a rule in the books to speed up play, but it's never enforced. Oh, maybe once a season you hear about it. But this is the playoffs, and everyone has to jockey for every little last advantage they can. Even if it means a parade of relievers.
I was skulking around the office bitching about the slowness of the game - because me going home depends on when that game gets over and our photographer can send in his photos for a gallery. "This is why I love hockey. There games don't take forever," I said to everyone and no one in particular.
One person, another hockey fan, disagreed. And I realized he was right. Because they can have marathon games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But when they play a marathon, it can be over at any second. You're in overtime, and there's nothing like overtime playoff hockey. They can play the equivalent of two games and you'll be on the edge of your seat. And it will still only take, what, four and a half hours?
But baseball, you still have to reach that ninth inning. With the pitching changes and the batters adjusting themselves and the throws over to first and the missed signs and the ...
If you're playing in extra innings, I give you a pass. Then it's all or nothing. You're playing to win the game. That Detroit-Minnesota game on Tuesday was great. It had action. Something that happened in short spurts in between all the adjusting on Wednesday at Chavez Ravine.
OK, I'll admit, I really didn't watch much of the game. The TV's in the office aren't close enough or at a good enough angle that I have a good view. It might have been very exciting.
And what fixes do I have? None that will be enforced. Unless someone goes ahead and puts a pitch clock up where the umpires and fans and players can see it. Make it like the shot clock in basketball or play clock in football. When everyone sees the clock, then maybe people will move it along. (They had one in the Olympics, but it really didn't help those games either, but you didn't exactly have major leaguers, either.)
That's it. I'll step off my soapbox now. Have a good day. And let's hope the Angels and Red Sox can move their game along tonight.
