Pitching change limits?

[varoadking]

True dat...

[mitlen]

True dat...

Matter of fact, soccer unis are advertisement boards as well.

[DPMOmaha]

hockey moved into the south and south west to attract new fans, i.e. evolving so that its fanbase didn't erode and it didn't become a niche sport. It backfired. Baseball is a sport without clocks and where they clocks that are there get ignored. It has a pace that a lot of its fans like. The more you mess with that the more it changes in ways fans may not like (the utterly insane defensive zones to get rid of the shift may be the best example). If you want games in the park to feel faster, get rid of TV time outs and put logos on score boxes

It  also has a pace that a lot of it's fans don't like. It's healthy to examine the sport and make adjustments. If they don't work, you can ditch 'em. Whether or not they physically add clocks to the field isn't really the issue to me, though I don't think it would be intrusive. Hockey's mistake was that it physically removed the sport from the places where it was popular, then they took it from everybody, whether they were fans or not. Baseball's not doing that, nor are they suggesting it.

[varoadking]

Matter of fact, soccer unis are advertisement boards as well.

But the team is "uniform."  Thinking more along the lines of individual advertising opportunities...like NASACR and the PGA...

Though I guess each NASCAR and PGA "team" is uniform too. 

[Kevrock]

The players will learn  how to think through things differently. If they enforce that rule (which I believe already exists), players will adapt or they'll be out of a job.

Okay. It still sucks.

[whytev]

The last sport to become irrelevant was hockey and their massive expansion nicely coincides to people no longer caring about hockey - alienating core fans is more dangerous than not reaching out to non-fans

Exactly. Pissing off people who grew up liking hockey with a glowing blue puck is still a punchline here in Canada. How's Phoenix working out, Bettman?

You don't get new fans by alienating your old fans.

[DPMOmaha]

How is the glowing puck alienating the fans? Moving teams with loyal fanbases or canceling a season is that. Experimenting with technology isn't.

[whytev]

How is the glowing puck alienating the fans? Moving teams with loyal fanbases or canceling a season is that. Experimenting with technology isn't.

Everyone hates the shootout. Everyone. But here it is.

I don't know a single soul in Canada who likes the shootout.

Some focus group in Arizona or wherever hates ties, so now we have a shootout.

There are a million other examples.

[DPMOmaha]

Ties are stupid.

[whytev]

Ties are stupid.

You know what's stupider? Having some games be worth 2 points, and others be worth 3.

[varoadking]

You know what's stupider? Having some games be worth 2 points, and others be worth 3.

Is it stupider, or more stupid?

[whytev]

Is it stupider, or more stupid?

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stupider

[varoadking]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stupider

I guess it works, but it sounds stupid. 

[whytev]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--mlb-could-alter-strike-zone-as-response-to-declining-offense-232940947.html

Common sense!

[houston-nat]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--mlb-could-alter-strike-zone-as-response-to-declining-offense-232940947.html

Common sense!

Thank goodness. Too bad any rule change won't go into effect until 2016.

[whytev]

Thank goodness. Too bad any rule change won't go into effect until 2016.

How do you feel about the chances of electronic balls & strikes?