Start of Spring Training Delayed

[guyofthetiger]

Saw where the start of Spring Training is going to be delayed due to the lockout. I wonder if they will settle soon or the Opening Day gets delayed too. I'm not sure how much Spring Training the teams need for the season. This might be a while.

[fredtoast]

I hate to say it, but the MLB season should only be about 100 games every year.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(02-03-2022, 09:24 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I hate to say it, but the MLB season should only be about 100 games every year.

I kind of like that with MLB, you know if a team is good or not. Any team can go on a small hot winning streak. 162 separates pretenders from contenders, though. 

Also.... money. Neither the teams nor the players want to make less money that would come with less games.

I guess you could remove Interleague games? Change it to something like....
Division: 9 home, 9 road x4 (72 games)
Intraleague: 3 home, 3 road x10 (60 games)

For something like 132 games? I don't see 100 being a number they ever get near.

[kevin]

(02-02-2022, 06:25 PM)guyofthetiger Wrote: Saw where the start of Spring Training is going to be delayed due to the lockout. I wonder if they will settle soon or the Opening Day gets delayed too. I'm not sure how much Spring Training the teams need for the season. This might be a while.

It was impossible to have Bengals Baseball Fantasy League in 2020.  Now Baseball in 2022 is killing any chance to have Drafts and Bengals Fantasy League again so soon.   I HATE that Baseball is KILLING Fantasy Leagues such as long standing Bengals Baseball Fantasy. 

I will not follow Reds or Baseball if they Kill the Bengals Baseball Fantasy League.  The League Owner did a good job on a Restart after 2020 to have a 2021 season, but no season in 2022 would make another Restart in 2023 very hard.   

I will refuse to follow Reds or Baseball if they ruin Bengals Baseball Fantasy for 2nd season in 3 years.  Without a Draft in March, we can not have a Fantasy Season.  As of now. many baseball players are not active, but listed as Free Agents not on any team.  Unless Baseball gets it together fast, there can be no Fantasy Drafts. 

No some of you don't care if there is Fantasy Baseball, but I tell you that Fantasy Baseball breathed new life back into this sport on major decline.  If Baseball KILLS Fantasy Baseball, then they are killing MLB Network, ESPN, CBS, YAHOO and BASEBALL will loose a ton of MONEY, and a lot of Fans.   Many Fans did NOT come back after 1994.   That is nothing compared to how many Fans and TV Contracts Baseball will loose after a 2 month season in 2020 and a Strike/ Lockout season in 2022.   If the movie says Build It And They Will Come, then the opposite is true,  Close It and They Will Leave. 

Also, Baseball once had huge money contracts with the major networks. After 1994 the major TV networks saw they were loosing money on baseball. CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX did not renew the huge contracts they had with MLB. Baseball took a huge hit on TV Income. The players are too stupid to know this. They think Baseball on TV is as great as it use to be. The fact is Baseball TV Ratings are way down and Major Networks have moved away from it. A Strike/ Lockout season will put Baseball TV Ratings in the toilet for years to come, and only a small few old die hard fans will tune in to watch. Another huge decline in TV Revenue will be MLB Killing itself. No viewers, no TV ratings, no Money. Baseball was lucky to find a home on Cable Networks after Regular Networks saw Baseball TV Programming Looses Money. Baseball may soon find the Cable Networks don't want them either if TV ratings go in the toilet as Fans Leave Forever as they did after 1994.

With people following the NFL Draft in late April, and preseason in August, NFL is becoming almost Year Around. NASCAR and INDY Racing has taken over major TV Networks. NBA Play-Offs go into June or July. Plus people go fishing, swimming, camping. Soccer and Soccer Moms is huge in USA, unlike 1960's or 1970's. If there is NO BASEBALL, people will be just fine. Baseball has taken so many seasons off, they have shown people there are other things to do in summer than watch Baseball. As for The World Series at Halloween, I am way too into Bengals by Halloween to care about Baseball. Baseball could go away forever, and Life would go on, it would hardly be missed. Baseball is no longer the National Pastime. NFL has been for decades now. Soccer Moms are on the rise as a growing USA sport. I would guess more kids now play soccer than baseball, and that is bad news for Major League Baseball. Baseball can't afford to miss another season, but the Owners and Players are too Stupid, Pig Headed, Egotistical and Greedy to see they are Killing the goose that laid the golden egg. It is not like the World War II movies where soldiers knew who was batting what for which team. In modern USA, few people care who is batting what. This is where Fantasy Baseball breathed New Life into the sport, but MLB is KILLING Fantasy Baseball.

They always say the loser in a Baseball Strike is The Fans. NOT TRUE. It does NOT effect what we make on Jobs or grades in School. So it is A LIE it hurts the Fans more. That is a Big LIE. The Strike/ Lockout will hurt The Owners and The Players. I would say it will hurt the Cable Baseball TV Stations, but I'm sure their Lawyers have it to where it is NO PLAY, NO PAY. The Owners and Players will LOSE. Not The Fans. If Mike Trout or Joey Votto don't play in 2022, that doesn't change what working people get in their paychecks, or what grades students get in school, NOT ONE BIT. Baseball over rates itself, as do the Baseball Announcers paid to push the product of Baseball as paid salesmen carnival barkers.

[fredtoast]

(02-05-2022, 05:49 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I kind of like that with MLB, you know if a team is good or not. Any team can go on a small hot winning streak. 162 separates pretenders from contenders, though. 

Also.... money. Neither the teams nor the players want to make less money that would come with less games.

I guess you could remove Interleague games? Change it to something like....
Division: 9 home, 9 road x4 (72 games)
Intraleague: 3 home, 3 road x10 (60 games)

For something like 132 games? I don't see 100 being a number they ever get near.

They will never cut the season because of the loss of revenue.

Just stating my opinion that the season should be shorter.  I am a Reds fan and even I find it hard to get really excited until the All Star game.

[kevin]

(02-07-2022, 04:36 PM)fredtoast Wrote: They will never cut the season because of the loss of revenue.

Just stating my opinion that the season should be shorter.  I am a Reds fan and even I find it hard to get really excited until the All Star game.

Just read an article by The New York Times.  It points out Baseball Owners and Players are ignoring the decline of the game.  Such as Baseball has never had World Series ratings as high as 1980, they have been on a decline since 1981 Baseball Strike.  That Baseball use to be on regular TV, but has had some life on Cable Stations, but that is falling away as many people are dropping Cable for alternative sources of media and entertainment.  Baseball is having a hard time selling it's product. The most marketable thing in Baseball was the Starting Pitchers for the day, but Baseball has gotten away from Starting Pitcher greatly, thus loosing one of it's greatest selling points.  Also TIME.  The games go longer and longer.  The average time between a ball in play is 4 to 5 minutes. Games average 3 and a half hours.  The defensive shifts are making the game boring.  There are almost no steals anymore, making the game more boring.  One huge problem is teams Going In The Tank.  Trading off players at mid season and accepting losing the second half.  Sometimes teams accept being in last place at start of season. The amount of Teams Tanking each season is creating a bad product nobody wants to buy or watch. 

The Owners want to keep expanding the season, but they ignore that their product has declined and is becoming less marketable.  

Baseball must address the problems of the game itself. not just the owners and players money. 

Fredtoast has pointed out the season is too long as his complaint, and it is a valid fan complaint.  I will go the other way from April. I will say that I do not watch Baseball on Halloween.  By then I am way into Bengals Football and Holiday Season. So we can agree the season is too long.   The World Series use to be in early October, the concept of playing to or into November was unheard of.  World Series TV Ratings are way down, so the extended Play-Offs is not going over with The Fans, it is only so owners can try to make more money, but they are failing at that. 

The game itself goes to long. Games use to go about 2 hours, now they go almost 4 hours.  Many people do not have 4 hours to spend at a baseball game. How many games at the end where most of the crowd has left, and you can hear the few fans left doing their cat calls in the night, TOO MANY.  It creates a scene of complete boredom.  Empty Stadiums with boring endless games.  No wonder fewer and fewer people are watching Baseball. 

Baseball was in it's TV Best Days in 1950's through 1970's.  I would say Color TV added more viewers as opposed to games in Black and White. Color TV became big in 1966 as almost all TV went to Color.  This helped to sell Baseball to a new audience. Baseball never had it so good. There were 20 Teams. Every Team had a Star Starting Pitcher that you knew his name.  Every Team had a Star Hitter that you knew his name. That is not the case in the 2020's.  Some teams have No Star Starting Pitcher and No Star Hitter.  The Rich Teams get Richer and The Poor Teams get Poorer.  

Also the players changing teams so much now, the Fans can not build up a Love for their players or knowledge of other teams players anymore. You could once say Phillies, that's Jim Bunning, or Steve Carlton. Pirates, that's Clemente and Stargell.  Giants, that's WILLIE MAYS, McCovey, Marichal.  Braves, that's Hank Aaron. Dodgers, that's Koufax and Drysdale. Reds, that's Rose and Maloney and Pinson and this new kid Bench.  You knew the teams, you knew the players, Not Anymore.  Right now the Strike/ Lockout has hundreds of Free Agents not even on a team as I type this, including Castallanos, who as a Red Fan I say, Nick, we hardly knew Ye.  Players Changing Teams This Much also Destroys The Product of The Game. Fans No Longer have the Love for Their Teams Players because they come and go so fast.  

Baseball Owners and Players need to make MAJOR CHANGES, because the game has gone in the toilet.  They need to listen to Fans such as Fredtoast saying the season is Too Long, or other Fans complaints. Now a father and son playing catch, or kids playing wiffle ball, is one thing. Major League Baseball is SELLING A PRODUCT. It is NOT just a sport. IT IS How To Make Money Off This Three Ring Circus.  Major League Baseball is Killing Itself and Minor League Baseball isn't much better. 

I myself liked the 7 inning games. The games were shorter on Time, and The Starting Pitcher was more of a factor, as it should be. 

I'll suggest something many will hate.  Extra Innings can cause games to go 5 or 6 or 7 hours.  That's just way too boring.  Plus pitchers get to0 injured in these marathons.  Putting a runner at 2nd helps a little.  How about TIE BALL GAMES. Like soccer.  They play 162 games, which is too many. Maybe some NEED to end in a TIE.  I'm not in love with that, but it would be better than having 5 or 6 hour games where all the Fans have gone home, and managers are killing their pitchers. RAIN DELAYS. Now that is awful TV. Make the game go 10 hours. Here is a RIP OFF, Fans at a Rained Out Game can get a ticket for another game, maybe not as good of a seat, but another game. Sometimes they say you can't use the ticket on the make up game. If they have a Make Up Game, followed by another game, Fans have to leave the stadium and come back in again. Baseball handles Fans in Rain Out Games the way Hitler handled Poland, Badly.

So, The New York Times article yesterday saying Baseball has Bigger Problems than the Owners and Players realize, I agree with that.  Fredtoast has issues about MLB.  So do all Fans, the least of which is Me. All God Children got issues with MLB.  MLB better start listening to The Fans or there won't be any Fans.  Me, when Reds announcers talk for innings about what The Cowboy Jeff Brantley is Eating, I CHANGE THE CHANNEL, because THAT is TV at it's WORST. If MLB can't do better than THAT, they can just stay on Strike/ Lockout and Never come back. The great thing about NFL FOOTBALL is I don't have to hear all game what the announcers are eating. NFL is not as Boring as MLB has became. 

Instead of Build IT, and THEY will come.  I say FIX IT and HOPE that THEY will come.  If it's BROKE, Fix It, and MLB is very Broken and getting worse by the mile, ready to be towed to the Junk Yard. 

MLB, please Listen to The Fredtoasts and other Fans before it's too late.  Stadiums so empty in games, you may have to bring back the cardboard fans, but even the cardboard fans may get up and leave. 

[fredtoast]

A three hour baseball game includes an hour of players stepping out of the batters box to adjust their batting gloves and an hour for 10 pitching changes.  BORING!!!

There are some very simple things MLB could do to make the game more interesting.  Pitch clock is the main one.  WAAAAY too much time between pitches.  Also limit the number of pitching changes.

Some people complain about defensive shifts, but I think they can actually add more action to the game.  Without the shift every player is trying to pull the ball out of the park so he either ends up walking back to the dugout after striking out or walking around the bases after hitting a home run.  The idea of the shift is to force players to hit to the opposite field.  When this happens the ball is hit in play more often and these professional athletes actually have to *gasp* RUN in order to play the game.

Also need a mandatory pool of alligators in centerfield of every stadium.

[*ochocincos*]

(02-03-2022, 09:24 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I hate to say it, but the MLB season should only be about 100 games every year.

Or at least 150.

Let those last two weeks be used to start the playoffs earlier.

[kevin]

(02-09-2022, 02:21 PM)fredtoast Wrote: A three hour baseball game includes an hour of players stepping out of the batters box to adjust their batting gloves and an hour for 10 pitching changes.  BORING!!!

There are some very simple things MLB could do to make the game more interesting.  Pitch clock is the main one.  WAAAAY too much time between pitches.  Also limit the number of pitching changes.

Some people complain about defensive shifts, but I think they can actually add more action to the game.  Without the shift every player is trying to pull the ball out of the park so he either ends up walking back to the dugout after striking out or walking around the bases after hitting a home run.  The idea of the shift is to force players to hit to the opposite field.  When this happens the ball is hit in play more often and these professional athletes actually have to *gasp* RUN in order to play the game.

Also need a mandatory pool of alligators in centerfield of every stadium.

I'll suggest something that nobody will like and will never happen.   Since the games are twice as long now, just have the 7 Inning games.  7 innings is still about 3 hours, which is plenty.  Now if TIED, go to Extra Innings, nobody on 2nd to start, BUT First Team to score wins.  So if visiting team scores top of the inning, GAME OVER.  None of this come back and Tie and go longer nonsense.  

Baseball Owners and Players are suppose to meet this weekend.  I'll be watching Bengals. 

If Baseball keeps Bengals Board Fantasy Baseball League from having a Draft and a Season again, as in 2020, I will Boycott Reds and Baseball all season. I will go on Strike.  Ruining Bengals Fantasy League will be the final straw for me on Baseball.  The season too long, the games too long, the game too boring, the announcers really too boring.  i will miss hearing what The Cowboy Jeff Brantley is eating every day, but that's a good thing.  He might as well add to it, and describe how it all comes out in the toilet.  I'm also getting bored with spin rotation, rate of velocity off the bat, ball speed and math angle arrows on every home run.  A home run is a home run, period.  You get no extra runs for loft angle. I miss the old time announcers who announced the game like it might be the first game a kid ever watched, instead of the assuming the viewers have watched every game for a million years.  The old time announcers like Gowdy and Pee Wee Reese would be more into why Tommy Helms charging the ball was a good defensive play.  They explained the basics of the game much better than modern announcers. They broadcast the game much better than modern announcers.  All this rotation spin and ball speed off the bat computer math is too computer, and is as exciting as watching paint dry. Do announcers ever tell kids the importance of stepping into the ball ? Do announcers stay on top of Left Handed Pitcher vs Left Handed Hitter, so Pitcher has the eye sight advantage, or the other way with Right Handed Hitter so now batter has the eye sight advantage. No, and they are not going to talk about stepping into the ball and such. They are going to bore everybody with computer graphics that have very little to do with how the game is played. I have news for announcers and their graphics on how Hard a ball was hit, The Great Ted Kluszewski told kids it is ALL about BAT SPEED. Tony Perez said, See The Ball, Hit The Ball. Back in the days when we were not bored to death by computer graphics all game. My best baseball coach ever taught me to Step Into The Ball. That is a MUST in baseball. The years Votto had all the leg problems, he could not step into the ball, that was his problem. The last few years he could step into the ball again. I almost never heard announcers mention it, just their computer graphics.

[plantmanky]

131 games is the minimum I think they could do.

7 games (home & away) vs the 4 division teams (56 total games)
3 games vs every other team (both AL & NL) (rotate home and away every year) (75 total games)



However any change to games I think starts with each team losing 6 games (156 game schedule) and adding a round to the playoffs. I am fine with that.

[guyofthetiger]

Looks like a hard deadline of Monday has been set by the MLB representatives. Then, regular season games will be canceled. The MLBPA and MLB are still far apart on some issues.