The absurdity of a lockout

[Christopher]

Good piece that firmly assigns the blame where it belongs: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/333 ... ne-arrives

[FolesMVP09]

If the owners get their way and have a 14 team playoff - I guess the Phils 79-82 wins may be enough

[Christopher]

14 teams ... ugh.

I still like 4 teams from each league. Three division winners and a wild card (to avoid situations like the 1993 Giants).

I don't like to lean too hard into the nostalgia and olden days, but when every damn series for the final six weeks has nailbiting tension, that's when I think baseball is at his best. Sure, October rocks. But baseball used to own August and September too.

[Captain Obvious]

14 teams ... ugh.

I still like 4 teams from each league. Three division winners and a wild card (to avoid situations like the 1993 Giants).

I don't like to lean too hard into the nostalgia and olden days, but when every damn series for the final six weeks has nailbiting tension, that's when I think baseball is at his best. Sure, October rocks. But baseball used to own August and September too.

Before the three divisions, you had some solid rivalries. Now with all the division games, a series like Philies/Marlins twice in a week doesn't make for sexy September baseball.

[mrmountie]

Hate those owners

[wrench248]

First two series cancelled. The lockout will cost regular season games.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/333 ... l-deadline

[Christopher]

Hate those owners

Seconded.

[FolesMVP09]

Hope they cancel the whole season - let them kill the entire league

eff the owners

[Skyjack]

Billionaire owners making huge profits while using publicly owned facilities at bargain rates and then crying over revenues is just rich. The cities should ding them for their rent payments whether they play or not. These owners are costing the cities tons of lost revenue in sales and wage taxes including many of the part time ballpark employees. I guess that this is how one makes money in America these days-screw the public. It’s getting tiresome.

[Christopher]

Reaction to owners' desire to ban the shift:

Joe Sheehan
@joe_sheehan
We’re still getting causes and effects wrong. The dominant style of hitting isn’t a reaction to the defense, it’s a reaction to the evolution of pitching. The focus on defensive positioning is just because it’s visible; mandating teams play bad defense would be a mistake. You’re just not fixing all that ails baseball by turning a bunch of pulled batted balls into one-base singles. Focus on the batter/pitcher matchup. Most of what’s broken in gameplay is broken between the mound and the plate.