As the winter rolls by and the state of Michigan is hit with another sudden snow storm Spring Training becomes closer and closer.
With Detroit Tigers pitchers and catchers officially reporting on February 19th, 2015 fans patiently wait in anticipation.
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The weeks leading up to it though become especially slow with baseball news. Nearly all the big free agent signings are inked (except for James Shields and a few others) leading to slow, cold winter days.
One key piece of news though is one that swirls around the pace of play issues Major League Baseball has been dealing with.
With baseball being so wildly criticized for being so slow it makes sense from a marketing viewpoint. News of a pitch clock being used in the higher Minor Leagues makes the issue that much more intriguing.
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Except new MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s comments has sparked some controversy among analysts and fans alike. He has come out and said he might make a move to ban defensive shifts while making the offense stronger.
If this becomes true it will be a grave mistake by MLB to limit what the defense can do.
Tigers fans have been shown the shifts in recent years. Whether they were using it against the Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz or seeing Alex Avila hit into one often it’s become increasingly frequent in the MLB.
That’s why getting rid of defensive shifts would be a such a bad idea. It’s just another attempt to make the offense look better which in turns makes games more exciting.
From a marketing perspective that may be great. But with all the negative attention it’s been gaining both players and analysts don’t seem to like it.
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With Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski even broadcasting his disdain toward it Manfred really should reconsider banning defensive shifts.
While ideas like the pitch clock may be a good idea with some of the positive reviews it’s been getting banning defensive shifts should not be one of them.
If the MLB really wanted to fix their pace of play issues they would cut down on the many ads throughout the game. While it is a big source of revenue, cutting down a bit on the commercial breaks shouldn’t be downright terrible.
Seeing Chicago White Sox Manager Robin Ventura’s multiple pitching changes mid-inning and cut to countless commercials is downright maddening. There’s plenty of time that’s wasted in those minutes of advertisements.
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While the pitch clock is a look in the right direction it’ll all be meaningless with more and more ads being forced into the fans’ collective faces.
This is a chance for the MLB to do something but will they do it? Or will the new Commissioner of baseball be ridiculed like the recently retired Bud Selig?
This won’t be the last time baseball fans and critics will hear about pace of play issues. How MLB deals with it though will be interesting to watch as it unfolds. As long as there aren’t any stupid ideas like banning defensive shifts though.
Now, your thoughts. How do you feel about banning defensive shifts? Terrible idea? Good idea? Or do you think it won’t matter? Whatever the case, it’s nice seeing the MLB trying to do something about pace of play, but banning shifts may not be the best way to do it.