Here's another problem with baseball.

Brewers @ Cubs, 1-0 game, 7 total hits in the bottom of the 5th inning.

Neither starting pitcher was still in the game.

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12 pitchers used. Its still 1-0 in the 8th. This will likely be at least a three and a half hour game.

Managers are fucking clowns with these bullpens.

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It's flat out abuse of players. Wick was up and warming in the 4th. Brought in in the 8th.

I'm telling ya, these relievers need to form their own union.

Any thought to a limit on pitchers available through 9 innings? 5 pitchers total, you don't have to declare who is available before the game. If the game goes extra's, a manager can use the other 7 or 8 pitchers they have on the 25 man roster OR they can actually limit the number of pitchers they have to 11 and then more flexibility with late in a game.

I haven't thought through this enough and am still allowing for 10-12 pitching changes in a 9 inning game, but the game has become a bullpen game. Maybe this idea doesn't go far enough.

I think that abuse is why relievers are often unpredictable from year to year.

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If I've said it once, I’ve said it thousand times. I fucking hate bullpens.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

It only appears to be working because everyone is doing it.

You watch the same horseshit approach as I do. It’s not good baseball, despite what the propeller heads say.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

I think Jaw Breaker's point stands. It is winning baseball.

But I agree with you that it isn't "good" baseball if by good you mean interesting, exciting, and entertaining. The powers that be need to worry less about shaving minutes off the game and do something that lines up winning strategy with entertaining baseball.

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His mind is not for rent to any God or government.

I know I’m a dinosaur, but I could give two shits about shaving minutes. I like baseball. I just don’t like the modern incarnation of the game. I’m not entertained by walks, strikeouts and home runs.

I’ve always been in your corner about starting pitcher W/L’s. As a starter, your job is to out pitch your opponent. Much of that relies on your teammates ability to hit in the situation. That’s been lost the last 15+ years, for better or worse, I know it’s very frustrating to old fucks like us. Close games are won and lost on approach. There is no approach anymore.

Is there a metric that measures approach?

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Earl Weaver begat Dave Duncan who begat LaRussa. I imagine in some respect Duncan & LaRussa begat Bill James who begat Billy Beane. I guess my point is this didn't happen overnight. The curve started long ago but accelerated only recently. Pitching, defense, and the 3 run homer won games for Weaver and they win games today. It's just today that they know exactly why. I only see one way out of the malaise. Can't move the fences back so you have to deaden the ball.