The universal DH would be a bad idea.

I agree, I really hate the DH. I don't like the seven inning double headers either, but maybe I could get used to them. I do like the runner on second to begin the tenth inning. Many nights I've turned off the ballgame with a tie score because I have to work in the morning and those innings can drag on. With the runner on second there is a much higher likelihood of a quicker conclusion so I'll stay tuned in longer.

They play seven-inning doubleheaders in the minors, and they work OK. You have to start strategizing to win sooner.

I'm not a fan of the free runner. This isn't Little League. You want runners, earn them. But then, I don't mind extra innings. I don't care how long the game is; I care about the pace.

There is such a thing as too much offense. Nobody seems to believe that. But if every game were 12-11, you'd be wanting a good, old-fashioned pitcher's duel. The people who run MLB seem to think that fans just want homers and strikeouts. No, I want to see baseball.

In 2019, American League teams (with the DH) averaged 4.88 runs per game. National League teams (with no DH) averaged 4.78 runs per game. The numbers in batting average and slugging also favored the AL, but by similarly minuscule margins. We're doing this for 1/10 of a run per team per game -- and in 2020, with the universal DH, scoring was DOWN. Even analytics geeks like Brian Kenny admit that while the modern ways may make the game more efficient, "efficiency is boring." They've managed to make the game less interesting. No wonder the fools at MLB claim you can't market the game.

Start games earlier. The Super Bowl kicks off around 6-6:30. Kids can watch the whole thing. Only play walk-up music the first time at bat. Limit the number of times a batter can step out; no more stepping out each pitch to y fiddle with your batting gloves. When they do it, call a strike. But the most effective time saver (killing dead time) would be the pitch clock. I hate the idea, but it's working in the minors.

The average time between pitches is 23 seconds. If you imposed a 20-second clock, you save three seconds per pitch. The average big-league game (nine innings) contains around 300 pitches. Now 3X300=900, so we're talking 900 seconds. .900/60=15. There is 15 minutes of dead time gone, in small increments nobody will notice. Suddenly, a three-hour game is 2:45.

Yes, no stepping out between pitches and limit the music played during at bats. The home teams use sound effects to give their hitters more time to set up.

MLB offered universal DH in exchange for expanded playoffs plus cash and the union turned them down. I bet my truck that the union wants the expanded playoffs just as bad as the owners but they are holding out for a bigger cut of the playoff money. I would be surprised if both don't happen this year and that the decision comes in mid-March following another contentious back and forth public spat. I really really hate losing the DH, the only thing to hope for now is that Doolittle remains unsigned so that he refrains from his usual daily input.

Maury Brown has an article out today with some info about the deal that the owners proposed. They offered 162 games worth of salary for 154 games played, which sounds great but that was for the games to be played in five months which increases the likelihood of cancelled games that would not be paid to the players. The owners want a 14 team playoff field, down two from last year but up four from the ten agreed upon in the CBA. More playoff games seems like a no brainer but of course the union is saying no to everything the owners offer, the issue is that the union believes that extra playoff teams reduced the incentive for teams to have high payrolls. Plus of course the players don't think they are getting a big enough slice of the TV money for the extra games.

Interesting internal issue among the owners is that the big market teams are facing empty ballparks to start the year while teams like Kansas City and Tampa will be selling tickets from day one. This isn't too popular since under the CBA teams in NY and Chicago are subsidizing the small market clubs.

The DH is the saddest part of this whole process, both sides want it but both sides are using it as leverage. The relationship is poisoned at this point. I suspect that game five at Nats Park in 2019 was the last time real baseball will have been played at the major league level.

https://twitter.com/BizballMaury/status/1356284189142761473?s=20

They were going to delay the season opener a month but extend the end of the season a week. That would mean lots of doubleheaders, and the MLBPA didn't want that.

The players didn't want to lose their rental fees at their spring training sites and they don't want to throw themselves off of their training schedules. But I'm sure they wouldn't complain about an extra month with their families and no cold weather April games. The real issue is money, they want full pay for the season and the five month plan put that at risk. In the end the union was going to reject whatever the owners proposed, the game of chicken is just starting and they'll be negotiating through March.

And the Collective Bargain Agreement expires this December. These 2 parties detest each other. I dont think the angst has been this bad between them since the mid 90's strike era. So during negotiations for a new CBA we'll likely see both of both parties petulantly use the media (and the public) like they always do. So sick and tired of it.

The owners' offer included full pay. They don't want to give the owners the expanded playoffs right now because they want it as a bargaining chip for next winter's CBA negotiations.