Some big rule changes for 2020. Some of them will become permanent.

1) 60 game season - fans are acting like the 162 game number was handed down by God, that 60 isn't enough for a "real" season. As long as every team has double digit wins and double digit losses the standings matter, after that the end point is an arbitrary number. Definitely a short season but plenty to separate the good teams from the bad.

2) Runner on 2nd to start extra innings - another rule that I'm seeing a lot of the writers and the fans criticizing but I like it. Prevents ties and long numbers of innings after the benches have been used up. I don't see it having that much of an impact though, the number of 13+ inning games was very small so it won't dramatically change the length of games.

3) Universal DH - why??? I hate the DH. Without it the manager position becomes less about strategy and more cheerleader. One of the most interesting parts of baseball to me is watching which of his limited number of bench bats and bullpen arms the manager will use during the game. This is where baseball is most like chess.

4) 60/30/28/26 man rosters + taxi squad - The taxi squad is a fine idea since there won't be AA and AAA teams to pull from when guys get hurt. I hate the expanded rosters almost as much as the DH and for basically the same reason. Scarcity of players late in games is what makes it fun to analyze the manager's decisions. September baseball with 40 players on the bench is terrible to watch and even 26 is one too many for me. MLB is trying to make the games shorter by limiting extra innings, this will have a much bigger impact and in the wrong direction.

5) Trades until 8/31 - I'm not so sure amount this one, I always want the Nats to add talent before the deadline but I see the point of not allowing too many late season trades because it changes the character of the teams. Being able to reload with a month before the playoffs will really benefit the big spending clubs.

6) Mixed minors - having two minor league teams that the rest of the league can use to draw from will be really interesting to watch to see which GMs are able to grab the best talent. I doubt if this continues beyond this year but could the next baby shark type addition come from this pool?

5) Covid injury list - the idea of having a special injured reserve list for players testing positive is fine as a concept but the issue is that there will be outbreaks where multiple members of a single team are on the list. What will MLB do if an entire team has to drop out for 14 days?

Those of us old enough to remember know how utterly horrid the original Mets were. They played .250 baseball and invented new ways to lose. Their two rainouts were a blessing.

If you win the exact number of games that that team won, you're probably the #1 seed for the playoffs. It would be the equivalent of 108-54 over a regular season.

Either keep it for both leagues or bag it for both. NL teams lose too many veteran hitters in FA to AL teams who are willing to spend whatever for a DH to give them 400-500 AB's. Always been unfair to NL teams.

In the other post I was just mentioning the impact of the DH on roster building. We'll see a lot more specialists.

I don't like the runner on second at the start of an inning. I don't mind lots of extra innings. I don't mind long games; what I mind is slow games with people standing around a lot. You want base runners? Earn them.

But the people who run baseball and the people who market baseball don't seem to like or understand baseball.

I hate the DH too. It reduces strategy and leads to more pitching changes (making games a little longer), all for half a run per team per game (on average.) I don't see the payoff. And the game isn't all about hitting anyway. Again, the people running the game don't understand it. But I can put up with it for this year only, given the virus-related restricted travel and regional schedule. And it does give the Nats a chance to get more use from Howie, Zimm, Thames, Cabrera, etc.

The 30-man roster gets cut to 28 a couple of weeks in and then to 26 a couple of weeks after that. I'm not thrilled with the 26-man roster, but it's a give to the Players Association (30 extra jobs), and given the excessive number of pitchers on most clubs' rosters, I'm OK with it. I'm fine with 30 this year to start, because it's temporary. it's like the old May cutdown rule, where you would start the season with 28 players, then cut down to 25 on May 1. Next, they'll bring back some version of the old bonus baby rule.

The taxi squad is fine as an expedient for this year, given the unusual circumstances. I'd find some way to get them playing actual games, though. Maybe you could set up the 14 guys on the 40-man roster who aren't on the 26-man roster, plus the 20 taxi squad players, divide them, and play essentially intrasquad games. Maybe the Nats could keep them in Fredericksburg.

August 31 as the trade deadline doesn't bother me -- again, as an expedient for this year, given that the season is starting about a week before the usual deadline. So they just picked the old waiver trade deadline (for getting players into postseason eligibility.) That still leaves about a month of season to play, so I'm OK with that -- THIS YEAR.

What is this mixed minors? I hadn't heard about that one. it sounds like a sort of affiliated/independent ball. Kind of a Continental Basketball Association for baseball.

Then there is a change they seem to have abandoned: the 20-second clock.

It's a bad idea, but it may be necessary. The average time between pitches is 23 seconds. The average major-league game includes about 300 pitches. That's 900 seconds, which works out to 15 minutes of dead time gone, in increments so small that nobody will really notice.

No chance Bryce Harper plays under this rule.



I might be misunderstanding that one. I think that they will have two teams of players in Nashville who are available to be picked up by any MLB team that needs replacement players during the season. This is instead of the full minor league system.



15 minutes earlier to bed on average every work night would make a difference to me. I think that the issue is more with the batters than with the pitchers, I like the pitch clock but they also need to get the hitters to stop stepping out after every pitch. Unless there is a foul ball the batter should stay in the box and be prepared for the next pitch.

Interesting thing I just noticed is that the playoff format is staying the same, three division winners and two wild cards per division. But with the AL/NL divisions combined the teams competing with each other for the wild card will not only not play each other, they won't even be playing the same teams. The AL Central was the weakest division in baseball last year, if that holds true again this year the NL Central teams will have a big advantage in the wild card race.

Clark was asked couple days ago if the extended 16 team playoff format is still on the table with MLB. He said No, but was open to talking about it. I dont see how they can add 6 more teams unless they extend things into November, which the owners have opposed.

At this point, the thought of these 2 sides negotiating anything gives me a headache.

Clark says he's open to talking about it.

I would say there is a chance it happens, but not a particularly good one. It would be interesting, though.

In a sense, expanding the playoffs just for this year validates the reason you don't normally do it. Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint, so it lets fewer teams into the playoffs. the more games, the truer the champion. But in a sprint of a season like this one, letting more teams in does make a kind of sense.

Bryce Harper suggested a college world series playoff format with a losers bracket. I'd like to see a round robin format with six teams per league. You get one more team in the mix and a lot more games in the same number of days. But since the owners and union can't agree on a lunch order I don't see any changes coming.

MLB approved 16 team playoff format.

Under this format, a 72-90 team would have made the playoffs last year.

Best of three series for all 16 teams, ripe for major upsets. I'm going Stras, Corbin, Sanchez with Scherzer as the long man if one of the starters struggles.

Not getting the 72-90 thing. 8 teams from each league make the playogffs. No worse than a 77-85 team wouldve made the playoffs last year based on a look-see. Probably gonna see 3 teams from NL East get in.

Having more than half the teams make the playoffs will definitely lead to sub .500 teams making it on occasion, but I looked back over the last 10-15 years and that was less common than I expected. Often the bad teams tank so bad that there are 16 or more teams with 80+ wins. 77 wins might have been the least number that I saw that would have qualified.

You never know though, a 77 win team might have had players coming back from injury and added talent at the trade deadline. Meanwhile some teams with monster win totals have their pitching staffs falling apart heading into October.

Really like the Nats' chances in the playoffs, as long as they get in. I dont care if they win the East or not. Stud starting rotation to give anyone fits, and tons of versatility: 5 infielders who can each play 3 or 4 infield positions in case of injuries and covid .

After watching the Yankees series with no fans, does it really matter if you have home field advantage? Hell, with no fans, is there such a thing?!

Last year, the 72-90 Texas Rangers would have been the #8 seed in the American League.

They finished 78-84.

I like the new extra inning rule, it adds more pressure on the relievers and will lead to more wild finishes. Bo Porter had a good point, that often fans tune out in extra innings because they need to get to bed and they have no idea how long the game will last. Now you know that the extra innings will be extra exciting.

I hate the fake crowd noise. The cheers after each play are obviously fake and distracting. The constant humming of ambient crowd noise is maddening. Hopefully the Nats will figure that out, but probably not.

Saw that the league is considering 7 inning games for Doubleheaders, either for 1 or both games. Hear ya on the fake noise, I bet listening to games in the car would be the best experience. This season is a trip.

Seven innings sounds crazy but this is the year for crazy ideas, have some fun and then keep what works.

There was some chatter about the Nats playing the Blue Jays this weekend. That was a great idea, wish it was happening. No extra travel, we'd have games to watch, and the Phillies and Marlins can play double headers to make up for the postponed games.

Soto is back and rosters drop from 30 to 28. The Talk Nats blog has a good article speculating on which players might get dropped.

I saw an interview with Martinez over the weekend that got me thinking. Martinez spoke of balancing playing time to keep the bench guys fresh. In a short season with a DH I don't agree with that approach. I'd use more of a playoff rotation, shorten up the bench and play to win every game.

Braves ace Soroka out for the season with torn achilles. Braves take a HUGE blow.

Nats have 55 days to play 53 games in a schedule heavy with backtobacks, west coast trips. Next week it's 10 away games in 10 days, with 7 coming against Mets & Braves. Gotta stay fresh. Even tho it's a 60 game reg season, Davey needs to resist the urge he had in 2018 to wear guys out. He did a great job last season keeping vets like Kendricks fresh for the playoffs.

I'd agree with a 25 man roster, but 28-30 players is too many to worry about getting them playing time. Particularly with a DH and three batter rule for relievers. We don't need as many players per game and we can't waste starts on guys at the bottom.

It's 28 for the rest of the year, according to Ken Rosenthal.

The Nats will play the Marlins home and away on 8/22, both at Nats Park.

Bowden has an article in the Athletic this morning pushing for universal DH. He says that both the owners and players want it but that the owners feel that the players want it more so they are using the rule change as a negotiating point. This keeps all of the NL teams in limbo as the GMs don't know whether to sign starters who can go deep into games or big hitters who can't field. I hate the DH but if it is going to happen Manfred should force a vote now so that the Nats and the rest of the NL is on the same footing as the AL teams.

In relation to this, Marcell Ozuna must be smoking weed. Dude fired his agent a few days ago because he hasnt gotten any decent offers yet. #1, most owners have probably put big dollar FA pursuits on hold until they get a clearer sign about what (if any) attendance will be like next year. And #2, if he was smart, he'd wait for confirmation that the DH will be in place for '21 -- in that way, his list of suitors can only go up, because I can imagine clubs have seen his atrocious defense and are wary of putting him in the outfield. As great a season as he had, I've seen alot of Braves fans complain about his defense. Also wondering too if alot of clubs are skeptical about his 2020 #'s, because they were a significant deviation away from the norm.

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.

The owner's offer included full pay only if there are no additional cancelations, the players believe that there is a higher chance of cancelled games in a five month season because six months allows for more make up opportunities.

The bought and paid for Biden administration has come out supporting the owners, Biden's people met with the owners last week and strangely enough supported their exact plan. The players skipped the meeting. Biden's team says that there will be more vaccines available in a month so it is better to wait. A ridiculous statement considering the relatively small number of players compared to the economic impact in AZ and FL. Give each team 100 doses, a drop in the bucket compared to the total number available and play ball.

Seven inning double headers and runners on second to start extra innings are being brought back for this season. No decision on the designated hitter yet.

In addition, MLB is looking at deadening the ball this year to cut down on home runs.

Maury Brown is reporting that the early spring games will be five or seven innings and the late spring games will be seven or nine innings, at the manager's discretion. Nice timing to announce this a week after single game tickets went on sale.

I remember when he was a frequent poster here. Still no Portland baseball team 15 years later.

He made a bunch of comments on here that were head-scratchers. Heem's bees knees of bessbull guy.

Maury needs to split his personal and work stuff into separate Twitter accounts, he makes the mistake of thinking that because he writes about interesting topics that he himself is interesting.

MLB is experimenting with a lot of new rules at various minor league levels this year. Bigger bases, more restrictive balk rules, and limited pick-off attempts should increase base stealing. Banning infielders from playing in the grass and potentially banning the shift will lead to an increase in base hits. They really want to bring back small ball.

Also bringing back the pitch clock to speed up games and my favorite is robo ump.

Not a single one of those benefits pitchers or defense. Not that I'm surprised. If MLB could get away with letting batters hit off of a tee they would.

MLB wants increased scoring with fewer home runs and walks, they want action on the field. Other than banning the shift I don't hate these changes.

Ted Williams flirted with .400 and he dealt with shifts during every AB. Yeah, offense puts people in the seats, I get it. Banning the shift is a pussy rule. Make hitters earn it.

I didn't realize the shift dated back that far, I thought it was more recent.

It's Boras pushing against the shift, it hurts Bryce Harper and other sluggers who want to have MLB adjust the rules so they don't have to adjust their hitting style. Illegal defense was a bad idea in the NBA and it would be just as bad in baseball.

Agreed. This is yet another example of how difficult it is to compare players and stats from different eras. Hate to sound like an old fart, but hitters like Ted Williams had to deal with more hurdles than modern hitters.

The Atlantic league is going to have the DH for the starting pitcher only, so that either relievers need to hit or pinch hitters have to come in from that point forward. My preference is no DH at all but I like this compromise. It makes the managers game plan more and gets teams deeper into the pen and bench than with the standard DH.