By Tim Clark / April 14, 2024 / Baseball, Column, Tim's Two Cents, Golf
Two

Everyone from David Bowie to Taylor Swift has written about changes.

Baseball certainly has changed from when I started watching it in the 1970’s. Today’s game barely resembles the one I grew up with, proving not every change is for the better.

I give baseball credit for a couple of things. Okay, couple is an exaggeration. They tell me positivity sells.

The best change the game has made is the pitch clock. No more watching a batter adjust everything from gloves to jock straps 25 times per at bat. No more watching pitchers making crop circles around the mound in between each pitch. Of course, this change was necessitated because of all the other changes in the game. Growing up, teams could play a double header in the same amount of time as single games take today. You know, back when we they were allowed to schedule double headers.

The players are more athletic than they were 50 years ago. So there’s that. I am really trying to stretch for some positives here.

Honestly,, the other changes in the game aren’t positives in my book.

Analytics rule modern baseball.

Hitters examine launch angles, bat speed, and could care less about on base percentage. It is home run or bust in today’s game. Today, .215 is an acceptable batting average as long as you club 30-40 home runs. Even the 8 and 9 hitters swing out of their shoes half the time. Shortening your swing and putting the ball in play with two strikes is archaic thinking. Thus, more strikeouts and longer games.

What I find funny is nobody will come close to breaking the home run record, whether you believe that to be Hank Aaron’s record or Barry Bonds steroid fueled record. See, guys don’t play as many games. The prima donnas playing today must get ample days off. Most won’t play long enough to hit that many home runs. With the money today’s players make, playing until 40 seems unlikely. Maybe, and it’s only a maybe, a guy like Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani gets close to the record. Well, not if Ohtani keeps gambling, er, I mean allowing people to raid his bank accounts of millions.

Everyone gets 3-0 green lights these days, even the light hitting bottom of the order guys. Hitting behind the runner, ha. No way. 

Anyone challenging the .400 batting average? Zero chance. Nobody cares about batting average anymore.

Baseball had to change the rules to get more stolen bases in the game. Why? Guys don’t know how to get leads or read a pitcher. They are too busy studying the launch angle of a previous at bat. So, along came bigger bags, no blocking the base even if the infielder has their glove in front of the bag to tag the runner, and pitchers are limited to two pickoff moves. Maybe baseball coaches could, you know, work on base running skills in the minor leagues.

Another fantastically stupid change is the Pitch Com system being used by pitchers and catchers. Essentially, the pitcher wears an earpiece in their hats and the catcher pushes a controller usually located on their upper shin guard to call the pitch. Apparently pitchers and/or catchers aren’t smart enough to give and receive signs like pitchers and catchers have been doing for over 100 years. The only drawback is the technology doesn’t always work very well. In the Pirates/Phillies series this past weekend, the game was stopped over 10 times for a broken Pitch Com system. Brilliant. Pirates announcer, and former player, Neil, Walker was flabbergasted that they can’t just give signs.

Instant replay should be a positive change. Not the way it is used, however. It is now a skill for an infielder to hold tags in case the runners finger or toe leaves the bag for a millisecond. We want guys sliding feet first to avoid injury, yet because of replay the umpires call them out when their foot pops off the bag for a second. Foots have been popping off bags for years. Now a close up replay allows them to be called out.

Another problem with replay is the fact that they still get far too many calls wrong anyway. I do like the challenge system used in MLB, so I guess we can chalk that one up on the rather empty positive change side.

One new change I would like to see is the ball-strike challenge system being used in minor league baseball. It is a super quick review and is handled quite efficiently. As long as the umpires union is going To protect guys like Angel Hernandez, then this change should be a no brainer.

 

 

Pitching is the thing that has seen the biggest change. The results are all anyone is talking about.

Growing up I watched pitchers pitch. They focused on mixing pitches, hitting spots, and except for a few guys across the league, try to get quick outs rather than strike everyone out. Batters were forced to put the ball in play. Batting averages were up, but ERA’s were down. Plus, sans pitch clock the games were over in two hours.

Today. Analytics.

Maximum velocity. Spin rate. Pitch angles.

Every bullpen across baseball has multiple pitchers that come in and throw 100 or close to it. The good news for the, is they only pitch an inning in most of their appearances. The bad news is they are asked to pitch 3 or 4 times per week.

Starting pitching is what everyone is talking about. As starters worry about getting more mph’s on their fastball and a high average spin rate on a curve ball, arm injuries seem to be increasing. Atlanta’s Cy Young candidate Spencer Strider is the latest casualty. Strider will be out for the year after hurting his UCL in his pitching elbow.

Baseball, of course, wants to blame their one positive new change, the pitch clock. It isn’t the pitch clock. It is the pitching theories that now drive the sport. Velocity and spin rate are being talked about in teener leagues, high schools and colleges. I have always said that a kid shouldn’t even throw a curve ball until 14 or 15 years of age. The arm isn’t designed to crank out curve balls. Teach kids to throw a good change up. There are multiple ways to teach it, and it saves the kids’ arms from excess torque at too young of an age.

If a kid is good enough at a young age to have college or pro aspirations they will invariably be told to max out velocity and crank out curve balls. Right now that is the ticket to the major leagues. Dr. James Andrews, who gets to perform a lot of the reconstructive surgeries, says a junior in high school who is already throwing 90+ mph is asking for arm trouble down the road.

Another problem with youth baseball is the workload. Catchers catch one game and pitch the next. Coaches find ways around the pitch limits. By the time a player reaches age 20 they will have been exposed to an over bloated work load, which spells trouble for their arms. they don’t find pitch limits until they get drafted.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are attempting to be very conservative with phenom pitching prospect Paul Skenes. But are inning limits really the answer. I guess when you are paying 20, 30, 40 million dollars for an arm, playing it safe is your prerogative.

Former major league pitcher Brandon McCarthy thinks the training wheels aren’t working so why not let these guys ramp up the innings.

 

 

McCarthy went on to suggest, as did former pitcher Ben McDonald, that guys aren’t learning how to pitch. They aren’t learning how to navigate a lineup and adjust. The entire focus is on the velocity and spin rate of their pitches.

Growing up, for every Nolan Ryan there were 20 guys just trying to get outs however they could. Today, for every Gerrit Cole there are 20 guys trying to be Gerrit Cole. Consequently, games take longer, pitchers are on strict pitch limits, and, unfortunately, there are far more arm injuries because everyone isn’t designed to be Gerrit Cole.

Today there are probably 100 guys that throw harder than Steve Carlton, but none that are better pitchers. 20 to 30 guys would beat Lou Brock in the 100 yard dash, but none of those guys can run the bases as well as Brock. Plenty of guys are stronger than Hank Aaron, but none will hit more home runs. And do you think Willie Stargell was concerned about launch angle? Nope, they just marked seats in the upper deck where his home runs landed. I’m guessing those balls had a solid launch angle. There are plenty of “five tool” players in today’s game, and none could carry Dave Parker’s jock strap.

Even the hot dogs were better back in those days. You didn’t have to pay 15 dollars for a crappy hot dog. Back then you got your crappy hot dog for a reasonable price.

I still love baseball, but the changes over the past 50 years have not improved the game or made it more appealing to new fans. You can only sell so many city connect jerseys and have so many fireworks nights. Chicks may dig the long ball, but let me know how they feel about rotator cuff injuries or bum elbows and being bored by the sixth inning because the game is already two hours long with five pitching changes.

Oh, and I know baseball is always striving to have fans spend more money. So why not change up the uniforms from time to time. Trying to trick fans into spending their money on new team gear, but please tell me the Phillies didn’t make a dime on these God awful uniforms.

 

 

They say change is good. I would argue baseball didn’t get that memo.

Two Cent Takes

MLB

~The Pirates and Phillies split a four game series in Philadelphia over the weekend. Both teams showed many a flaw, but a reminder that it is still April.

~One can assume that Bryce Harper will get hot, Nick Castellanos will improve drastically, and Zach Wheeler may not give up another grand slam. The Phillies should be fine.

~I think you can argue that the Pirates are playing really bad baseball, and fans should be thrilled they are 11-6. Four times Pirate players have come together on a pop up only to see it drop between them. O’Neil Cruz has made a couple lazy errors. Even Ke’Bryan Hayes has looked spotty at third base. The bats are quiet, and guys like Henry Davis and Jack Suwinski look a tad lost at the plate. It is too early to panic, but Pirates fans are accustomed to early panic. Let them cope.

~Andrew McCutchen hit his 300 career home run. Here is a stat to ponder when considering McCutchen and the Hall of Fame. Tune in to my Musings podcast this week where I will discuss it further.

 


NHL

~The Pens have made a valiant run to somehow be in the playoff hunt. Unfortunately, with just one game left the Pens need to win and then get Steelers like help from the Canadiens and Flyers. The Pens, though getting better results, still make the same mistakes. Hopefully they have figured out they need to change their style because the speed players are old now. They need to fix Erik Karlsson and the power play. They probably need to move on from head coach Mike Sullivan.

~Next season the Flyers will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their last Stanley Cup championship. Maybe they will treat the trade deadline like a team that is playing well and has a chance to make the playoffs. Maybe John Tortorella will stay chill all year. Maybe Gritty will lose some weight.

NBA

~The Eastern Conference remained jumbled until the end. After the dust settled, the Knicks claimed the two seed, while Milwaukee dropped to the three seed. The 76ers couldn’t avoid the play-in nonsense, but did earn a home game against 8 seed Miami. This thing looks wide open this year. Well, you know, except for the Celtics being totally dominant.

~Out west one superstar avoided the play-in, and that was Kevin Durant and Phoenix. Golden State is the 10 seed, and if they beat Sacramento they could face LeBron and the Lakers. All That is fantastic, but look for Jokic and the Nuggets to prevail once again.

College Football

~”Star” receiver Keandre Lambert-Smith is transferring out of Penn State. Who wants to tell Smith as adjectives go, star is not a great way to describe him. It is hard to believe James Franklin didn’t do a better job fixing the receiver room.

~The Blue-White game only reinforced why fans are concerned about Penn State’s offense.

~The spring portal will be open this week, so look for all teams to get active trying to claim their next star. Maybe that is where Penn State will get some receiver help.

NFL

~The Steelers may or may not be interested in trading for 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk may or may not be demanding a trade out of San Francisco. The Steelers desperately need a receiver, but the price may be too steep if Aiyuk is indeed available.

~Check out next week’s column for my NFL Draft preview.

The Weekly Shiny Penny

What a week for cool stuff. Let’s go.

Golf

Legend watching legend. Followed by mutual respect. Pretty cool stuff.

 


Baseball

Andrew McCutchen rarely misses a chance to be a good dude. The people that caught his 300th home run ball didn’t really ask for anything. Not on Cutch’s watch.

 

 

A moment that young guy will remember forever. Awesome stuff from Cutch.

Proof that ball players are really kids at heart, O’Neil Cruz having fun with the second best mascot in baseball(The Parrot is number 1 of course).

 

 

And finally, maybe the most moving thing I saw all week. Tim Wakefield’s kids throwing out the first pitch at the Boston home opener. Wakefield lost his battle with cancer this offseason, and his wife lost her battle a couple months later. Jason Varitek, who is like an adoptive father to the kids caught the pitch. Cancer sucks.

 

 

A Penny For My Final Thought…

Another Masters is in the books, and I have ten two cent takeaways from the greatest tournament in golf.

1. Scottie Scheffler is a machine. Fairway. Green. Fairway. Green. And now, with the new putter, he is making more putts. Good luck to anyone that finds themselves in contention with Scheffler. He is not going to make any massive mistakes. The rest of the PGA Tour will have to raise their level of play. Scheffler is significantly ahead of the pack. Other players like Colin Morikawa, Max Homa, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy need to find a new level.

2. I still wait with eager anticipation for the hilarious Masters updates from Chris Vernon. As usual, he didn’t disappoint.

 

 

3. Ludvig Aberg is going to win, and win big. He has the game, but just as importantly he has the mental makeup to be successful on the biggest stages. He proved it at the Ryder Cup and again this past week at Augusta.

4. CBS took a couple shots at LIV players. On Sunday Jim Nantz made it a point to say everyone in the top five was a PGA Tour player. Even the legend, Verne Lundquist, hit Bryson DeChambeau with a, “Yea,I’d shake my head, too, Bryson” and followed that with, “Not only are the wheels falling off, but the rims are, too.” Some didn’t like CBS not devoting more air time to LIV players. Again, those guys made their beds. Oh, and if you want to be taken seriously, don’t wear those stupid team hats to a place like Augusta.

5. After watching these four rounds, one has to wonder if the lighter schedule and 54 hole tournaments have LIV players prepared for a major. DeChambeau and Cam Smith faired okay, but the big guns Rahm, Koepka, and Johnson were MIA. Rahm has already mentioned preferring a 72 hole tournament, and Monday Phil Mickelson acknowledged that moving to a four day format would be considered.

6. Rahm looked miserable all week, but never so much as when he was in Butler Cabin for the green jacket ceremony.

 

There is no doubt in my mind Rahm regrets making the jump to the LIV Tour. The old saying “money can’t buy you happiness” comes to mind.

7. Max Homa is going to win a major, and when he does it will be one of the most popular victories in years. The guy is just such a good dude. Here he is waiting to congratulate Scheffler, a typical Homa move.

 

 

8. Tiger Woods survived four rounds. Barely. He finished last and recorded his worst score at Augusta, but watching him rub icy hot on his back mid round tells you all you need to know. He wants to compete. His mind thinks he can compete. His body is saying, “no way”. It was still cool to see him out there competing. He still has the shots in the bag.

9. The number of young players that say Tiger was their hero is quite large. Amateur, and Pittsburgh kid, Neal Shipley got a bigger treat than being the low amateur at Augusta. Shipley and his best friend who was caddying for him were paired with Tiger Woods Sunday. Shipley beamed when he was asked what it was like. He said Tiger was a really cool, down to earth guy. He got plenty of golf tips and maybe a few on picking up chicks.

 

 

10. Verne Lundquist is an American treasure. He spent 40 years at The Masters, in recent years stationed at the electric 16th hole. The Masters will continue to be great, but something will be missing without Verne at the 16th hole. Tiger paid tribute. Jim Nantz paid tribute. Ian Baker Finch paid tribute. Here is the best tribute I saw all week. Thanks for the memories, Verne.

 

 

The Masters is the first, and most glorious, of the majors in golf. It was windy but beautiful. Scottie Scheffler was dominant in difficult conditions. It would be crazy to suggest Scheffler could win a grand slam. After watching him play the last month, it may be crazier to suggest he couldn’t win a grand slam.

Just my two cents…