SU looked up the stats this morning. I mean, there is a no hitter pitched every other day now. What is up with that? In the American League, the median team batting average is .237. The Yankees are at .225. The Yankees are 11th in runs scored, and are the only team with no triples. The Mets team average is .236 (NL median is .234) and they are last in runs by a lot although they have played about 4-5 fewer games for various reasons.
The issue for baseball and its fans is that the product is boring. SU read that the average hits per game per team is 7.7 hits. There are so many strikeouts and the games are lasting between 3 and 4 hours. They are using a slightly smaller baseball this year – and SU thought the reason was to cut down on the number of home runs. I don’t know if it has had that effect but for me, I would rather see more offense and I don’t mind the home runs. I get the analytics people who say you can score quicker with a home run vs. 2 – 3 singles/doubles. But for the fan, you have a long time between pitches, a million swings and misses or foul balls, and little action in terms of guys stealing bases, hit and running, bunting and dare I say it, hit to the opposite field (WHAT???? WE NEVER DO THAT. JUST KEEP PULLING IT INTO THE SHIFT).
MLB is experimenting with rule changes in the minor leagues and SU predicts you will see this in the majors quickly. This is a big time problem and younger fans will not hang in there for 3 – 4 hour games with no action. Now, maybe the warmer weather will result in more runs – could be. However, I just see pitchers all throwing in the mid-high 90s and not a lot of action.
Miguel Andujar is finally getting his shot. He needs to produce and fast or else it’s back to the alternate site for him. Mike Ford has been awful – SU feels badly for him as he has blown his chance. Clint Frazier is showing signs of life finally but at some point, Cashman is going to have to find more left-handed bats. The Generational One is carrying the team but those streaks do not last forever. Scherzer going for the Nationals today. SU is on the no-hitter watch. The Yankees are perfect for him. Keep an eye out for today’s game.
Other theories out there for what is going on? Is moving the mound back a couple of feet a game changer? Outlaw the shifts? Fire all the batting coaches? Teach minor leaguers to bunt and hit to the opposite field? Make all games 7 innings? Stay tuned…
Sports Update Intergalactic 
I went to last night’s Mets game, first large event since the pandemic, and it was an amazing feeling to be back. But…
It was an incredibly boring and excruciatingly slow game through five innings. Finally, after a little skirmish down in the tunnel, the Mets played with a bit of fire and passion that lead to a 10th inning win. Thank god it did not drag on for another hour or two.
I’m a traditionalist but the game does need to make some changes. Mostly we can enforce some basic rules and regulations. Define a delay of game and penalty to enforce it.
There is one major change I agree with to keep up with today’s modern player.
Everyone throws 98 mph. They are all 6’4 200 lbs. and getting bigger. Move the mound back 1 or two feet. Why wasn’t it placed between 1st and 3rd base originally?
Other suggestions:
Enforce the balk rule so runners can get a bigger lead. Maybe also limit pick off throws per batter to 3 or 4 tries. Additional attempts count as a ballI to the batter. I did not love Ricky Henderson a lot but he was one of the most exciting players in his day. Get the steal back in the game.
Define a strike zone and stick with it. Sternum to bottom of knees. There is way too much variability. Not sure if I’m ready for robot umps but we can at least track the strike zone and measure the umps hit ratio. If they can’t get it right within an inch or two 95% of the time they should be fired. This means you Angel Hernandez!
Did you really say that MLB reduced the size of the baseball???? Really? I’ve never heard anything like that done in any sport….professional or amateur. That is/was an insane idea. Sports in America are all about offense. That’s why professional soccer has never taken off here. You can say the same thing about hockey. The smaller ball will backfire on them. The last time I can recall a big drop in offense performance was the Yankees vs the Dodgers in the 1963 World Series. No one was really hitting the ball. N 4 games the dodgers scored 12 runs and the Yank’s scored 4 runs. But then again pitching and the drama of a very close game was more appreciated and had lots of drama in its own rights. Every hit or walk seemed to have greater meaning. Not any more. Less is bad and more is expected. I wonder if you saw an 8-7 game and lost was better to see in person than a 2-1 win.
All of the offense in baseball clearly went to the NY Knicks. 8 games over 500 and the number 4 seed in the EAST?!? Someone give Thibs the coach of the year award right now please. It’s not like he was handed a superteam crafted poolside in the off season.