Too slow for you?
Posted by Bruce on Wed, 05/21/2008 - 20:16
Cubs GM Jim Hendry and bench coach Alan Trammell took part in a Major League Baseball conference call today to talk about the pace of games. Apparently MLB feels the pace is slowing too much. If Cubs games are taking longer this year, it's because their batters are working counts and taking walks.
Manager Lou Piniella put the blame on television. Monday night's game (3 hours, 19 minutes) was televised by ESPN, who crammed in more commercial time between innings. For that reason, Piniella had pitcher Ted Lilly stay back in the dugout a little longer between innings.
"The biggest thing is television with their commercials," Piniella said.
Hendry said the Cubs have not been chastised about things such as getting their relievers in too slowly from the bullpen or having their batters step out of the box too much.
There are a good number of baseball people who feel the fans at the park don't care. A longer game allows them to relax more and maybe have another cold one.
What do you think? Do you care about time of game as long as your team wins? Or do you prefer a snappy 2-hour, 15 minute game?
Comments (
We are now using Facebook comments to offer a more inclusive, social and constructive discussion.
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.
If a comment violates these standards or our or terms of service, click the X in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.
