More ballgame, less dawdling
Darting here and there …
Aw, just take your base. We’re trying to move things along here.
The new intentional walk rule comes about 20 years too late. Imagine the time we could have saved on all of those Barry Bonds free passes. A year of our lives, maybe?
So if you decide to just intentionally walk a guy on a 3-1 count, do you just hold up one finger? And which finger?
Speaking of fingers, we wonder how Rollie Fingers feels about this new rule after faking an intentional walk pitch in the 1972 World Series and subsequently dealing one across the plate to strike out Johnny Bench. Classic bit of strategy, now obsolete.
We can’t wait for a manager such as Buck Showalter to intentionally walk the bases loaded by waving eight fingers and four toes.
It wasn’t explained by Rob Manfred, but is throwing an intentional walk the old-fashioned way — just tossing up four wide ones — now illegal? If not, we’ll applaud the first pitcher to go old school.
Too bad baseball didn’t institute that extrainnings start-a-runner-at-second rule. Then you could have used the new intentional walk rule to instantaneously set up a force play. You KNOW Showalter would do that. Many managers would.
We’ll truly miss the intentional walk wild pitches on the blooper reels, and baseball was good for about a half-dozen hilarious ones per year.
Also gone: Stolen bases and pickoffs on intentional walk pitches. They happen. They’re the kinds of plays that make baseball distinctive, not over-long.
You could trim 10 minutes off every Giants game by having everyone run in from the bullpen during pitching changes as Craig Lefferts used to — full sprint.
You would get 10 more minutes by letting Bruce Bochy drive a golf cart to the mound instead of making that agonizing amble to and from the dugout.
Baseball could also do away with the seventh-inning stretch to save time, too. Just do a few Pilates moves in your $100 seat and sing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” to a punk rock beat.
Ten days into spring training, and these players (among others) are still looking for jobs: Angel Pagan, Coco Crisp, Billy Butler. No danger of Butler becoming Country BrokeFast, though — the A’s will still be paying him $11.6 million this year, minus any minimum salary a club might give him.
Not too late, Giants: Mat Latos still available! And, of course, Timmy.
A’s reliever John Axford is locking down on “La La Land” for Best Picture at this weekend’s Academy Awards. So if “Moonlight” wins, does that count as a blown save?
Don’t think you’re going to hear Steve Kerr instructing, “OK, fellas, time to go to the NBA All-Star Game defense.” Goodness, guys, at least feign a defensive posture.
The defense was so nonexistent in that game, Carmelo Anthony looked good on the back end.
Not sure if anyone noticed this: The West had 60 assists in the All-Star Game, and the four Warriors combined for 27. If Russell Westbrook hadn’t missed all those dunks on Draymond Green’s lobs, they might have had half.
DeMarcus Cousins only got two minutes of action in that game, by the way. Guess they didn’t want him disappointing New Orleans fans too early.
Doesn’t matter that they might have been hosed in the deal. A dark cloud has disappeared from Sacramento, as has the horrific thought of giving a $205 million contract to DeSourpuss.
Building around two talented big guys just won’t work in today’s NBA. That’s because the Pelicans shoot the 3 like, well, pelicans.
It has gotten so sad, it’s almost unbearable to watch: Doc Rivers’ face when a Warriors-Clippers game inevitably turns. Like his cocker spaniel just died.
Has J.J. Redick ever outplayed Klay Thompson in one of these “rivalry” games? Not that we can remember. One of the biggest reasons the streak is 10.
Magic Johnson doesn’t do the kind of magic anymore that could pull the Lakers out of the lottery hat.
The Warriors have no fear of Andrew Bogut landing some place such as San Antonio or Cleveland. No chance he would be able to keep up with his old teammates.
Finally, on the heels of Patrick Marleau’s 500th goal, here comes Joe Thornton’s 1,000th assist. Fabulous. Now if we could just get them a sip from a Stanley Cup, we could all die happy.