Throughout the offseason the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we discussed Gary Sheffield's Hall of Fame candidacy. This week we're going to suggest rule changes.
What's one rule change you'd like MLB to implement?
R.J. Anderson: The A's situation has left me wondering if the league would be improved by dusting off that old English Football Association rule that prohibited club owners from making a profit on their teams. Even if you don't go to that extreme length, maybe you cap them to a certain amount of profit -- you could tie it to the club's payroll, success, or some combination thereof. Now, obviously the owners are never going to go for any of this, but why not have some fun since we're dealing with a purely hypothetical situation? Besides, there are plenty of other ways for a rich person to make a buck in this country.
Dayn Perry: I'd like to see some stricter roster limits on how many pitchers a team can carry on the active roster. I think the declining importance of starting pitchers -- and the related increasing importance of relievers -- makes for a less than ideal viewing experience. As such, give me some incentives that prompt teams to let starters go longer and starters to better manage their endurance by maybe not trying to max out their velocity so often. That, in turn, would help baseball's strikeout problem and also allow teams to have stronger benches. Stronger benches in theory mean better ways to attack elite high-leverage relievers in late innings and thus ramp up the drama.
Matt Snyder: The baserunning gloves have gotten out of control and some proper regulation needs to be put in place. We're looking at mittens that extend a few inches beyond the fingers and could create an unfair advantage in close plays on the bases. I understand there's some risk to fingers in sliding head first, but the players are permitted to slide feet first. If you want to tape fingers together while on the bases, fine, but if you're going to wear a mitten over your entire hand, it needs to actually resemble the same size as an actual hand, not the hand of a mascot.
Mike Axisa: I'm with Dayn. I'd like something that helps restore the starting pitcher's status as MLB's main character. I understand and appreciate the strategy behind openers and bullpen games and avoiding the third time through the order, but it makes for a poor viewing experience. Baseball is at its best when the starting pitcher plays a significant role and they have been minimized to a rather extreme degree in recent years. I'd like them to return to prominence.
Also, I'd like to see a 60-day injured list in the offseason. Players on the 60-day IL do not count against the 40-man roster, giving the team more flexibility when there's a long-term injury. There is no IL in the offseason though, so a lot of injured players occupy finite 40-man spots. The offseason IL can work exactly like the IL in spring training. Put a player on the 60-day IL during spring training, and he has to miss the first 60 days of the regular season. Extend that back to the end of the previous season, so if you put someone on the 60-day IL anytime before Opening Day, that player has to miss the first 60 days of the regular season. That'll eliminate roster manipulation, and an offseason 60-day IL would give teams more flexibility. There would be fewer players designated for assignment, released, waived, etc. A 60-day IL is good for teams and players alike.
