Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
No overtime in regular season.
This applies to MLB, NFL and NBA. Don't care about NHL, which had it right for decades then diluted its one differential: OT only in Stanley Cup playoffs.
No overtime in regular season.
For MLB that means no extra innings. Let the games end in ties, which are not made up. Judge team position in the standings by winning percentage. Maybe the managers would be more inclined to take some chances to win in regulation, i.e., nine innings.
As for the NFL angst about the OT coin flip, here is an alternative: give the flip to the team on defence when fourth quarter ends. That will inspire the team with the ball to actually try to score and end the damn thing in regulation. This may need some minor tinkering to prevent a team from sitting on the ball, then punting as the fourth quarter runs out.
NBA: same as above.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Defense as a Competitive Advantage.
Competitive Advantage. That's what a team hopes to achieve. Any significant change that the team can master can result in a competitive advantage.
My friend Eric Weiss has this suggestion: five infielders. Not just as a rare late game gamble but as an alignment for a ground ball pitcher. My implementation would position the outfielder turned infielder behind second base. That player would handle all plays at second, allowing the shortstop and second baseman to play further from the bag.
My own favorite is to alter the outfiled to effectively have no fences, i.e., make them 450-500 feet from home plate. Then get three centerfielders. Also get middle infielders with strong arms to make the many long relay throws. The three centerfielders would need to hit enough so that the team would not be at a competetive DISadvantage on the road.