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February 19, 2007 [LINK / comment]

MLB adopts rule changes

It's the first time since 1996 that the official rules of Major League Baseball have been altered. As of this season, a player who scuffs or defaces the ball will receive a ten-game suspension, but umpires have discretion over applying this to pitchers. There are also new provisions to minimize the possibility of a tie ball game, which are exceedingly rare anyway. In addition, players will not be allowed to step into the dugout to catch foul balls; that change is overdue, I think. What caught my attention was this measure to speed up the pace of play: If there are no runners on base, a pitcher must pitch the ball within 12 seconds. Wow! See ESPN. In the interests of speed, I favor calling every other throw by the pitcher to first base a ball, and every other time a batter steps out of the batter's box a strike.

Belliard signs with Nats

Ron Belliard has agreed to a $750,000 minor league contract with the Washington Nationals, adding depth to their infield. He played second base for the Cardinals last year, but seems to have had some personal problems during the offseason. See ESPN.

Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 19 Feb 2007, 10: 24 PM

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NOTE: Thus far, only blog posts related to politics and baseball are included in this list.

Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.


Explanation

The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:

  1. Wild birds (LAST)
  2. War
  3. Science & Technology
  4. Politics
  5. Latin America
  6. Culture & Travel
  7. Canaries ("Home birds")
  8. Baseball (FIRST)