MLB's Arizona Fall League began experimental pace-of-game initiatives on Tuesday, and while the average length of the two games was down -- two hours, 42 minutes (2:42) vs. 2:51 last year -- there was "a little more confusion over the between-inning break rule," according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. A "lack of understanding of the two minutes, five seconds limit may have been the cause of the Salt River Rafters and Scottsdale Scorpions both exceeding the time limit early on." D-Back P Archie Bradley: "The in-between innings thing is going to be a little hard to adjust to as well. Only having two minutes puts stress on us and the catcher, and everyone to get out there, get loose and find the strike zone again in your warmup pitches." Mayo notes the opening game at Salt River Fields on Tuesday night was the "first to utilize a pitch clock, set at 20 seconds," and pitchers "did a solid job of adhering to the 20-second limit in this first test." Bradley: "It was a little different. ... I know for both times a runner was on second base, having to communicate with my catcher and try to figure out what pitch to throw, you're peeking at the clock and realize you have five seconds to make a pitch, it's definitely a little different." Mayo noted it is "unclear how many of these rules, if any, will be instituted" in MLB in the future, but the pace-of-game committee "felt it was better to try them out now, perhaps less than fully fleshed out, than wait a year" for the '15 AFL season. Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein, who was at the games on Tuesday, said, "I admire the effort. It's a real issue and baseball is facing it head on. This is a good place to experiment and see how it works" (MLB.com, 10/8).
