MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that he is "not opposed to looking into shortening" the amount and length of commercial breaks during games, according to Maury Brown of FORBES. Manfred said, "I fully agree with the idea of examining our commercial load in our broadcasts and [that] is something that we should be doing. There are contractual limitations on when we can do this; we have existing commitments. But, that certainly should be an issue we look at." Manfred added that "possibly shortening commercial breaks is something that not only he is looking at," but which Red Sox Chair Tom Werner alluded to last month as well (FORBES.com, 3/3).
FAST BALL: In Chicago, Rick Morrissey wrote MLB's ongoing discussion about how to "quicken the pace of the game is the broader theme to a very specific problem: how to get millennials to pay attention to something other than the iPhones in their hands." The pace of the game "is a problem," as it "can be slow, and replay has made it slower." Morrissey: "At some point, though, the game is the game" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/4). Pitchers beginning this season can now signal for an intentional walk without having to throw the pitches, and in St. Louis, Kevin Horrigan noted MLB is "very worried that its games are taking too long." Horrigan: "On the other hand, stupid as it is, the four lobbed pitches are part of the traditions of the game. You mess with traditions at your peril" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/4). In Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom called on readers to email Manfred to "detail what you're going to do with the extra two seconds you'll have thanks to the pitch-less intentional walk" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/4). Managers also will be required to signal within 30 seconds whether or not they plan to issue a replay challenge, and in Toronto, Doug Smith wrote the rule "makes entire sense." If MLB is "bound and determined to take a minute or two off the odd game here and there ... that's always struck me as a logical move to make." The time spent "watching a manager stand on the top step of the dugout or a couple of steps onto the field while someone somewhere examines a video before giving a yay or nay truly is time wasted" (THESTAR.com, 3/3).
