Monday Morning Manager...Instant Replay

5) That's a great trade if you're Theo Epstein. I'd rather put Brandon Boggs in centerfield or re-sign Kenny Lofton for a season than trade away the team's only semi-legitimate power hitter for a defense only centerfielder. If Hank has lingering arm issues, move him to first and put Metcalf on third.

1. I like replay, and think it could be used for any play at a base, the lines, or looking at home runs - but it should be brought in gradually so that it will be permanent.

Don't use it for calling balls and strikes, though.

2. I favor speeding up the game, but the way to do this will need to be well thought out. It will change the way the game is played in baserunning and pitching strategy.

3. This is a good question, and one that needs to be asked. Few umpires call strikes according to the strike zone in the rules (knees to letters).

4. I would not allow coaches to visit the mound unless the pitcher was injured. Major league pitchers should be prepared for most situations, and if they need a second opinion or need to discuss approach, that's what the catcher is out there for. Use signs if you need to communicate something. If the pitcher's approach isn't well thought out and executed, he gets hit. That's what TV wants anyway - more offense.

It would be beneficial to limit stepping off the rubber and stepping out at home plate, but I don't have the answer to what is the best way to accomplish this.

5. Wouldn't make that trade. I like Blalock at third (or first), and see no need to move him unless we are just blown away by an offer.

1. I suppose so, although that would be something else to add to the snail’s pace of the game. The recommendations from the GM’s Meeting are the only circumstances I agree with for using instant replay.

2. Yes – please!!!

3. Hah! (read: No)

4. I think everything you mention in Question #2 needs to be a rule, and needs to be enforced. I’d also make sure umpires are calling the high strike. The other change I’d make, not necessarily a rule, is better evaluation of the umpires – so that they are all calling the same games – no more “hitters” umps vs “pitchers” umps. I know they didn’t like Questec, but in this age of new technology I’m sure someone can come up with a way to video the umpires and assess not only their strike zones, but also the quality of their calls of the all the aspects of the game.

5. Will stray from my opposition to trade talk this once: my question is who plays third base? Travis Metcalf has a nice glove – but his offense is less than impressive. If folks are going to judge someone like Jason Botts on 244 AB’s – then Metcalf (161 AB’s) should be judged by the same standard. I wouldn’t deal Blalock for Crisp, if the Red Sox want Gerald Laird plus one mid-level prospect (Brandon Boggs? Kea Komentani? Matt Harrison) for Crisp I might not object to that.

http://emc.mlblogs.com

1. I'm in favor of umpires being held accountable when they make the wronge call. Maybe we need two more umpires down the lines in the outfield like they have in the playoffs. I don't like the idea of instant replay getting its foot in the door of baseball. Talk about slowing down the game!
2. Adding new rules has never seemed to have an impact on speeding up the game, long term. The umpires have enough to worry about than to have to count to twelve between every pitch. Not likely to be inforced. I think this is something that will correct itself eventually. Most players and managers prefer a quick, crisp pace to a game. If pitchers or hitters are taking too long I think the manager or his teammates will eventually do something about it.

3. Not long term or consistently.

4. If Hank is healthy than I want to see him at third base. I don't believe Coco is the kind of impact player we need to have in center. Marla, I wouldn't give up Laird for him either. Not until Salty throws somebody out from behind the plate.

1. No on instant replay. I'm not sure those replays are conclusive.
2. No one on the mound except the pitcher. Batters must stay in the box.

3. The umpires are weenies

4. Ban base coaches. What is this? Little League. Let them run the bases without help

5. Definitely make that trade

1. I honestly don't know. I go back and forth. I think that it would work and be a way of making sure that we get the right call. However, there is something about the controversy and the old school way of just letting the umpires call the game and when they stink they stink and when they give us a cheap call then heck yeah we got a way with one. The only way i would be in favor of it would be for home run calls

2. No

3. Yeah if they are told to enforce them then they will enforce them

4. There isn't any rules that I would change. However, I would do some realignment and get the Rangers in a central division.

5. No I don't like this trade one bit. I like the idea of getting Coco Crisp but we can't give Blalock away when his trade value is as low as it's ever been and especially when we have no other real options at 3rd base

1) No games are too long already, instant replay slows down the game. Besides their are 162 games in a season. Does 1 game make a difference with wild card births?
2) Speed up the game but not that way. Get rid of some of the current teams, improve the starting pitching which will speed up the game.

3) Yes

4) A strong Commissioner ok! No DH, interleague play top 8 teams get ranked and play a round robin to determine eventual champion. Shorten the season to 154 games. Do away with relief specialists, the constant flip flopping of pitchers late in the game prolongs the game. Some guys pitch to one batter and then are taken out. New guy comes in gets warm up pitches then next one. When you walk onto the field be ready to pitch, warm up in the bullpen. Eliminate warm up pitches between innings.

5) No Blalock will hit .275 and 20 to 25 home runs next year if he stays healthy. Boston wants Crisp gone, it won't take Blalock or Laird to get Crisp. Blalock or LAird should only be dealt for starting pitching or a right handed hitting power outfielder. Boston covets Mr. Blalock, don't be surprised if they let Lowell walk.

Yankees could be interested in him too.

1. You can't have MILLIONS of people at home knowing something that the umpires don't! Has anybody watched tennis lately? It takes them 10 SECONDS to get it right, and Baseball has a billion dollars more in revenue to spend, putting in a state of the art system. Only use it on a play that involves a Run being scored. No balls or strikes.

2. Of course! STAY IN THE BOX/MOUND!!

3. Make them, period!

4. Only players on the field can talk to the pitcher. And what about the NBA rule that say's if you leave the bench during a fight, you get suspended?

5. Don't trade Hank! Why can't more teams try to win without getting rid of fan favorite's? You can't win every game, but you can watch and enjoy EVERY GAME that involves players you have grown to love. Coco Crisp?? Really?? What happened to the past trade rumors when we were getting Beckett or Oswalt for Hank? Now we are willing to just dump him? There IS crying in baseball... but there's never any loyalty.

1. Yes. I think it should be brought on slowly, used at first for foul ball and home run calls and should eventually be at the umpire's disposal for any play they deem reviewable. Never for balls and strikes.

2. Yes to pitchers staying on the mound and hitters in the box. I like the 12 second rule and wouldn't mind if it were shortened to 10. Fielder's going to the mound doesn't bother me as much.

I'm not in favor of anything too drastic to speed up the game. If you don't have the attention span to enjoy a baseball game then go play xbox or check in on your Myspace page.

3. Who knows? They pretty much enforce whatever they want to.

4. I want more accountability for umpires regarding both on the field calls and ejections. For the most part they do a great job, but there are a few guys in each league that don't understand that they're not the reason that people come to the park. A good ump, like a good 3rd base coach should go largely unnoticed.

5. I'm not interested in dealing Hank, but if it happens I'd like a bigger return. If it takes more than Laird and for instance, Frank Francisco, to get Crisp then I'd hope other avenues were pursued. Something needs to happen in the outfield, but if you weaken the infield in the process is it really worth it?

1.I like the idea of instant replay in Baseball. Instant replay on Homeruns and Fair or foul balls down the lines. Outs, Balls and Strikes are a part of baseball the shouldn't be replayed.
2. As everyone knows not every game is the same that is what makes baseball the great sport it is. I think baseball has done an ok job of making the games move along faster in recent years. If you are really a Baseball fan you shouldn't worry about how long it takes to play a game. The game should be more about how your team is playing. But the longer the game goes the more beer I get to drink right.

3.Umpires will continue to call a game as they see them. Even if you had rules or guidelines for them to follow I still think there would diferences.

4. I love baseball more than any other sport and I like that any give year a team can rise up and play at a high level and win a championship. There are only a few teams that really can't say that tehy can't compete in today's game.

5. I think that if the Rangers can't sign either Torii Hunter or Aaron Rowand then yes I would trade Hammerin Hank for Coco Crisp. People forget that when the Rangers where winning their division championships that they had a pretty good defensive center fielder on each of those teams. Both Tom Goodwin and Daryl Hamilton were both quality defensive center fielders that hit ok but ran the bases well and that is what Coco Crisp does very well. And also you can find a third baseman that can feel the void like the Rangers did this year with the combo of Travis Metcalf and Ramon Vasquez. I do believe from watching Coco Crisp that he is one of the better defensive center fielders in baseball today. And everything he gives you defensively over the course of a season will help both your defense and your pitchers and any thing he give you at the plate is a bonus. But I only do this deal if they can't sign Hunter or Rowand.

1- No Instant Replay Ever!
2- No

3- No

4- Besides giving Texas an automatic playoff spot? Well I guess I would Limit Umpires Major League Service to 12 years.

5-No. Move Blalock to 1st and have Metcalf at 3B. And if we can't get Hunter then play Murphy in CF with Byrd on one of the corners while waiting to make a free agency push for Santana next year.

TR,

1. No, anything that might lengthen the game is NOT good. Anyway, it would take the fun out of the game. I enjoy an occasional testy exchange between the manager and ump.

2. While we tend to focus on what should be done between the lines, I'd like to point out that the playoff games were considerably longer than average game during the season. I personally feel that was due to the TV coverage (read commercials).

However, I would be in favor of a actual "pitch clock." If the batter is not in the box in 12 seconds, a strike is called. If the pitcher does not begin his motion to the plate in 12 seconds, it's called a ball. Put a clock in CF and behind home plate. That will change behavior, FAST.

3. NO, not unless you have a physical clock like the NBA. It leaves too much for interpretation.

4. Pitch Clock (see above)

5. Hypothetical trade: No, Hank is a middle of the order power bat. Those are hard and expensive to find. Defensive outfields are easier to find.

1. Only to get home runs correct because of the dramatic consequences of the ruiling. Otherwise no.

2. No...its all gamesmanship.

3. If they are forced to.

4. Streamline the appeals process so pitchers can't appeal and still make their start. Takes away some of the punishment of the suspension.

5.Nope and neither would Boston.

1. Only to get correct ruling on diputed homeruns.
2.I like imagsmens rule although, the visible clock may be a distraction.

3.Some will, some won't.

4.Both leagues need to have the DH or not. Let whoever votes on these things, vote.

5. That trade would make the world champs better and the Rangers a worse team than what they are now.

1. I'm not really in favor of instant replay being used at all, but if it is introduced, I think it should only be used in determining whether a ball off the wall or off the foul pole is a home run or not. But as for using it for calls at home plate, 1st base, or balls and strikes... I shudder to think about that. You think the game is slow now? Imagine games with an instant replay every time Manny Ramirez complains about a called strike: the average postseason game would last 12 hours.

2. All this dancing in and out of the batters box and dilly-dallying on the mound when there's nobody on base is rediculous. I understand pitchers needing to take their time when there's a speedster on first, but when the basepaths are empty, they do need to speed up the game a bit. Speed up the pitchers, and you won't have the batters ducking out every 5 seconds. I like the "pich clock" idea of Imasamen above.

3. Probably not.

4. I would form some kind of computer-based anylasis to determine if home-plate umpires call games in favor of certain teams or not. Whether people want to admit it or not, stuff like that happens way to much out in Boston and NY these days. I'm not saying the umps can't decide where the strike zone is, but just implement a computer program to make sure they're calling it the same way for both teams. And anyone caught calling a game in favor of the Yankees gets hung by their toes.

5. I wouldn't trade anything to Boston for Coco Crisp at this point. Crisp just doesn't hit enough to justify being our full time CF - if he's the only guy we can get, we'd be better off sticking with Marlon Byrd.

1. No I would prefer that instant replay never finds it way into baseball. I believe that human error is a part of baseball. The close calls or even the homeruns shouldn't be called by a camera.

2. I'm against this one as well. It is way too hard to enforce and can interfere with strategy.

3.Maybe a handful will try.

4. I would implement a salary cap.

5. No. The Rangers offense is already dismal enough without losing the only true power threat on the team. I would like Aaron Rowand in CF and Barry Bonds DH though. Just think Kinsler, Young, Rowand, Bonds, Blalock.

1. No, Never
2. All 3 of those don't really matter to me.

3. No, example: "The New NHL" lasted one year before going back to the old style.

4. Eliminate the commercial break and warm up pitches during pitching changes.

5. Heck No.

1. i think when it comes to home runs it is hard to see sometimes being an high school umpire you can miss these but only in this circumstance would i use it.

2. Speed up rule should be used if you want to intentionally walk a player you should send him to first without the 4 pitches.

High School try the rule of a batter leaving the batters box and you could not get umpires to be consistent with this rule and it really doesn't help the game. You still have that human factor if the umpire has a dislike for a player he will call it and if not he want so that needs to be left out.

3. You could limit the number of warm up pitches between innings. Only let them have a certain amount like 5 or 7 for example.

Oh you better watch out,
you better not cry,

you better not pout,

I'm telling you why.

KENNY ROGERS is coming to town. He is 43 years old,

lives in Southlake,

doesn't know how to act,

but has alot of bread on his plate. Ho, Ho, Ho. You heard it here first, the Rangers want a starting pitcher who will take less money and wants to pitch here. Can anyone say a 2 year deal? I am not totally against this. The guy has won here. Who cares if he assualted someone. My only problem with that is that he didn't attack some writer! Ha, Ha, Ho, Ho. We should have never have let him walk to the Yankees, Twins or Tigers. How many wins did he earn with those clubs that should have been here? Give me Rogers, Hunter, Guillen and Wood and i will be a happy camper. We may just be an above .500 team.

7 years lost with Rogers. 77 wins and 47 losses. A 62% winning and 37 % losing. He is about the only pitcher we ever developed other than Kevin Brown. So come on back Kenny, can Palmeiro be far behind? They are extremely close friends. Just keep the cameramen away from the angry young man.

dwidregod...you are a hypocritical fool.

1. You condemn people who have never been convicted in a court of law. Yet Rogers was actually convicted and you have the temerity to say who cares?

2. Thank God he didn't attack a peace officer. Then you'd want to hang him. But another human being. No problem, as long as he can pitch.

3. Lovable Kenny has been with the Rangers for 12 of his 19 seasons. In those 19 years, the Rangers have won three division titles. Kenny was not there for any of them. He was there up to 1995. He left. The Rangers won three championships in the next four years. He came back in 2000. They haven't won since.

4. Kenny's main attributes are he is white and he is a nice country boy with a Southern accent. Everybody loves him. Padilla, Sosa. They are not. Get rid of them.

5. Oh Kenny, we love you. You did nothing wrong. Forgive us for being mean to you. Come back home. Kenny, come back, please come back.

Please

As long as the Gambler's contract doesn't exceed $10-15 million bucks, I love the idea of bringing Kenny back because of his veteran prescence and the fact that he can still WIN. Look what he did for the Tigers young pitching staff in 2006! He may have had that little incedent a few years back, but, like dwid says, so what. That's in the past. I don't even know why we keep bringing it up every time his name is mentioned.

Bottom line: If you want a team leader and a guy that will bring some fire to the clubhouse next year, Kenny Rogers might just be the best candidate we could ask for.

Hey panther, the police are attacked all of the time. In Tarrant County the District Attorney refuses to file charges on the "innocent til proven guilty." I personally have suffered injuries during an assault and the DA considered it a "risk of my job". When someone shoots a few attorneys and judges as happened down there in 1991 then things change over night. 23 security deputies hired when this occurred. George Lott was executed within a year for his acts, probably the shortest time spent on death row in Texas. So take your liberal ideas somewhere else and learn the difference when someone is being sarcastic and utilizing a little irony. I was pointing out the harsh truth, as you say, no one cares that the guy has anger issues, assaulted someone, because he can pitch. If he were a regular person, he would have gotten probation and or maybe jail time. But he paid his way out of it. Now i am not the type of person who doesn't give a person a second chance. If Tank Johnson can get a "second chance" which was actually like the 9th one then anyone can. Even smoky Williams the running back from Miami. I bet Mr. Vick if he ever gets out of prison will get one in the NFL. One of my best friends was killed by a drunk driver in the line of duty. The suspect was convicted and sent to prison. He will end up doing 6 years. So this is the real world, come and join up. The credit belongs to the man, who is in the arena, not merely a spectator. I believe Theodore Roosevelt.

Hicks is already laying the ground work for Rogers return. Kenny must apologize to the public, the fans and the media. The circumstances must be right. What this means in my book is he has to be willing to take less money to play HERE. Here is betting that he will, in order to play at home close to his residence.

Hey panther, here is a song for you: Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower side of town, nobody od, nobody burned a single building down, nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain, sure could use a little good news today! Great song, by Anne Murray. Makes me cry, because the sad truth is these things happen everday. How many infants less than a year old have you seen that were dead, how many car wrecks have you seen where some one had their heads cut off? How many death notifications have you made? Well i have 14 years of it. It is reality. So is an officers life worth more? Absolutely, because that is a person who sacrifices himself, his family, puts himself between the criminal and the public. What have you done as a public service, beyond pay taxes?

The thin blue line i believe it is called.

Reading comprehension is a virtue that should never be ignored.

To trivialize an assault just because the victim happened to be a cameraman is a terrible thing to behold.

Freedom of the press is a fundamental truth to the basic law of the land.

To assault someone and be convicted of it is basically assaulting that which we are supposed to hold dear.

In a democracy of freedom and liberty, all men are created equal and deserve equal treatment under the law. Not just those who are empowered.

The empowered? I hope you aren't referring to the police? We have no power that wasn't given unto us by the attorneys and the legislators. Even those powers are always subject to being questioned, debated and fought about during court. An example, as a former DWI Officer, i would arrest someone who was blitzed out of their mind, there was no question about their guilt. It was there with all of the other witnesses and evidence which is often video and audio taped. Well who do you think gets put on trial? The Officer that is who. So save your empowered, liberal nonsense. Look around you. You are living in a society where no one cares, your rights are determined by the amount of money, jingle in your pocket. The world that the hippies fought for during the sixties is lost. Yesterday, i saw a Dead Head sticker on Cadillac. The world belongs to the rich and powerful. It is a world that Haliburton and the oil lobby have bought and paid for. Their chief, Mr. George W. Bush. Now who said he wasn't an oilman? As my Daddy always says, money talks and bull caca walks? You need look no futher than Cullen Davis who at the time of his trial, was the richest man to be tried for murder. Well according to your mind set, he is innocent because he had 2 trials and was not convicted. I hate to burst your bubble, but the jury sometimes gets it wrong. One question for you and i would like a yes or no? Is O. J. Simpson, guilty or innocent of double homicide? The criminal court said no, the civil said yes. What do you believe?

I saw alot of do away with commercial breaks to speed up the baseball game up there. Advertising is driving this bus. So forget that one. Sounds like an opportunity for Wesley Turner, a rumored advertising man of integrity. Ha Ha, what is it that you are drinking Mr. Sullivan? If Baseball keeps falling in the TV ratings then the games won't be on television and you will be forced to go to the stadium. Has anyone seen that the NFL has started its own Network. Is it me or is it just a matter of time before all NFL Games will be on this Network with multiple channels and NBC, CBS and ABC will be paying quadruple the amount for a televising contracts? It is amazing how the NFL and NBA has its act together, compared to Baseball. It is why the sport is dwindling. And don't anyone say oh the gambling referee. I know my history, how about the White Sox scandal and Mr. Peter Edward Rose, who should be in the Hall of Fame by the way as a player, not a manager. Baseball can put him in its criminal wing with Barry Bonds, Shoeless Joe and all the others.

1. Home Runs and Foul/Fair balls only.
2. Totally agree
3. See No. 4
4. Umpires should be graded for accuracy. Anyone in any job would be fired for making less mistakes. There should be a triumvirate of judges sitting in a booth with a monitor to verify the accuracy of the umpires call. At the end of the game a record is posted of the home plate umpires blown calls. After a given period (let's say 1 week), the record is reviewed and depending upon his grade the ump in question is to be reprimanded and if after 1 month, if there is no improvement he should then be demoted or suspended (with salary impact) for a given period of time. This will surely bring about umpire accountability and open three more jobs for umpires.
5. No opinion.