This is a hard article to write, because, as frustrated as I am, it is hard for me to put it down. I really don't like being negative or complaining. Sometimes though, things just push me over the edge. I will preface with the fact that I may be a little sensitive since it seems like these are contributing to the Tigers problems, but regardless, there are some issues here.
INSTANT REPLAY
I thought instant replay sounded like a good idea when they initiated it three (?) years ago. The first year they had some minor issues, but everyone assumed it would get better as the years went on. After all, it was just the first year; of course there'd be some bugs. But it actually seems to have gotten worse.
Dan Dickerson and Jim Price know baseball. They've been broadcasting for years and Jim played for a long time too. They look at the replay videos while New York is deliberating and they tell you what they assume the call will be. They're not biased; they look at the video and tell you what they see. In the past couple of years, they were right more often than not.
Not so this year.
A play will be obviously safe or out to them, and New York calls it the opposite. It's to the point where they say "here's what we think, but we have no idea what they might say". That's ridiculous.
I like the idea of the umpires in New York not knowing the call made on the field. Just call them and say "take a look at this play and tell us your call". They make the call, unaware of what the call at the game was. Maybe that will fix some of the issue.
Replay was supposed to get calls right. At the moment, it's failing, and it can cost teams a game.
SCHEDULING
I'm sure this is not just a Tiger problem. I have not looked at other teams' schedules, but ours seems set up for failure. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but two West Coast trips? Why? We have two West Coast trips, multiple three-city road trips, and we're starting and ending on the road. At least this year, it's in the American League.
No team should start and end on the road and no American League team should end in the National League. A National League team could end in the AL, because it doesn't handicap them in any way. That's a discussion for another post.
INTER-LEAGUE PLAY
Related to scheduling is inter-league play. I am NOT a fan. First and foremost, I don't see the point. But, whatever. Major League Baseball wants some inter-league play. Fine. But we don't need/want this much. The Tigers have SIX. Now, some of them are here, but still. At the end of August, we go on the road for six games - three at the White Sox, then we go all the way to Colorado for three, to turn around and come home. There's no point!
It's kind of become a tradition for us to play a home-and-home with Pittsburgh. If you want inter-league play, pick two maybe three teams to play per year. One can be a rivalry or a traditional opponent and you can work in other teams. But again, why? I really don't see the point of it. What it has done in past years is take away games from your own division who you need to play a lot, especially near the end of the year.
CHANGES, PLEASE
Major League Baseball is trying to make lots of changes, but they aren't really asking fans their opinions. They aren't asking if we want some of the changes and they aren't asking what changes we might like to see. Instant replay needs work, the scheduling can be done better, and inter-league play needs explained. We need to know why it's done, and even then, we don't need as much of it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has these opinions and wants to see some attention to them from MLB.
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