Perhaps the closest thing to a trend is that several hitters and pitchers say the umpires seem most willing to call the high curveball a strike. And then there's this from Houston Astros second baseman Craig Biggio, who apparently subscribes to the theory that umpires subscribe to newspapers. But it's a fast game. The intent behind the change is admirable. Offense is overwhelming defense.
Home runs are as common as the ballpark frank.
Something needed to be done. When pitching dominated hitting in 1968 as the Cardinals' Bob Gibson reduced his earned run average to a microscopic 1.12 and Detroit's Denny McLain won 31 games, baseball reacted by lowering the mound. This time, the game's trying to raise the strike zone while shrinking its width. Control pitchers such as Atlanta's Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine have made their livings by stretching the outside corner like a rubber band. Depending, of course, on the hitter and the pitcher and their respective pedigrees.