These days, four runs have usually crossed the plate by the time the last notes of the national anthem reach the upper deck. Give AL pitchers a one-batter reprieve at the bottom of the order. Deaden the ball. Many purists want the mound raised back to its pre-1968 level, but a higher mound will likely result in more strikeouts. When the ball is hit, it will still get really small, really fast.
Strikeouts are fascist, ground balls are more democratic.
The excitement in baseball comes from players moving on offense and defense and making plays, not standing around for a three-hour parade of strikeouts and home runs. Even KG could be jealous of that jing. What a great kid. Probably the most stunning development of the past two weeks was the demotion of Walker, the underachieving former No. 1 draft pick of the Twins. Walker and his agent are blaming Kelly for stunting Walker's growth by benching or pinch-hitting for him against tough lefties and yanking him for defensive purposes in the late innings of close games.