So it begins, The official Hot Stove League Thread 2024-25 Offseason

[GL_Storm]

See where Manfred has said he's now considering the Golden at Bat rule. That's where a manager could pick a player to bat out of turn once a game. Talk about ridiculous, is baseball honestly going to change rules just for the sake of changing them?

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2024/12/rob-ma ... t-rule-mlb

It is Savannah Banana Harlem Globetrotters Clown car nonsense. When I first hear it I thought it had to be internet rumor BS but Stark actually wrote about it. If his source isn't correct, his credibility is gone forever.

Why not just get rid of the 9-man batting order altogether? Instead, the manager just plays his best available hitters. You can also sub out baserunners with no limitations. So if Soto hits a single, he's immediately subbed for a pinch runner but that doesn't take him out of the game.

My point is: where do you draw the line in changing the game before you have a completely new game?

[D-train]

See where Manfred has said he's now considering the Golden at Bat rule. That's where a manager could pick a player to bat out of turn once a game. Talk about ridiculous, is baseball honestly going to change rules just for the sake of changing them?

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2024/12/rob-ma ... t-rule-mlb

It is Savannah Banana Harlem Globetrotters Clown car nonsense. When I first hear it I thought it had to be internet rumor BS but Stark actually wrote about it. If his source isn't correct, his credibility is gone forever.

Why not just get rid of the 9-man batting order altogether? Instead, the manager just plays his best available hitters. You can also sub out baserunners with no limitations. So if Soto hits a single, he's immediately subbed for a pinch runner but that doesn't take him out of the game.

My point is: where do you draw the line in changing the game before you have a completely new game?

It is so asinine it doesn't even warrant discussion. But I am sure this is what people said about the DH and what most including me thought up the ghost runner so...And I like both now. But I will never like that nonsense. I don't think....lol

[Donn Beach]

It doesn't warrant discussion except Manfred has brought it up

. "There are a variety of [rule changes] that are being talked about out there," Manfred said in October on The Varsity podcast with John Ourand. "One of them—there was a little buzz around it at an owners' meeting—was the idea of a Golden At-Bat."

[GL_Storm]

It is Savannah Banana Harlem Globetrotters Clown car nonsense. When I first hear it I thought it had to be internet rumor BS but Stark actually wrote about it. If his source isn't correct, his credibility is gone forever.

Why not just get rid of the 9-man batting order altogether? Instead, the manager just plays his best available hitters. You can also sub out baserunners with no limitations. So if Soto hits a single, he's immediately subbed for a pinch runner but that doesn't take him out of the game.

My point is: where do you draw the line in changing the game before you have a completely new game?

It is so asinine it doesn't even warrant discussion. But I am sure this is what people said about the DH and what most including me thought up the ghost runner so...And I like both now. But I will never like that nonsense. I don't think....lol

Before radically changing the nature of the game to add offense, maybe try taking away a pitcher on the 26-man, or even 2 pitchers. This would force managers to push starters farther and maybe even bring back the long reliever role, while adding another position player (or two) to the roster.

[D-train]

Why not just get rid of the 9-man batting order altogether? Instead, the manager just plays his best available hitters. You can also sub out baserunners with no limitations. So if Soto hits a single, he's immediately subbed for a pinch runner but that doesn't take him out of the game.

My point is: where do you draw the line in changing the game before you have a completely new game?

It is so asinine it doesn't even warrant discussion. But I am sure this is what people said about the DH and what most including me thought up the ghost runner so...And I like both now. But I will never like that nonsense. I don't think....lol

Before radically changing the nature of the game to add offense, maybe try taking away a pitcher on the 26-man, or even 2 pitchers. This would force managers to push starters farther and maybe even bring back the long reliever role, while adding another position player (or two) to the roster.

Love it. Make guys cut down on the velo to pace themselves in order to go deeper into games.

[Big_Maple]

And the A's continue to get incrementally better.

https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-severino- ... t-contract

[DavidGee24]

And the A's continue to get incrementally better.

https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-severino- ... t-contract

I was just about to post this too, I think that this will end up being the dumbest move of the off-season. He did make it through 2024 injury-free, but still, he only made 45 starts the previous five seasons, he's 30, and he's average at best. I can't believe that the A'ss of all organizations did this. That's a total Jack Z move right there.

[Big_Maple]

And the A's continue to get incrementally better.

https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-severino- ... t-contract

I was just about to post this too, I think that this will end up being the dumbest move of the off-season. He did make it through 2024 injury-free, but still, he only made 45 starts the previous five seasons, he's 30, and he's average at best. I can't believe that the A'ss of all organizations did this. That's a total Jack Z move right there.

If he can stay healthy, they have a legit TOR guy. But I agree with you - he's like James Paxton. Only a little healthier!

https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/luis-seve ... r-injuries

https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/james-pax ... r-injuries

[GL_Storm]

It is so asinine it doesn't even warrant discussion. But I am sure this is what people said about the DH and what most including me thought up the ghost runner so...And I like both now. But I will never like that nonsense. I don't think....lol

Before radically changing the nature of the game to add offense, maybe try taking away a pitcher on the 26-man, or even 2 pitchers. This would force managers to push starters farther and maybe even bring back the long reliever role, while adding another position player (or two) to the roster.

Love it. Make guys cut down on the velo to pace themselves in order to go deeper into games.

I think you'd see guys trying to hit the corners with the fastball more rather than throwing so many sliders and split-fingers down the middle, especially to your less impressive, more average hitters. This would all happen at the margins, but you'd likely see the change in trend over the course of a season. In the pitch data, maybe you see 3-5 more fastballs per every 100 pitches, or something like that. But across the entirety of the game I think you'd see a difference in offense, which is what the owners are (rightly) worried about.

[DavidGee24]

And the A's continue to get incrementally better.

https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-severino- ... t-contract

I was just about to post this too, I think that this will end up being the dumbest move of the off-season. He did make it through 2024 injury-free, but still, he only made 45 starts the previous five seasons, he's 30, and he's average at best. I can't believe that the A'ss of all organizations did this. That's a total Jack Z move right there.

If he can stay healthy, they have a legit TOR guy. But I agree with you - he's like James Paxton. Only a little healthier!

https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/luis-seve ... r-injuries

https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/james-pax ... r-injuries

He was in 2017 and 2018 but he doesn't seem to be that guy anymore. 3.91 ERA, 1.242 WHIP and 1.6 bWAR in 2024. Pitching in Oakland would help, except for one thing...