Baseball pleased with pace of play
ST. LOUIS — As the trial period for the new pace-ofgame rules ended and the penalties were set to begin Friday, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association were pleased with the results.
“It sounds like they’re very happy with how the month of April went and spring training went as far as pace of play,” said Neil Walker, the Pirates’ union representative.
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark told ESPN this week that the league and union have discussed relaxing or eliminating the fines that were to be levied against players who violate the new rules, which require a batter to keep one foot in the box, with certain exceptions, and limit the time between innings and during pitching changes. Walker said a possible revised agreement could be “coming out pretty soon.”
“It seems as though they’re not going to completely go away with the fines, but they’re going to be much looser,” he said.
The average time of nineinning games this season has dropped about 8½ minutes from 2014, according to MLB and ESPN.
“There’s a lot of players that are engaged in this, too,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “You’ll see them catch themselves stepping out and get right back in. I do believe it’s working.”
Some Pirates have received citations, Walker said, for stepping out of the box or taking too much time between innings.
“You hear some guys say, ‘An umpire reminded me,’ ” he said.
“Guys don't want to be talked to when they're hitting, I know that, regardless of whether it’s a catcher or an umpire, whatever. Outside of that there hasn’t been many issues that have arisen.”
Morton’s plan altered
Rather than make a rehabilitation start for Class A Bradenton, Charlie Morton will start another extended spring-training game today, Hurdle said.
Morton, who is on the disabled list as he continues to fine-tune his delivery after offseason hip surgery, will throw 90 pitches or pitch seven innings. Innings in extended springtraining games can be lengthened or shortened as needed to manage a pitcher’s inning and pitch counts.
“We just wanted to stay in control of the environment, stay in control of the tempo, give him one more extended opportunity to be focused on controlling what he can control as far as getting to that backside hold and making pitches,” Hurdle said.
Morton will travel to Pittsburgh next week to meet with Hurdle and the staff, Hurdle said, and possibly throw a bullpen session for pitching coach Ray Searage.
Busch Stadium woes
The Pirates entered the weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 514 record at Busch Stadium in the past two seasons, including 2-8 in 2014. They previously won a series in April 2013, and after winning consecutive games in that series, they have gone 3-13 in St. Louis.