shack009 said:

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How many challenges a game? Do you keep challenges if you win?

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2. You keep it if you are right. Challenge has to be from P, C, or hitter immediately after the pitch - no dugout help. They tap their head, they'll check it, and immediately confirm or change the call

Believe it's two per game and you keep em if you're right. Guaranteed at least one per inning in extra innings

Edit - should have refreshed thread before sending

Two feels like we're just being thrown a bone. We couldn't do 3? Three is a prominent baseball number with strikes per batter and outs per inning.

Flounder Dorfman said:

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You sure are a ray of sunshine. Jesus.

I would suggest you watch how it works in the minors. That's how it will work in the majors and it's a hell of a lot better than what they have now, which is human umpires that have zero accountability having to eyeball 200-300 pitches a night coming from dudes throwing upper 90's with a lot of movement and pinpoint control.

The current system sucks. The minor league system is better. The major leagues will now use what the minor leagues are using. That is a positive, in my opinion.

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Was the minor league system just 2 a game? That doesn't sound like much. And I think the manger should have to make the decision. Players will instinctively do it, and maybe waste a challenge too easily it would seem. But this is better than nothing.

Yes, the last iteration was 2 per team per game.

There is definitely going to be some coaching of players where they are forbidden to challenge - early innings, no one on base, etc.

It's totally unnecessary and bad for the game. I can't wait for a playoff series to end on a ball/strike appeal.

dang technology taking more jobs

This team quit before the Astros series

Officially eliminated. Pop the champagne.

I hurt myself today...

at least we lost quickly

Hello L8 Column! Will this team even finish at or above .500?

They won't win another game this season.

Flounder Dorfman said:

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Or another to way to put it…0-8 since they put Garcia back in the lineup.

I'm so ready for a reset on this team.

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Agreed.

But it's gonna be real tough to know who you can build with that is here. Who is a full time MLB player? Who can actually play 120+ games AND hit at a solid level? Are the pitchers going to be super brittle next season because of the years of work on their arms? Who is going to be the manager?

CY is definitely someone I trust, but this thing will take a lot to rebuild into something that can contend for a pennant.

So I guess you're against replay as well.

Two challenges per game. This is for when an umpire calls a ball 18 inches outside a strike and it's corrected in about five seconds. Or when he calls it a ball when it's a full baseball and a half inside the strike zone.

This isn't challenging every single pitch. It is working great in the minors and takes away the egregiously bad calls while still allowing judgment calls on close pitches. It's a compromise, which is usually obtained by both sides giving in and neither one being overly happy with the result. But it's a damn huge improvement from what we have had.

And maybe you disagree. Fine with me. I'm not going to argue over someone else's valid opinion.

Well I disagree with that. This team missed the playoffs because they dealt with a ton of injuries. As flawed as the lineup was, they still were right there until Garcia came back.

And there is step one. Garcia has to go. And Heim along with him. If they are in fact under the CBT like the national writers say, then go spend money on a RF, SP, closer and catcher 1A/1B.

As for pitching, CY has given us every reason to trust that he can put that together. He's done it every year.

As for manager, either Bochy comes back or Schumacher takes over. In my opinion, the whole offensive staff needs to be let go. Too many fastballs watched down the middle and too many really bad baserunning errors. That's where I would do my full reset. Time for a new perspective there.

CLE took down Skubal tonight and climbed into a tie for the Central. If the Rangers had followed their 16-4 stretch with only .500 ball, they would be only 1 game back of HOU at most, and 2 back of CLE and DET. I'm not playing the "ifs and buts" game. I'm mainly setting up the question...who had catching DET for the Wild Card on their playoff possibilities?!? That's what HOU might have to do.

Oh, and if it helps, I hope we roll the living heck over like a smashed possum against CLE.

Update at the end of Tues night. SEA magic number is 1. DET and CLE both up 1 game on HOU, and both hold tiebreaker over HOU. What a wild few weeks. I like 162. I think it's a great number.

Need oakland and LAA to do yeoman's work. CLE and Det to split next two then win their next series.

Naturally, we will sweep CLE and HOU will sweep LAA to make it into the postseason

Flounder Dorfman said:

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So I guess you're against replay as well.

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I think replay is useful for safe/out, fair/foul and other objective rule concepts. I don't like it for interference, catcher blocking the plate, runner sliding into 2nd breaking up double play and other judgement calls.

Balls and strikes, the slight variances between umpires, and the unpredictability of that has been what has made baseball unique for 150 years. I love the drama that the home plate umpire adds to the game, within reason. I don't recall MLB umpires calling strikes on pitches 18 inches off the plate, except for the breaking pitch that Joe Nathan threw to end the game vs. TB years ago.

Take the strike zone box off the TV screen. With the new system the TV viewer will know if it's a ball/strike before the batter, and that's shameful to the game.

Mr Gigem said:

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Naturally, we will sweep CLE and HOU will sweep LAA to make it into the postseason

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I'd put money on Adolis hitting a walk-off bomb to beat CLE and send Houston to the wild card.

Langford done for the season

The Rangers lineup. Wyatt Langford has been placed on the IL, ending his season. OF Billy McKinney, who is from Plano, not McKinney, has been added to the roster. https://t.co/P8R2mRedWD

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) September 24, 2025

Why is deGrom pitching tonight? Asking for trouble

He has the whole offseason to recover. Duh.

shack009 said:

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Why is deGrom pitching tonight? Asking for trouble

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Need to make sure we don't use him against CLE.

Maybe they want these next 2 so they can tank and still finish .500

shack009 said:

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Why is deGrom pitching tonight? Asking for trouble

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Heard today that he, at least in spring training, really wanted to start 30 games this year. Today will be start #30.

Who knew that Seager had a 6.0 WAR season in 102 games? We have to keep this dude in the lineup healthy. IDC how.

He has allowed four this year; in his career prior to this year, he'd allowed five https://t.co/CZHlMP15nB

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) September 25, 2025

And

Through 2 innings, one Ranger has made contact. The opposing pitcher is Taj Bradley, whose 5.20 ERA coming into the game, ranked 91st of 103 pitchers with at least 120 innings this season

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) September 25, 2025

94chem said:

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CLE took down Skubal tonight and climbed into a tie for the Central. If the Rangers had followed their 16-4 stretch with only .500 ball, they would be only 1 game back of HOU at most, and 2 back of CLE and DET. I'm not playing the "ifs and buts" game. I'm mainly setting up the question...who had catching DET for the Wild Card on their playoff possibilities?!? That's what HOU might have to do.

Oh, and if it helps, I hope we roll the living heck over like a smashed possum against CLE.

Update at the end of Tues night. SEA magic number is 1. DET and CLE both up 1 game on HOU, and both hold tiebreaker over HOU. What a wild few weeks. I like 162. I think it's a great number.

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Cleveland catching Detroit is the most improbable late season surge I've ever seen.

Cleveland's offense is basically Kwan, Ramirez and 7 replacement players. They traded Bieber at the deadline and lost their all star closer to a gambling probe.

Other teams have made wild surges into the playoffs before, but usually you can argue that the team under performed and then finally got things going. I'd argue that this bunch of spares over performed just to be even close to a .500 club this year. To possibly win the division with their roster and payroll is ludicrous.

Not that it matters, but why the hell is Joc Pederson leading off? This has happened multiple times now.

WestTexasAg said:

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Not that it matters, but why the hell is Joc Pederson leading off? This has happened multiple times now.

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To get it out of the way.