New Commish, Same Problems?

   We all know that in January of 2015 Bud Selig will be retiring. This past Thursday, the baseball owners voted Rob Manfred, Chief Operating Officer, as Selig's successor. Since Bud Selig has taken over as commissioner of baseball, the game has changed dramatically. There's not only 1, but 2 wild cards, three divisions in each league, and attendance has increased. Behind the the NFL, MLB is next most successful of the major American Sports.

     The pace of the game has become a problem. Pitchers taking their time has become an issue. There has been talk about doing a pitch clock. That would be smart, but a bigger concern is the catcher and coaches making routine trips to the mound. Those should be limited to a certain amount per game and how long each visit should be. Pitchers should not be able to warm up prior to the game and prior to the first pitch.

    Hitters as well need to change certain things. They shouldn't really need practice swings since there is batting practice. Stepping in and out of the batters box is also a concern. It should be a limited amount of times per game they should be able to do that. Since baseball has no timing on it, they should work on small things like this

   Something else Manfred should look into is how to market and promote the sports major players like Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera, and Clayton Kershaw to name a few. The more you market your players, the more you market your sport.We've seen it with Derek Jeter in the Ford commercials.  Marketing your product will help TV ratings nationally.

  Manfred still has to deal with the steroid problems. Anthony Bosch and 8 others have been arrested  while naming 85 players. Even though baseball has done a lot, there are still problems that need to be tweeking with the steroids. The biggest problem is testing. We saw how someone like A-Rod was able to get around the drug testing. The punishment is fair enough.

   An interesting topic would be if Manfred will reinstate Pete Rose. Personally, I believe Pete Rose belongs in the Hall Of Fame. If someone like Sammy Sosa, who took steroids and had a corked bat, is allowed on the ballot, why isn't Pete Rose? Even though Manfred has been Bud Selig's right hand man, he should reconsider reinstating Pete Rose to an extent. Rose is not only the all-time hits leader, but is the leader, or at least near the top, in many categories.

   Rob Manfred maybe Selig's right hand man, but he should also start to make a name for himself. Whether it's increasing the games pace, marketing your players or reinstating Pete Rose, he must make his mark. Only time will tell! Good luck Rob and lets see what happens!

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