Major League Baseball is a taking a distance that was kind of sacred in baseball and changing it later this year. Not in the American League or the National League, but in August in the independent Atlantic League. That is when 60 feet, six inches becomes 61 feet, six inches. MLB will experiment with one of its partner leagues when its second half starts Aug. 3. The pitching rubber will be moved back one foot in the Atlantic League. This is expected to lead to more balls put in play, fewer...

Today we're reviewing a few stories from recent days for further discussion as we move closer to the start of February and we wonder if that will indeed be the month that spring training starts. Reunion anyone?: In this entry a few days ago, we wondered if Jonathan Villar could reunite with the Orioles and this time become the regular at shortstop? The club needs to replace José Iglesias, who had a big 2020 season. The last time we saw Villar in 2019 in Baltimore, he had a pretty big season...

Now that he has helped the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs win a combined three World Series, Theo Epstein will try to help baseball improve its game. Maybe get more action in the game and work on rules that fans will embrace. Major League Baseball yesterday named Epstein a consultant regarding on-field matters. Under the supervision of the commissioner and the competition committee, Epstein will work with baseball analytics experts from the commissioner's office and the clubs to determine the...

As he left his job running the Chicago Cubs baseball operations this week, Theo Epstein addressed what he sees as issues in baseball. Issues that he believes he helped create and now wonders if the game will fix them. The issues involve a lack of action in the sport. There are too many strikeouts, too much swing and miss. Strikeouts are fun if you're the pitcher, but they are piling up more and more each year. More whiffs and fewer balls in play. Fewer chances for plays at the plate and great...