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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 10 things to know for Friday Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book Orthodox Church raising funds to build new home 10 things to know for Thursday What does Uncle Foods weekly dinner mean to you? Education Ashland Middle School students put their Spanish-speaking skills to the test Grizzlies claim speech championship Levy backers eye final push Neal Simon: This is a test Grade-school philanthropist Environment Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Stopping fire in its tracks Some trails, roads remain closed due to controlled burn Earth Day: Hope for our 'pale blue dot' Business Ride & Drive: 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe Ashland Safeway closes Thursday, to reopen as Haggen on Sunday Cars We Remember: Car enthusiast wishes new model designs were ‘more different’ Ride & Drive: 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Silvio Calabi: Taxis and traffic in the olde worlde Politics and elections Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Gray's death Arthur I. 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Detwiler Death Notices Death Notices Shareable Sports Latest Stories Chris Singleton: No need for a rematch Ashland boys sweep doubles, beat GP Living on the edge SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team See you in August High school Ashland boys sweep doubles, beat GP Living on the edge SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Penn, Norvell, Baldrica pace Ashland track team at Crater Southern Oregon University SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team See you in August Same old Raiders Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Who's got next? Voices Latest Stories James Jackson: Who’s driving your fear? Landgren cartoon: What the frack? Arthur I. Cyr: Britain’s important election – in royal political context Granlund cartoon: Texas conspiracy Landgren cartoon: Deflategate intensifies Editorial Our View: Forest work is a bargain Our View: What price history? Our View: Waging peace after war Our View: Rail car roulette Our View: Reading the tea leaves Letters Letters to the Editor, May 8 Letters to the Editor, May 6 Letters to the Editor, May 5 Letters to the Editor, May1 Letters to the Editor, April 30 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place Guest Opinion: Making conservation a game Guest Opinion: A good day to act Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky Guest Opinion: Fremont cottonwood is not a hazard Columns Arthur I. Cyr: Britain’s important election – in royal political context Matthew T. Mangino: Aging prisoners: An American crisis Jeffrey Gillespie: Is there a right to offend? Editor's Notes: This, that and the other Mochas, Midrash and Mysteries: Balancing the gift and the task Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Peter Rowan, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys at Rootsfest Movie listings: May 8-14 Dancing People Company presents 'Salon Series' 5 picks for live entertainment Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Theater Ticket availability Ticket Availability Ticket Availability 'Arsenic and Old Lace' has killer charm Some OSF crew members seek to unionize Music The Farr Side: Mumford & Sons’ latest is full-on rock Interview: Country singer Suzy Bogguss enjoying life on the road The Farr Side: CMAs do it right, in many ways Interview: Offspring plays hits new and old on tour The Farr Side: Slow disappearance of physical music Visual Art Movies Movie review: ‘Hot Pursuit’ is a hot mess George Miller returns to his ‘Mad Max’ roots Tom Hardy adapts to life as Mad Max Movie listings: May 8-14 Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Food and Drink Taqueria Picaro takes over Tabu space Owner of Mix and Amuse to bring Flip burger joint to Ashland Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Looking Up: Once in a while a star blows up Health Watch: Easy tips to drink more water throughout the day Orthodox Church raising funds to build new home Antionette Kerr: Mother’s Day founder challenged commercialism Breathe easier with whole-house air purification Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Mocha Musings Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Our View: Forest work is a bargain ... Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book ... Ashland Calendar, Friday, May 8 ... Our View: Forest work is a bargain ... Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book ... Ashland Calendar, Friday, May 8 ... Wry & Ginger: A pitch to make national pastime better By Sid McKeen More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Sid McKeen More Content Now Posted May. 4, 2015 @ 2:19 pm By Sid McKeen More Content Now Posted May. 4, 2015 @ 2:19 pm » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Don’t get me wrong now, I love baseball, always have. For me, at least, it’s far superior to all the other spectator sports. Sure, there are dead spots here and there, but that’s part of the charm. They give you time to review what just occurred and to anticipate what may come next. But nothing is perfect, and this time of year, I often find myself thinking of little improvements that might yet be made to Gen. Doubleday’s old game. Speeding things up, the latest tweak, seems like a good idea, but I’m not sold yet on the frequent appeals to umpires in headsets making decisions with the help of people halfway across the country watching TV in a darkened office somewhere. 1. My first recommendation for making things even more interesting is this: To bring more athleticism to the game — and because there are nine positions and nine innings — require the players to change defensive positions in a set order from one inning to the next. Thus the starting pitcher would become catcher for the second inning, the catcher move to first base, and so on around the infield. The third baseman would take left field, pushing the left fielder to center and ultimately the right fielder to the pitcher’s mound. The umpires have to move around game to game, so why not the players inning to inning? Let’s see how versatile they really are. 2. Brawls on the field are getting more attention of late, but they are hard for fans to follow. The combatants swarm around each other like a large flock of roosters, and it’s difficult if not impossible to see who is doing what to whom at any given moment. Why not let each team appoint a designated brawler, similar to the American League’s designated hitter? Then when things get sufficiently out of control, the umpires could have them square off at the pitcher’s mound surrounded by a circle of teammates to cheer them on, with fans at the park and at home getting a perfect view of the slugfest. 3. Home runs are beginning to be a trifle ho-hum. I suggest taking a page from basketball’s three-point shot, and counting any home run hit more than 400 feet a super-homer, accounting for two runs a whack rather than one. 4. When clubs find themselves tied at the end of nine innings, instead of playing on ‘til 2 o’clock in the morning when only a trickle of viewers remain, let the game be settled by conducting a foot race pitting the fastest runner on Team A against his counterpart on Team B. For added excitement, let the designated racers start and end at home plate — one running clockwise around the bases, the other counterclockwise, and see how they manage to avoid colliding head-on around the second-base bag. 5. To make watching games more palatable to fans in the stands and viewers at home, provide brass spittoons along both dugout floors, and hire janitors for each location to patrol the premises. Similarly, umpires would be empowered to eject from play any batters or base runners overtly clutching certain intersections of their body parts.. 6. To identify things by their rightful names, the “foul poles” in far left and far right field would no longer be deemed in fair territory and result in home runs, but identified as “border poles” and counted as ground-rule doubles. 7. To further identify the players, each uniform back would carry not only the individual’s name and number but also the salary for which he is contracted to play. Baseball is a thinking game, so let’s give it some thought. Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette correspondent Sid McKeen can be reached at [email protected]. By Sid McKeen More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Sid McKeen More Content Now Posted May. 4, 2015 @ 2:19 pm » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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