No NBA? Apply Some Rules to Other Sports

It's becoming more and more obvious that we won't have much, if any, of the Detroit Pistons and NBA basketball this winter. And so maybe, for the next best thing, we could apply some of the NBA's best rules to the other sports.

Take the 24-second clock. I was watching Game Two of baseball's World Series, and at the start it was really great. The pitchers were working quickly and there was plenty of action, even though it was a soccer-style scoreless tie into the seventh inning. And then the relief pitchers started entering. There's something about relief pitchers in that most of them tend to work slowly. Verr-rr-rry slowly. They walk around behind the mound and stare into the outfield.

Why not put them on a 24-second clock? Pitch the ball within 24 seconds, or the batter goes to first base.

The Detroit Tigers enjoyed a winning season and relief stopper Jose Valverde was an all-star. But when "Papa Grande" gets into the game, a viewer could read War and Peace between pitches. The guy has a policy of scooping dirt prior to each pitch. He takes longer to throw the ball than the Pistons' Adrian Dantley used to require to shoot a free throw. My fellow and sister (and older) Pistons fans will remember The Teacher at the stripe, endlessly bouncing and then twirling the spheroid before he finally sent it toward the hoop.

It's been said that modern society is in too much of a hurry. If that's a problem, then I guess I'm guilty. But who wants to watch a pitcher fidget endlessly on the mound? Bring the 24-second clock to baseball!