NOTE: This was written for broadcast and reflects the thoughts of Neal Barton.

I’m glad it’s baseball season. March 30, it’s for keeps, but there are a lot of new rules this year.

The one everyone is talking about is the pitch time rule. Seems you love it or hate it. It’s supposed to speed the game along, but my personal non-scientific poll shows me sportscasters like it because they are more confident they can get highlights on because the game is faster. Younger folks seem to like it, but I don’t. That was the beauty and strategy of the game: You could take your time.

I look now, and the batter and hitter look like toy soldiers. Wouldn’t you love to see a World Series game lost because of a clock rule? The shift is OK and bigger bases… I don’t care. I’m not liking the clock rule at all. Still, I’ll watch and hope the Astros win it all again.

That’s my point of view, what’s yours? You can email me at pov@ketk.com or Facebook me at KETK Neal Barton.