We're not going to get into an argument over whether baseball is "in trouble." That's an old discussion and the answer can be framed in so many ways. The position here is that baseball is doing just fine.
But like almost everything that's doing just fine, baseball could be better.
One of the issues addressed by commissioner Rob Manfred over the All-Star Game break was the need to be "more aggressive about managing" changes during games.
"I'm certainly open to the idea that we should take a more aggressive posture," he said.
So far this season, the average time of game is 3 hours, 5 minutes -- up by five minutes from last season and nine from two years ago.
The head of MLB's players union, Tony Clark, said: "We are having dialogue with Major League Baseball and we will continue to have dialogue with Major League Baseball. We expect those conversations to pick up here in the second half of the season."
Let's have our own dialogue here. Namely, what can be done to make baseball better. We've been batting that idea around Star Tribune sports headquarters during the All-Star break, but we're certain there are even better answers that some of what we've been talking about.
Of course, you'll be hard-pressed to come up with an idea proposed by deputy sports editor Chris Carr, who suggested half-price beers in the seventh inning before sales are shut down.
We're calling that one the Seventh-Inning Fetch.
Someone suggested a 10-run rule and someone else suggested that visits to the mound be limited only to make pitching changes, not for strategy. There was also a call for shorts to be mandatory when the temperature is above 80 degrees.
The White Sox wore shorts in 1976. That's outfielder Ralph Garr.
But what's more important is what you think. Share your ideas in the comments below or, if you want full credit, send us an e-mail with your name and where you're from.
We'll publish the best ones here, and some of our ideas, on Friday.
(Update: Because we're received so many responses via emaIl, we're going to hold off on posting responses until next week. In the meantime, check out some fan thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for playing!)
