The Buffalo News from Buffalo, New York • 19

The Buffalo NewsSunday August 17 HOlJf Baseball Inside Baseball By Mike Harrington Manfred has many challenges on his plate Outgoing commissioner Bud Selig will always have blots on his record But his two decade reign overseeing baseball that will end come January still has far more successes The latest came Thursday with what ultimately turned into a unanimous vote for guy MLB Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred to replace him It was a somewhat contentious process that has Red Sox chairman Tom Werner thrust into the role of alternate candidate by a bloc of owners led by longtime ally White Sox boss Jerry Reinsdorf But in the end Selig got his way and even got a 30 0 vote that was certainly symbolic of the way baseball has moved forward the last few years The game is going well in plenty of areas and one school of thought is Manfred just needs to keep the status quo going After all revenues are approaching $9 billion And while baseball the NL not forget the celebrations the NHL is having over the fact its revenues are expected to merely crack the $4 billion mark for the first time next season Manfred was the chief labor negotiator and there will be 22 years of peace in the game by the time the next contract expires in 2016 Still that was apparently one of the issues of the eight team bloc initially against Manfred that he has gone too easy on the union Talk about backwoods And this has to start in the minor leagues too The Bisons have exceeded 3 hours for nine innings more than 30 times this season unacceptable The draft: There are all kinds of rules that need re examination Huge sums of money going to international players especially those from places like Cuba continue to be a problem No one has yet to give a good explana tion why a team awash in revenue like the Cardinals is getting a pick next year High bonuses for top draft choices is a major issue as well Small market teams espe cially are going to want plenty of draft revisions in the next labor deal Tickets: Attendance is stale or down in several places and is a serious problem in cities like Tampa Bay and Cleveland The New York market has been ruined as a baseball town by its bloated palaces that even the rich go to very much One of the reasons baseball was attractive was that you could go every day and not break the bank Prices make season tickets a dream these days and too many fans are resisting being relegated to the upper deck At a high demand place like Wrigley ield or enway Park paying $30 and up just to sit in the bleachers and pushing $100 for a decent box seat The game needs to reach out more to families at the major league level than it does There Major League Baseball executive Rob Manfred has been elected to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner MU $4 'A Gcttylmages 1980s thoughts Manfred is the right guy but he keep the status quo either What are some of biggest chal lenges going forward? Pace of play: Many owners know this is becoming a huge problem And instant replay is not the reason Remember we really see manag ers stomping around having tantrums for five minutes anymore They just tell the umpires challenging a call and they leave the field things like mound conferences batters stepping out pitchers stepping off and commercials between innings causing so much trouble And my biggest personal annoy ance: walkup music Now guys wait for their name listen to a few bars of their music or maybe more than a few and only then do they approach the plate ridicu lous Put a pitch clock on hurlers and tell umpires to order guys into the box or call a strike And stop with the pea sized strike zones Call strikes The average game cannot be pushing 3 hours 10 minutes like it is now are plenty of fun promotions at big league parks but the two reasons the minors have grown exponentially the last 25 years or so is new facilities and affordability Television: All the national contracts are signed through 2021 but the ratings decline has to stop The length of games especially in the postseason pushes too many contests toward the midnight hour and beyond Baseball has to start its postseason games earlier forget this 8 8:30 local time garbage and keep them moving Local television is a huge issue for Manfred to deal with as well with the Dodgers and Astros embroiled in disputes with cable providers the Orioles and Nationals battling over a Maryland regional network and fans across the nation still upset by archaic blackout laws on the Extra Innings and MLBTV packages Engage younger audience: Pace of play is a big factor but baseball has to keep pushing into areas like video games and mobile devices like it has It must elevate its stars LeBron James has only played in Cleveland and Miami two markets baseball barely sniffs at You have to be in New York to be marketable Enough of OX jamming Yankees Red Sox down throats 10 years after the rivalry halcyon days we need to see more of Mike Trout Andrew McCutchen and elix Hernandez A Rod: going to be baaaaack next season Good luck with that one But keep pushing the drug program both in enforcement and technologi cal advancement to stay ahead of the cheats High on Heim ormer Amherst High School catcher Jonah Heim has struggled to keep a batting average above 200 this season for the Baltimore Gulf Coast League team in lorida but two names pretty familiar in Buffalo have a stem message to him and his followers back home: worry about it Orioles farm director Brian Graham the former Bisons manager and Baltimore hitting instructor Herd legend JeffManto were in town last week for induction into the International League Hall of ame and said more than pleased with the development of the 19 year old taken in the fourth round oflast draft Heim entered the weekend on a seven game hit streak that had pushed his average to 244 He has no home runs and five RBIs in 26 games for the short season team have to love the body you have to love the arm and you have to love the said Graham who compared the 6 foot 3 Heim to former big league catcher and Bisons manager Joel Skinner character smart kid feel for the game The swing will come He just needs experience a catcher athletic You obsess about numbers in this case and made that perfectly clear to him This is a development process that will take Manto said the Orioles knew Heim would need plenty of work because Northeast weather prevents loads of at bats during high school seasons he worked with did a great job with him because this kid is the real Manto said not saying that because in Buffalo I would say that if I was sitting in Wausau Wise The kid is the real deal Strength arm is off the charts and going to be able to hit is definitely on our radar We know where he is at all times one of these guys we will push a guy who needs to get his at bats in because going to be something Herd grapevine Daniel 13 strikeout effort riday at Lehigh Valley was one shy of the modern era record of 14 set by Marcus Moore in 1997 at Louisville and made him the first Bisons pitcher with back to back outings of 10 or more whiffs He also is just the third Bison with multiple 10 outings for an entire season joining Dillon Gee (2010) and Matt Harvey (2012) Morris is just the fourth Bison with at least 12 in a game joining Moore and 12 men Mike York (1990) and Albie Lopez (1996) It looks like get two starts on the final homestand either Wednesday and Aug 25 or Thursday and the Aug 26 an Appreciation Night 3 2 loss to Norfolk a three run collapse in the ninth inning with the last two runs scoring on two out wild pitches was easily one of the most grievous in Coca Cola 27 seasons There is no excuse on any level none for former MLB All Star Steve Delabar and catcher Sean Ochiriko to fail to execute a simple intentional walk pitch sailed away allowing the tying run to score 1 Manager Gary AMenson said the same thing happened to him at Double A New Hampshire last season allowing a winning run to score It also happened downtown for the Bisons in a 7 6 win over Iowa on Aug 14 1989 as infielder Kevin Burdick scooted home when the I Cubs failed to execute the play With Asdrubal Cabrera getting traded and rank Herrmann getting released pitcher Josh Tomlin is the last former Bison in the Cleveland chain He threw one game here in 2008 the last season in Buffalo email: mharringtonbuffnewscom Major League leaders Th rough idaifs games 253 3601014 11 18 83 8 14 70 6 12 9 31 39 167 13 8 8 4 4 5 12 9 43 276 372 IO 141 112 46 5 9 450 2 6 17 10 6 9 8 9 6 9 13 11 8 9 134 126 39 147 149 31 135 121 48 152 166 39 129 144 40 137 133 4 1 130 126 56 124 131 46 159 171 55 126 134 47 129 157 32 12 14 27 14 16 19 13 9 8 8 461 6 463 13 46 1 10 486 19 20 11 14 12 8 9 14 6 334 396 306 307 314 328 139 123 12 149 124 33 281 291 42 30 41 38 3 4 Seattle Oakland Tampa Bay 416 370 33 32 26 19 244 248 270 130 91 24 179 153 38 129 111 19 165 146 37 167 119 50 92 109 169 146 46 144 133 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BHamiltonCin 438 60 116 6 43265 7 333 SMartePit 353 49 93 6 39263 8 345 Mercer Pit 384 45 101 7 41 263 5 353 HollidayStL 431 62 113 12 59262 7 360 JhPeraltaStL 416 44 109 16 52 262 Power Rankings like Harrington ranis all BO A I LB tea nut (Through Thursday games most recent in parentheses) 1 Oakland Athletics Lowrie DL trip results in another callup for Brockport native Parrino (1) 0 Los Angeles Angels Clear da path to hosting AL Wild Card Game if they catch (2) 3 Baltimore Orioles On the verge of turning East into stunning runaway (5) a Los Angeles Dodgers Latest set of Puig acrobatics in outfield robs reeman (3) 5 Washington Nationals Incredible run at Citi ield: 25 4 including 11 straight (7) 6 Kansas City Royals The end of longest playoff drought could be near (15) 7 Milwaukee Brewers iers just 8th pitcher in history with 14 Ks in six innings or less (6) 8DetroitTigers Price likely to return to Trop mound on Thursday (4) 9 Seattle Mariners Jumped into thick of playoff race with sweep of Jays (13) WSt Louis Cardinals Ex Bison Peralta ties franchise mark for homers by a shortstop (10) Pittsburgh Pirates Hang ing in race even without McCutchen (12) San rancisco Giants 1 Only above 500 team to enter weekend with losing record at home (9) Toronto Blue Jays Encar no doubt grand slam one of highlights of season in Coca Cola ield (8) I A New York Yankees LZT Looking like October less farewell season for Jeter (14) Atlanta Braves Just trying to stay above 500 as Nats pull away (11) i 7g Cincinnati Reds IO rehab stint in Louisville is first trip to minors since leaving Buffalo in (16) Cleveland Indians Ex Griff 4 Axford put on waivers claimed by Pirates (17) Miami Marlins Might finish second in NL East Who had that in March? (18) Tampa Bay Rays Those 1 were hideous faux 80s throwbacks they pulled out at Wrigley (19) Chicago WhiteSox In non Jeter retirement news Konerko down to final 25 home games in Windy City (20) San Diego Padres Rang dj 1 Preller takes over in GM office (23) (A (A New YorkMels dd message to Harvey: Back off not pitching this year (21) 0 BostonRedSoxMega class for team Hall of ame: Rocket Nomar Pedro (25) Minnesota Twins With12 wins and ERA under 400 clear Hughes needed change of scenery to escape the Bronx (22) 2 PhiladelphiaPhillies At v) this point Phillyfan more interested in Davis (24) ArizonaDiamondbacks Have stunk all season (26) 0 Chicago Cubs Similar stench much better future full of prospects (27) Houston Astros Wentjust 3 7 after damaging hopes with three straight wins (29) 0Q Colorado Rockies CarGo joins Tulo on season ending surgery roll call (28) QA Texas Rangers tiJ V7 Darvish joins the DL party (30) 13 15 18 20 24 26 28.