Time

Didn’t MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred say something about speeding up the game?  If he did, you wouldn’t know it from the postseason.  The shortest of the eight games so far has been 3:02 and the longest an agonizing 5:08.  There’s only so much John Smoltz and Ron Darling a fan can take.

Think about it.  Trevor Bauer of the Indians had a no-hitter going against the Yankees through one out in the sixth; Steven Strasburg of the Nationals did Bauer one better, no-hitting the Cubs until two out in the sixth.  The Cubs-Nats contest featured all of seven hits, and still it took 3:02 to complete.  The Indians-Yankees game had one more hit and went 24 minutes longer. 

Mark Twain is credited with saying that no—or few—sinner is saved after the first twenty minutes of a sermon.  How many new baseball fans does Commissioner Manfred think he’s going to get with 8-2 games that range between 3:26 and 4:00 (the Astros over the Red Sox, twice) on into November?