MLB Opinion: Shortening the MLB schedule could also solve the DH debate

There’s a very clear solution in this debate

In recent weeks, the discussion of the DH has had its revival following a few pitchers getting injured, specifically

‘s

comments about pitcher’s at the plate

. So it of course lit a fire within the hearts of fans, for and against he DH becoming commonplace. Our Michael Settepani even threw in his take of what

it would mean to the Cubs

. Now the talk of shortening the schedule has come into play, and I think the cure-all for both of these is very simple.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups

Eliminate interleague play. Keep the DH rules as they are.

For what it’s worth, I am anti-DH. I’m a fan of the National League game. I don’t care necessarily about the lack of offense. There was a big push about that in the 90’s. They got their offense. They also got the streroid era, tainted records, and drug testing programs out the backside. So you can save the more offense” argument.

So the easiest solution would be to shorten the MLB schedule back to 154 games, take out the interleague games, and give the excitement of the World Series back to the fans, when two teams who didn’t play each other all season would meet for the title. Bud Selig was already smart enough to put stakes in the All-Star game by having the winner have homefield advantage in the World Series. This would make that even more important.

In MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s comments, he never tied these two together. He simply said it’s a full-season, and he isn’t sure he even works as hard as a MLB player. I’m reading between the lines of two separate issues and creating what I believe is the ideal solution. But it seems like a logical one to me. If American League pitchers only had to bat for three to four games in a season, does the DH debate exist? No. So let’s make that the case again. Even Adam Wainwright–who is lost for the season after tearing his Achilles while batting–is against the DH in the National League. That should tell you something.

As a Cubs fan, there would be some benefits to having it–and it’s strictly a personnel matter. A player like Dan Vogelbach, who is limited in the positions he can play (blocked by some guy named Anthony Rizzo), but has the capability to be a good hitter could be the poster child for the DH. But that’s not enough to slightly sway me that it’s the way to go. It’s a rare instance for a team to have so much talent they don’t have room for all their prospects at the big league level.

Manfred seems to be attacking a lot of issues that Selig was either afraid of or just didn’t want to delve into. Whichever was the case having Manfred being willing to at least examine these issues is refreshing. Now it’s just a “wait and see” as to what will happen to this great game in the coming years.

Next: Russell sees things come full circle with Cubs