Playing nine innings while wondering what Tim Wakefield’s spin rate looked like …
1. Leave it to Major League Baseball to overcorrect a quasi-scandal, one in which the league was undeniably complicit.
Oh, sure, MLB had to do something about pitchers’ prevalent use of Spider Tack and other sticky science-fair concoctions, which allowed even modestly accomplished pitchers to suddenly spin the baseball so it breaks and darts like a 97 mile-per-hour Wiffle Ball. And some of the new guidelines, announced Tuesday and going into effect on June 21, do make plenty of sense: All pitchers will be checked for foreign substances at least once during an appearance, and violators will be suspended 10 games with pay for a first offense.