Maybe that’s why MLB seems to be finally serious about trimming the ever-expending game times. Earlier this week, the league announced six proposed rule changes to speed up the games pace. The experimental regulations will be tested out during the Arizona Fall League. Here are the six proposal, via a MLB press release:

1. Batter’s Box Rule: “The batter shall keep at least one foot in the batter’s box throughout his at-bat, unless one of a series of established exceptions occurs, in which case the batter may leave the batter’s box but not the dirt area surrounding home plate.”

2. No-Pitch Intentional Walks: “In the event a team decides to intentionally walk a batter, no pitches shall be thrown. Instead, the manager shall signal to the home plate umpire with four fingers, and the batter should proceed to first base to become a runner.”

3. 20-Second Rule: (To be used only at AFL games played at Salt River Fields) “A modified version of Rule 8.04, which discourages unnecessary delays by the pitcher, shall apply. Rule 8.04 requires the pitcher to deliver the ball to the batter within 12 seconds after he receives the ball with the bases unoccupied. The penalty prescribed by Rule 8.04 for a pitcher’s violation of the Rule is that the umpire shall call ‘Ball.’

“In the AFL games at Salt River, a clock will be displayed in both dugouts, behind home plate, and in the outfield. The clock will be operated by an independent operator, who is not a member of the umpire crew. A pitcher shall be allowed 20 seconds to throw each pitch…. The clock will stop only when the pitcher begins his motion to deliver the ball (and not ‘when the pitcher releases the ball’ as prescribed in Rule 8.04). Beginning the motion of coming to the set position shall be sufficient to stop the clock. If the pitcher maintains possession of the ball without beginning his pitching motion for more than 20 seconds, the Umpire shall call ‘Ball.’”

4. 2:05 Inning Break Clock: “There shall be a maximum 2:05 break between innings. Hitters must enter the batter’s box by the 1:45 mark. When batters violate this rule, the Umpire may call an automatic strike. When batters are set by the appropriate time and pitchers fail to throw a pitch before the conclusion of the 2:05 period, the Umpire shall call a ball.”

5. 2:30 Pitching Change Break Clock: “There shall be a maximum 2:30 break for pitching changes, including pitching changes that occur during an inning break. The first pitch must be thrown before the conclusion of the 2:30 period or the umpire shall call a ball. The clock shall start when the new pitcher enters the playing field (i.e., crosses the warning track, or foul line).”

6. Three “Time Out” Limit: “Each team shall be permitted only three ‘Time Out’ conferences per game (including extra innings). Such conferences shall include player conferences with the pitcher (including the catcher), manager or coach conferences with the pitcher, and coach conferences with a batter. Conferences during pitching changes, and time outs called as a result of an injury or other emergency, shall not be counted towards this limit. A manager, coach or player will not be permitted to call a fourth time out in violation of this Rule. In such cases, the game will continue uninterrupted, and offenders may be subject to discipline.”

As you can see, the most radical change is the elimination of the intentional walk. It will also be the most controversial, as once in a blue moon a pitcher doesn’t through one of the initial balls wide enough and the hitter takes a swing at it.

Some would argue you should keep intentional walk they way it is just for that comedy. What do you think?

There is a good chance the Guerrero MLB family will get a little bigger in the future. Vladimir’s son, 15-year old Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is considered a better prospect than his dad was at that age.

As you can see from the video below, taken from a workout in the Dominican Republic, the 6-foot 2 inch 220 pound youngster is anything but light-hitting.

Notice the lack of batting gloves.  Dad would be proud. Junior is also using a wooden bat, which makes those home runs he’s hitting all the more sweet. The video is reminding a lot of folks of footage of Bryce Harper at that age, however Harper was using an aluminum bat back when he was hitting his eye-opening bombs.

Scouts are predicting that Vlad The Second could be in the big leagues before his 20th birthday, like Harper was. In the video, he is being watched by scouts from the Yankees, Blue Jays and Angels.

Guerrero Jr. is eligible to sign with a MLB team next summer. Maybe one day the Guerrero’s will challenge Bobby and Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. and Sr. for the best father-son combo of all-time.

Kershaw, who has a 16-3 record and 1.73 ERA with 194 strikeouts despite missing the first month of the season with an injury, is so far ahead of the field the online gambling destination decided it’s best not to take any Kershaw bets at all — even at something ridiculous like 1/100.

Kershaw, who also leads all players with 7.0 bWAR,  still had competition for the Cy Young as recently as a month ago. But longshots Johnny Cueto and Adam Wainwright have fallen off a bit over the past month, while Kershaw just keeps pitching better.

In fact, the biggest challenge to Kershaw for the Cy Young at this point is probably  the red-hot Cole Hamels. But Hamels’ paltry eight wins and the sorry state of the Phillies make the chances of Hamels edging out Kersahw so remote that, well, you can no longer even put money on Kershaw winning the award.

You can, however, bet on Kershaw to win the National League MVP. He’s 2/3 with Giancarlo Stanton at 6/5 and Andrew McCutchen at 10/1. (BTW, we think we are going to put some money down on McCutchen.)

Over the American League, Felix Hernandez is 3/2 to win the Cy Young and Mike Trout 1/2 for the MVP.

Speaking of Trout, we’re starting to think the Angels center fielder’s amazing early career pace is beginning to obscure Kershaw’s greatness. The other young superstar of LA is now in his seventh season, although he’s only 26, and sports the second highest ERA+ among starting pitchers in Major League history, trailing only Pedro Martinez.

ERA+ takes into a account era and park factors, so it neutralizes any advantage Kershaw might have pitching in the cavernous Chavez Ravine, and in an era of rapidly declining offense. The Claw is already among the greatest to ever pitch, and his Vegas-stamped-as-inevitable third Cy Young will just help cement that point home.

In front of the midnight August 31 cutoff for postseason rosters, the Oakland A’s acquired slugger Adam Dunn from the White Sox in exchange for minor league pitcher Nolan Sanburn. Dunn, who leads all active players in games without a postseason appearance, had cleared waivers and also waived his limited no-trade clause to go Oakland. The 34-year old will be a free agent this offseason, and the White Sox will pay about half of the $2.5 million owed to Dunn for the rest of this year.

According to Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated, the Giants were also in the mix for Dunn.

Dunn has 460 career home runs, fourth among active players and 36th all -ime. He’s gone deep 20 times this year, and his .777 OPS in 2014 places him 17 percent better than the average AL position player.  That jumps to .808 against righties, and given the A’s propensity for platoons, Dunn should rarely see a lefty in Oakland.

The A’s have fallen behind the Angels in the AL West in large part because of an offense that has struggled since the team dealt Yoenis Cespedes to the Boston Red Sox. Billy Beane and company, who have already acquired Jeff Samardzija, Jason Hammel, Sam Fuld, Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes in other deals this summers, hope Dunn can fill Cespedes’s void against right handers and get their lineup — which has been shut out be the Angels two days in a row — back on track.

At 6’6 285 Dunn is arguably the biggest player in baseball.  Jonathan Broxton is also in that argument at 6’4 315. The relief pitcher was moved today, too, from the Reds to the Brewers for two minor league players to be named later.

Broxton, a two-time all-star, has been enjoying one of the better seasons of his career results-wise. The 30-year old sports a 1.86 ERA and 1.014 WHIP and was effective in the closer role when he filled in for the injured Aroldis Chapman during the first month of the season.

He’ll also make $9 million next year, with a mutual option for that amount for 2016. With the Reds out of contention, they decided that was too much money to pay for a setup man, effective as he’s been.  There are also red flags in his peripherals; his k rate per nine innings is a career low 6.9, and his FIP is only 3.52.

The Brewers, whose lead in the AL Central has shrunk to a season-low one game, hope Broxton’s good fortune will continue. They are set at closer with Francisco Rodriguez, but have lost both Tyler Thornburg and Jim Henderson for the year with injuries and Broxton will add much-needed depth to Milwaukee’s bullpen.

The Orioles, who have an eight game lead in the AL East, have also been busy over the past 24 hours. The Birds acquired the oft-traveled infielder Kelly Johnson from the Red Sox for Jemile Weeks and Ivan De Jesus. The also received outfielder Alejandro De Aza from the White Sox for a pair of minor leaguers.

It was actually his second dinger in a row, if you count his final AB for the Cubs Iowa triple-A club. Chicago signed Soler to a nine-year $30 million deal back in 2012, so they hope this will be a taste of things to come.

Howeve,r when one scans the list of those who went yard in their first AB it becomes a apparent that such a distinction is no guarantee of future success. In fact for 23 of the 116 to accomplish the feat before Soler it was their only MLB long ball.  56 — almost half — were never able to get to double digits for home runs for their career.

Soler, who was ranked among baseball’s top 50 prospects, will almost surely top ten taters when all is said and done. Here is a list of some of the notable major leaguers who also started their career the best way possible.

Gary Gaetti
The third baseman is the all-time leader in home runs among the first at-bat club with 360. He’s also a two-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and was a key member of the 1987 World Champion Minnesota Twins.

Starlin Castro
Soler doesn’t have to look far to find another player who shares his thrill of making the ultimate MLB introduction. Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro went deep in his first at-bat in 2010. He’s had an up-and-down career since, but is still young enough to reach his almost limitless potential.

Earl Averill
Averill was a 27-year old rookie for the Cleveland Indians when he accomplished the feat in 1929. He was then able to pack enough punch in his 13-year career to make the Hall of Fame via the Veterans Committee.

Hoyt Wilhelm
Not only was his first AB dinger his only home run, but Wilhelm batted a dismal .088 during his 21-year career. Of course Wilhelm was known for his knuckleball, which landed him in the Hall of Fame.

Carlos Lee
With 358 taters, the three-time all-star almost topped Gaetti for most home runs for a player who homered in his first at-bat. Lee hasn’t played since 2012, but is still just 38. Maybe he can come back and claim the crown.

Jermaine Dye
At one point, Dye looked like he’d be a sure bet to beat Gaetti’s mark. The left fielder hit his 325th home run in 2009, a season in which he had 27 long balls. He was only 35 at the time, but — inexplicably — never played another game after that, freezing his total at 325.

Will Clark
While the six-time All-Star was best known for his liners into the gaps, he was a pretty good power hitter at the beginning his career, which had started with a home run.

Jurickson Profar
Profar, an even bigger prospect than Soler, justified his status in his first at bat in 2012. It’s been a struggle since then for the Rangers infielder.

Starling Marte
Another prospect who entered the league with a bang in 2012, Marte has been quite good since then. Although he’s not that much of a power hitter.

Kevin Kouzmanoff and Daniel Nava
The modern duo are the only two players in MLB history to hit a grand slam on the first pitch they saw. Can’t do any better than that.

Mark Worrell
The most unlikely member of the club, relief pitcher Worrell gave up 13 earned runs during his 7.2 inning big league career. He somehow also accumulated two at-bats, and hit a round tripper in his first.

Jason Heyward
Although his power numbers are down the last couple years, the Braves 24-year old right fielder is our best bet to top Gaetti’s mark. Although Cubs fans can now start pulling for Soler to beat him to it.

Ken Griffey Jr.
Although he often had a prickly relationship with the media, multiple redditors report Griffey Jr. was a great guy as long as he didn’t see any cameras rolling.

Ken Griffey JR. came into the country club I worked at and had drinks in the bar after he played golf with some people. I didn’t talk much to him but he was a lot nicer than most of the members that go there.” JubilantJake

Joe Girardi
The Yankees manager has been long known as a class act. Eahls remembers a meeting with the then-Yankee player:

Right before the ’96 World Series was set to start, my parents were in a restaurant and saw Joe Girardi come in with his wife. To put it mildly the 8 year old version of me was baseball crazy, and Girardi was by far my favorite player.
They called the babysitter and had her wake me up. I threw on a Yankee shirt and some sweatpants, and headed over with them to the restaurant.
The plan was to wait by the bar and ask him for an autograph when he was ready to leave. I’m not sure what tipped him off – whether it was a little kid sitting by the bar in a Yankee shirt and sweatpants, or the fact that I was probably staring at him – but after a few minutes he smiled and waved me over.
Not only did he sign my t-shirt, but he spent about ten minutes in the middle of his meal talking to me about baseball, the Yankees, and Mike Stanley (the first thing I said to him was that I thought he was better than Mike Stanley – WAR has since proven me wrong).
I still have the shirt framed on my wall, but as time passes what sticks with me was that he took the time to talk to me.

Raul Ibanez
Ibanez is another guy who has a reputation for niceness that was confirmed on reddit. Or, as Smerdykov wrote:

I’ve never heard anything but this about Raul. And I don’t just mean “he’s nice,” I mean, “He is literally the nicest person in the league.”

Ozzie Smith
The Hall of Famer was called out repeatedly by Cardinal fans for acts of kindness. DavidFreeze reports:

My older sister and Niko (ozzies son, of American idol fame) were in the same dance studio. As a young baby Ozzie held me, was super nice to my mom, who I’m sure was annoyingly fan girling, and cheered extremely loudly for my sister, who was the youngest girl in the studio. My mom and sister swear he is the nicest man they’ve ever met.

John Franco
Not only is the bullpen legend a nice guy, but he’s willing to endure boy bands for the sake of his children. According to Neckwrecker:

My sisters met John Franco at an N*SYNC concert. He was there with his daughters. He was a really nice guy and bought everyone souvenirs.

Roger Clemens
The seven-time Cy Young winner always seemed a bit gruff, but apparently he was a Teddy Bear when it came to his young fans.

I had a great experience with Roger Clemens as a kid. Me and my brother saw him before the game and he came over, lifted both of us onto the rail and told my mom exactly where to stand for the best picture. And he stuck around to talk to us too.

Johan Santana
Not only is the two-time Cy Young winner a good guy, but he shops at Ikea like the rest of us.

I met Johan Santana at the Ikea in Bloomington the day after he pitched against the Yankees in the 04 playoffs eliminating game. I was ten and I was with my mom, who went up to him and his wife and asked if I could talk to him. He said of course and so I spoke to him for like five minutes about baseball and the team that I was playing on at the time. I wasn’t expecting to see an MLB player at IKEA so the only thing I had to get autographed was our IKEA shopping list which he signed in pencil lol. Great guy. minneapolisboy

The redditors also dished on those they had unpleasant experiences with, and it should be no surprise Alex Rodriguez, AJ Pierzynski and Josh Beckett got a thumbs down for their churlish behavior.

There was also a great anecdote about the famously disagreeable Kirk Gibson trying to fight an entire hockey team of naked 14-year old boys because one of them had slammed a locker room door into him by mistake, and another about Wade Boggs being drunk and flubbing a speech. Because you can’t really have any discussion of the personality of baseball players without somebody confirming the legendary drunkenness of Wade Boggs.

Back then Colon was an out-of-the-Major-Leagues 37-year old. He had had a nice career — including a Cy Young — but it was clearly over. In one of baseball’s oddest comeback tales (complete with a suspension for PEDs) Colon has been 48-35 with a 3.44 ERA for three teams between 2011-2014.

Although he hasn’t really been that terrific this year. In 2014, a 3.82 ERA when you call Citi Field home is below average. However, he’s still a horse who takes the ball every five days, throws strikes, and generally gives the team a chance to win. For that reason, the Dodgers, Angels and Royals are said to be pursuing the 41-year old, who has cleared waivers.

Colon has a couple million left on his contractt his season and will then make $11 million next year when he is 42. For that reason, that Mets can’t expect much for him in return.

At the same time, it would be unlikely New York just dumps Colon.

The Angels have the biggest need for Colon, after losing Tyler Skaggs and Garrett Richards for the season this month. Their farm system is famously bereft of prospects, but they should still be able to put together they kind of package that allows the Mets to save face in a deal.

The downside to LA would be the $11 million they owe Colon in 2015. This is already a team that is shelling out $49 million next year to the rapidly decaying duo of Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols.

But they are also in a tight battle with one of Colon’s old teams, the A’s, for the AL West. The winner likely gets home field for the entire post-season while the loser has to test their luck in the Wild Card play-in game. That’s a big enough difference to pay up in 2015.

The team most likely to block the Angels by offering more for Colon is the other LA team. Even more so if the Dodgers hadn’t loaded up on pitching — Roberto Hernandez and Kevin Correia — earlier in the month. They’be also had their injuries, but with Hyun-jin Ryu looking like he may return soon, they may not have an immediate need for another starter.

There has also been talk of Colon to the Royals. However, we’re not seeing that; KC doesn’t seem like the kind of franchise to take on $11 million worth of obese 42-year old in 2015.

Then there is the reality that any of the these teams could have claimed Colon and didn’t, perhaps fearful the Mets would dump all of his salary on them. This suggests they would only do a deal if salary relief is including.

So don’t be too shocked if August 31 comes and goes and Bartolo is still in Queens.

The first example of Puig’s coordination comes form the fifth inning of last night’s Dodgers match up with their SoCal rival Padres. In the fifth inning San Diego third baseman Yangervis Solarte sends a hard hit groundball into the right-center gap off of Keven Correia. Puig, who is playing center, cuts in front of Matt Kemp to field the ball. The 23-year old over runs the play a bit, but than casually fields the ball between his legs and fires it to second, holding the Solarte to a single.

You’re not impressed, you say. Just an example of a baseball player making a slight blunder and than recovering from it with the requisite athletic ability required to make one a highly paid athlete. Well, get a load of this, which happened in the dugout of the same game.

Puig has defeated the helmet, and the poor helmet didn’t even know they were playing. Also note the casual way he responds to his amazing reflexes. You’re not fooling us, Yasiel, we know you are smiling on the inside and possibly singing some sort of celebratory song in Spanish.

Now it’s up to the other National League MVP candidates like Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen and Jonathan Lucroy to offer up a display of their extra-human senses. In 2014,  GIFs are at least as important as RBIs.

The 17-city show has been hitting minor league parks around the country, and it gives contestants the chance to square off against the 50-year old former MVP in both baseball and softball home run hitting events.

The former bash brother was at Fresno’s Chukchansi Park, home of the Giants Triple-A affliate Fresno Grizzlies on Tuesday. He defeated all three challengers in the baseball hitting contest, but did fall to one of the three beerleaguers in the softball slugging part of the exhibition.

“For 50 years old, I still have pretty good hand speed,” he told the Fresno Bee afterward. “It keeps you young and as long as you can stay active, go out there and have a great time.” According to Canseco, the furthest he’s hit a baseball in the tour is “around 500 feet.”

Canseco also still has his sense of humor, judging from this photo taken during the event.

The sign is a riff off of the fun Mets fans were having with Hunter Pence a couple weeks back. The original signs, displayed in the right field bleachers of Citi Field when the Giants were in town, had barbs like “Hunter Pence puts ketchup on his hot dog” and “Hunter Pence can’t parallel park.”

It’s true, Canseco hasn’t always been the easiest guy to cheer for. But he know how to laugh at himself and  he’s always a blast on Twitter.

In the Dodgers game against Atlanta last night, Puig popped up the first pitch he saw from Mike Minor in the third inning. Matt Kemp was waiting on deck, and when Puig flipped his bat in anger he almost struck his teammate.

Despite Puig tough at-bat (and Kemp’s fancy footwork) the Dodgers won the game 4-2, behind the pitching of the suddenly rejuvenated Dan Haren.

We don’t like to rumormonger here, so we’re just going to chalk the incident to Kemp being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now if it was Andre Ethier — who’s been the odd man out in the Dodgers crowded outfield — flipping his bat at Puig, Kemp or Carl Crawford … then we might have something to talk about.