[OutsiderFan]

Any umpire worried about an electronic strike zone will be grateful for the reduction in work load after all these new rules in place for pitchers and batters.  

How many games into the new season are we gonna see the first manager's challenge of an infielder not having bot feet on the dirt at start of pitch? My read on it is the infielders must have both feet on the dirt (and at least two on either side of 2nd base) until the ball leaves the pitcher's hand.

To be complete, you would need a camera trained on each infielder and a high speed camera to see when the ball leaves pitcher's hand, synced with video of where the infielder's feet are when ball leaves pitcher's hand. The closest thing I can think to this review is offsides in hockey, when views of both the puck, blue line, and skates of a player have to be coordinated into one view. 

So yes, the pitch clock can certainly speed things up, but more reviews can give away all the gains.

One thing seems clear. Stolen base numbers are going to go way up. The distance between basses will reduce by half a foot, so it won't be 90 feet, but 89.5 feet, and limiting the number of throw to first (or second or third) will allow base runners to creep off the bag more. It's gonna be quite the game of chicken between base runners and pitchers. There have already been two throws to first. The pitcher knows the runner knows he can't throw to first again, so he can take a bigger lead. Does the pitcher throw caution to the wind and throw to first again thinking he can get the runner, or does he not want the risk of the runner getting back and adding a ball to the count on the guy at the plate?

Certainly will make a runner on first into a lot bigger deal than it ever has been before. And with shifts outlawed, we'll probably see a lot more hit and run than we've seen in a long time. The HR will still be coveted, but the premium will be on speed after these rules are implemented. You need faster runner on the bases to take advantage of the incentive, and your defenders are gonna have to cover more ground faster to make up for the loss of shift-enabled coverage. Not to mention it will be even more important to keep guys off base than ever given how there will be more faster players on them and you won't need HRs to score.

[OutsiderFan]

Any umpire worried about an electronic strike zone will be grateful for the reduction in work load after all these new rules in place for pitchers and batters.  

How many games into the new season are we gonna see the first manager's challenge of an infielder not having bot feet on the dirt at start of pitch? My read on it is the infielders must have both feet on the dirt (and at least two on either side of 2nd base) until the ball leaves the pitcher's hand.

To be complete, you would need a camera trained on each infielder and a high speed camera to see when the ball leaves pitcher's hand, synced with video of where the infielder's feet are when ball leaves pitcher's hand. The closest thing I can think to this review is offsides in hockey, when views of both the puck, blue line, and skates of a player have to be coordinated into one view. 

So yes, the pitch clock can certainly speed things up, but more reviews can give away all the gains.

One thing seems clear. Stolen base numbers are going to go way up. The distance between basses will reduce by half a foot, so it won't be 90 feet, but 89.5 feet, and limiting the number of throw to first (or second or third) will allow base runners to creep off the bag more. It's gonna be quite the game of chicken between base runners and pitchers. There have already been two throws to first. The pitcher knows the runner knows he can't throw to first again, so he can take a bigger lead. Does the pitcher throw caution to the wind and throw to first again thinking he can get the runner, or does he not want the risk of the runner getting back and adding a ball to the count on the guy at the plate?

Certainly will make a runner on first into a lot bigger deal than it ever has been before. And with shifts outlawed, we'll probably see a lot more hit and run than we've seen in a long time. The HR will still be coveted, but the premium will be on speed after these rules are implemented. You need faster runner on the bases to take advantage of the incentive, and your defenders are gonna have to cover more ground faster to make up for the loss of shift-enabled coverage. Not to mention it will be even more important to keep guys off base than ever given how there will be more faster players on them and you won't need HRs to score.