Matt Strahm has some strong opinions
There are plenty of pieces of these new rules and regulations that don't make any sense to Matt Strahm. But an issue he has identified as one of the most obvious has nothing to do with throwing a baseball or swinging a bat.
Some teams - the Brewers, Rangers and Diamondbacks, for starters - have decided to alter their policy of halting beer sales following the seventh inning and now will serve through the eighth.
The heart of the alteration is obviously games that have been on an average about 30 minutes shorter than last season due to new pace of play initiatives.
Appearing on the 'Baseball Isn't Boring' podcast, the Phillies pitcher made it very clear such an alteration is that exact opposite of what should be taking place.
"The reason we stopped hitting the seventh before was to give our fans time to sober up and drive home safe, correct? So now with a faster pace game, and me just being a man of common sense, if the game is going to finish quicker, would we not move the beer sales back to the sixth inning to give our fans time to sober up," he explained. "Instead, we're going to the eighth, and now you're putting our fans and our family at risk driving home with people who have just drank beers 22 minutes ago."
Strahm continued, "I'm not surprised. When you mess with billionaires' dollars, to find a way to make their dollars back. My thing is, when you're looking at the safety of your fans, that's probably not the smartest decision to extend it into the eighth. And, again, just being a common sense thinker, I think as a fan of the game, and just looking out for people, it would make more sense he stopped the sales in the sixth."
(Strahm's take on the beer sales can be found at the 19:40 mark of the following audio file.)
Both the teams implementing the new policy and those clubs having not yet changed their approach seem to be adjusting to the new world of baseball on the fly.
A statement sent by the Red Sox (who have not changed their beer sales approach as of yet), for instance, read: "We are still evaluating the impact of new pace of play rules on all elements of the fan experience, including concession operation, and are still looking to become better educated and pursue adjustments if deemed appropriate."
"I mean, no one ever wants to admit they're wrong, which I think is a problem itself for our society," Strahm said regarding both adjustments (and lack thereof) made by both Major League Baseball and its teams this season. But, you know, it's, again, it is what it is we have to deal with what we're given, but just using common sense. We stopped it in the seven first safety of fans and people getting home. Like it just it makes no sense to me that you're gonna allow it to the eighth inning."