Instant Replay necessitates further rule changes

Instant Replay is a good idea for Major League Baseball.  It's a major change, however, and it's going to take some time to get used to.  Therefore, I am proposing another rule change.

I am concerned that this drastic a change might be prone to certain problems, even some that can't be foreseen.  I am worried that players, managers, and even the umpires themselves will be be less than fully informed or will have less than full understanding of the Instant Replay process.  Furthermore, I am concerned that the rushed nature with which it has been implemented will result in an idea that is not fully thought out and, again, prone to certain problems.  Surely, there are plenty of kinks that need will need to be worked out.

While Instant Replay is supposed to affect the outcome of games, these problems are bound to affect games negatively rather than the positive way for which it was designed.  And as the season winds down, pennant races are developing, which will lead into the playoffs--and all those games are much too important to be jeopardized.

So I am proposing another rule change--really a schedule change.  I know it's drastic, but I want Major League Baseball to create an entire month's worth of baseball games--games that, and here's the kicker, actually count for anything at all.  This would be a perfect time to experiment this type of a rule change, when the kinks in a radical new system could be worked out without risking negatively affecting a team's season.

Now surely, problems are bound to arise with this schedule change as well.  But I think I've worked out most of the problems.  As I said, this to take up an entire month.  But instead of pushing the playoffs into November, I suggest we start this new "exhibition" schedule a month earlier, in March, leaving the current season unchanged.

But won't it be too cold to play games in March?  I'm glad you asked.  I suggest that we play all these games in warmer climates--namely Florida for East Coast teams and Arizona for West Coast teams.  In fact, many teams already have ballparks in these locations for their minor league teams, and those stadiums would serve as perfect hosts for these exhibition games.

Furthermore, we should allow teams to sort of work out issues on their roster, and to do this, we could allow teams to bring their entire 40-man roster to this early season and perhaps even invite players not currently on the roster to play.

If such an exhibition schedule existed, it would undoubtedly be the perfect setting to introduce new rule changes such as Instant Replay--at the start of a season with time to get used to it when games don't actually count.

I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, it's a can't-miss.

And for one last order of business, I propose that we call this new idea Spring Training.