Lsu had a 12 inning scrimmage at Nicholls yesterday. Cabrera wearing #8 by default. Alrighty then. Landon Marceaux, AJ Labas, Cole Henry and Eric Walker should round out the rotation. Each pitched an inning. Lsu won 14-3. In other news Gerrit Cole was seen being fitted for an Angels jersey. Bumgarner I'm looking at you.
Umpires agree to MLB's test plans for automated strike zone https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id...es-agree-mlb-test-plans-automated-strike-zone NEW YORK -- "Computer plate umpires could be called up to the major leagues at some point during the next five seasons. Umpires agreed to cooperate with Major League Baseball in the development and testing of an automated ball-strike system as part of a five-year labor contract announced Saturday, two people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The Major League Baseball Umpires Association also agreed to cooperate and assist if commissioner Rob Manfred decides to utilize the system at the major league level." ..... The Atlantic League experimented with the computer system during the second half of its season, and the Arizona Fall League of top prospects used it for a few dozen games last year at Salt River Fields. MLB has discussed installing the system at the Class A Florida State League for 2020. If that test goes well, the computer umps could be used at Triple-A in 2021 as bugs are dealt with prior to a big league call-up.
The hilarious umpire Ron Luciano told a story in his first book about how a group approached MLB in the early 70's with a robotic umpire. They tried it out at spring training. First it called every pitch a strike. They fixed that, then it called a strike when the batter tapped the plate with his bat. Then it called every check swing a strike. Then it called a strike when the catcher put his mitt too close to the plate. Finally the inventors came up with a ball that had a microchip in it, which was the only thing that would trigger the machine. But the ball cost $75, and "One more thing. Don't hit the ball, it will break." End of experiment.
