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A lot of baseball fans are wondering what happened to the sport.John Smoltz believes he knows. And he wants to do something about it.The former Atlanta Braves great will get that chance as a member of the MLB competition committee that is looking into the problems facing the game. By the time spring training comes around next year there could be new rules helping to make baseball great again.Here’s hoping they start with the universally hated shift.“I think the shift is single handedly killing the game because now you’ve got everybody lifting the ball over the shift http://www.philliesfanproshop.com/authentic-greg-luzinski-jersey ,” Smoltz said. “If you were rewarded for hitting the ball and there was no shift you would have more action. You’d have guys not just basically trying to hit the ball over the fence.”In a perfect world — and, of course the game has never been perfect — there would also be limits on pitching changes, the way players are put on the disabled list, and a number of other things.But baseball has always been a slow game to adapt. While other leagues have been proactive in changing rules to stay relevant — especially in the new era of analytics — baseball tends not to change until circumstances finally lead to no other alternative.That means that, at least for now, we have baseball as it is. And it’s not the sport Smoltz played for 21 years, the game that enshrined the pitcher into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2015.“The game has gone to a very slow and stagnant pace,” Smoltz said. “It’s going to become unwatchable and I think that’s when you’re going to see both the commissioner and others in Major League Baseball trying to make changes to get the game back to its exciting form.”Smoltz knows where he’s coming from. He’s not only one of the game’s greatest pitchers — one of only two pitchers to ever have both a 20-game winning season and one with more than 50 saves — he’s also a student of baseball and a broadcaster with both the MLB Network and Fox Sports.That’s why the conversation co-host Jim Litke and I had with him on the PodcastOne Sports Now podcast this week was so enlightening. Smoltz not only understands the problems of the game from the fan’s perspective Mike Schmidt Jersey , but the player’s too.He’s worried fans will desert the game, yes. But he’s also worried about players becoming expendable because of analytics, which he believes will not only cost them money but shorten their careers.Up to now players have largely resisted any changes in the game, secure in the thought they’re getting their share of the cash cow. But that could change, Smoltz says, as they become more aware of what is happening — especially on the pitching side — because of analytics.“It’s hard pressed for me to think that at the end of the day this is not just a cheaper version of baseball,” he said. “You can operate your team paying guys less and utilizing them in their younger years when they’re not making so much. Burn and churn and just keep shuffling the deck in the bullpen. But in the long term it’s not sustainable.”Also not sustainable, Smoltz believes Mitch Williams Jersey , is the blind allegiance to analytics that pervades baseball these days. While information is essential to the game, he said it should never come at the cost of basic baseball wisdom collected over more than a century of playing the game.That allegiance likely cost the Los Angeles Dodgers a World Series last year. And while the Houston Astros also relied heavily on analytics, manager A.J. Hinch used his gut when it mattered most to put the Astros in a position to succeed.Smoltz also noted that the most recent World Series winners were teams that put the ball in play and put pressure on the other team’s defense. Those teams went against the current trend of uppercut swings for the fences and pitchers who throw as hard as they can until they can’t throw any more.“Organizations don’t care (now) if you strike out, they just don’t want you hitting the ball on the ground,” Smoltz said. “All pitchers are trying to throw as hard as they can above the belt. That’s what you’re going to get, swings and misses, strikeouts and homers. Until a team proves me wrong you can’t win the World Series doing that.”You also can’t win fans either, and who can blame them. Hitters are on a pace this year to strike out more than they get hits http://www.philliesfanproshop.com/authentic-dave-cash-jersey , and the average time between balls in play is nearing four minutes.The Cubs exemplified that this week by scoring just one run in five straight games — and each run was a solo home run. In five games the Cubs had 35 hits — and a whopping 46 strikeouts.The game needs to change, and fast. Luckily there are people like Smoltz who know ways to do just that.Hopefully, the rest of baseball is listening. PITTSBURGH (AP) Cole Hamels‘ stuff was just as filthy as Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon remembered. The changeup. The breaking ball. All of it.If the newly acquired veteran pitcher can figure out his fastball too, the NL Central leaders will be that much tougher to hang with heading down the stretch. Hamels shut down the Pittsburgh Pirates over five effective innings in his return to the National League on Wednesday night as the Cubs jumped out early and cruised to a 9-2 victory.Hamels (6-9), brought over in a trade with Texas last week, gave up one unearned run on three hits. The four-time All-Star struck out nine and walked two to pick up his first win for a National League team in more than three years.”You want to be able to win a game for a new team and the guys here,” Hamels said. ”They’ve been playing outstanding baseball all season and you just kind of want to get in the mix. For them to be able to put up the runs early, kind of made my job a little bit easier.”Chicago brought in the 34-year-old Hamels to give its patchwork starting rotation a boost. The left-hander struggled at times for the Rangers this season and came in having won just twice since Memorial Day. His new teammates did their best to put him at ease Steve Carlton Jersey , staking him to a four-run lead before he even took the mound.The Cubs batted around in the first against Nick Kingham (5-6) despite having the ball leave the infield just once. A pair of Pittsburgh errors helped , so did a wild pitch and a hit by pitch by Kingham, who is a leading candidate to lose his spot in the starting rotation after the Pirates traded for Chris Archer on Tuesday.”It was a rough first inning all the way around,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. ”There were some balls not hit hard that were well placed. We didn’t handle the ball well and (Kingham) had a guy caught and didn’t execute a play. His overall execution wasn’t what we’ve seen in the past.”Willson Contreras went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs for the Cubs. Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist had three hits apiece while Kyle Schwarber and Javy Baez each added two hits and an RBI for Chicago. Reliever Brandon Kintzler worked 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief on his 34th birthday a day after arriving in a trade from Washington.The centerpiece of Chicago’s deadline moves, however, was Hamels.Though he never retired Pittsburgh in order and needed 95 pitches to record 15 outs, he had little trouble earning his 153rd career win and first for a National League team since pitching a complete-game shutout against the Cubs on July 25, 2015 while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies.Hamels hit 96 mph on the radar gun and reminded his manager of the player who helped the Phillies to a World Series title in 2008 against Maddon and the Tampa Bay Rays. A decade later http://www.philliesfanproshop.com/authentic-aaron-nola-jersey , Maddon finds himself sharing a dugout with Hamels instead.”I’m really looking forward to this,” Maddon said. ”He’s very capable of getting on a nice role with high-end stuff because his stuff is still (good).”Francisco Cervelli went 3 for 3 with an RBI for Pittsburgh and Starling Marte added two hits but the Pirates never threatened after falling into the early hole to lose for just the fifth time in their last 21 games.SCARY MOMENTHome plate umpire Chris Guccione exited in the top of the third inning after a foul ball off the bat of Heyward smacked Guccione’s mask. He was steadied in the moment by Pittsburgh catcher Cervelli and attempted to stay in the game before going to be evaluated by medical staff. Guccione did not return, with Ed Hickox taking his place behind the plate.TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: 3B Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation) has not been cleared to return to baseball activities but manager Joe Maddon said he does not anticipate Bryant needing much time to be game-ready once he’s given the go-ahead by trainers. … RHP Yu Darvish (right triceps tendinitis) will have another bullpen session on Saturday.Pirates: OF Corey Dickerson (strained left hamstring) is on track to come off the 10-day disabled list on Saturday. … 1B Josh Bell (strained left oblique) is doing core work but remains out indefinitely. .. IF Jung Ho Kang developed a recurrence of left wrist discomfort while working out at the team’s minor-league complex in Bradenton, Florida. The team will meet with Kang’s representatives before determining the appropriate steps.UP NEXTCubs: Return to Wrigley Field for a four-game weekend series against San Diego starting Thursday. Mike Montgomery (3-4, 4.03 ERA) faces Robbie Erlin (1-3, 3.47) in the opener.Pirates: Archer will make his 178th career start – and first for someone other than Tampa Bay – on Friday when the Pirates begin a three-game set with St. Louis.—