Off Topic » Commissioner Rob Manfred says Major League Baseball

Mets manager Terry Collins ranting at umpires.

The profanity-laced video surfaced this week from a Dodgers-Mets game in May 2016 that Fox televised. Collins fumes after ace Noah Syndergaard is ejected in the third inning for throwing a fastball behind Chase Utley. In the 2015 playoffs Trysten Hill Jersey , Utley broke the leg of Mets infielder Ruben Tejada with a late, hard slide.

Umpire crew chief Tom Hallion is heard explaining the ejection to Syndergaard, Neil Walker and other Mets, then he breaks away to head off Collins. For many fans, the loud exchange between Collins and Hallion illuminated what actually gets said during heated disputes.

”We made a commitment to the umpires that if they would wear microphones, certain types of interactions that we all know go on the field would not be aired publicly,” Manfred said Thursday after the owners meetings ended.

”We promised them that. It’s in the collective bargaining agreement. We had no choice in a situation like that then to do everything possible to live up to our agreement. It is Labor Relations 101. To not do that is the kind of breach of trust that puts you in a bad spot over the long haul,” he said.

Manfred said there was conversation this week about how defensive shifts have affected the game. Batting averages are dropping, among other developments, and Manfred said MLB’s Competition Committee wanted to see ”whether it’s time for us to manage these trends a little more aggressively.”

A change that could occur as soon as next season: teams playing a two-game series on the weekend.

Normally, clubs meet for three games over the weekend. But in the case where marquee teams play just twice – say, Nationals-Yankees – those might be held on Saturday and Sunday.

Manfred said baseball was pleased with the pace of play. Games this year were averaging 2 hours, 59 minutes, 49 seconds through Wednesday; last year, they averaged 3:05:11.

Mound visits by catchers, coaches, managers and other teammates for nonpitching changes are down Connor McGovern Jersey , too, from 7.41 last year to an average of 3.92 this season.

Manfred said the owners had a long discussion about the ”sports betting landscape” after Delaware and New Jersey began legal betting on games.

As for the never-ending debate on the designated hitter and whether the National League would ever switch to the DH, Manfred said: ”I think that is a continuing source of conversation among the ownership group and I think that the dialogue actually probably moved a little bit.”

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians are averaging a major league-best 5.9 runs per game at home, and that’s where they will be on Saturday, when they host the Detroit Tigers in the second game of their three-game series.

The Indians have won five games in a row and outscored their opponents 38-6 during the streak.

Cleveland’s offense is led by third baseman Jose Ramirez, who finished third in the MVP voting last season, and is having another monster year. Ramirez is in the top six in the American League in many of the key offensive categories.

Ramirez is third in home runs (22), fifth in on-base percentage (.398), fourth in slugging percentage (.609), sixth in RBIs (50), and fourth in walks (49).

“He wasn’t swinging the bat well in spring training, but once the season started — wow,” said Indians manager Terry Francona. “It’s his power. His consistent contact. He doesn’t strike out. He’s a good baserunner. It’s the whole package. He’s really exciting to watch.”

So is the Indians’ Saturday starter Trevor Bauer (6-5, 2.50 ERA), who had a career year last season, and seems intent on eclipsing it this year.

In his last start, a 6-2 win over the White Sox on Monday Foster Moreau Jersey , Bauer pitched seven scoreless innings on three hits, with eight strikeouts and two walks. That’s the latest in a two-month hot streak for Bauer. In his last seven starts he is 4-2 with a 1.99 ERA, and a .199 opponents’ batting average, while averaging 13 strikeouts per nine innings (72 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings).

Saturday will be Bauer’s fourth start against the Tigers this year. In his first three he is 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA. However, Bauer’s career numbers against Detroit aren’t nearly as impressive: a 7-5 record and 5.95 ERA in 15 appearances, including 14 starts.

Indians pitchers have tossed an American League-high eight shutouts, including their last two games, 12-0 over the White Sox on Wednesday and 10-0 over the Tigers on Friday.

Although they are missing Miguel Cabrera, who is on the disabled list with a ruptured biceps tendon, the rebuilding Tigers are in second place in the AL Central, six games behind the division-leading Indians.

“It seems like they are playing with more energy,” Francona said. “Sometimes when a guy goes down, a team takes the mentality of ‘us against the world.’ You use whatever you can, and they are doing a good job using that.”

The Tigers on Saturday will start left-hander Francisco Liriano (3-2, 3.90 ERA), who will be activated off the disabled list, and will make his first major league start since May 26. The Tigers lost that game 8-4 Greedy Williams Jersey , to the White Sox.

Liriano, who took the loss that day, pitched five innings, allowing five runs on six hits, with eight strikeouts and three walks. Liriano was placed on the disabled list on May 30, with a right hamstring strain.

Saturday will be Liriano’s third start against Cleveland this year. The first two did not go well. In those two starts Liriano went 0-1 with a 6.10 ERA, having given up seven runs on 10 hits, three of them home runs, plus six walks in 10 1/3 innings.

In 22 career appearances (17 starts) against Cleveland, the 34-year-old Liriano is 5-7 with a 4.39 ERA.

The Tigers have struggled against the Indians in recent years. Detroit is 3-8 vs. Cleveland this year, and since June 24, 2015, the Tigers’ record against the Indians is 6-21.