Any attempt to speed the snail’s pace of baseball has been met with:
1. Stiff resistance from traditionalists who were around when Abner Doubleday first swung a bat.
OK, so the leisurely pace of the game is too slow for you young whippersnappers. Tun along and let your elders enjoy the Great American Pastime.
2. Data crunching to help managers and coaches. They make better decisions but slow the game even more.
OK, the visiting team is bringing in Fast Ball Freddie. Lets see how he does against left-handed hitters and how did he do against us the last time we played.
No manager could recall that kind of data even if he had memorized it.
That’s why we have computers. They may not be smarter but their memory and recall are spectacular.
Jason Gay reported in the Wall Street Journal the other day that two academics offer a rule change to make baseball more exciting  and cut 24 minutes from a 9-inning game. 
For traditionalists rocking in front of a TV night game, you can toddle off to bed a half hour earlier.
They call it the Catch-Up Rule. I call it the 2-Out Rule.
By either name, the rule works like this.
• Before any runs are scored, the game is played exactly as it is now. Both sides get 3 outs an inning.
• When one team gets ahead by even a run, the rule changes.’The team that’s ahead gets only 2 outs an inning. The team behind keeps its 3 outs.
If that team gets ahead, the rule shifts in favor of the other team that’s behind.
 It’s that simple.
New York University professor Steven Brams and computer scientist Aaron Isaksen calculated what the rule might have done to more than 100,000 games over 50 years.
The average win margin fell from 3.21 runs to 2.15.
That makes the games more competitive. 
Due to fewer outs needed, outs per 9 innings dropped from 52.5 to 45.9. They believe that shaves 24 minutes off a 9-inning game.
They believe the rule will accelerate the game’s pace more than pitch clocks, 7-inning games and other proposals but none have the benefit of making teams more competitive.
It will affect game strategy, too. A team that’s ahead will want to increase its advantage as it’s playing with only two outs. They’ll likely make fewer sacrifice bunts. And in tied games, teams may walk in a runner with the bases loaded and two outs rather than risk a bases-clearing hit.
I’d like to see the SC High School League and the SEC try this out in a few pre-season games next year and put the clock on it.
I’ll bet high school and college fans will go for it.
Tell the Grouch where to go
Chronicle Sports Editor Thomas Grant, Jr., is ready to send the Sports Grouch to cover events. To have him cover yours, write Thomas at chroniclesports@yahoo.com