Three dugout-level tells (and fixes) for pitch selection, tempo, and ground-ball plans after the new positioning rules.

The 0-2 pitch that used to be a grounder on purpose

I keep coming back to one pitch that quietly changed meaning: the 0-2 chase pitch designed to get a quick rollover. When teams could overload one side, a pitcher could live with contact on 0-2. He'd bury a slider off the plate, the hitter would reach, and even a medium-speed grounder had a good chance of being fielded clean. With the new restrictions, the same pitch can still get you contact, but the contact is landing in more honest grass. That sounds small until you're the guy on the mound watching a six-pitch inning turn into 18 because two rollover singles happened to find the hole.

The practical result I've seen is pitchers getting weirdly cautious in counts where they used to be aggressive. You can feel it from behind the backstop: a couple fastballs just off the black, a waste pitch that isn't really a waste, and then a reluctant return to the zone when the count is 2-2. That extra hesitation shows up as higher pitch counts, fewer innings, and more stress pitches with runners on.

If you're calling pitches or coaching it, the adjustment isn't "stop throwing chase pitches." It's tightening the plan so the chase pitch has a purpose beyond "maybe he hits it on the ground." A few specifics that have worked for me: (1) pick the contact side you can live with and pair it to the hitter's bat path, not your wish. If a lefty is steep and rolls over, fine, go under the barrel. If he's flat and pulls hard, don't donate an inside sinker just because it used to be your 0-2 special. (2) be honest about your infielders' range. If your second baseman is a good athlete but not a vacuum, you can't pretend a 4-3 is automatic on a 100 mph two-hopper. (3) use the 0-2 to set up the next hitter too. A punchout is great, but a five-pitch strikeout is gold when you're trying to get through the sixth.

None of this is theoretical. I've watched pitchers with a nasty two-seamer start missing arm-side by a ball because they don't trust the "good" miss anymore. The fix is usually a clearer target, earlier in the count, and a catcher who can sell conviction with his body. Quiet glove. Strong setup. And a plan that assumes the ball might get through, so you don't unravel when it does.

Tempo problems: when every at-bat feels like it needs to be perfect

One of the sneakiest performance hits after the positioning rules changed isn't about spin rate or movement. It's tempo. Some pitchers, especially the ones who built a career on "weak contact is my friend," start treating every plate appearance like it's a high-wire act. They get the ball back, they look in twice, they shake, they step off, they walk behind the rubber, and by the time they finally deliver, everybody in the park knows they're trying not to make a mistake.

That shows up on the scoreboard as walks, but you can spot it earlier. The catcher sets a target and then has to reset it because the pitcher is taking so long the hitter is re-tapping the box. The infield starts creeping, then relaxing, then creeping again. Your shortstop is doing that little half-squat for 20 seconds and then straightening up because his legs are burning. When the ball finally gets put in play, the defense is late to the hop because they're not locked in. That's not a character flaw. It's a timing problem you can coach.

Here's the dugout routine I've used that helps without turning into a lecture. Pick one default sequence you can return to when you feel yourself spiraling. Mine is: get the sign on the first look, one breath, toes set, go. If we need to change something, the catcher calls time with purpose, not the pitcher stepping off three times in a row. Between innings, we set a simple goal like: first pitch to three of the first four hitters is in the zone. Not down the middle, just competitive. When that happens, the whole inning speeds up. Fewer deep counts. Fewer long holds. Less standing around thinking about where the second baseman can't stand anymore.

The other piece is training the catcher to manage the moment. A good receiver can edit panic. He'll walk the ball out, say one sentence, and put it back in the glove. He'll block a splitter in the dirt and then immediately flip the new ball back like nothing happened. If you're catching, pay attention to how often you set up early and then drift. Hitters read that. So do pitchers. I like a low, quiet setup and a firm target late, especially with a guy who's started nibbling.

When tempo comes back, stuff often plays up without changing anything in the bullpen. The same four-seamer has more life because it's thrown with intent, not hesitation. The slider gets to the glove. And the pitcher stops feeling like every ground ball is a personal insult.

If you lose the ground ball, you have to replace it with something

There's a type of pitcher who used to get paid on a very specific promise: I'm going to live at the knees, get you a ground ball when I need it, and let the infield work. When the extreme overloads went away, that promise got shakier in certain matchups, and you can see the identity wobble. The sinker that used to be a comfort pitch becomes a debate. The plan turns into, "Maybe I should strike everybody out," which is a great way to be at 95 pitches in the fifth.

The fix I've seen work is not abandoning contact pitching. It's building a second lever you can pull when the at-bat doesn't cooperate. Think of it as replacing one reliable outcome with another: if the grounder isn't as profitable, you need either more pop-ups, more strikeouts in specific counts, or weaker contact to a part of the field your defenders can still cover cleanly.

Concrete examples from how we've adjusted guys:

• Chase pop-ups on purpose. For a right-hander with ride up in the zone, we'll pair a belt-high fastball with a breaking ball that starts in the same tunnel and finishes just below it. You're not hunting a swing-and-miss every time. You're hunting that undercut, the one that dies on the infield dirt. A pop-up is a ground ball that doesn't need perfect positioning.
• Change the get me over pitch. Some pitchers leaned on a first-pitch sinker because it was low-risk. Now, low-risk depends on who is behind you. We've had success going first-pitch cutter or four-seamer to steal a strike, then bringing the sinker back when the hitter has to protect. The sinker plays better when the hitter can't just sit on it.
• Use the running game as part of the plan. If your guy is slow to the plate, he feels even more pressure to be perfect because every single becomes a double on two pitches. We tighten up looks, vary holds, and get him to a consistent slide step without rushing his arm. That reduces the "I can't allow a baserunner" mindset that feeds nibbling.

I know that last one sounds like it's drifting off topic, but it isn't. Pitcher performance is a chain: a defensive environment changes how safe contact feels, which changes how often the pitcher tries to be too fine, which changes his tempo, which changes baserunners, which changes stress. When we give a pitcher a replacement outcome he trusts, his face changes. Shoulders drop. He throws the next pitch like he means it. And somehow, the inning gets shorter.