How baseball is like congress.

I can't believe that I haven't heard about something like this somewhere before. Maybe it has occurred but not that I have heard of.

The filibuster is a way that Congress can prevent a bill from ever coming to a vote. Well, baseball is a sport that has its' own form of a filibuster. Yet, it is never used. And hopefully never will be.

Quite simply, what would prevent a team from ever pitching to a batter with a lead late in the game. Here's an example.

6-4 game in the last inning. Runner gets on 1st base. Why not throw to 1B until it gets dark? I mean, unless there are lights, for all intents and purposes the game could end while attempting to pick off the base runner. Is there a rule that says you can only throw to 1B a certain amount of time?

On a smaller, less egregious note, how about throwing to 1B until a relief pitcher is ready. Again, is there a rule that says you have to deliver the ball rather than attempting a pickoff.

So long as you can tolerate the amount of "boos" that would rain down, I see no reason why this isn't sound strategy. Boring -probably. Unethical - marginally. Smart- absolutely.