Can New Year's resolutions save our national pastime?

• Author: Barrett, Wayne M.

THIS WINTER's Hot Stove League isn't so hot. Instead of the usual welcome chatter among fans concerning new ballparks, player trades, managerial hirings and firings, the World Series, and spring training, a nationwide yawn is echoing throughout the baseball world. The message is deafening: Baseball no longer is America's national pastime. It's blase and passe. No, the citizenry doesn't suddenly despise the Grand Old Game. It's worse. No one even cares about it anymore. Baseball now is this country's No. I ho-hum sport, and with good reason. Ticket prices are too high; games are too boring; ballparks are too big and impersonal; players and owners are too greedy; umpires are too bossy; fans are too obnoxious; and TV's presence is too prevalent. Too bad. But it's not too late to change. After all, this is the month for New Year's resolutions. So here's a get-well wish list for baseball: * Hold the line on ticket prices. If it hadn't been for record crowds in Toronto and Baltimore (both cities boasted new ballparks and contending teams) attendance would have bottomed out completely. A family of four can not afford to lay out more than $100 for tickets, parking, hot dogs, and soda. These families have spoken with their recession-depleted wallets, staying home in droves. * Speed up the game. Baseball traditionally has been known for its leisurely pace, but there's a big difference between an unhurried, well-played contest and flat-out boredom. Games that once whisked by in 2:15 are now 3:30 snooze festivals. This can be fixed easily. Widen the strike zone (to where it belongs, between the letters and the knees) and cut out the two-plus-minute breaks between innings. Sixty seconds is plenty of time. Heck, fans might even get to see the players run on and off the field again, instead of the "do I really have to?" gait currently on display. * Build traditional ballparks. Actually, the word "ballpark" is a misnomer. Large, concrete monstrosities lined with Astro-turf only can be called "stadiums." These Roman Coliseum-esque structures are designed to host numerous events: rock concerts, tractor pulls, football games, political conventions, but certainly not baseball. Actually, some teams have the right idea. Orioles Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992, is a throwback to a bygone era when ballparks seated less than 50,000 people, the stands allowed fans to be close to the action, and the architecture had a charming turn-of-the-century aura...