WASHINGTON D.C. -- Unfortunately, we need to have this discussion again. World Series games are taking far too long. 

First, let me head this off at the pass. The initial reaction I see on Twitter to this is a bunch of people saying that true die-hard baseball fans love this, and why would I want something I truly love to be shorter? As if a great two-hour movie couldn't get worse if they added another 30 minutes. Sometimes less is more.

The actual answer here is very simple, though. It is because I love baseball so much that I want it to appeal to the largest possible audience in order to keep the game healthy and successful. You start losing people to four-hour games, and that doesn't help anyone. Yes, the die-hard fans will stay no matter what, but remaining a healthy and successful game means appealing to new generations of fans. 

Consider a twenty-something who has never really been a baseball fan, but finds some aspects of the game appealing. Now take a look at how the World Series fits into this casual fan's life. 

Game 1

It was a Tuesday. It started at 8:08 p.m. ET and lasted three hours and 43 minutes. That gets us an end time of nine minutes till midnight. Imagine this hypothetical casual fan lives in the Eastern time zone and has to wake up at 5:30 a.m. Are we reeling that fan in? I've even talked to die-hards who say they simply can't stay up that late on a weeknight. 

Game 2

On a Wednesday with a first pitch of 8:08 p.m. ET, the game lasted four hours and one minute. Yes, we're past midnight Eastern. Even in the Central time zone it's after 11. On a weeknight, that's not great. Our saving grace here was the Nationals put this thing to bed in the seventh, but even then it wasn't exactly an early night. 

Game 3

It was a Friday, so that's good! More people are willing to stay up late. Good thing because we definitely needed that. It ended at 12:10 a.m. ET. 

We're only through three games, and this series has set a record. Per Baseball-Reference, this is the first World Series ever to have two four-hour, nine-inning games. Already! 

For the most part, Game 3 was all about missed offensive opportunities. The teams combined to leave 22 men on base. It was a slog, and the truly exciting moments were few and far between. More on that from Baseball-Reference: 

I love pitchers' duels, but if a game is going to last four hours, please give me a slugfest (like 2017 World Series Game 5, which seemed like it lasted all night but was one of the best games ever). Game 3 was a lot closer to a snoozefest. 

Now, I've always been taught to not complain about a problem without a solution. I was one of the first advocates to push for a limit on mound visits, which has worked and no one even notices any more. The next step is the pitch clock. I've been to minor-league games and they flow a lot better. You really don't even notice it. 

Also, start the games on weeknights at 7 p.m. ET. I know people out west get screwed out of the start of the game, but better that than people missing the end. Getting the largest number of people to see the climax should be more important than making sure everyone can see the first pitch. 

Wanting to change baseball for the better doesn't mean you don't like it. I love it and want it to continue to be fun. It can't thrive if it's not growing the audience for the next generation of fans. Ending games in the most important series after midnight on weeknights in one time zone isn't going to help.