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Closing the Middle
While I understand the concept of closing the middle, unless you put up a net or some type of barricade this rule doesn't really protect a pitcher. If the pitcher gets hit by a batted ball even with a middle closed rule he's still hit. It still hurts. I also understand the possible deterrent to hitting up the middle if this rule is in place. However, most of the lower level SP players don't have bat control and only want to hit the ball hard. They have no clue where the ball is going.
If you want to protect the pitcher then make the batter's box more narrow and get the batter up on the plate. That way the pitcher can hit the inside corner for a strike and know the ball won't come back at him at 100mph. The problem with implementing this is getting umpires to enforce the rule. The path of least resistance (i.e. not causing a confrontation with a batter) would prevail.
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