Fix The World Series? It Ain't Broke!
by Al on Oct 31, 2008 9:13 AM CDT
in News
96 comments
Today, various mass media types weighed in on the "World Series problem", suddenly the flavor of the month because of the bad weather in Philadelphia this week.
First, Rick Telander says that the teams are the problem:
Who outside of Philadelphia and west-central Florida really cared who won this thing? Yes, provincial support may be an issue with every World Series played since the tourney began in 1903. But not like this.
The Rays are such a new team -- they played their first game 10 years ago -- that most retired folks in the Tampa Bay area (and isn't everyone retired around there?) likely think they're a doo-wop group.
Oh, please. Part of the problem is that the World Series hasn't gone seven games since 2002, and you can't build much drama that way. The seven-game ALCS, which featured at least three dramatic and well-played games, did create some interest, and one of the participants was that same Rays team that Telander says no one cares about. Telander continues:
It was inspiring to see reformed Phillies pitcher Brett Myers lie down on his back and make a celebratory dirt angel after the final out and obligatory flesh-pile at the mound. But most people are still going to remember him as a suspected wife beater. That's unfortunate and certainly unfair...
Well, actually, I had pretty much put that aside until you mentioned it, Rick. Myers has indeed reformed himself. So why dredge up the past? Who's being unfair here?
Gee, the Phillies hadn't won the World Series since 1980? That's 62 years after the Cubs last won it.
New math: 1980-1908=62. Nice try, Rick. I'm not quite sure what point Telander was trying to make here. Should the World Series be mandated to be between teams from New York, Los Angeles and/or Boston every year? That'd please the TV networks, but not many others. It's my feeling that had the Rays managed to win Wednesday night, people would have started to gain some interest as the series went to a sixth game.
Oh, but wait! There's more, and from some of our favorite columnists! Rick Morrissey says the season should be shortened:
A wonderful solution would be for baseball to start the season April 15 rather than April 1 and end the regular season Sept. 15 instead of Sept. 30. That's correct: a 130-game schedule.
Come to think of it, cutting April and September entirely from the regular season wouldn't be such a bad idea. The season is wayyy toooooo lllllooooooonnnnnnng.
Well, no, it's not. The season is exactly eight games longer than it was in 1960, the year before the AL expanded to 10 teams. The 1960 season began on April 12 -- that is, admittedly, two weeks later than 2008, but only one week later than it will in 2009 -- and ended on October 2, exactly two days earlier than the 2009 season will end. People didn't complain about the April weather then, did they? As we well know here in Chicago (and Detroit and New York and Boston and, in 2010, in Minneapolis), spring weather can be iffy far into May. Shall we not play major league baseball until Memorial Day? That's not realistic, either. (And further, no owner is going to accept the loss of 15 home dates -- that's a likely revenue loss of $15-$20 million.)
Phil Rogers has one of his usual hare-brained solutions: start the season earlier instead of later. That's right, earlier:
Start the regular season 10 days earlier than has been customary.
It could just as easily open with weekend series as with the traditional early-week series.
Yes, the spring weather would be problematic, so do something really smart: Find a way to have warm-weather or dome teams (Atlanta, Arizona, Florida, Houston, Kansas City, Angels, Dodgers, Milwaukee, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Texas and Toronto) be home for at least three of their first four series, if not all four, on an annual basis.
...
In 2010, the first year the Rogers Plan could be used, the regular season could begin March 26 and end on Sept. 19. That would mean the World Series begins Oct. 13 and ends Oct. 21, assuming it goes seven games.
Let me get this straight. Start on March 26? Play in domes or warm weather cities every single year? Players on cold-weather teams might think that's a fine idea, but that would wind up putting them at a disadvantage, having to play, say, nine of their first twelve games on the road every year. Then the warm-weather/dome teams would scream about having to be on the road during the summer, when attendance is always higher. And, as I pointed out above, there's no guarantee that the weather in Cleveland or Pittsburgh is going to be that much nicer in early May than it is in early April. The schedule is goofy enough as it is -- this would make it completely unworkable.
And finally, under that "Rogers Plan", the World Series would end on October 21. If they had played seven games this year, the seventh game would have been tonight -- October 31 -- even with the extra day because of the delayed game five. So you're going to go through all those histrionics to save ten days? What's the point?
Weather is something, obviously, that no one has any control of. But have a look at the Philadelphia-area forecast for the next few days:Today: Sunny, with a high near 63. West wind between 6 and 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 42. West wind between 6 and 8 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Northwest wind around 7 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 39. North wind around 6 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. North wind at 6 mph becoming east.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 41.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 61.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.
There are some cool nights in that forecast, but nothing like they played in while the Series was going on. That weather isn't much different than you might find in Chicago in early May -- and no one's suggesting not playing in northern cities in early May, I trust.
The bottom line is, this has only become an issue in the last two years, after TBS signed a contract to do the first round and half of the second round of the playoffs (and unfortunately, we are stuck with them for five more years, till 2013). MLB decided that since Saturday night is the lowest-rated TV night, they didn't want to start the World Series on that day -- and that's why we have all these miscellaneous days off during the postseason. Eliminate those and you would right away cut three or four days off the schedule; if MLB doesn't want to start on Saturday night, how about Sunday? Yes, that would mean playing on Monday night, and in the past they haven't wanted to compete with Monday night football, but MNF doesn't seem to have the huge ratings draw it once did. Perhaps they could start the Monday World Series game earlier in the evening -- maybe as early as 6 pm Eastern time -- so as to not compete directly with the football game (maybe they could work out a deal with the NFL to have that one MNF game start later), and also to get it to end before midnight, so perhaps more kids could watch. Shortening the commercial breaks wouldn't hurt, either -- not one of this year's WS games ran less than three hours, and that's at least partly the fault of the commercial breaks, which are longer than regular season breaks. I know there's a lot of money involved, but there has to be another way to make it.
That's one more thing MLB could do -- they claim they would lose money on a World Series day game, but maybe they could schedule ONE day game, perhaps a late-afternoon game (4 pm Eastern time), during the World Series. When I was a kid, the WS was all day games (the first WS night game wasn't until 1971). It was sort of a badge of honor to try to listen surreptitiously in school, or race home after to see the end. I am not suggesting a return to all day games -- that's unrealistic -- but ONE day game? That'd get kids talking about the World Series again.
So, those are my suggestions. The World Series, like the Cubs, needs tweaking, not a full-scale blowup.
And it wouldn't hurt to have it go seven games again.
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Myers
Is a worthless scumbag. His wife-beating past should be brought up at every single turn. No sympathy for his “reformation” whatsoever.
As for the rest…
130 games? Moron
March 26? Not so bad as you might think. I’d rather have the first two weeks of the season played in cold conditions than the last week.
Small markets? Agreed. Six or seven game series would help.
But at some point, we have to get that baseball ain’t coming back to what it was. The NFL and NCAA football own September and October. Baseball just rents it now. And it’s fighting for time with the start of the NBA at this point.
Other networks get out of the way of the Super Bowl and the Final Four. Networks now bodly put forward their best programming against the World Series and baseball loses.
Baseball is now third. That’s OK. We still love it. But it’s time to dial down expectations.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Oct 31, 2008 9:30 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
judge much?
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
by ballhawk on Oct 31, 2008 11:12 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Only wife beating lowlife scumbags
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Oct 31, 2008 12:18 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
prosecution does not mean persecution
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
by ballhawk on Oct 31, 2008 12:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I beat my wife every night
to the cookie jar
"Just win tonight" - derv
by derv on Oct 31, 2008 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
that's not persecution...
…that’s perfect execution of a well-thought out strategy! ;-)
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
by ballhawk on Oct 31, 2008 12:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
If he's guilty.
I’m glad your wife (or you, I guess, if you are a wife) must feel very safe and that’s a good thing. But Myers’ wife pleaded for the charges to be dropped. They have both explained that the one thing that did get abused that night was alcohol, which, inevitably, led to bigger problems. Nothing, at least publicly, has happened since.
Telander had no reason to include that in the article at this point in time. It was a cheap shot, not worthy of a Northwestern grad (and I’m not one). It just adds to the opinion many people have of Sun-Times reporters. it really is the kind of thing people expected from Mariotti, not Telander. I guess someone has to fill the void.
"Any old kind of a run wins it!"--Jack Brickhouse
by mattvegas on Oct 31, 2008 2:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just a note,
it is very common for a victims of domestic violence to ask for the charges to be dropped.
Hey, it's a new century!
by cowsarecool220 on Oct 31, 2008 2:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
But this is a public couple
who gave a public explanation of what happened. Nothing else has happened since. I hope they have people she trusts watching out for her, so that it stays a one-time thing. I don’t think it’s a reporter’s job to do that. it doesn’t seem like we’re dealing with Ike and Tina Turner, at this point.
"Any old kind of a run wins it!"--Jack Brickhouse
by mattvegas on Oct 31, 2008 3:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Very, very common
And unfortunate.
Chicago Cubs Humor, News and Parody at The Cubs Brickyard
by AceCubbie on Nov 1, 2008 8:51 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
DaBard, is that you?
Did you change your name?
by Wreckard on Oct 31, 2008 3:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I am not going to defend Meyers
however in the Philly papers and the USA today they did have an article on the whole episode, They both were trashed, and Meyers wife admitely was just as fault for the whole situation. Meyers has numerous charities he gives time and money for. That being said I find him over the top, and a jerk. He still tips the bottle so in that regard he hasn’t learned his lesson as far as the booze is concerned.
"Have You heard of the Boom on Mizar 5?"
by Grockcubs on Oct 31, 2008 7:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
A lot of battered wives
Say it was their fault, right up until the moment the scumbag kills them.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Nov 1, 2008 7:16 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
My $0.02
I think the LCS and WS game dates should not be set in stone at the beginning of each season. If both LCS end in 5 games, there is no reason the WS could not start a few days earlier.
Also, I do not think there should be as many travel days during any of the series. I know this helps line up games for TV but teams are used to traveling during the season and it does not put a team at a disadvantage because both teams are making the same trip(s).
by gocubsgo22 on Oct 31, 2008 9:43 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree with you on the travel days.
You only really need those if you are traveling from the east coast to the west coast. That cannot be known in advance, of course.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Oct 31, 2008 9:49 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
But you must agree
that teams travel all season long and many send their starting pitcher ahead to a new city to get extra rest. Travel can be cut.
I like a few double headers thrown in, make them fun, it will work, shorten the season. Make interleague game into DH’s for everyone on the same two weekends! Move the game start times up, I like that. And on my wish list, 7 game series in the division series. It can all work, baseball has to do what best for baseball, not what’s best for TV execs and advertisers
This is only the beginning....Lou Pinella end of '07 season and Chicago Transit Authority (the band when they were really good).
by mrcubsfan on Oct 31, 2008 12:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Good Reporting, Al
The NYT also reports that this was the least-viewed Series by a significant amount.
All generalizations are false.
by Emelie on Oct 31, 2008 9:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Playoff Baseball Fatigue?
The division series is here to stay. Because of all the playoff series now, I think fans of teams not involved in the World Series aren’t as interested as they were before MLB added the division series. They’ve seen too much baseball leading up to the World Series. Having the extra round of playoffs is good for the game overall. More games matter for more teams down the stretch with eight teams making the playoffs. The division series, on the down side, takes away from interest in the World Series.
Yes, you can make the argument that the LCS takes away from interest in the World Series, too. Again, the LCS starting in 1969 was and is good for the game overall, but it takes away from the World Series.
I’m not advocating any changes other than earlier evening start times and cutting down on the number of off days in postseason. Let’s face it! Unless you’ve got a situation like the Yankees in 2001 being in the Series shortly after 9/11 or some team from the northside of Chicago making it, the World Series is not going to be as special as it was before the division series came into being. The division series is here to stay.
"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray
by memphiscub on Oct 31, 2008 10:00 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
A Radical Fix For the Division Series?
I don’t know if this idea is at all workable, and it may cause more problems than it’s worth, but here goes.
Eliminate the Division and Championship Series entirely.
Instead, the three division winners and the wild card team each play three 3-game series against the other post-season teams in their league. I’m not sure how you’d determine who would get home field.
The NL and the AL teams with the best record at the end of the nine games advances to the World Series.
You don’t end up with teams with long layoffs, like the Phillies had, and teams who get off on the wrong foot would still have something to play for because they have a chance to claw their way back in.
Maybe it’s too radical. It’s not as “clean” as an elimination tournament.
by allyngibson on Oct 31, 2008 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
This sounds a lot more interesting
than the system in use now. The league could even shorten the season with this and still make the money back with these games. I hope someone in charge is thinking like this. I’m a traditionalist but only up to a point.
"Any old kind of a run wins it!"--Jack Brickhouse
by mattvegas on Nov 1, 2008 5:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
No need to shorten the season...
because you’d have the pre-World Series round done in 11 days, with a travel day in between each 3-game set, versus the current 18 days or so for the Division and Championship rounds. That right there shaves a week from the postseason schedule.
by allyngibson on Nov 1, 2008 11:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Reaping What It Sowed
Baseball is reaping the fruits of all the labor strife, the acrimonious relations between management and labor, the steroids issue, and most of all the boneheadedness of Bud Selig. All of these are combining to make people turn the game off. I’m one that also thinks the season is a tad long. I think you could shave a week off the end of September, and start the playoffs the last week of september. You’d only be losing 4 or 5 games tops, and it would get the playoffs done and over with before mid October when the weather everywhere starts to change to fall and winter. Or do like football does, pick a neutral site that’s a dome and play the entire series there. You would eliminate the whole weather equation altogether. Football does it, and nobody complains. Oh the owners would be against it, but this is where the commissioner needs to step in and decide what’s best for the game and not the owners. Personally I feel the game 5 should never have been played, but postponed all together and made up. One look at the radar and a quick check with any meteorologist would have told MLB that game wasn’t going to get finished.
by nmcubsfan on Oct 31, 2008 10:09 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
"...most of all the boneheadedness of Bud Selig."
But owners seem happy. You and I keep buying tickets and paraphernalia. Players are making more money than the Pope. So, a bonehead he ain’t. I share your disgust for his tenure, but our pastime is doing fine financially, and that’s what matters to the powers-that-be.
One day I hope to come up with something worthy of this space.
by chilango2 on Oct 31, 2008 10:31 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Baseball doesn't need fixing (it had enough in 1919)
Bad pun aside, if anything were to be done, this is what I’d do:
1) shorten season to 154 – teams would lose only 4 home games per year, and there’s already tons of history/records that reflect a 154 game schedule. (season would end around 9/20)
2) Make first round 7 games, reduce off days in first 2 rounds. Play 7 game series in a max of 8 days! Give the team with the better 5th starter an advantage. I would guess that the better regular season teams would prevail more if they had to go 5 starters deep.
3) Play a day WS game on the weekend, specifically Saturday. Nobody wants to watch baseball on Saturday night (unless its their team). Plus its, you know, for the kids. AND their “historically bad prime time TV ratings” wouldn’t be affected either.
by MikeJ on Oct 31, 2008 10:20 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Four home games a year...
at 25,000 per game, assuming the average fan spends $150 on tickets, parking, concessions, etc… that is 3.75 million per game, or about 15 million.
That’s forgetting sponsorships, TV revenue, etc…
Do you think players would take an across-the-board 5 percent pay cut to reflect a season five percent shorter? HA
Next?
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Oct 31, 2008 10:27 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
plus
Practically every team in the league is already making their stadiums significantly smaller, thus increasing the demand (and the ticket prices) for the remaining seats. Here’s a 5% reduction of seats for you.
Cities that don’t sell out their games would (probably) have extra tickets sold to the other 77 games (because the fan base is going to X number of games regardless), and they wouldn’t have to pay stadium employees (and pay the utilities) for 4 extra games per year. So the cities with smaller fan bases might like it!
by MikeJ on Oct 31, 2008 10:35 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Kids can't stay up to watch the games
I’ve been hearing that for years. If 10, 15 or 20 years ago kids couldn’t stay up to watch the games then they are not going to be interested now that they are adults. Most fans fall in love with the game as a kid. They are doing a bad job of renewing their fan base. It’s not as bad as what boxing did to itself. Boxing made every fight pay per view and once the fighters they knew retired no one cared about the sport.
"Destiny is a matter of choice, not chance"
by MerlinDog on Oct 31, 2008 10:24 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I actually liked the 3 inning clincher
It was over by 9 local time. Kids got to watch!
by MikeJ on Oct 31, 2008 10:26 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agree 100%
My kids love baseball, but have never been able to see the ending of a World Series except on Sportscenter the day after. This was their first.
I am an American aquarium drinker...
by HoodooMan on Oct 31, 2008 10:43 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Then the solution is...
Shorten every game to five innings.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Oct 31, 2008 10:47 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
LOL
"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray
by memphiscub on Oct 31, 2008 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Also
They should make the bases 89 feet apart. That way all close calls would be safe.
by gocubsgo22 on Oct 31, 2008 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
LOL! That radical idea crossed my mind.
For just a second I thought, “9 innings is too long. They need to shorten it to 7 innings like youth baseball.” Then I slapped myself back to a more cognizant state.
I am an American aquarium drinker...
by HoodooMan on Oct 31, 2008 10:57 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
In all seriousness...
Fewer time between pitches
Fewer commericals (charging more per — can’t have money loss)
A signal indicating an intentional walk (no need for four pitches there)
No more than three pickoff throws to any one base in a row. (Has the added effect of bringing back basestealing)
No mound visits unless making a pitching change
No leaving the batters box unless injured.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Oct 31, 2008 11:03 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
and here come the democrats
"Just win tonight" - derv
by derv on Oct 31, 2008 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agree or not
at least you give suggestions, not just complaints.
My disagreements:
Not enough IW’s in a game to make a real difference, time-wise.
If pick-off throws are limited, no one will ever steal before the third one, which means the pitcher will never make them, which means base-stealing won’t be increased. Things happen on pick-off throws. They go into right field; they add to the pitcher fatigue.
I think the umps do a good job of chasing everyone away from the mound on the first visit. They don’t let it get too long. Maybe limit catcher visits.
The umps don’t need another judgment call to make as to whether a player is really injured or just faking it so he can step out of the box.
"Any old kind of a run wins it!"--Jack Brickhouse
by mattvegas on Oct 31, 2008 2:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
No blood... no leaving the box!
Here you go:
Guy leaves the box. Ump goes to him and says, “You hurt?”
Guy says “No”
Ump says “You’re out of the game”
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Oct 31, 2008 3:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I keed
I’m serious about the IBB’s though. It would save a bit of time.
But even more important than time is pace.
Baseball has no clock. A 12-11 game can take longer than a non-competitive 5-0 game.
Fewer dead times. Less wasted time. I think that’s the solution.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Oct 31, 2008 3:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm glad you say you keed.
I was wondering if you had ever heard of the concept of a baseball player, or any other human, lying.
i agree about pace, though. Guys like Scott Sanderson can’t be allowed to do what he did on the mound. I know they can’t all be Bob Gibson, but Sanderson and others like him are ridiculous.
But don’t you mean that a 12-11 game can take shorter than a 5-0 non-competitive game?
"Any old kind of a run wins it!"--Jack Brickhouse
by mattvegas on Oct 31, 2008 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
No, I said it inarticulately..
A 12-11 game can be a thrilling day at the park, but it can take 3 1/2 hours.
Whereas a 5-0 game where all the runs are scored in the 1st or 2nd innings can take an hour less, but be fairly dull.
Speed is less important than pace. If there are things happening all the time, 3 1/2 hours is nothing. If it’s dull… 2 hours is too long.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Nov 1, 2008 7:18 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Oh. That makes sense.
But I think the same thing about IW’s. Usually they happen at an intense part of the game, so nobody really notices how much time they add to the game.
"Any old kind of a run wins it!"--Jack Brickhouse
by mattvegas on Nov 1, 2008 5:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I get that it's a puny thing
But it’s just part of the mentality. Baseball can no longer claim that its meandering pace is part of the charm.
Find every little way to speed up the game and it will be a collective benefit. But more importantly, it’s an attitude adjustment.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Nov 2, 2008 7:52 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
or better yet
START THE FREAKIN GAMES EARLIER. It’s not just kids, if you live in the Eastern time zone and have to get up earlier for work, unless your team is in who wants to stay up to watch it? I watched the three inning clincher also, it was nice to have it over just after 10pm.
"Destiny is a matter of choice, not chance"
by MerlinDog on Oct 31, 2008 11:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think this is the real solution
7:05 EDT first pitch. I’m sorry to the West Coasters out there. They might have to deal with a 4 p.m. start time, but they’d get to watch the ending of every game. Heck, it’d be just like if they were going to a Dodgers game. Miss the first 2-3 innings and catch the middle and maybe the end!
I am an American aquarium drinker...
by HoodooMan on Oct 31, 2008 11:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Even 7:35 EDT would be better than it is now.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Oct 31, 2008 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agreed
I personally think it would be better to have fans out west miss the beginning then to have fans in the east miss the end. Or in most cases miss the entire game; if you know you are not going to stay up to watch the end, why bother watching any of it.
"Destiny is a matter of choice, not chance"
by MerlinDog on Oct 31, 2008 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hey, we already have to stay up too late
to catch the politically self-important Letterman. Why punish us more? LOL
"Any old kind of a run wins it!"--Jack Brickhouse
by mattvegas on Oct 31, 2008 2:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Why not let the kids stay up?
sheesh. It’s not like it happens every day.
"Just win tonight" - derv
by derv on Oct 31, 2008 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well, if it was the Cubs
that’s a different story. My kids are currently 12, 10, 6 and 2 months (he doesn’t really factor in to this yet) and staying up until midnight to watch the Red Sox, Cardinals or White Sox win the WS just hasn’t made sense to us.
I am an American aquarium drinker...
by HoodooMan on Oct 31, 2008 3:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
12 mos, 10 mos, 6 mos, and 2 mos? Whew! She's been busy
;-)
"Just win tonight" - derv
by derv on Oct 31, 2008 3:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Post like this one
are exactly why I admire you, Al. Today’s post is about a quadrillion times better than anything written in the local media. You are the true voice of the fan. Maybe if newspapers hired smart people like you, their problems wouldn’t be so awful.
Keep it up my friend! And thanks again.
One day I hope to come up with something worthy of this space.
by chilango2 on Oct 31, 2008 10:28 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree.
But at least Rogers and Morrissey had suggestions. All Telander did was complain.
I do find it ironic that baseball reporters always complain about some aspect of the game. When MLB makes a suggestion, these supposedly objective, union-affiliated, reporters comment on it as to whether it’s good for the players and somehow always seem to come out in favor of whatever the players support, not what benefits the game. The situation remains the same. And they write another column about the same complaint later on.
"Any old kind of a run wins it!"--Jack Brickhouse
by mattvegas on Oct 31, 2008 2:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Rogers and Morrissey had idiotic suggestions.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Oct 31, 2008 5:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Um, Al. Morrissey and idiotic
are redundant.
Tribune Co. (a few years ago): Hmm, we can put Bernie on the front page of the sports as he is asking. He can turn a phrase like no one else in the business. He does generate negative mail, but he sells papers. OR…we can keep Morrissey who rehashes the same old ideas in time-worn ways that people have read a million times before. Duh. It’s a no-brainer. See ya, Bernie. Next order of business. What’s that? Change the morning show from the down-home cliched folksiness of Spike O’Dell? Duh. It’s a no-brainer.
"Any old kind of a run wins it!"--Jack Brickhouse
by mattvegas on Oct 31, 2008 7:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Al, I was surprised to read you had forgotten all about Myers' abuse history.
That is something I think about every time I see him pitch. Something as cruel as physically assaulting your own wife is not something I easilly forget.
Hey, it's a new century!
by cowsarecool220 on Oct 31, 2008 10:44 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I don't lose a lot of sleep
Wondering if the world is treating a piece of feces like Myers unfairly.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Oct 31, 2008 10:47 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm not saying what he did was right.
But every man who does wrong deserves a chance to make things right. I think Myers has done so. Move on.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Oct 31, 2008 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree that he deserved a second chance
but I’m just saying I haven’t forgotten what he did.
Hey, it's a new century!
by cowsarecool220 on Oct 31, 2008 11:09 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
And I think...
Myers is just a wife-beater who is waiting for his next chance.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Oct 31, 2008 11:13 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
If he does it again, perhaps it'd be time to make that judgment.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Oct 31, 2008 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
You Could Be Right
I don’t know if he will do it again. I am not a fan of his, but I am happy for Myers as a baseball player.
"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray
by memphiscub on Oct 31, 2008 12:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
They are the same guy
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Oct 31, 2008 12:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Kansas City is neither a warm-weather nor a dome team. Maybe when they have this huge rolling roof that can cover arrowhead too you could call it that.
by ryan89 on Oct 31, 2008 10:58 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I do like the idea of the having 2 day night DH's every year..
…I know the union would never ever agree to it (god forbid the players get tired) and the owners would be afraid of losing $1 of revenue but it would be great for the fans….and could allow some flexibility in the schedule for off days and rainouts.
"When I got to Chicago, fans came to Wrigley Field just to have fun, now they come to see us win. The expectations have changed, for the players and for the fans. It’s about winning." Kerry Wood, 7/14/08
by JB 23 on Oct 31, 2008 11:02 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
7:00
The easiest “fix” is to start the games 30 minutes earlier at 7:00 (ct) rather than 7:30. 7:00 is the beginning of prime time so there’s no reason to start the games at 7:30. If FOX wants to do a 30 minute pregame show that 99% of us ignore that’s fine, but do it at 6:30.
You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time. ~Jim Bouton, Ball Four, 1970
by Zorb on Oct 31, 2008 11:05 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
They could even start at 6:30 central time.
Yes, that’s 4:30 in the Pacific time zone. But the way these things run, that’d go into the evening in PT too.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Oct 31, 2008 11:09 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I was just saying the same thing
a little further up in the thread.
I am an American aquarium drinker...
by HoodooMan on Oct 31, 2008 11:11 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not to Slight Those Out West, But...
the eastern and central time zones have more people than the mountain and pacific time zones. That 6:30 PM central time start would work out for a strong majority of the population.
"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray
by memphiscub on Oct 31, 2008 11:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
plus...nobody works past 3pm in PT anyway.
"Just win tonight" - derv
by derv on Oct 31, 2008 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Tell that to the 35 million people in California.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Oct 31, 2008 12:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
35 Million Don't Begin to Make Majority
The pacific and mountain time zones account for less than 25% of the country’s population. It stinks being in the minority.
Hey, I’m inconvenienced personally when I’m watching a west coast game that starts at 7:05 PM pacific during the regular season. I deal with it.
More importantly, I don’t think the game time starts should be set in stone. If a west coast team is at home in the Series, then 5:35 PM pacific would be a more appropriate start time than 4:35 PM pacific.
People do work past 3 PM in the pacific time zone.
"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray
by memphiscub on Oct 31, 2008 1:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
fast approaching 50 million
"The object of a ball game for the fan is not to be entertained. It is to win." - Max Lapides
by CaliCub on Nov 1, 2008 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Simple solution
Whoever suggested the 3 or 4 day night DH’s was right on the money. That would shave 4 days off the regular season and would be a good start. The next thing they must do is can the unneeded travel and off days. Baseball is played every day during the regular season with a day off about once every two weeks. Play the first round in 5 days starting on Fri. Have one off day between the LDS and the LCS and then play the LCS starting on Thu. with just one off day built in. Then start the WS after one off day on Saturday afternoon and play it with just one off day. Every get away day in the play-offs that is not followed by an off day should be an afternoon game (maybe stagger starts between 2 and 4ET). If they followed this schedule you would have had the post season done by Oct. 18th this year and you would have given a whole lot of young people a chance to see more post season games. Someone brought up the Final Four being ahead of baseball…isn’t funny that they start March Madness with games at noon on a thursday and it is a smashing success?? Every game doesn’t have to end after midnight in the eastern time zone.
by Crazy Uncle Lou on Oct 31, 2008 1:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I thought 6 was good
That’s one day night DH per month to knock a week off the season. Doesn’t seem like a lot. Plus day night DH’s don’t cost the owners any ticket revenue.
Linus: Life is rarely all one way, Charlie Brown. You win some, you lose some. Charlie Brown: Really? Gee, that'd be neat.
by CyberCyclist on Oct 31, 2008 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
My 2 and half cents
How about taking off about 5 days of spring training, goodness mid Feb. to April 1 is long enough. Start the season last weekend of March. Also I agree each team gets a daynight Doubleheader. This is not a whole lotta of days, but it does save a few.
Today in Delaware, I am 1 hour drive south of Philly, 64 and sunny, all next week low 60’s. Philly just had a bad 48 hours of weather, not much you can do.
Thank God it is over. Go Cubs 2009
"Have You heard of the Boom on Mizar 5?"
by Grockcubs on Oct 31, 2008 8:06 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2008/10/31/651207/kerry-wood-files-for-free
2009 Cubs: Well, Seems so far away..
by Chanman25 on Oct 31, 2008 8:46 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
The earlier starting time is a good idea but
what really damped my enthusiasm was all the off-days during the playoffs. During the season they can play 19 games in 20 or 21 days; let’s do that in the post-season too. Just when the momentum gets going, there’s another off day. Or two.
During the Division Series they never had 4 games on the same day, so 2 teams always had to have a day off. TBS effectively ran baseball triple-headers, one game after the other. Why can’t they use two networks (like the CS round had) and have games at the same time? Every weekend all season we’d have 15 or 16 games going on more or less at once, and that only added to the excitement.
It bugs me when a team that has 2 strong starters but an otherwise weak rotation can win in the postseason because they never have to use their 4th starter. (Case in point: 2001 Diamondbacks.)
And I just lose interest when there are soooo many off days.
by ChipSet on Oct 31, 2008 9:31 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
There is nothing wrong with the World Series, just things with MLB that need to be fixed.
But a neutral site is not warranted. The world is getting warmer, allegedly, so it’s absolutely idiotic to entertain these knee jerk reactions to some inclement weather for a couple days. Instead of moving the world series to a neutral site, why don’t we do something equally idiotic and make a machine that controls the weather? If the weather is that important then just have it in San Diego every year.
End the All-Star game fiasco and determine world series home field based on alternating year. Although, had the NL won the All-Star then they would have avoided that rain in Philly.
MLB needs to make the DH uniform for both leagues. This is long overdue, there’s no reason to have a pitcher hit anymore.
The World Series needs to be decided on
by DudeVf11 on Oct 31, 2008 11:22 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Hoo boy...
DH uniform? Oh my… get ready for some indignation!
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Nov 1, 2008 7:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Change the DH to an EH
as in Extra Hitter. Pitcher still has to hit.
Yes, that means there’d be a 10 men in the batting order instead of 9. So what. I’m a traditionalist but I’d be willing to take that hit to tradition if it meant both leagues would be the same and the AL pitchers would have to face the music for their beanball antics.
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
by ballhawk on Nov 1, 2008 6:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm actually surprised...
This idea hasn’t gotten more steam. I don’t know if baseball long made a deal with Satan than insisted the number 9 was used or what.
For some reason, the 10-man lineup has been more forbidden than moving the Cubs to Aurora.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Nov 2, 2008 7:54 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I am in favor of the DH as it is used in the AL today...
..the argument for the pitcher hitting based on tradition becomes weaker over time, primarily because pitchers are excluded from the professional craft of hitting at virtually all levels of professional baseball. The only thing expected of them is to bunt well and to me that’s terribly lame. The professional sport no longer takes hitting by the pitcher seriously and it should be done away with. This act would do more to improve baseball than other. I also think we need to go back to the balanced schedule. If MLB did these 2 things then it actually makes a bit more (not great argument) for having the All-Star game determine WS home field.
by DudeVf11 on Nov 2, 2008 2:53 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I'm loving this!
This board has been full of people who want to strap themselves to Ted Lilly in the batter’s box and say, “over my dead body!”
Refreshing.
The worst beer I had was pretty good.
by Worf on Nov 2, 2008 10:02 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I don't get this. It's OK to have a position player bat .210,
but it takes away from the game if a pitcher bunts? What kind of logic is that. Baseball is a game that needs to be studied and the subtle parts must be appreciated. Every player in the batting order doesn’t need to be a basher. This is not slow-pitch softball. The DH was a rule that was put into the game when baseball was losing fans to football. They are still losing fans, but the game has survived. Can anyone prove that the American league has more fans because it has the DH? Thegame has to stand on it;s own. One of the best things about baseball is that the rules aren’t changed every year like football. Enough already.
"Hats for bats.....keep bats warm." - Pedro Cerrano
"Hey bartender, Jobu needs a refill !!!!!!!" - Eddie Harris
by willie mays hayes' gloves on Nov 3, 2008 9:07 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Worst idea: Neutral site World Series
It not only penalizes loyal fans, but also, who can schedule a week’s worth vacation to a distant city on short notice? This is not a one game event where corporations buy most tickets.
The thing I’d fix is play a late afternoon (EDT) game on Monday afternoon, so as not to compete with Monday Night Football. A day game Saturday or Sunday in the middle of both pro and college football seasons won’t work, for obvious reasons. Of course, this means they have to start the series earlier or schedule less travel days off.
Also, start night games no later than 8:05 EDT. We don’t need a half hour pre-game show. Player intros can ve made before 8:00 EDT. They can be shown by Fox or FSN, as they choose. I’m assuming FSN because local affiliates won’t want to give up the lucrative 7:30 PM EST slot. Anyway, starting all games at 8:30 PM EST is not a good idea.
In any case the World Series is going to be watched the most when big market teams are involved and/or the series is extended to seven games. We cannot control that, so all those sportscasters who had to look for a hotel room to stay in Philadelphia two extra days should relax and remember this isn’t about them.
by Fraggin Judge on Nov 1, 2008 1:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Wanna speed up the post-season?
Lock Bud Selig in a closet on Oct. 1, give him a pizza and a sixer of beer every day, and don’t let him out until the WS is done.
Next?
Friend: Soto for Mayor of Chicago!
Me: Yeah! Just because we don't live there doesn't mean they won't let us vote!
by znohitter on Nov 1, 2008 1:11 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I don't have time to read all the posts
but I have one thought. Having at least ONE day WS game wouldn’t hurt TV ratings all that much IMHO. How many of you go somewhere (sports bar, typically) at lunch? If the game started at 4PM EDT, that’s 1:00 here in AZ and the Left Coast. I used to love it when I was in school and the teacher would turn on a radio for a little while (if we were good) and let us listen. I am pretty sure that most schools have TV’s in the classrooms, the teachers could reward good behavior with a bit of WS baseball.
I know, I know, it’s ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS. But, basing EVERTHING that sports and TV does wholly on money and NOT THE FAN sickens me. Give us a little break once in a while. The owners/networks are all getting rich from their partnership, so they have no incentive to change their MO. But, I say, because they are so rich, they can afford to lose a few (almighty) dollars and build some good will.
"WGN, Channel 9 Cubs Baseball, Excitingly, Importantly, Dramatically Yours." - Jack Brickhouse
by BigJohnAZ on Nov 1, 2008 4:00 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh, and BTW. Telander is a tool. What a lousy article.
"WGN, Channel 9 Cubs Baseball, Excitingly, Importantly, Dramatically Yours." - Jack Brickhouse
by BigJohnAZ on Nov 1, 2008 4:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Back in grade school in the 60s we used to listen to all the world series games in class.
The principal and my dad, who was a teacher, both were huge baseball fans so they would send the feed through the intercom system to every room in the school. The teacher could teach or let the kids do something else or listen to the game, as they pleased. Ah, the good old days.
Tommie Agee was out.
"This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that was once good, and it could be good again." TM
by Weeghman Park on Nov 3, 2008 8:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
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