Weather, time, umps and Selig combine for poor Series

by Travis G on Oct 28, 2008 1:13 PM EDT in Miscellaneous Comment 8 comments

This World Series is unsalvageable. It is a disaster borne of people who think cowbells and haircuts make them fans, owners who are so greedy that they accept late-October baseball and late-evening start times, and a commissioner who unilaterally changes a rule while he’s carrying the book in his left hand.

Let me just say that Bud Selig is a moron. From the strike to a (poorly modified) revenue sharing system to expansion teams that no one cares about to horrible marketing to the steroids mess and it's ensuing 'investigation', Selig has been an awful commissioner that can't retire soon enough.

- The umpires admitted to more blown calls. Maybe it'll be a blessing in disguise as it pushes the owners to accept a form of video review next season.

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by baseballkristin on Oct 28, 2008 3:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

While I agree that this Series

has been a mess on some levels I don’t think the World Series is in general is an annual failure. It’s nothing a Series with TWO large market teams with TWO real fan bases wouldn’t solve (Sorry Tampa/ St. Pete, you don’t cut it).

And quite frankly, bad calls and weather aside- the baseball has been pretty good. To sit around and throw blame on Selig for this Series is kind of ridiculous. Say what you will about all the other crap, but from weather, the umpiring, the schedule- it’s not exactly like Selig has absolute authority on any of those… CBA’s, owners, unions all have a hand in it so to point the finger at Selig for this seems a little unfair. Don’t get me wrong- he is an idiot- but I don’t think I can honestly blame Selig for this one. The guy’s trying to make the best of bad situation.

The Jayfiss Report ...one fan's rants

by NumberSeven on Oct 28, 2008 3:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Selig is the most powerful single person in MLB

he essentially has the final say on everything on the owners’ and umpires’ side. i’m not blaming him for ALL the problems, just some of them, like the later start times (that he agreed to bc of FOX’s TV ratings, which were supposed to be better), later start to the season, longer postseason (Wildcard), steroid scandal(s) (which he knew about a long time ago and hoped it wouldn’t bite him in the ass, and the BS ‘report’ that followed), the ‘extra’ teams like Tampa and Florida (which watered down MLB and have yet to show anything in the way of long term fan bases and solid ownership), and the poor marketing of MLB around the world. and yes, even the umpiring: get video review into games and get the best umpires for the WS (like the NFL does), and get them to call the rule book strike zone…

or maybe you like some of these things.

by Travis G on Oct 28, 2008 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i do like the wild card...

i didn’t at first, but it really adds to the pennant races..

but yes, i understand what you’re saying- and I generally agree that Selig is a moron- I just think he took a little harder hit over this one instance.

The Jayfiss Report ...one fan's rants

by NumberSeven on Oct 29, 2008 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with Selig that it’s a bad idea to end the World Series via press conference after a game has been rained out, so I don’t have a problem if the baseball hierarchy modifies the rule book on the fly to avoid that situation.

Here’s what should have happened: at about 5:00 on Monday evening, Selig should have held a press conference, indicating that if the weather rendered the field unplayable, they would pause it, regardless of the inning or the score, and resumed when the weather improved. That way, the fans, players, and umpires knew exactly what was going on.

Essentially, the game on Monday night had to continue until the Rays tied the score.

by 3460kuri on Oct 29, 2008 9:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

agreed

although i agree with that one decision (to continue the game, despite it not being in the rule book), it sets a bad precedent. like ‘war powers’ for a president. it might work at the beginning, but do you really trust a single person to make all the decisions himself (cough, W, cough)?

by Travis G on Oct 30, 2008 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think

the 8pm start is a true bitch, but this year the games were actually quiet dramatic. unlike you know… last year

by RollingWave on Oct 30, 2008 2:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

unfortunately

the good games were overshadowed by a lot of other stuff. actually the real first pitch time was about 8:37 pm. does MLB care about the future fan base? what kid can stay up to midnight throughout October? ridiculous.

by Travis G on Oct 30, 2008 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs