The Major League All-Star game is set for tomorrow night in Pittsburgh and to hear MLB tell it, it will be the grandest night of the year. And it will be an entertaining exhibition to see all of the game's stars on display. But, it doesn't really mean a thing. It's just that...an entertaining exhibition.
But, the commissioner of the game Bud Selig, who is now apparently relying on the advice of apes, has again decreed that the league winning the exhibition game gets home field advantage in the World Series. The World Series used to be the most prestigious sports event in North America but since Bud and his flunkies (or maybe more accurately monkeys) have taken over the game it has lost a lot of it's shine. The "Fall Classic" is now played in the last third of October on cold nights. Yes, I said nights...When school children have to go to bed hours before the games end. Many people now believe the World Series ranks behind the Super Bowl and the NCAA basketball tournament in it's prestige.
It's a shame because baseball has so much going for it, but it has made the wrong decision every time it has had to make a decision. Even an idiot flipping a coin would get half of them right. Part of the decision making is fueled by TV (That's spelled FOX and ABC which owns ESPN). And the greed of the media has once again ruined about a third of the All-Star break for the St. Louis Cardinals and their families. An excellent better explanation is offered by Rick Hummel of the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch writing in Sunday's sports section. And I quote:
"The Cardinals will play the Astros in Houston on Sunday, marking the third straight year they will have played ESPN's Sunday night game the day ahead of the All-Star break. "They act like you're honored to be a part of the thing," said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. In fact, it is more of an inconvenience, especially to Cardinals who have had to fly overnight to be available the next day for All-Star Game festivities, such those in Pittsburgh this year. For instance, Albert Pujols, the leading vote getter, is scheduled to appear at a Monday morning press conference.But it also is inconvenient for players who want to go home for the All-Star break, with Monday being a travel day rather than a day at home.
And it is inconvenient for La Russa, too, who puts on a charity golf tournament in California on the Monday of the All-Star break for the benefit of his Animal Rescue Foundation. After Sunday's game, La Russa flies to Scottsdale, Ariz., with lefthander Mark Mulder on Mulder's plane and then charter another plane to make it to the San Francisco area in time for the start of his tournament, having already missed the pre-tournament gathering Sunday night.La Russa is less concerned with this annoyance than he is concerned with what he perceives is an uncaring attitude by ESPN toward his team. He said he would talk to ESPN telecasters Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on Sunday, because they are friends. But he indicated he wouldn't go much farther than that."(ESPN) decided they were going to mess with us," La Russa said. "Cincinnati-Atlanta would be a great contest on Sunday night. The (Sunday night) game should be played in a time zone where the All-Star Game is. There are East Coast games that are attractive. There's other games, I can guarantee it."But (ESPN) is selfish. They're probably ticked off that Roger (Clemens) isn't pitching."All they do - if someone gets belted or drilled - is they show highlights of that. It's all controversy."In 2004, the Cardinals played the Sunday night game at home before the All-Star break, when the All-Star Game was in Houston. Last year, with La Russa as National League manager, the Cardinals played the Sunday night in San Francisco before their All-Star contingent traveled three time zones away to Detroit".
Those are the words of Saint Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Rick Hummel, who is one of the finest baseball writer's in the nation and is well respected by both players and journalists. It's to bad he doesn't cover the Cardinals on a daily basis anymore.
