MLB Is a Joke

I haven't watched many baseball games since the return of this thing MLB wants to call baseball.  Sure, it is played like baseball but it's still a bastardization of the game we know.

I watched the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs play a "double header" yesterday.  What I saw was only a shadow what it should have been.

For starters both teams had a roster full of minor league players to get them through the two games.  And the games were not full games, but administratively shortened seven inning affairs.  I used to play seven inning games in high school.  The players on the Cards and Cubs yesterday who are not first year players are getting paid millions of dollars to play.  So, why are they too lame to play full games?  They won't play full games because MLB knows it will have to make up a butt load of games every time a team comes down with COVID-19.  As an example, the Cardinals have played three double headers in the last five days due to the many games that have been postponed due to having someone on their team or travel party come down with the virus.

Other observations yesterday that have not existed in the past.  Both clubs used designated hitters in both games.  This is because MLB has rammed the DH down the throats of National League teams.  Both the Cubs and the Cardinals are charter members of the National League and neither has been in favor of the rule.  But, commissioner Rob Manfred, ordained from on high it would happen and it has.  I could write another couple of articles on the DH and how it removes strategy from the game.  But, Manfred is looking for instant offense and he digs the long ball.  This game being played now, results in a strikeout, walk or home run more frequently than you realize.  This is not the game that has been played by Americans for hundreds of years.

Finally, the first game of the doubleheader yesterday lasted three hours.  That's bad enough for nine innings but remember this game was only seven innings long.  Projected out to nine full innings the game would have been three hours and 31 minutes.  That is unacceptable.

But, this joke of a game will continue.  Why you ask?  Because MLB will get millions of dollars from its network broadcast partners once the game gets to the post-season.  And when that happens, the owners will all get their pockets lined with TV money.  The rich get richer and the rest of us will have to do without the real game with all big league players.

Just shut it down now!

Making Up the Rules as It Goes

Major League Baseball continues to shit the bed almost daily.  It continues to make up new rules as new problems arise.

The latest MLB screw-up is saying winning percentage will decide who wins the divisions and who makes it into the post-season.  Both Miami and St. Louis have missed more than half of their season to date and MLB is hinting those games will not be made up in its two month schedule.  What?

For the 60 years I have watched the game, every team has played the same number of games to determine the winner of each division and who qualifies for the playoffs.  The only exception has been when teams who have no mathematical chance of post season play don't play out the full schedule.

But, now Rob Manfred and his cronies, have decided the season must be completed on time.  Why, you ask?  The commissioner's office which just did nothing for four months because of the pandemic, now wishes to finish the season on time?  The real answer is the game's TV partners want the playoffs in October.  So, guess what fool made this decision? (Manfred)

I'll say it again just as I have in my past few posts.  Just, shut it down now!