It's been over 200 days since America last saw Major League Baseball played
before the pandemic shut things down. And the way MLB is going they
should have stayed shut down.
Normally, I count down the days
to the start of the regular season. But, this year I could care less.
Here are some random thoughts on the state of the game as it opened today.
-MLB and its players approved
expanded playoffs this year. In a money grab to expand the number of
games available for ESPN and Fox Sports, both sides approved expanding the
playoffs to 16 teams. That means more than half of the teams in MLB will
be in the playoffs. Which raises the question why bother playing a regular season.
Expanded playoffs cheapen the regular season and reduces the talent pool in the
playoffs. What's even worse is once playoffs are expanded they never
contract.
-I've been watching baseball
for over 60 years and the thought of a designated hitter makes me want to
puke. The addition of a DH to the National League creates an uneven
playing field for NL teams that have not cultivated the spot in the lineup as
have their junior circuit cousins for the past 40 plus years. It's been a
gimmick since it was implemented and it still is.
-The 60 game season is a
joke. Why is a third of the season being spent playing teams that aren't
even in the same league. Yet, those games will count as much as any
division game. I am a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and agree playing
two thirds of the season against its division rivals is a good idea. But, why
the heck are the Cardinals playing the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Chicago
White Sox? They are bad baseball teams. It's another gimmick that MLB has forced on the public.
And MLB hasn't publicized it yet, but all teams will be playing the same other
league division they are playing this year again next year. What does that tell
you? ESPN AND Fox want to match up major market teams on the East coast
to inflate ratings. Hopefully, this will backfire and MLB, ESPN and Fox
will lose their ass as the public sees through yet another worthless gimmick.
-One final thought; if
commissioner Rob Manfred is involved, you can be assured he will do the wrong
thing and piss off the fans who support the game. But, what does Manfred and
his owner buddies care? They're making money hand over fist without a single
person in any stadium.
I guess I will continue to
watch the Big Bang Theory and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives rather than this
bastardization of the American past time until the NHL starts its playoffs in a
week and a half.
Rob Manfred, you're an idiot.
-
Rob Manfred, you're an idiot.
