Opening Day for MLB...Why Bother?

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.

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