There's a curious silence in the major media when it comes to college baseball.
They love college football. Dwell on it, obsess on it.
Ditto college basketball.
Sweet sixteen. Bowl games. National rankings. BCS National Championship. Traditional rivalries. Cinderella teams. Even recruiting scandals and sexual assaults. All you can read, or watch, or hear, or stomach - day in, day out; in season and year 'round.
But not baseball.
Today, for instance, the finals of the NCAA Division I Baseball World Series will begin. UCLA vs. Mississippi State, in a best of three struggle.
Look for it in the New York Times, for instance. Look hard. I just did, and no mention of it at all. Okay, an occasional AP wire service feed, but nothing about UCLA making the finals, let alone the match-up for the finals. Not even today, with the game scheduled to start in just four hours. No discussion of the teams, or their players, or their chances.
But the Times does have an article in today's paper about how the Wallabies are suffering from three injuries as they prepare for the "all important" second test in the British and Irish Lions series in Melbourne. That's Melbourne, as in, Australia. And I think the game is rugby. Which I've never heard described as America's national pastime ... although perhaps I've missed something the Times editors have grasped?
Not in the Washington Post, which does, however, have an article on the "under 20 World Cup" in Turkey.
Not to the single out the Times or the Post: you won't learn much about the CWS (College World Series, lest you not recognize the reference) from any other major media source, either.
Why is that? College ball has become a major training ground for major league baseball, just as it has for football and basketball? Why the silence?
Strange.
P.S. For the record, I'm rooting for the Bruins ....
Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts
08 November 2009
The owners are naked; I hope they freeze
A friend e-mailed me this morning to say she didn't understand why the Angels didn't play better defense in last night's American League Championship game.
Look to corporate baseball's greed, and their slavish deference to the Great God, Television.
Last night's game might be counted as an exciting game, but it wasn't a championship game -- not by any stretch of the imagination. And why? Because the game shouldn't have been played at all, and certainly shouldn't have been extended into the late innings. Infielders should never have to wear balaclavas ... especially when they interfere with their ability to hear a team-mate calling them on or off a pop-fly. Batters should never have to face inside fastballs when their hands are too cold to get around on a swing. Fielders should never lose a popfly because rain is lashing their eyes when they look up for the ball. Fielders should never have to take the time to make sure they're gripping the ball by the seams before throwing to make a close play. Pitchers should never have to forgo particular pitches because it's too cold for them to control the ball as well as they're able. It was cold, it was wet, and it was raining -- too cold, wet and rainy for baseball, but the game went on.
The question is, why did the game go on? Because it "had" to be played, and played to its finish. Baseball owners have tied their bank accounts to the dictates of television -- play on the date and times scheduled for the convenience of television, and players, fans and the very quality of the game be damned.
Angels' defense? How about the Yankees' defense? It wasn't just Izturis's error in the 13th; Jeter erred in the 8th, and Cano in the 13th. Beyond that, the play was sloppy on both sides. Why? Not because the players are sloppy players -- far from it! Those are championship-quality players, all of them. It was because of the rain, and the cold. That wasn't a championship game; it was a game of errors, sloppy defense, sloppy pitching, sloppy batting, and sloppy baserunning -- all because the game should never have been played in those conditions. Never.
Why not play in the afternoon, when it was marginally warmer? Because of television -- God forbid they should conflict with televised college football games. Why won't today's Dodgers/Phillies game be played in the afternoon, when it will be warmer? God forbid they should run afoul of NFL viewership!
And they'll be playing into November anyway. That's a travesty, especially if the World Series is between New York and Philadelphia -- not because I have anything against New York (okay, maybe I do) or Philadelphia, but because November in the northeast is much too late for baseball, especially night baseball. And not just the northeast -- look at the ridiculous conditions the Phillies and Rockies faced in Denver.
A radical proposal: baseball should be played in warm weather, or covered stadiums. I mean, why do we call them the "Boys of Summer"? Baseball should be played in dry conditions. There's a reason games used to be postponed because of rain. But no, you can't postpone a playoff game, or call it in mid-game to be continued on a better day, because television won't permit it.
In my estimation, no game should be played in rain, no game should be played in temperatures more appropriate to ice hockey, and no game should be played in November ... unless the World Series is permanently moved to Puerto Rico.
If baseball insists on early winter playoff games, they should all be scheduled in sun-belt cities, regardless of the teams involved. And if corporate baseball doesn't want to do that, they should shorten the season -- either by reducing the number of games or bringing back the old doubleheader ... but heaven forfend; they'd lose revenue!
I'm not upset at my friend for her question; I'm upset at baseball owners, and the media commentators who won't report the emperor's nudity.
Bah, humbug!
Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 18 October 2009
Look to corporate baseball's greed, and their slavish deference to the Great God, Television.
Last night's game might be counted as an exciting game, but it wasn't a championship game -- not by any stretch of the imagination. And why? Because the game shouldn't have been played at all, and certainly shouldn't have been extended into the late innings. Infielders should never have to wear balaclavas ... especially when they interfere with their ability to hear a team-mate calling them on or off a pop-fly. Batters should never have to face inside fastballs when their hands are too cold to get around on a swing. Fielders should never lose a popfly because rain is lashing their eyes when they look up for the ball. Fielders should never have to take the time to make sure they're gripping the ball by the seams before throwing to make a close play. Pitchers should never have to forgo particular pitches because it's too cold for them to control the ball as well as they're able. It was cold, it was wet, and it was raining -- too cold, wet and rainy for baseball, but the game went on.
The question is, why did the game go on? Because it "had" to be played, and played to its finish. Baseball owners have tied their bank accounts to the dictates of television -- play on the date and times scheduled for the convenience of television, and players, fans and the very quality of the game be damned.
Angels' defense? How about the Yankees' defense? It wasn't just Izturis's error in the 13th; Jeter erred in the 8th, and Cano in the 13th. Beyond that, the play was sloppy on both sides. Why? Not because the players are sloppy players -- far from it! Those are championship-quality players, all of them. It was because of the rain, and the cold. That wasn't a championship game; it was a game of errors, sloppy defense, sloppy pitching, sloppy batting, and sloppy baserunning -- all because the game should never have been played in those conditions. Never.
Why not play in the afternoon, when it was marginally warmer? Because of television -- God forbid they should conflict with televised college football games. Why won't today's Dodgers/Phillies game be played in the afternoon, when it will be warmer? God forbid they should run afoul of NFL viewership!
And they'll be playing into November anyway. That's a travesty, especially if the World Series is between New York and Philadelphia -- not because I have anything against New York (okay, maybe I do) or Philadelphia, but because November in the northeast is much too late for baseball, especially night baseball. And not just the northeast -- look at the ridiculous conditions the Phillies and Rockies faced in Denver.
A radical proposal: baseball should be played in warm weather, or covered stadiums. I mean, why do we call them the "Boys of Summer"? Baseball should be played in dry conditions. There's a reason games used to be postponed because of rain. But no, you can't postpone a playoff game, or call it in mid-game to be continued on a better day, because television won't permit it.
In my estimation, no game should be played in rain, no game should be played in temperatures more appropriate to ice hockey, and no game should be played in November ... unless the World Series is permanently moved to Puerto Rico.
If baseball insists on early winter playoff games, they should all be scheduled in sun-belt cities, regardless of the teams involved. And if corporate baseball doesn't want to do that, they should shorten the season -- either by reducing the number of games or bringing back the old doubleheader ... but heaven forfend; they'd lose revenue!
I'm not upset at my friend for her question; I'm upset at baseball owners, and the media commentators who won't report the emperor's nudity.
Bah, humbug!
Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 18 October 2009
Casey's bummed
Good news. The Orioles just officially announced that they traded their 27 year old ace, Eric Bedard, for 5 players.
Let's see, Bedard was 13-5 last year, with 221 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA. Despite his shortened season, he tied Roy Halladay, Johan Santana and Justin Verlander in the Cy Young voting last year. Here's what they got for him:
George Sherrill, a pretty good 30 year-old reliever who went 2-0 with 3 saves and a 2.36 ERA for Seattle.
Adam Jones, a pretty good 22 year-old Class AAA minor league outfielder with a .314 average at Tacoma last year.
Chris Tillman, a 19 year-old Class A pitcher with a 4.84 ERA and a 7-11 record last year.
Kam Mickolio, a 23 year old minor league reliever with a 2.68 ERA at Class AA and AAA ball last year.
Tony Butler, a 20 year old minor league pitcher with a 4.75 ERA and a 4-7 record in Class A ball.
I'm impressed. Bet the Red Sox are worried.
Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 10 February 2008
Let's see, Bedard was 13-5 last year, with 221 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA. Despite his shortened season, he tied Roy Halladay, Johan Santana and Justin Verlander in the Cy Young voting last year. Here's what they got for him:
George Sherrill, a pretty good 30 year-old reliever who went 2-0 with 3 saves and a 2.36 ERA for Seattle.
Adam Jones, a pretty good 22 year-old Class AAA minor league outfielder with a .314 average at Tacoma last year.
Chris Tillman, a 19 year-old Class A pitcher with a 4.84 ERA and a 7-11 record last year.
Kam Mickolio, a 23 year old minor league reliever with a 2.68 ERA at Class AA and AAA ball last year.
Tony Butler, a 20 year old minor league pitcher with a 4.75 ERA and a 4-7 record in Class A ball.
I'm impressed. Bet the Red Sox are worried.
Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 10 February 2008
America's un-American capital
Never mind Iraq, ignore S-Chip, pay no attention to global warming. We have a crisis which surpasses all the others. Washington, D.C. is the nation's capital and baseball is the national pastime, so why can't a baseball fan in the Washington metropolitan area listen to the World Series? I live in Arlington, Virginia which until it was retroceded to the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1846 was actually part of the District of Columbia. Yet there's not a D.C. area radio station carrying the World Series with a signal strong enough to cross the Potomac. It's an outrage!
Can anybody imagine that the Nationals will fare any better than the lamented and lamentable Senators in a city of such philistines?
Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 24 October 2007
Can anybody imagine that the Nationals will fare any better than the lamented and lamentable Senators in a city of such philistines?
Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 24 October 2007
Mortification at the heart of the evil empire
Spectator sports bore me. Or worse. Basketball's presumed attractions mystify me; abnormally tall people running back and forth throwing a ball in the hoop. Who cares? I mean, beyond those tens of millions who succumb to March madness? Hockey is basketball played on skates, with alarming assaults and flailing sticks thrown in. Football, as we Americans so chauvinistically call it, is incomprehensible to the uninitiated and so brutal that that victory seems to go to the teams with the fewest injured. I loved playing real football -- as the world knows it -- but watching a game is a personal cure for insomnia ... although, it must be admitted, 99.44% of the world clearly disagrees with me. But there you have it.
But baseball! There's a game! One to be savored, full of intricacies and fascinations for the most discerning of fans. Well, okay, maybe not, but still, I confess to an inordinate fondness for the sport. But even there, the political influences; a populist heart must lead any conscientious fan to an intractable antipathy for the New York Yankees. Save for those few benighted souls who hail from Gotham, how could anybody respect a team which so perfectly exemplifies the arrogance of wealth?
Over the past 13 seasons, the Yankees have lavished nearly $1.6 billion on their players, an amount far in excess of any other team. The imbalance is so severe that just one Yankee pinch hitter from Thursday's game (he didn't even play yesterday) is paid nearly a third of the combined salary for the opposing team.
Yet here's the rub: the Yankees barely reached the playoffs this year, and have done about as poorly for the past two years. As I write, they trail their comparatively impoverished (stress the word "comparatively" -- no contemporary major leaguer has any grounds for financial complaint!) two games to none in the first round of the playoffs despite a payroll over three times their opponent's, and stand in danger of being ignominiously dispatched tomorrow night into the netherworld of the off-season.
Better, it's not just the Yankees this year. Which populist amongst us cannot be smiling because not only is the team ranked 22nd in payroll (Cleveland) leading the team ranked first, but the team ranked 23rd (Arizona) is leading a team with a payroll 62% greater (Chicago) and the team ranked 26th (Colorado) is leading a team paid 66% more (Philadelphia) ... and in all three cases, the David is leading its Goliath two games to none (Colorado and Arizona have subsequently swept the Phillies and Cubs).
Baseball. There's a sport.
Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 7 October 2007
But baseball! There's a game! One to be savored, full of intricacies and fascinations for the most discerning of fans. Well, okay, maybe not, but still, I confess to an inordinate fondness for the sport. But even there, the political influences; a populist heart must lead any conscientious fan to an intractable antipathy for the New York Yankees. Save for those few benighted souls who hail from Gotham, how could anybody respect a team which so perfectly exemplifies the arrogance of wealth?
Over the past 13 seasons, the Yankees have lavished nearly $1.6 billion on their players, an amount far in excess of any other team. The imbalance is so severe that just one Yankee pinch hitter from Thursday's game (he didn't even play yesterday) is paid nearly a third of the combined salary for the opposing team.
Yet here's the rub: the Yankees barely reached the playoffs this year, and have done about as poorly for the past two years. As I write, they trail their comparatively impoverished (stress the word "comparatively" -- no contemporary major leaguer has any grounds for financial complaint!) two games to none in the first round of the playoffs despite a payroll over three times their opponent's, and stand in danger of being ignominiously dispatched tomorrow night into the netherworld of the off-season.
Better, it's not just the Yankees this year. Which populist amongst us cannot be smiling because not only is the team ranked 22nd in payroll (Cleveland) leading the team ranked first, but the team ranked 23rd (Arizona) is leading a team with a payroll 62% greater (Chicago) and the team ranked 26th (Colorado) is leading a team paid 66% more (Philadelphia) ... and in all three cases, the David is leading its Goliath two games to none (Colorado and Arizona have subsequently swept the Phillies and Cubs).
Baseball. There's a sport.
Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 7 October 2007
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