I was listening to my radio the other day, as I often do since I have found ESPN on the dial of my new car, and I was stunned to hear Dan Patrick blaming Bud Selig for the post poned games due to weather. To be fair to Dan, I have heard many others blaming the commissioner of baseball for the rained out games and the cold weather. Come on folks, let's not be too hard on Bud Selig. Sure I think he is an #### and turned a blind eye to steroids. I truly believe he has done everything in his power to make baseball profitable for his Brewers, but control the weather?
There are those who say that home openers should not be scheduled in the northeast in April. Maybe not, but how many games would have to be played on the road to open the season to guarantee nice weather. It was frigid in Atlanta yesterday during a day game. Of course if Global warming is truly happening, then this should not occur. Unfortunately, once in a great while we get snow in April and sometimes even May. When that occurs people should just chalk one up to Mother Nature and move on. Quit blaming MLB for the schedules. It rains in Seattle year round and no amount of money could get me to move to Minnesota where my toes would freeze.
Socal ............. The one thing that Selig can definately be blamed for. Is the poor marketing of the sport amongst the African Amercian race and in general the marketting of the sport as a whole. Young kids can barely identify but with a few of the stars in the sport. Unlike in basketball where there's an abundance of stars out there. Who've they got in baseball other than A-Rod , Jeter and Pujols ? From there it's almost if it's a leap of faith for us to really indentify the next major star in the pantheon of things. Selig and his cronies of MLB have done a lousy job over the years. And it's not going to get any better until they get someone in there who really knows something about PR and marketing. We've the likes of Ryan Howard , Jacque Vaughn and Torii Hunter , but when's the last time you've seen their image being used to market the sport to young African Americans let alone for any sort of marketing whatsoever ? It's as if they don't know their #### from their elbows when it comes to such a thing ! Is it any wonder they're left in the wake of the sports like NASCAR, the NFL and basketball ?
rampant/tophatal...........
Last edited by rampantfanatic on April 16th at 10:59 AM.
Steelr, it is ironic that with Global Warming, our spring is colder this year than ever.
Ramp, I agree Selig is guilty of many follies and I would agree that MLB does a lousy job of marketing its product. I would also add that baseball players should shoulder some of that responsibility. They should go out and do charity work and people would take notice. You have individual stars who do many great things, but are rarely recognized by MLB. Agents can help with press releases if one wants the recognition.
SoCal - C'mon! You're selling Minnesota short. Why, outside of our winters we have...umm, we can offer...umm, well, baseball in a dome! OK, maybe not. I guess it really is the coaching hockey thing that keeps me here. Actually, I love it here. Haven't lived in San Diego but had a friend of mine who lived out there for a while. He said it was great, weather wise. And yet he still moved back. Hmmmm! Oh, and as for your post. Agreed. Bud Selig is to blame for many, many things. However, the weather ain't one of them.
What I want to know is where the revenue went for these games. I know they only charged ten bucks a ticket, but isn't it ironic that they were held in Selig's stadium?
Did the Indians franchise earn any money for losing those home games? What about vending revenue?
True, Selig can't control the weather. In fact, I'm not quite sure what Bud can control. He doesn't seem like most capable of sorts. However, you can bet that whatever he can control he does so at the owners' bidding.
Once he was appointed Commish, any pretense of objectivity and doing what was in the best interests of the game went completely out the window.
Guys I live midway between Tampa and Orlando and all we've got to offer is Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and EPCOT in Orlando. As for Tampa there's Sea World, Busch Gardens, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and array of adult night spots up and down the strip on Dale Mabry H'way. So beat that ! All joking asides though Selig's done a terrible job of marketing the game to the younger crowd. And as the demographics change within the criteria that there now is, we'll begin to see a dwindling in the audiences attending the games even though the revenues will grow somewhat exponentially through the increasing of ticket prices and the accompanying merchandising sales.
And apart from opening day and ther first home game for most teams. When do you ever see baseball stadium ever filled to capacity ? Unless either the Yankees or Red Sox are in town in the AL or the Cardinals or Mets in the NL. It's that crippling at times and is about to get a whole lot worse in the coming years. I don't think the powers that be are really paying that much attention to the situation overall. Because if they were , there'd be some sort of remedy already in place. The league too often likes to play its cards too close to its chest and doesn't really want to let the outside world know what it's up to. Is it any wonder that a majority of its franchises are barely making any money.
Last edited by rampantfanatic on April 16th at 5:24 PM.
cont'd ....... as we know many of the franchises are struggling to make a profit. Despite the increased revenues from tv rights and merchandising sales. So when Selig dares to tell us that the game is in a healthy state. Are we really ready to believe him ? Personally I'd like to see the books of every major league franchise just to see what's really happening in depth. Then and only then will we really know how healthy the game really is financially. We hardly ever see a commercial featuring a marketing campaign nationally with a well known player. I mean come on now when was the last time you saw an ad featuring one of the League's high profile players ? Be it Jeter , A-Rod, Pujols or Clemens. Print ads are fine but the mass market appeal is through the tv a campaign. And that boat sailed a long time ago in terms of baseball. They just haven't got a clue !
It's a game that's being run by a bunch of old blithering idiots who haven't got the sense to bring some bright young talent to figure out what's needed to reinvigorate the game so that it appeals to the much younger fan.
Socal ......... With regard to Selig and his supposed power. Dare I say it but I don't even believe that he's the most powerful man within the sport itself ? That accolade I believe belongs to agent Scott Boras. Check out my post titled Bada Bing Bada Boom I''m The Real Don Not The Consigliari. It's about Boras and his apparent stranglehold on baseball and the fact that he has all the the premier players at his beck and call. He represents more than half of the top twenty highest paid players in the game.
Nice cheddar if you can earn it don't ya' think ? Commission at anywhere between 3 and 15% per deal ain't so bad !
Socal, you do realize that global warming is responsible for extremes in both directions... right?
The reason the blizzards are getting worse in the Northeast is because the Great Lakes are no longer freezing over thus fueling the stronger snow storms that are topping the headlines.
Actually Ultra, I contend they are not responsible for any of the extremes, but rather all a natural cycle. El Ninos, Sunspots, and the wobble of the earth on its axis are all cyclical. How do you account for warming on Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto?
As for sticking to arugments, I suggest you come to the table with science and not made up propaganda to keep money in the pockets of the gloom and doom machine.
Last edited by socalsportsfan on April 21st at 7:21 PM.
Oh, resorting to a Jesus2 argument. Every argument used by those who disagree with you is "propaganda."
This isn't science? The reason the blizzards are getting worse in the Northeast is because the Great Lakes are no longer freezing over thus fueling the stronger snow storms that are topping the headlines.
Can you refute that?
I agree, it's much easier to just dismiss another's argument by claiming it's propaganda. No messy research, no residue!
