I'm through with Major League Baseball for 2009.

When the ALDS umpire ruled a Mauer ground rule double, a foul ball...even after hitting the left fielder's glove, and bouncing fair, I turned the HDTV off.

Emperor Bud Selig's response to this play and replay in general showed how little he cares about MLB or the fans. Bud isn't interested in any more replays. 

Getting the call right is what matters.  I don't care about "mistakes happen."  This is the playoffs and the place where monumental errors can/should be corrected.

MLB reacts slowly to the outcry of fans, that is, until an upper east coast team gets hosed.  Then the reaction is swift. 

If you're thinking about viewing the remaining playoffs/World Series, here's something to think about, if you don't have a dog in this fight:

2009 MLB Team Salary...per USA Today

$209,000,000  Yankees

$113,000,000  Phillies

$113,000,000  Los Angeles/Anaheim/Disney/Earth Angels

$110,000,000  Los Angeles Dodgers

Hmmm...who can I cheer against?  Let me think about this.  What statistic stands out and shows part of the reason MLB is a joke?

Hey, I can cheer for an East coast v. West coast World Series.

I love hearing 'those' Easties whine ,"I had to stay up late to watch a game.  Why don't they schedule these West coast games at times that are convenient for us!"  Why! Because your time zone ain't convenient for Cali fans you Nancy-boy!   Believe it or not, there are FOUR time zones in the lower 48 states.  Yours is not the only one that matters.  The networks want their ad revenue too! The blogs on this subject are always a delicious read.

FYI, the Twins' salary this year was 65,000,000

Things that make me go BLECH!

Today, the Tribune Company, agreed to sell the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field and a chunk of the regional cable franchise to...we have no idea! (Pending MLB's rubber stamp)

Last year, a white knight showed up, offering buckets of money and a bright future for the Cubs. His name was Mark Cuban, who we know as the vocal owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Cuban's mantra is: "What can I do to help the team win?" Way to go Tribune Company.

You've guaranteed the fans a mediocre future, since you sold to a money dude, not a sports fan interested in WINNING. Bring the goat onto the field now and excercise the Ghost-Of-Bartman.

***a day later:

The Cubs are being purchased by a new money family.  The Ricketts Family Trust will own the Cub(bies!).  Multiple news sources indicate that the leader of the clan, Tom, is a big Cubs fan.  This Husker transplant had better serve the fans or be prepared to be Bartmanized by the public.

It's springtime.   NCAA Basketball and the Masters are over.   Hopefully, by June the NBA and NHL playoffs will be complete.

You know wha that means!

ESPN and FOX hire additional staffers, who have always lived in the New England/NY area, to talk about what they will force down the throats of sports fans for the next six months.  Yankees vs. Sox.

Here we go again.  Non stop, till the end of  World Series, it's SportsCenter, leading off with the lastest Jeter/A-Rod love triangle.   The crowd chants Jee-tuh, Jee-tuh, and on the network feed it's Alex crying and asking, "When will I be loved!"

FOXSports will fan the same flames, feeding us drivel about Dice-K and his translator's parallel parking issues.  Tim McCarver will rent a Kia or Hyundai and show us how to parallel park, all the while, talking down to the viewer.

Whatever the MLB network contract limit is for national telecasts of one team, rest assured that the Yankees will max it out, and a way will be found for every Yankees vs. Sox game to be broadcast nationally.

There are twenty something other MLB baseball teams out there, not counting KC; we don't hear about other teams, unless a player is busted for DUI or caught in a Yugo with a transvestite-midget-hooker-wrestler.(Thanks Eddie Murphy.)

The reality is that the majority of baseball fans don't care or are sick of  the Yankees and Red Sox.  Ever heard of over exposure?  Have you listened to an East Coaster complain about the starting time of West Coast games?  It's comical. "Cricket and I had to stay up till 2am to see the Yankees beat Seattle 27-0.  How do those West Coasties stay up so late?  Is it the coffee?  We watched Seinfeld during commercials."

It's humerous when any Red Sox fan mentions the unfairness of the Yankees payroll, which is the highest in the Western Hemisphere.   The Red Sox, historically, have the second highest.  Hey Boston, relocate and force reallignment!

Game on!

Make me pick a team and I'll cheer for Boston, every time, because they're not New York, home of the media and network control.

Calgon take me away!