Tag Archives: Mlb

Jan 18

Selig Rewards Wilpon For Not Spending

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This blog gets many comments imploring Major League Baseball to force the Wilpons to sell the Mets. I said it will never happen, and the recent move by MLB to name Fred Wilpon to chair the Finance Committee underscores that position.

We should remember while Bud Selig is commissioner, he is first and foremost a former owner. His roots are in ownership and that’s where his sentiment lies.

Selig is tight with Wilpon, always has been and probably always will be. Selig isn’t interested in the Mets increasing their payroll. His position as commissioner has always been to reduce payroll and that’s exactly what Wilpon has done with the Mets.

Basically, Selig rewarded Wilpon for not spending.

Wilpon has run the Mets the way Selig would if he were owner. Wilpon has been a good soldier for Selig, and for that, has been rewarded.

Surprised?

Dec 29

NFL Gets It When It Comes To Scheduling; MLB Missing Boat

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As I watched the NFL yesterday on the Red Zone – sports for those with ADHD – it came to me how much Major League Baseball could learn from football when it comes to scheduling.

All of yesterday’s games were played within the division, which illustrates a major flaw in baseball’s scheduling. There were ten games that had some kind of playoff implications, whether it was winning the division or playoff seeding.

Conversely, the Mets ended their season with an interleague game against Houston. Regular readers of this blog know I am vehemently against interleague play, but in particular on Opening Day and in September.

There was an interleague game nearly every day of the season, including two for home openers and eight series in September. How can you legitimately promote pennant races with that many September interleague series?

MLB would be wise if its September schedule, or at least the last three weeks of it, were played within the division. The Mets’ 2015 September interleague series is against the Yankees. If neither team is in the race then there could be a lot of empty seats at Citi Field.

Another thing the NFL does I like with its schedule is the opening week. Clearly, the NFL wrestled the “magic’’ of an Opening Day from baseball with its Thursday night game featuring the Super Bowl champion.

Baseball’s Opening Day used to highlight Washington – the team in the nation’s capital – and Cincinnati, the oldest franchise, the day before everybody else.

This past season, the first regular season game was played in March, while another team was still in its exhibition schedule. There have been other times, notably when the Yankees and Rays went to Japan, when the season openers were played abroad and those teams returned to complete their exhibition schedule.

Opening Day used to be special, now it’s a hodge-podge. The NFL gets it when it comes to scheduling while MLB is falling short.

Dec 19

Report Has Selig Getting $6 Million Annually

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An ESPN report, although not confirmed by Major League Baseball, has departing commissioner Bud Selig receiving an annual $6 million salary.

SELIG: Nice parting gift.

SELIG: Nice parting gift.

While I have no problem with MLB spending as it chooses, I find it hypocritical as the driving force of Selig’s tenure was to cut player salaries. From free agency to arbitration, Selig – always an owner at heart – acted like he had to pay each contract.

Don’t forget, Selig’s legacy includes forcing the 1994 work stoppage that lead to the killing of the World Series that year. Selig’s hardball stance called for a salary cap and revenue sharing.

The stoppage lasted through the following spring, which featured replacement players.

The damage from this labor conflict lead to bleeding losses by MLB, which it tried to fix with fabricated home run races and the steroid era. Yes, friends, that’s courtesy of Selig and the owners.

Unquestionably, MLB is enjoying its most lucrative era in history and Selig merits some praise in this windfall.

Again, its MLB’s money and it can do with it what it chooses. But, let’s not overlook the hypocrisy in Selig’s tenure. That’s also part of his legacy.

Nov 08

Mets Hope Shortening Outfield Walls at Citi Will Prove Succesful

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Citi-Field-New-Fences-2014

For the second time since moving into their new home in 2009, the New York Mets will be moving the outfield walls at Citi Field, reportedly bringing the right field wall closer to home plate, in an effort to help boost their overall homerun production, particularly power hitters such as David Wright and Curtis Granderson.

Following the 2011 MLB season, the Mets made significant changes to the ballpark dimensions at Citi Field, bringing in the left field wall by as much as 13 feet and right center field by 17 feet, and lowering the wall height to eight feet throughout the outfield.

In 2012, the first season played in their modified home, the Mets’ homerun production jumped from 108, 26th overall in the majors, to 139, with the biggest beneficiary being lefty first baseman Ike Davis, who hit a career-high 32 dingers to lead the team.

Although the Mets, who are pegged as 40/1 longshots to win the 2015 World Series in MLB Betting at sportsbooks available through www.bettingsports.com, have yet to comment on any planned modifications to the ball park, recently published aerial pics indicate that significant work on the outfield wall is already underway with the primary focus on the right center field area.

The upcoming changes are expected to be formally unveiled by the ball club in late November, and should provide a boost to the Mets’ power production, once again among the lowest in MLB in 2014, 20th overall with just 125 total. But shortening the porch also means changes are likely in store for the Mets’ pitching staff.

Veteran hurler Bartolo Colon and right hander Dillon Gee, who gave up 18 home runs in 22 appearances for the Mets this season will likely be moving on due to their susceptibility to give up long fly balls, many of which would carry as homers in the newly modified park. But with young hurlers Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey, both ground ball pitchers, looking ready to take on bigger roles in Queens, the timing could not be better for the Mets.

New York is not the only ball club that has modified its ballpark’s dimensions in recent years in an effort to increase power production.

The Seattle Mariners significantly shortened the left field wall at Safeco Field prior to the 2013 MLB season, from 390 feet to 378 feet, while the right field fence was shortened by 11 feet as part of a major renovation at the San Diego Padres’ Petco Park.

The moves produced immediate dividends for both west coast clubs with the Padres jumping from a MLB third-worst 121 dingers in 2012 to 146 in 2013, while the M’s jumped from a middling 149 long balls in 2012 to 188, second best in the majors in 2013.

Oct 29

Who Really Cares About The Ratings?

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Word is the ratings for this World Series have been among the lowest ever. Probably because San Francisco and Kansas City aren’t marquee franchises.

Funny, but hasn’t Major League Baseball’s biggest argument for revenue sharing was to give the “small market’’ teams a chance at being competitive?

The Bay Area is a substantial market, but the Giants aren’t the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs or Red Sox, the so called glamour teams.

All along, MLB has been clamoring for competitive balance and when they get it, the gripe is nobody is watching.

Major League Baseball isn’t happy about this pairing, and FOX Sports isn’t happy. And, the fans of tomorrow and the elderly fans aren’t happy because the games are on too late.

Hopefully, somebody is enjoying this Series. Ratings? I don’t care about ratings. All I know is I am watching.