I have a beef with the Commissioner.
Not Commissioner Stern. Not Commissioner Goodell. This time around it’s the man, the myth, the-soon-to-be-retired-but-it-can’t-come-soon-enough Commissioner Selig.
My complaints are not the usual you’re a former owner, crypt-keeper look-alike, turn a blind eye to steroid use, All-Star Game ending in a tie, type of beef.
This is a legitimate complaint and as usual, I’m sure it will fall on deaf ears.
Christmas came early in the Selig household this year. Bud was just handed the greatest gift he could ever ask for: attention. Fans nationwide were just witness to perhaps the greatest end to a Major League season in history. Or at least the most talked about. Think about it. When was the last time you had your eyes glued to the outcome of a regular season game, never mind four of them? Thursday, with the Braves, Cardinals, Red Sox and Rays goings on, baseball was all anyone could talk about.
The Rays came back from a seven-run deficit to eke into the playoffs. They’re a perfect example of everything that’s right with baseball: a low-budget, small-market team that plays its ass off, topples Goliath and shows us all that money can’t buy love.
So what does Bud Selig do to reward them for their spectacular season?
He schedules their first home playoff game the same day, a mere three hours before the BUCCANEERS host the first Monday Night Football game they’ve had in eight years! (Thanks, Fibbs)
As most baseball fans know, the Tampa Bay Rays already struggle to pull in fans. Despite fielding a team that made the playoffs – with a payroll one-quarter Boston’s, mind you – Tropicana Field is only averaging about 19,000 fans per, second worst in the league.
Wouldn’t it be beneficial, kind even, for Major League Baseball to show a little flexibility and adjust Monday’s 5:07 start time to either earlier, or better yet, another day? Or does throwing a bone to a franchise and city that so desperately needs it simply make too much sense?
How are local sports fans supposed to cheer on both hometown teams this Monday? I’ve had plans to go to this Monday Night Football game for weeks. So my reward is not getting to watch the Rays as a result? Thanks, Bud. Thanks a lot.
Look, Mr. Selig, we know Major League Baseball hinges on the fact that it still thinks it’s our national pastime, but you and I both know the NFL rules. Thinking otherwise is living in denial. Scheduling the Rays first home playoff game hours before the biggest draw in town not only makes bad business sense, it’s mindless and inconsiderate.
So, dear Commissioner, on behalf of the entire Bay area, I would like to wish you a wholeheartedly, sarcastic Thank You Very Much from the bottom of our hearts.
Here’s hoping we meet your Brewers in the World Series.
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And that’s why they call him Bud “Lite” Selig. He’s not even close to being intelligent, compassionate or thoughtful. What a douche bag.
Geez, even NASCAR is pushing the Daytona 500- which is always scheduled for the 3rd Sunday in Februar- back a week in 2012 so it doesn’t conflict with the Super Bowl. Some people just don’t have a clue.
Snake and Beag….
EXACTLY!!!
I’m waiting for someone to come on here and defend the decision to schedule THAT game for THAT day.
I’ve heard the arguments. The game days are already scheduled, bla bla bla.
So change it.
Look, the season is already long enough. Pushing it back one more day to accommodate an entire fan base would actually show a modicum of good faith.
Please tell me someone out there is listening.
In the immortal words of Jeff Spicoli: Hey, Bud, what’s your problem?
You know this is VERY hard for me to say, but compared to Bud Selig, Reichsführer Stern is a genius.
How about a common sense solution? No doubt both stadiums have the jumbo screen tvs? Move the baseball game earlier in the afternoon. Buy a ticket to the baseball game, stay and watch MNF on the jumbotron. Got a ticket for the football game? Come to the stadium early and watch the baseball game. Guaranteed, concession vendors at both stadiums will hop on board. It’s a win/win for everybody- AND it doesn’t screw up the “game days are already scheduled” argument.
Face it, they want a playoff game with 15,000 empty seats so they can lend creedence to the theory the Rays need to move.
The NHL might as well throw in a Lightning game.
And which would you rather spend your sporting dollar on? A Rays playoff game or a chance to see the Curtis Painter-led Colts on Monday night?
HB…
Mr. Hand would probably make a better commissioner as well.
At least he’s concerned about OUR time.
Snake…
I know this is odd to say in the middle of a lockout but… you’re gonna miss Stern when he’s gone.
I feel you as far as scheduling goes – but how about you Tampa fans show up for your team, rather than the Yankees and Red Sox? Your attendance is atrocious.
I hereby nominate SpeedBeagle for commissioner of both Major League Baseball and the NFL.
Who’s with me?
Well said, Dub.
I love a good conspiracy theory to get me through the weekend.
HB…
For a change, Bettman’s looking like the smartest guy in the room.
Dub…
The point is that this Monday Night game, which as we both know is a big damn deal, has been on the books since the NFL schedule came out.
Selig obviously didn’t get that memo. He gets the internet, doesn’t he?
Kenji…
I’m not going to try to defend the lackluster attendance of Rays fans by coming up with the same old, hackneyed the-stadium’s-in-a-bad-location or the-entire-area-is-broke arguments.
You’re right. It’s a good product and they should draw more.
That being said, in an area that’s obviously suffering from poor attendance, perhaps adjusting their playoff schedule to make going to the game a little easier might be something Commissioner Selig should put on his agenda.
Unless you’re a conspiracy theorist like J-Dub who thinks the MLB is doing everything they can to move the team.
Chris
You’re finally cottoning on to what I’ve said repeatedly all along with regard to Selig . The guy would make Sadaam Hussein seem endearing at times .
All of this bu__hit and over the last five years he’s been pulling down a salary in excess of $18 million a year on average and there were those who questioned what I was saying about the financial state of the game .
The owners are a bunch of damn idiots as too are the members who are part of the league hierarchy . Selig’s comments to local politicians and owners of the Rays should have indicated to you that he doesn’t give a s_#t about the Rays as a franchise . He has denigrated the local community the club ( by stating that the Trop wasn’t deserving of staging an All Star Game) [and that was even after Sternberg had made a request for some financial aid in refurbishing the venue in order to comply with the league rules to stage such an event ] itself but yet fans within the community seem to take him at his word . Hence I say the community deserves what it has had done to them by MLB !
What will it take for the fans to understand what Selig has been about ? He has simply been currying favor with the big market teams and as far as he’s concerned ………. the rest of the franchises and can go and ___ ck themselves .
It looks as if Francona is on his way out with the Bosox . Even NESN has merely hinted that it could well be his last year as it would appear that they are not going to exercise his option for the 2012 season .
tophatal ………..
Chris
Monday night’s game is scheduled for a 5-07 PM start …… allegedly to maximize television viewership ? MLB has and will always be ran by a bunch of as_holes ! Haven’t you figured that out yet ?
tophatal ………………
Chris
Here’s the postseason schedule Mon thru ‘
tophatal …………
Guess he figures Tampa Bay hasn’t been selling out the Bucs games anyway so what the hell?
He’s a no-good-for-nothin’ son of a horse faced mother… How’s that?
Al…
I’m not all that offended by Selig holding the Trop hostage re: an All-Star Game. The NFL does the same sort of thing. It’s everything else he’s done that’s horseshit… except of course for adding the wild card. Hey, even a blind squirrel finds a nut.
I predict that when it’s all said and done, Selig’s career will be remembered much like the presidency of Ronald Reagan: revered by some, resented by many.
Maximize television viewership, Al? That’s a crock.
Just like last year, the Rays-Rangers series will take a prime time back seat to the other three.
Dwin…
I don’t think he even gave it THAT much thought.
But thanks for agreeing, he he.
I think I like Dubs conspiracy theory. See, we need to move this team, there’s nobody here on their first playoff game!
It seems easy to start their series on Saturday instead of Friday so they could avoid this. Selig is the only commissioner that doesn’t think about the other sports and losing ratings from them or he’d have finished the baseball season before football started a long time ago….
It just doesn’t make sense, Chap.
In what business model, don’t you adapt to your customer base?
Pump the brakes, son. TV pulls the strings… not Budrick. Of course, if he had an ounce of testicular fortitude he would tell TV to change the date. That won’t happen though, gotta keep the schedule open for ALL Yankee games to be on primetime. THAT is a bigger gripe for me.
Agreed, Han.
Nothing is set is stone, so why can’t things be tweaked just a touch.
FYI, my winnings SRM picks are in.
Chris
Simply listen to the crap coming out the league’s head office courtesy of Selig’s underlings .
The statement concerning maximizing tv viewership was verbatim from a high ranking official within baseball. How can they maximize tv audience when those on the West Coast won’t be anywhere a tv set ? One more reason to understand why MLB is being ran by a bunch of friggin’ morons !
We know what the NFL is capable of doing but in all honesty communities profit far more from the operations of the NFL than they do from MLB .
Was that really a “nine spot” put up by the Rays last night against the Rangers ? Damn they looked good !
This series could be over before we’ve all really gotten into it should the Rays come out of Arlington with a 2-0 lead
tophatal ………..
Chris
Selig’s career has been filled with dumb a_s edicts that haven’t done the game one bit of good . About the only thing worthwhile he has done has been to initiate the wildcard system and that’s it !
He now flies by the seat of his pants that’s filled with fecal matter !
tophatal ………………..
Probably did it to punish the 10,000 Rays “fans” that left after the bottom of the 7th inning on Wednesday night.
Come on…real fans support their team all the way to the end. I know there are a lot of blue hairs in TB that had to get to bed but that is still no excuse. Am I right or wrong?
Al…
That it was. The Rays are definitely carrying that 162nd game of the season momentum into the playoffs.
Kelly Shoppach with two dingers? Really? Did he have two home runs on the entire season?
The Rangers can ill afford to drop Game Two.
Again, Al, our Selig countdown continues and as I said in the post, it can’t come soon enough.
Let’s get some new blood in that office.
Well, Drew, I think a little bit of both.
I mean, that game was as good as over. Plus the Sox were up and it was looking like they were possibly going to call that game.
Everyone I knew that was at the game stayed ’til the end. I would have. I mean it was the last game of the season. At least stay til the ninth and thank your team for a good year.
Either way, those that stayed saw history. Those that left got punked.
Chris
I can tell you the one thing Selig cares about , it is whether or not there’s a tax shelter that can be created for the $20 million plus he’ll down for this season in terms of his salary !
Ben Wallace of the Pistons wants to give the likes of Delonte West , Agent 00 and Tarvaris Crittendon a “run for their money “ when it comes to showing gun toting stupidity . He’s got a hearing within the next few days for his latest indiscretion .
How ’bout D-Wade calling out Stern at the latest meeting between the league hierarchy and union ? That situation is now getting far from being cordial . They’re now making the peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians seem like a real love affair .
All of the name calling and brow beating won’t solve anything at all . Never mind that you now have several of the team owners questioning Stern’s approach in the deliberation process.
Can we get a show of hands as to those who want the government intervening and interjecting themselves in the business dealings of the NFL ?
Terry Francona and Tony Reagins please step down from the lofty perches upon which you once rested ………….. you are now both no longer wanted . In the words of Donald Trump …. .” you’re fired ” . Or in the case of tv game show show host Anne Robinson ……………. “you are the weakest link …..goodbye ” !
News , Views & Other Tidbits …….
tophatal ………………..
I just hope the Rays go all the way and crushes the Selig’s hopes of big ratings for the World Series. It would serve the dumbass right.
Great rant Rev.
I agree that it’s a stupid business model, but based on history he doesn’t care about smaller market teams. He’d probably only notice the scheduling conflict if it was the Yankees series and the Jets or Giants were playing. If the A’s had made the playoffs, I bet he’d schedule a game in Oakland the same day as a Raiders game…
Re: the NBA, Al?
I’ll have my take coming up on the labor disagreement soon.
To further show how little Selig cares about Tampa Bay, he schedules their Game Four, a potential elimination game, for 2 pm on Tuesday, so basically, not even kids can see the game for school?
I’m starting to believe J-Dub’s conspiracy and more.
Do you think the Yankees would ever play a 2 o’clock game?
Thanks, Aer.
That Game Three was a tough loss.
Of course, few got to see it because of Monday Night Football.
So here we sit, Chap, watching the Rays play at 2 in the afternoon with four games scheduled for the day and of course, the Yankees are on in prime time.
Selig has been a one man wrecking ball in baseball for entirely too long. His diluted vision of what the league should look like has gone far enough. He has also let the union become one of the most powerful in the nation. We need to bid him adieu.
Greg…
Not sure how you found me but I dig your site.
By all means, welcome to the Chumpatarium.
I don’t think you’ll get much disagreement here about Selig’s accomplishments… or lack thereof.
Although these days, David Stern is making him look like Gandhi.