Posts tagged Bud Selig at FanHouse

Sports Business Journal recently did its annual year-end list of sports media predictions. Typically, it's stuff like "the NFL Network will grow in share," or "ESPN will continue to be a typically boring monolith." That sort of thing. And after all, these are just predictions. It doesn't mean they're actually going to happen. Face value, with a grain of salt, and so on.

But! There is one prediction that has this early riser, after a 2008 postseason of incredibly late baseball, pretty excited:

Postseason baseball games will start earlier this year: First Fox announced that it is canceling its pregame show during baseball's regular season. Now look for the broadcaster to start World Series games a half-hour earlier, closer to 8 p.m. ET. Fox has always maintained that later starting times helped ratings, which meant more people were watching. But this year, the World Series games went so much longer (average length for the three non-rain-delayed games was 3 hours, 15 minutes) and ended so late (average ending time was 11:43 p.m. ET) that ratings couldn't keep up.

To be fair, late baseball games are hardly the worst thing in the world, and the arguments about kids not being able to watch their favorite teams are usually overstated. But MLB could stand to end its games a bit sooner, and beyond making the game shorter (something Bud Selig has tried to do for years now), this is the best way to do so. I've got to say: It's pretty exciting. Sports Business Journal, a nation of bloggers turns its bloodshot eyes to you.

(HT: Shysterball)

The Christmas season means it's time for Christmas Carols and Christmas stories. One of my personal favorites has always been Charles' Dickens A Christmas Carol. This is part three of Bud Selig's Christmas Carol. Click here to read Stave One and here to read Stave Two.

The specter floated towards Selig. As it approached, the air seemed to get colder and Selig felt as if what little joy he had in him was being sucked out. The ghost was shrouded in a deep black cloak that covered its head. The cloak was so black that the figure itself seemed nearly invisible in the darkness. As the tall figure approached Selig, Bud was filled with dread. In a stammering voice, he spoke: "Am I in the presence of the Ghost of World Series Yet to Come?"

The spirit did not speak. Instead, it simply pointed one bony finger at the ground. Selig felt compelled to keep speaking. "You're here to show me the shadows of World Series that haven't happened yet? Is that why you're here?" He thought he saw the phantom nod in agreement, but there was really no way to be certain in the darkness.

After the second ghost visited, Selig thought he would be prepared for the third, but this spirit terrified him. He told it so, but as it was wont to do, the ghost said nothing. Instead, it began to float, and Selig saw no choice but to follow it.

The Christmas season means it's time for Christmas Carols and Christmas stories. One of my personal favorites has always been Charles' Dickens A Christmas Carol. This is part two of Bud Selig's Christmas Carol. Click here to read Stave One.

Selig sat in his box, staring at the field.The clouds rolled in all around the field. "When the rain begins to fall." He could still hear the ghost's words. The game soon started, but Selig was paying it little mind. He kept looking at the sky, trying to pierce it with his eyes, as if perhaps that would stop the rain from coming. The game rolled on in front of him in a surreal fashion as Selig sat and thought and thought and thought it over and could make nothing of it. He tried not to think about it, and that made him think more. Schott's ghost bothered him exceedingly. Was it a dream? He had no idea. Suddenly, a small dot, like a pinhead, appeared on the window of his suite. A drop of rain had fallen. Selig swiveled in his chair to survey the room.

"A drop of rain," said Selig triumphantly, "And nothing more!"

Light instantly flooded the room. The door to the seating area of his suite was drawn open, I tell you, by a hand. Selig shot up from out of his chair and found himself face-to-face with a small child-like figure. Though the figure was certainly unearthly, he appeared to be a boy of no more than seven. He wore overalls with a baseball glove jammed into his back pocket. He carried a bat in his right hand, which he rested lazily on his shoulder.

The Christmas season means it's time for Christmas Carols and Christmas stories. One of my personal favorites has always been Charles' Dickens A Christmas Carol. Accordingly, this is part one of Bud Selig's Christmas Carol.

Marge Schott was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatsoever about that. The register of her burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Bud Selig signed it. And Selig's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he put his hand to.

Old Schottzie was dead as a doornail.

Selig and Schott were partners in collusion for I don't know how many years. They were the most tight-fisted owners in baseball, even attempting to withhold money from players on the disabled list. The day that Marge died, Selig went to the funeral a happy man because he'd made extra money on the league's TV deal.

The mention of Marge Schott's funeral brings me back to the point I started from. There is no doubt that Marge Schott was dead. This must be distinctly understood. If we were not perfectly convinced that Nathan Petrelli ... wait a minute, that guy dies like twice a season. Heroes sucks. Forget I said that. Just know that Marge Schott was really, really dead, OK? OK.

President George W. Bush only has 38 days left as President of the United States, and as anybody who is about to be forced out of a job -- you think he wants to leave? -- he's turned his mind to what he'd like to do with himself once he's out of the White House. President Bush has a myriad of hobbies and interests that range from baseball to invading countries, so, really, he could choose anything he wants to do.

Which is why, given his past as owner of the Texas Rangers, some folks have begun to wonder if President Bush would ever consider becoming Commissioner of Major League Baseball after Bud Selig retires from the position. As it turns out, George has had enough of being in charge of things, and wants no part of it.

Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers baseball club once linked to the top spot in the American pastime, spoke Wednesday about sports topics with the newspaper as he prepares to leave office next month for incoming Barack Obama.

"I'm looking forward to getting off the stage," Bush told the Post. "I have done my duty to my country. I have given it my all. It's now President-elect Obama's time. I have had enough of the spotlight."

This is probably good news for MLB, because given George's track record while owning the Rangers, he'd probably end up trading the New York Yankees to Japan for one of those shiny swords. "Look! I can see myself! Heh heh."

Remember Game 5 of the World Series? Both parts of it? There was major fallout after the game was suspended, because it seemed convenient of the game to get called immediately after the Rays scored the tying run. On the flip-side, had the game been called before the Rays scored and the rulebook was explicitly followed, you would have had a champion crowned after only playing half of a game. Today, Bud Selig revealed that baseball is doing the right thing:

"All postseason games, All-Star games and that, will be full-length affairs, and the rule will be so written," Selig said Thursday following an owners' meeting."

That's a good move, because I'm pretty sure no baseball fan wanted to see that game end after 4 1/2 innings.

Of course, in true Bud fashion, we're left with questions. It was asked if regular season games in late September would be covered in this rule.

"Any game that has significance for the postseason," he said. "It will be very clear now. Everybody will know exactly."

Let's hope it's clear. I immediately question what you would call "significant" to the postseason.

Whether you love him or hate him, it's difficult to argue against Mark Cuban's success in anything. He's built himself into one of the richest men in America, rescued the Dallas Mavericks from an extended drought of futility, and has fun along the way. Well, the last part obviously is a major issue for the Bud Selig and the old, personality-void curmudgeons running baseball, because a source close to Selig today revealed we'll never see Cuban's Cubs.

''There's no way Bud and the owners are going to let that happen,'' a Major League Baseball source said this week. ''Zero chance.''

I wish I could say I was surprised. God forbid the baseball powers-that-be allow someone who could inject life and personality into the game from the owner's box bleachers. Why be scared?

What's he going to do, submit film about the strike zone after every single game and rack up millions of dollars in fines? Say the attention on the PED issue is good for the game because any publicity is good publicity? So what? That doesn't affect the game. Mark Cuban would bring even more interest to the Cubs, who are already one of baseball's biggest draws.

If he loses out on the bidding war, fine, but to shut him out based purely upon anticipated personality differences is an absurd decision.

Of course, it is Selig. I can't believe I'm surprised.

What a joke.

In a way, the furor over the suspension of Game 5, and indeed the moral outrage over every one of its flaws, is flattering to baseball. People really care about the game -- the history, the way it's played and so on. Even though the NFL has surpassed it in popularity, controversies like these, and the indignation they inspire, are a reminder that baseball holds a special place in the American consciousness.

Look, Bud Selig deserves a tremendous amount of criticism for the way he handled the events of Game 5.

He deserves it because he either made up a rule on the fly that should have already been on the books or because he didn't inform enough people, including apparently the players(!), that every World Series game would go the full nine innings. And he deserves it because he or the umpires should have halted play before the fateful top of the sixth inning.

The problem is that the criticism is going to get way out of hand because bashing Bud Selig and baseball has just about replaced the national pastime as the national pastime.

Hey, what do you know, it turns out it isn't just bloggers, the media, and the fans who can't stand commissioner Bud Selig. Apparently the players do too. Just like the rest of us watching the game at home last night, the players on the Phillies and Rays had no idea what was going to happen either, and they all watched Selig's impromptu press conference as well.

Also, just like you were cursing Selig during the press conference, so were a couple members of the Phillies.

"That (expletive deleted) guy," one pitcher said as he saw commissioner Bud Selig before walking out the back door of the clubhouse. "I wouldn't let him supervise one of my (bowel movements). He has no clue. Not one (expletive deleted) clue."

"(Expletive deleted)," one position player said in the direction of one television pausing only for a moment before leaving. "He's a moron. How stupid can one person be?"

Can you imagine Bud supervising one of your bowel movements?

"No, no, no, that's all wrong! You're stressing too much, you just need to relax. Hey, you know, I just got an idea. That toilet of yours isn't very big. If you really want to maximize the amount of feces you can fit in there in one sitting, you're going to need to build a new toilet. The added fecal capacity will help you compete with larger market toilets. Let's just suspend this bowel movement until I deem your bathroom ready to handle it. I'm not letting a wonderful crap end like this."

Ok, Bud. You are America's whipping boy today. We can fix that, though. Hop into my DeLorean, and we're setting time circuits to 4:00 pm EST, October 27, 2008.

So you have another chance to not be caught in the middle of yet another self-inflicted debacle. Just follow these few steps, and everything will be fine ...

1. Check the freaking radar. I know you have the ability, because it's already been announced Game 5 won't be finished tonight.

2. Realize what is coming, and be proactive instead of reactive, for once. The weather is going to get nasty at some point during the game, so you need to figure out how this game and series can be salvaged. Go meet with front office personnel of both teams, including the managers, and the umpires. Tell them that you are issuing an executive order that the game will not be over until nine innings are completed. Notify the umpires to stop play the second they believe the conditions merit it, and when play resumes -- whether it's Halloween or Thanksgiving -- the game will pick up from the point it left off.

3. Hold a press conference and notify everyone else.