Bud’s 2013 Schedule a “real dog”–inter-league play in final weeks?
By Earl Nash
Once again, erstwhile Commissar for Life, “Butt Sealing” has “screwed the pooch.” MLB has released its tentative schedule for the 2013 season and, as usual, there will be critical series in the last weeks of the season, but–for the first time– there will be inter-league games in late September:
"Boston Red Sox at Colorado Rockies, 9/24, 25S. F. Giants at N.Y. Yankees, 9/20, 21, 22"
During the home stretch of the 162-game race, the rhythm of contending teams will be disrupted by inter-league games, just when teams should be going mano-a-mano with their division rivals.
With Bud moving the Houston Astros to the American League to create two 15-team leagues, there is going to be inter-league play virtually every day next season.
“It will force teams to mix and match based on whether they’re in an AL or an NL ballpark while simultaneously trying to maintain a good standing in the postseason picture.” [Zachary D. Rymer, Cal grad, 2010. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1332238-2013-mlb-schedule-5-interleague-series-that-will-determine-playoff-races]
In 2013, the Red Sox will play NL West teams, as they’ll host the Colorado Rockies (June 25-26), San Diego (July 2-4) and Arizona, dates to be finalized.
They will visit San Francisco from Aug. 19-21, the Dodgers from Aug. 23-25 and Colorado in their final road trip of the season.
Bud’s Wild Card, sudden death playoff scheme is stupid; baseball has always rewarded the long-distance runner, not the sprinter, during its regular season; now, a WC team can finish barely over .500 and, with two starters, run the table to the World Series.
Isn’t it time for MLB to consider restructuring the divisions?
Baseball purists may need to realize that it is way too late to reverse course and accept that a change to four divisions may be a step in the right direction. It would eliminate the WC circumlocutions and, maybe, it might lead to more improvements, like canning the DH and inter-league play.
For all his BS about the sanctity and history of the game, Bud was willing to move the Seattle Pilots to Milwaukee as the AL Brewers; then move the Brewers to the NL; then move the more historically established Houston franchise to the NL. He also played Three Card Monty and killed off the Montreal Expos:
“On December 20, 2001, the Boston Red Sox were sold to a partnership led by John W. Henry, the owner of the Florida Marlins. The purchase was approved by the MLB owners in January.[5][6] To clear the way for Henry’s group to formally take control of the Red Sox, Henry sold the Marlins to Loria for $158.5 million.” [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Expos#Purchase_by_Major_League_Baseball]
Result: Loria got rid of the Expos; Henry got rid of the Florida Marlins and bought the Red Sox; Montreal got the shaft. Once Bud’s Master Plan to merge the Expos and the Twins was thwarted, when the Metrodome owners file a lawsuit, Selig had MLB, i.e. the Commissioner’s Office, buy and own the Expos, until they could be sold for a handsome profit [$340 million] and shipped to Washington.
Bud stole the Expos for $120 million and then sold it for $450 million.
"Where did that $350 million profit go?"
Major League Baseball announced in July 2006 that it had chosen the Lerner Enterprises group, led by billionaire real estate developer Theodore N. Lerner. The final sale price of the team was $450 million and the transfer of ownership was completed July 24, 2006. [source: WIKIpedia]
The Washington Nationals organization sold the rights to Youppi, the Expos mascot, to the Montreal Canadiens hockey team for an undisclosed amount and a mascot to be named later.
We will propose a reorganization of MLB divisions in another post.
HOW WOULD YOU ORGANIZE MLB?
WHAT ABOUT THE DH?
WHAT ABOUT EXPANSION, CONTRACTION, OR RELOCATION?
WHO IS YOUR CANDIDATE TO REPLACE SELIG AS COMMISSIONER?
"I nominate Keith Olbermann. ‘His bark is as bad as his bite.’"
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