Sunday, May 21, 2006

INTERLEAGUE PLAY OR METH?

Which threatens the fabric of our society more critically? Meth merely gives dopers a specific substance to whack on. It would have been something else anyhow. Interleague play actually causes Cardinal and Cub fans to root for the Yankees, simply because they are playing the Mets.

Besides, Bud "the dud" Selig, we already had interleague play. It was called the World Freaking Series and it was based totally on merit. Only you, Bud baby, could water down the Fall Classic. So we can watch the Marlins play the Devil Rays? Puhleeeeeeeez!

16 Comments:

At 8:45 AM, May 22, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I beg to disagree, cards-royals series was great, cubs-sox was great, too, despite the brawls.

PS the royals needed the attendance boost!

It also helps break up the monotony, as a Cards fan, if I see the pirates one more time.....

 
At 11:23 AM, May 22, 2006, Blogger UMRBlog said...

Anon 1045,

First, at what cost? I know all the arguments for i/l play but they all fail to reflect that loss of respect for the World Series and the insinuation, however slightly, of that plague, the DH, into National League Standings.

Second, using "Cubs" and "great" in the same sentence suggests you should restudy your materials. Cubs are one of the most inoffensive clubs in the history of organized baseball. They have reinvented the dead ball era.

 
At 2:07 PM, May 22, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

1:23


What was great was that the Sox took two out of three. I love the geographic rivalries, also that the yanks came to Busch last year(first time ever at New Busch). Did you see how much Red Sox-Cubs tickets were going for last year? Also, the Saturday Royals-Cards game in KC is the highlight of my year, don't take that from me! Go there yourself & tell me the vibe isn't as great as Mizzou-Illini basketball, or Kansas-Mizzou (when Mizzou was good).

Luv me some inter-league. Unfortunatley, D-Lee's cast comes off soon, so the Cubs will have some offense! Don't take my Royals-Cards away, and I won't take St. Pats day from the Irish!LOL

 
At 4:01 PM, May 22, 2006, Blogger UMRBlog said...

My God, Bud has done dispensed the Kool Aid! Giggles for Cards-Royals whilst the Fall Classic tanks and the evil DH proliferates.

 
At 4:23 PM, May 23, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Please explain why these games count in the standings. If and when the Cubs manage to start winning some games, how are they supposed to make up for the automatic 6 game swing. I mean come on, six games against the worst team on the planet for the cards, while the Cubs play the defending world champs (who own the best record in baseball). The same goes for cincinatti playing detroit. The pressure is on to sweep just to keep pace. BTW, what is the overall record between StL and KC? I'm sure it makes for a great rivalry, NOT!

Geographic rivalries my a**. I agree, Tony, I/L play and DH rank right up there w/ $3.00 Gasoline.

 
At 12:55 PM, May 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

6:23

How many games do you go to? Base ball is entertainment, not religion or politics. The increased number of butts in seats speaks volumes for inter-leage, buddy. It's called serving your customer. BTW, this ain't 1927. Things evolve.

Do you go to games, or do you just gripe about them? Anyway, baseball is a business, not some "holy entity", and as a business, it takes care of it customers, which likely ain't you, as you probably haven't been to a game since 1974. Your statement about the Sox "owning" the best record goes to show your lack of credibility on the subject of baseball, and hence your argument fails. Also, do check the Royals-Cards record. And the Cubs-Sox, for that matter, last years esp. Idiot.

Moral of the story: don't pop off about baseball if you don't patronize it, the butts in the seats voices are heard, not yours.

 
At 1:12 PM, May 24, 2006, Blogger UMRBlog said...

1455,

Your first para is the standard argument and, of course, it has RW weight to it.

Detroit was a bad example because right now every true baseball fan wants to see them, if for no other reason, to see whether Leyland lives through the season and to see whether Chris Shelton's check swings continue to leave the yard.

Still, on another level, baseball took away something a lot of fans who do go to games crave. The even season with statistically pure competition and the right to play the other league as a reward for excellence. If you're gonna use your market analysis, you have to account for the marketing drop of the Fall Classic. There are a lot of explanations for it beyond interleague play but i/l play is a factor.

In the information age, I'm not sure you have to attend games to be fan and supporter. One of the best baseball fans I know is blind and hasn't been to the park in years. But he supports the advertisers, buys the licensed gear and has the insider's membership on his teams web page. He can tell you all of their top prospects and how they are progressing. I'll let 623 speak for himself but I think you are setting up a false paradigm that one has go to a lot of games to be knowledgeable about the game.

I notice you don't mention Bud The Dud's other argument: that I/L play gives people in other towns a chance to see the other leagues stars, i.e. people in Atlanta got to see Vladdy Guerrero. Is that because you don't believe in it or was that just because you were limting yourself to the marketing analysis?

Thank you for coming by. Good comments.

 
At 1:12 PM, May 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

6:23

Don't complain about the Cubs having to play the Sox when they just lost three in a row to the Marlins, one of the teams, dare I say, almost equal to the Royals in futility.

Cubs don't need excuses to to loose, they just loose, period.
Don't cry that they have to play the Sox. At least they took one game from the Sox (which was, yes, a great series).

Again, hip hip hooray for IL play!!!! (at least it gives scrubs one win out of six)

 
At 1:24 PM, May 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, I always liked the idea of being able to maybe see Griffey Jr. come into St. Lou from Seattle when he was good (he ain't doing too bad this year) and other AL stars. Great story about the blind guy.

What are we gonna do with you purists? LOL

And I kinda see you all's point on the matter. I also like the way the NFL does inter-conf play, does that water-down the Superbowl? That's another debate. Meanwhile, guess I won't see ya all at the June 28 Cards-Tribe game!

 
At 1:24 PM, May 24, 2006, Blogger UMRBlog said...

The Cubs are a team whose offense is so pitiful their median run total is three. So what do they do? They worry about when their PITCHERS are gonna get healthy!

The only thing beter for baseball than the elimination of interleague play would be the elimination of Jim Hendry from the game. This the slowest Moron Dance I have ever seen. Bartman could do a better job.

The Cubs can not be used to make any points on this topic because they, as presently constituted, are irrelevant--and I already have way too many tickets to see them play. ARRRRRRRRRGH!

ABC

 
At 1:31 PM, May 24, 2006, Blogger UMRBlog said...

1524,

Actually, you might see me. Even though I hate saying this, a chance to see THaffner might get me there.

Gotta get back to my day job so I'll make the abbreviated argument re NFL. Their interconference play is statistically balanced, by division, so it is still "pure". Of course, as I always say--and my dear neighbor always nods while groaning--baseball is a companion and NFL football is an event. Thus they can't be compared.

Really appreciate your comments.

 
At 9:05 PM, May 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

the NFL reasoning is my point exactly, if all the teams in your division play the same opponents then lets talk. I/L play gives certain teams an unfair advantage in the standings, especially the wild card. If your competing against other NL teams for the WC, then only games against NL teams should count.

BTW, I go to my share of games. At least as many as $3.00 Gasoline will let me get to.

The DH still sucks.

1823(NL fan forever)

 
At 10:31 AM, May 25, 2006, Blogger UMRBlog said...

"Balanced" would eliminate one of my objections, the statistical purity, IF, there were no DH.

 
At 1:24 PM, May 25, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

1823 NL fan old-timer

It ain't like the Royals have stunk forever. They have usually played the Cards very tough in years past. Geez, all this p---ing and moaning came about this year, after the Chi Sox got good for one year (finally) andwon the series. "My geo/AL opponent is tougher then yours". Reminds me of the BCS in November, which is where of this crap comes from, "strength of schedule"...

Just a way for Cub fans to whine about losing.

Keep your BCS derived whining confined to November/December/January. If I/L play wasn't great for the game, they wouldn't have it. In BUD we trust. If you don't like, follow the World Classic, or whatever they called it.

I-70 Pedestrian

If you look, you'll see me running across the George Brett bridge (I'm scared of heights, have to get over in a hurry), bunch of purists chasing me with bats.

 
At 7:10 AM, May 26, 2006, Blogger UMRBlog said...

I noticed they really don't call it the Mark McGwire expressway anymore.

Your short term arguments are strong. My point is a longer scan. The more I/L we have, the more the series arbitron tanks.

To me, it is isn't "My I/L Rival is toughter than yours". It's that "Our Schedules are statistically identical so nobody has any bitch."

 
At 3:10 PM, May 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ABC: They still do, I saw a sign last month, going west, in the city, think it was under a bridge!

Now that the D Ryan is tore up, do they want to call it D-Lee-way?

Anyway, was talking about 70 in front of, yes, beloved Kaufman!

 

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