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MLB 2013: September Thread Where Pittsburgh Tries to Win it All

Craig H

By Craig H
in BASEBALL

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piranesi

piranesi

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Perfect last day.

 

Now Atlanta can enjoy a nice scenic trip to Los Angeles and back...if they make it back...

 

And, for the good of the game, Francisco Liriano will hopefully thrill the home crowd with a 147-pitch 1-0 shutout on Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

From here on, it's all sincerity..as far as the  eye can see...

 

Posted Image

 

The Great Selig brings presents to all the boys and girls who love sincerity...and tradition...and grainy, black-and-white footage of the Gashouse Gang playing Pepper.

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Greggulator

Greggulator

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I think there's a huge argument to be made that Bud Selig's the best commissioner in the history of baseball. To wit:1) The only labor stryfe under his watch came in the beginning of his tenure, and things were long set up before he could have done anything. The deal he and the MLBPA brokered has been amazing for the sport. Baseball's relations with the union was the most contentious in team sports, by far, in the 90s. Since then they haven't even come close to a labor stoppage. The other pro leagues can't say that at all.

 

2) The players (who we actually pay to watch) are making more money than ever. It's the closest thing to a free market system we have in team sports.

 

3) There's a ton of parity. For all the talk about large market teams, there sure are a lot of small and mid-market teams that are competitive year in and year out. Having a cagey front office is the most important thing in baseball. The Yankees have every advantage in the world but they (and the Sox and my beloved Phillies) miss the playoffs routinely. Teams like St. Louis can lose Albert Pujols and still compete. It's a great system.

 

4) Nearly every baseball stadium constructed during his tenure has added value to the game experience. I'm against taxpayer funded stadiums, but Bud works on behalf of the owners -- he should work towards that end goal. My wife and I are on a path to get to every stadium. I don't think we'd go on such a mission if we'd still have the cookie cutter stadiums.

 

5) Attendance is stronger than it ever has been. There's only two markets that flat out suck in the two Florida teams. There are plenty of cities that, if the team is competitive, they'll be tremendous draws. Even here in Philly, attendance was off this year but they still were one of eight (!) teams to draw over 3 million people. And that doesn't include Boston, which drew to a 95% capacity this season but plays in a tiny stadium that can only max out at about 3 million.

 

6) TV ratings are great and way better than they were. 

7) The great steroid debate! It sucks that all of the records have been skewered and the past 15 years of players are going to have a really difficult time getting into the HOF. But if it was really that big a deal, it would be reflected in the attendance and TV figures. How many people have said "Man, I'm not going to any games this year because that dude was suspended for 50 games for some PED." The only people who give a crap about that stuff are sportswriters. Legitimately, I don't think anyone cares. Even huge baseball nerds into the stats and historic factors (and I count myself as one of them) don't really care so much. Not that they should legalize steroids due to health concerns (I wouldn't trust a Dominican pharmacy to give me Tylenol), but they had a problem (overrated at that) and worked to solve it. Baseball's issues with steroids aren't anywhere near as bad as concussions in football, which has legitimately killed people. That's way more deserving of any national outrage.

 

8) The playoff alterations over his watch have absolutely ruled. Game 162 (arguably the greatest night in American sports history) doesn't happen without the wildcard addition, which only a lot of old sportswriters decried. The second wildcard has been fantastic. It took away the one issue of competitiveness with the wildcard. So many more teams now get to fight until the end of the regular season for a bid -- and all of the wildcard teams this year are very good. We have a playoff to determine who gets into a one-game playoff, and that wasn't decided until the final game of the regular season. We were one Cleveland loss away from a three way tie. Seriously, I don't think there's a better playoff system in any sport in the world. I like the replay in European cups and promotion/relegation is great. But this is just super exciting and riveting.

 

I honestly think the one thing bad that happened under Bud's watch was an All-Star game tie and the decision to give home field advantage in the World Series to whatever league wins the game. And that's really not a huge deal at all.Bud's been fantastic.

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Craig H

Craig H

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Sveum out in Chicago. He's a good solid guy, but just is not equipped to be a manager at the major league level.

 

Bring on Girardi.

 

EDIT: I should really attempt to look up when I post these things.

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Joe Lucia

Joe Lucia

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Selig's done a lot of good for the game, but he's also made his mistakes. I like the second wild card, but despise the joke of a one game play-in (INFIELD FLY LULZ). Comparing him to the other commissioners across sports, he's not actively destroying the league like Bettman and he's not a "right place/right time" guy who is peeling back the best parts of the sport like Goodell. He's a lot like Stern in that there have been issues, but the sport has also grown by leaps and bounds.

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Greggulator

Greggulator

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1. 1994 world series lost2. Les Expos

 

1) He entered that fray late in the game. The hated between the players' union and ownership developed over the course of four decades. It sucked it was cancelled. Since then, they haven't come close to a labor stoppage -- and he was a huge part in inking the deal that created the longest period of harmony between the two entities since the formation of the MLBPA. Every other team sport has gone into strike (with the NBA and NHL doing it multiple times) since 1994.

 

2) Not sure how this could have been handled differently. The Expos were dead after 1994. They were a victim of the strike. But they were also a victim of a French-Canadian culture that struggled to embrace baseball. He moved them to DC where they've gained traction once they became good.

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