A fan of the Rangers are we?
 

No one ever said they should. The point I was making earlier was, with the major markets out, and "your haters" out (those who would tune in to cheer against the New York's, Boston's, Philies, etc.) there may not be much of a market left who will tune in to these games.

Agreed.

[QUOTE]
While the pace of the game is A reason IMO, it's not the MAIN culprit.

IMO, the MAIN culprit is Cable specifically channels such as the YES network etc.

In order to compete, teams need their own cable deals. Unlike the NFL, baseball is a REGIONAL sport.

A good example is last weeks Monday night game between the Titans and the Jags which was up against the Phillies / Giants.

The Titans / Jags football game is Not a BIG game yet it still had better ratings than the baseball game. Yes the baseball game was on Turner compared to the football game which was on ESPN, but the point is football is KING.

The OTHER MAIN culprit is that baseball does NOT have a salary cap which means for the most part you can "pencil in" the Yanks every year for a playoff berth. Since 1995 the Yanks have only missed the playoffs once.

IMO, a system that allows one team to spend over a zillion dollars on players is a joke.

Just look at the Cleveland Indians. At one time the Indians had both Lee and CC on THEIR team. Those 2 F1's are no longer there.

At one time the Seattle Mariners had AROD, The BIG UNIT and Griffy Jr. (in his prime) all on the same team. Talk about a potential dynesty. They all left.

The Yankee infield alone is over $80 million.

Look at the Tampa Bay Rays. They will go through another transition year. They can't sign Crawford etc.

The Yanks will most likely sign Lee next year plus who knows. That's what is wrong with baseball. Many of the teams like the Pirates are no more than an advanced Triple A team who support the bigger clubs once a player can get arbritration or go through Free agency. It's an 'auction" once these teams know that cannot pay the player.

While the pace of the game etc might be a factor, IMO those are minor compared to what's really wrong with baseball.

Pete Booth

A common misconception or misunderstanding. Popular to contrary belief,

Organizations like the Pirates and other lower level lower market franchises make boat loads of cash. The make the majority of this money by keeping costs low (salaries) and having revenue high (localized TV deals). Performance of the team no longer matters since they do not rely on the gates to run the organization.

The TV deals are driven up and up and up by ESPN and the higher markets. Localized Fox Sports affiliates still are paying alot of money for the rights to cover even the lower level teams.

The Yankees / Red Sox / Mets have a business model that is just different than the lower level teams. Both methods make money. If you are a lower-market franchise, why risk spending more on performance when there is no payout for it other than increased ticket sales, which will not drive up overall revenue since you had to pay players in order to get that attendance.

So it becomes a popularity contest. Which teams have the most fans watching every game, which leads to higher TV contracts? Those are the teams that spend the most. Its the best situation the league could ask for, the fan base's favorite teams most likely will be around come October.

Parody in performance will only dilute the dollars, which the owners simply do not want. They like it the way it is, and so do the players. Its a business...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haHlFA_bDkI

You know I could go back and edit it, but that would just take away from your wonderfully humorous observation. Well done my friend.

Parity.

[QUOTE]You nailed it

Your aforementioned statement is the MAIN reason for the decline in attendance at baseball games. The length of games etc. is simply "window-dressing"

In order for baseball to draw more fans the System / economic models need to change. IMO, you cannot have a system where the owner of the team simply pockets the money and does NOT invest in the team. I realize the owner of the Pirates is making money BUT there should NOT even be a team in Pittsburgh it's STEELERS country.

Pete booth

2 things... first, I direct you to the Texas Rangers payroll this year... (25M less than the Yankee infield alone).

Second, I agree that the revenue sharing must be fixed. Some sort of salary FLOOR needs to be in place, and teams should be FORCED to spend their revenue sharing money on NEW talent, or lose it.

There is a salary floor.

Pete Booth:

Is the Newburgh Diner still in operation?

(This is relevant, because my team ate there after playing a game nearby.)

And are Sr and Jr really feuding or is it for show?

That Monday night football between Titans and Jags in late October on ESPN got higher ratings than a baseball playoff game on Turner is not surprising at all.

Season is much, much too long.....
 

and now the NBA is starting. Good luck MLB. :(

The season might be getting longer. Saw today where the executive director of the MLBPA Micheal Weiner, said the union would be open to discussion about adding more teams to the playoffs and extending the division series to seven games.

Six of One, Half Dozen of Another.....
 

This article suggests, if you're going to expand the playoffs......shorten the regular season. And so it goes.

APNewsBreak: Union would consider bigger playoffs - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

Hey, if you're going to shorten the season and extend the playoffs, why not have a "regular season", and then instead of Divisional Playoffs, have the two winners (NL & AL) just play a "best of 50" World Series? Then have all the teams share the revenue...:p

JJ