May 6, 2004
No Friends, plenty of WSOP, and no Spider-Man
Those of you who have been long-time readers of the this blog, perhaps all the way back to August of 2002, no doubt know plenty about what type of guy I am. You've read my opinions on any number of non-baseball topics, you've heard my various stories of life at college, and you've been introduced to some of the people in my life.
For those of you who are new here, you may not know as much about me. It is for you that I want to show just what sort of guy I am.
Last night, the Friends series finale aired on NBC. It was an hour long and it started at 8 p.m. my time. Millions and millions of people watched. And me? I was over at ESPN, watching repeats of the 2003 World Series of Poker that I've already seen a minimum of five times. During commercials, you wanna know what I watched? No, not Friends. NBA basketball.
So that, in short, is who I am. The final episode of one of the most-watched shows in television history? Nah. Old WSOP episodes? Hell yeah!
I planned to do a long rant about the whole Spider-Man on the bases thing, but thankfully MLB pulled the plug on that trainwreck of an idea before I could complain too much about it. My prediction is that we'll be seeing that sort of thing -- ads on the field, on the uniforms, on the hats -- on a regular basis in a short time anyway. It's inevitable, and it sucks.
To me, the amazing thing is not that this whole Spider-Man plan was agreed upon. I don't put anything past Selig and Company. No, the crazy thing about it is that MLB was reportedly set to do it for somewhere between $2.5 and $3.5 million. Can you imagine Major League Baseball doing something this dumb for less than Fernando Vina is making this year? Unreal.
My favorite quote from this whole mess? Courtesy of, who else, Bud Selig: "I'm a traditionalist," Selig said. "The problem in sports marketing, particularly in baseball, is you're always walking a very sensitive line. Nobody loves tradition and history as much as I do."
New divisional alignments, the Wild Card, inter-league play, All-Star games for homefield advantage in the World Series, Opening Day on other continents, Spider-Man logos on the bases... yeah Bud, you're one helluva traditionalist.
Finally, here's a little weekend reading...
First, my articles over at The Hardball Times:
- Making The Leap
- Adam Dunn: A True (Outcomes) Hero
- News, Notes and Quotes (May 3, 2004)
When you're done with those, here's a good blog to check out:
Always Amazin'
A great New York Mets blog on NJ.com (the website for a whole bunch of New Jersey newspapers), written by Jason Mastaitis. I'm not even particularly interested in the Mets, but I make sure to check it out every day. Well written, interesting, entertaining, informative, funny -- just about everything you could ask for in a blog, especially one for a regular media outlet.
It's great to see more and more of these local media outlets hiring up the good baseball bloggers. Yours Truly remains available and eminently hirable. Heck, since my beloved Twins aren't even on TV here, I'm free to obsess and write about any of the other 29 teams in the league!
Today's picks:
Colorado (Estes) +210 over Chicago (Zambrano)
San Francisco (Rueter) +110 over Cincinnati (Lidle)
San Diego (Peavy) -100 over Florida (Pavano)
Detroit (Bonderman) +150 over Texas (Benoit)
New York (Lieber) -135 over Seattle (Franklin)
Total to date: -$515
W/L record: 34-46 (Okay, now I'm really in a funk. 1-4 yesterday for -365, as my freefall continues.)
*****Comments? Questions? Email me!*****
