Bravo!
I'm not as big a fan as I used to be, but it's nice to see baseball back.
Two things about the new collective bargaining agreement jump out at me.
12 teams now make the playoffs.
The designated hitter will now be a thing in both the American and National leagues.
Boo!
I despise expanded playoffs in any sport. The NHL and NBA playoffs last an eternity. The first weekend of the expanded NFL playoffs this year was nothing short of awful. That's what happens when you put mediocre teams in the post season. The way to make things better, more special, more important, more meaningful is less-- not more.
I'm a purist. Give the pitcher a bat.
Well, dear readers, a flawed game is better than none at all.
And, while we are on money, television, and sports, consider Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. The top FOX NFL team is going to ESPN to do a mediocre slate of Monday Night Football games. ESPN gives Buck and Aikman a huge raise, plus they will play a role in ESPN's new streaming service. Remember, this is the network that competes against itself with the unlistenable Manning cast.
At FOX, Buck and Aikman were to call two of the next three Super Bowls, and Buck gets as many World Series as he wants.
I like Aikman. I. love Buck Both men already have tons of money. For me, the deciding factor would be the strength of the event. The 4 PM Sunday FOX game is America's Game of the Week. Most of the time, that second doubleheader game is the most compelling3. match up of the week, especially in the late season. In recent years, the MNF games were losers.
It's happened in the news business across the country. Popular anchors get jobs at lousy cross town stations, assuming the audience will follow them. It rarely works.
If MNF gets a good slate, the viewers will be there. Viewers come for the game, not the announcers. I will admit that the first FOX box in 1994, with the time, quarter, on the screen was an awesome development, and a nice draw. CBS copied it when it got back in the NFL game a few years later. ABC/ESPN did. NBC resisted for yeas, a stupid move.
FOX has a long list of replacements for Buck and Aikman. NBC lined up the thin voiced Mike Tirico to take over for Al Michaels on Sunday night, Keep Al.
Looks like Michaels is going to Amazon for a mega paycheck and Thursday night games. When all is said and done, he will be remembered as one of the best, ever.
Michaels, Buck, and Aikman, enjoy that money while you watch bad teams, and sit at home when the playoffs roll around.
