OT: MLB's declining interest

[Melrose Munch]

How are you personally going to get more money or respect if hockey is more popular?

For the league not me.

 

[OthmarAmmann]

For the league not me.

Do you get anything out of that?

 

[Dado]

For the league not me.

That brings it back to my original question: why does it matter to you if the league gets more money?

I'm not saying you're wrong to feel that way, I'm just curious why you would. To me, it's like having an emotional investment in Coca Cola's marketshare vs Pepsi.

 

[throatguzzler]

That brings it back to my original question: why does it matter to you if the league gets more money?

I'm not saying you're wrong to feel that way, I'm just curious why you would. To me, it's like having an emotional investment in Coca Cola's marketshare vs Pepsi.

Because people who are passionate about the sport like to see it succeed and make progress. I mean... who the hell wouldn't. It's hard not to have at least SOME genuine interest in the subject.

 

[Acesolid]

WOW! The MLB is taking control of the Dodgers

Woah, the Dodgers are no Coyotes, but apparently their finances are so bad they need to be taken over by the MLB. I bet the MLB will do the right thing like they did with the Expos and quickly move the team elsewhere.

Oh wait, the Dodgers are not in Canada! So I guess the MLB will do everything it can to help them!

 

[Rink Rage]

WOW! The MLB is taking control of the Dodgers

Woah, the Dodgers are no Coyotes, but apparently their finances are so bad they need to be taken over by the MLB. I bet the MLB will do the right thing like they did with the Expos and quickly move the team elsewhere.

Oh wait, the Dodgers are not in Canada! So I guess the MLB will do everything it can to help them!

I would love to see them bring back the Expos.

 

[kdb209]

WOW! The MLB is taking control of the Dodgers

Woah, the Dodgers are no Coyotes, but apparently their finances are so bad they need to be taken over by the MLB. I bet the MLB will do the right thing like they did with the Expos and quickly move the team elsewhere.

Oh wait, the Dodgers are not in Canada! So I guess the MLB will do everything it can to help them!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/sports/baseball/21dodgers.html

Baseball Takes Over Control of Los Angeles Dodgers
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and RICHARD SANDOMIR
Published: April 20, 2011

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday that he would appoint someone to oversee all operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers because of his “deep concerns†about the state of the marquee franchise.

But two people with knowledge of the situation said that he was also strongly considering forcing the sale of the team by invoking his “bests interests of baseball†powers to wrest the team from Frank McCourt, the owner since 2004, who he believes has mismanaged the franchise while enriching himself.

...

Selig added that his office would “continue its thorough investigation into the operation and finances of the Dodgers during the period of Mr. McCourt’s ownership.â€

McCourt has burdened the once prestigious franchise with more than $400 million in debt, and been embroiled in an ugly and lengthy legal fight with his wife over the terms of their divorce.

...

If Selig invokes his extraordinary powers, he would seek to gain the support of three-quarters of the sport’s 30 owners, and then sell the Dodgers on McCourt’s behalf.

The two people with knowledge of Selig’s thinking would not be identified because they had not been authorized to talk publicly about the commissioner’s possible plan of action.

They said Selig believes that McCourt has badly damaged the value and reputation of the Dodgers while concerned only with his own profits and perks.

...

The divorce trial and the publicity surrounding McCourt’s divorce have displeased Selig. The McCourts took $108 million in personal distributions from the team between 2004 and 2009, almost half for personal mortgages and real estate, according to court documents cited by The Los Angeles Times.

...

Although McCourt is not part of Selig’s inner circle, like Fred Wilpon, the principal owner of the Mets, another troubled franchise, it might not be easy to force out even an unpopular owner.

“It would be messy and might establish a precedent that other owners might not want,†said Marc Ganis, a sports-industry consultant. He said it might better wait for McCourt to fail to pay his debt and then step in to run and sell the team. Selig helped orchestrate last year’s sale of the Texas Rangers by Thomas O. Hicks, who had defaulted on his loans, to a group Selig preferred, led by Nolan Ryan.

 

[MaskedSonja]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/sports/baseball/21dodgers.html

Dumb Q, because I don't know much about BBall economics, any chance that with this, and the Mets (another High Profile team) being in financial trouble, depending on which way it goes, starts a domino effect? Any chance more baseball teams finanical difficulties come to the forefront (isn't Florida also in trouble?)

Heck I'd like to know how many MLB teams are in some form of financial straits right now

 

[kdb209]

Dumb Q, because I don't know much about BBall economics, any chance that with this, and the Mets (another High Profile team) being in financial trouble, depending on which way it goes, starts a domino effect? Any chance more baseball teams finanical difficulties come to the forefront (isn't Florida also in trouble?)

Heck I'd like to know how many MLB teams are in some form of financial straits right now

None of these issues really have to do with the underlying MLB business, but rather the owners other outside financial concerns - Hicks debts, the Mets' Bernie Madoff exposure, McCourt's divorce and profligate spending, etc.

 

[Melrose Munch]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8RjtqkqY3E&feature=feedu

Some truth here.

 

[MaskedSonja]

None of these issues really have to do with the underlying MLB business, but rather the owners other outside financial concerns - Hicks debts, the Mets' Bernie Madoff exposure, McCourt's divorce and profligate spending, etc.

Just seems that there's alot of financial difficulties with MLB teams optically anyway-curious how they are, as you relate, from outside sources.

Too many owners not tending to their financial responsibilties

 

[IU Hawks fan]

WOW! The MLB is taking control of the Dodgers

Woah, the Dodgers are no Coyotes, but apparently their finances are so bad they need to be taken over by the MLB. I bet the MLB will do the right thing like they did with the Expos and quickly move the team elsewhere.

Oh wait, the Dodgers are not in Canada! So I guess the MLB will do everything it can to help them!

Completely different scenarios. 1 team has a playable stadium and, well, FANS that pack it often. Montreal didn't.

LA is only having problems because the owners are idiots.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Just another thought about parity in MLB: aside from big-picture concerns, if you focus all the way down to game-by-game results, it's off-putting to see huge blowouts on a regular basis. Just yesterday there were five games decided by 9 or more runs. Who wants to watch that? Tonight the Marlins were up 6-0 after three innings... nobody scored after that. There was no drama whatsoever in the result.

I don't remember this being the case with baseball when I was growing up. Maybe it's nostalgia but it seems like a normal game was about 5-4 or so and losing by 5 runs was pretty miserable.

 

[BeachBolt]

WOW! The MLB is taking control of the Dodgers

Woah, the Dodgers are no Coyotes, but apparently their finances are so bad they need to be taken over by the MLB. I bet the MLB will do the right thing like they did with the Expos and quickly move the team elsewhere.

Oh wait, the Dodgers are not in Canada! So I guess the MLB will do everything it can to help them!

Not even close...

Expo's attendance their last few years:
2001-7,647 (last place in attendance)
2002-9,048 (last)
2003-12,662 (last)
2004-9,356 (last)

LA's attendance the last 4 seasons:
2008- 46,056 (3rd in attendance)
2009- 46,440 (1st in attendance)
2010- 43,979 (3rd)
2011- 38,320 (6th after 11 home games)

 

[HabsByTheBay]

Just another thought about parity in MLB: aside from big-picture concerns, if you focus all the way down to game-by-game results, it's off-putting to see huge blowouts on a regular basis. Just yesterday there were five games decided by 9 or more runs. Who wants to watch that? Tonight the Marlins were up 6-0 after three innings... nobody scored after that. There was no drama whatsoever in the result.

I don't remember this being the case with baseball when I was growing up. Maybe it's nostalgia but it seems like a normal game was about 5-4 or so and losing by 5 runs was pretty miserable.

The 1977 Red Sox played in 45 one-run games and 41 blowouts (margin of victory 5 or more runs). The 2010 Red Sox played in 48 one-run games and 44 blowouts.

Let's not eat the bones here.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The 1977 Red Sox played in 45 one-run games and 41 blowouts (margin of victory 5 or more runs). The 2010 Red Sox played in 48 one-run games and 44 blowouts.

Let's not eat the bones here.

Yeah like I said nostalgia is a factor. I probably didn't bother watching blowouts back then either.

Whether it's historically consistent or not, baseball has blowouts on a level that goes beyond other sports. A 12-0 game is just pointless to watch for anybody but fantasy leaguers.

 

[YNWA14]

Implement a salary cap. It's ridiculous that the Yankees have a payroll that could pay for almost 4 other teams full salaries.

 

[Kimota]

Why does it have to be fast?

In a dream World it shouldn't have to be. But we live in a World where you can pick a DVD of your favorite film or your favorite tv show, put it in your DVD player, call for a pizza via delivery and you're set for the evening. Far easier than sitting a whole night watching 9 ennings of a baseball game, a much more expensive night to boot. Baseball can be like outdoor chess sometime. There's a time to be patient but the rest of the time people don't want to make the effort to be entertained.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Will you be advocating this for the NHL too?

The NHL reg. season is just as long and unlike baseball, where the season does determine quite a bit, pretty much every half-decent team makes the playoffs, which lasts for another two months.

Well, twice as many NHL teams make the playoffs but there are only half as many games. So proportionally, the importance of each game is about the same.

But to answer your question, yes I think the NHL season is about 15-20 games too long. That equates to about 30-40 MLB games. If you look at my post history, you'll see I have come up with some crazy ideas about turning the last couple of weeks into a playoff-qualification tournament just to render some extra importance to the regular season.

Really though, the NHL solved a lot of that problem with the 3-point system. The same number of teams make the playoffs but aesthetically it seems that the races are tighter than before.

 

[HabsByTheBay]

Well, twice as many NHL teams make the playoffs but there are only half as many games. So proportionally, the importance of each game is about the same.

But to answer your question, yes I think the NHL season is about 15-20 games too long. That equates to about 30-40 MLB games. If you look at my post history, you'll see I have come up with some crazy ideas about turning the last couple of weeks into a playoff-qualification tournament just to render some extra importance to the regular season.

Really though, the NHL solved a lot of that problem with the 3-point system. The same number of teams make the playoffs but aesthetically it seems that the races are tighter than before.

Well, credit to you for consistency. I disagree, obviously, I'm just pointing out that anybody who would defend the length of the hockey season (which is just about the same, since you can't play hockey every day) wouldn't be able to credibly attack MLB's season length.

Besides the money factor, it's been proven over a hundred-plus years that you can play baseball pretty much every day. It's not like expanding the football season to 18 games where players will be dropping like flies, in baseball you have Latino guys who go and play in their home countries in the winter. They almost never stop playing baseball and enjoy 15+ year careers anyway.

It's also a good reason why the playoffs shouldn't be expanded..with a season that long, you do need to make the games meaningful.

 

[Ogopogo*]

Baseball likely will expand playoffs to spark interest. As much of a shock to the establishment as it would be, I could see something like this:

144 game regular season
NHL style playoff format with 8 teams from each league making it

Honestly, that would be a lot of fun. The extra sellout or close to sell out playoff games would offset the 9 empty regular season games each team would lose.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Expanding the playoffs makes the regular season even more meaningless though. I mean in that format there wouldn't be anything like a pennant race really.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Baseball likely will expand playoffs to spark interest. As much of a shock to the establishment as it would be, I could see something like this:

144 game regular season
NHL style playoff format with 8 teams from each league making it

Honestly, that would be a lot of fun. The extra sellout or close to sell out playoff games would offset the 9 empty regular season games each team would lose.

They have nothing to lose. No more whining from Jays and Nats fans.

Expanding the playoffs makes the regular season even more meaningless though. I mean in that format there wouldn't be anything like a pennant race really.

Yeah but the Yankess would be kept happy with no salary cap. And more teams(artificially) in the playoffs. What Ogopogo suggested is a win win except for purists.

 

[cutchemist42]

Think of how many fans will be holding interest in September now with more teams!?

 

[slimkay]

Implement a salary cap. It's ridiculous that the Yankees have a payroll that could pay for almost 4 other teams full salaries.

No. The Yankees do pay an awfully big luxury tax.

And the Phillies, BoSox have a payroll just as big now.