What does MLB have to lose by lifting blackout restrictions?

Like most baseball fans, I am not independently wealthy. This means that I am forced to spend large chunks of my time on this earth working to pay for all sorts of things like food, shelter and Xbox games.

Why must I do this without live baseball being streamed directly to my laptop?

As I understand it, the big reason behind blackouts is to push fans to the games (The Bill Wirtz Theory of Fan Aliention), to punish a fan base for failing to get off their lazy asses and buy tickets (we're looking at you, Minnesota Vikings fans) and to drive fans crazy by denying them a few moments of peace by watching an inning or two of the home team while they eat lunch at work.

There are certain instances - especially regarding technology - where policies that once made a lot of sense are suddenly made less sensible. This seems to be one of those cases.

While the easiest solution would be to find a fan in a town you have zero interest in (like Toronto) and swap logins with them, I question why the league hasn't lifted blackouts on the web. I can watch both Cubs and White Sox games (home and away) at home, but I'm guessing that hauling in a TV to my desk might raise a few eyebrows.

No one in their right mind is going to opt for a streamed ballgame above high def or going to a game in person. This is pretty much a last, best option for those of us stuck at work during day games or forced to stay late from time to time.

When I don't see the local teams on the MLB Extra Innings package, it makes sense - the games are on local TV anyways. When I can't see them on a web broadcast, it just makes me think MLB doesn't want to be my friend anymore.

Does anyone have an explaination for these odd blackout rules?

What Hawk Harrelson knows

The Chicago Sun-Times runs a feature called, "This much I know," where they interview people and publish the list of quick hits.

I guess it was morbid curiosity when I clicked the link for Hawk Harrelson and stumbled across pure gold.

For instance, he's an announcer because he sucks at golf. That probably explains why he's such a first cut rate announcer - he'd rather be doing something else, instead.

Also from the goldmine that is Harrelson's mind:

I was the White Sox general manager in 1986. I can tell you being a general manager is the worst job in baseball. No question about it.

It might just be that the Hawk was one of the worst at the job. I have an army of Sox fans who are behind me on this one.

Lou Piniella is one of my dear friends. I just want to kick his ass.

I would love to see the line on a Harrelson/Piniella fight.

Up until '05, I never really realized the difference of winning a World Series to losing a World Series. My wife asked me which was better, '67 or '05. I got to tell you, it's '05. The difference is immense.

I've never even been to a World Series game and I'm pretty sure I grasp that concept.

(Image from: SpudArt.org)

Shut up and announce

It's no secret that I have a pretty short fuse for a handful of announcers in the big leagues.

I have one major annoyance on each end of the city here in Chicago and a few others spread out across the country who drive me totally nuts when they are the featured team on the Extra Innings package.

If I could clone Vin Scully, I totally would. That man could drop kick a kitten from his spot in the press box and I'd just pretend nothing happened and anxiously wait for the next Sandy Koufax story.

There's an interesting take on the Giants' announcers - Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper - who I can admit are a little over the top for some people. Call me names if you must, but I can appreciate two guys in a booth who get a little stir crazy in the middle of August. One the sliding scale of major league announcers, these two are certainly not the worst and don't seem to take themselves too seriously.

In an interesting column, Tim Goodman addresses the issue of what happens when the showmanship in the booth overtakes the game itself. The big piece for me is the idea - which seems pretty obvious now - that it's a conscious decision to make yourself the story when you have a feeling that the team will suck.

But the telecasts? Apparently nobody in Giants management sent a memo to their own TV producers to cut the clutter. With the games more interesting (if not always resulting in wins), viewers are instead forced to suffer through a relentless barrage of inane crowd shots. The camera crew loves people eating (what is it with watching people stuff their faces that can be deemed entertaining?) and often goes out of its way to find shots that Krukow is then obligated to talk about.

Thursday's game had two guys with ties walking - just walking - and that apparently demanded two separate shots. And while it's great to show kids at the ballpark, if only to dispel the notion that baseball is boring to the youth of America, Giants camera operators think it necessary to show every kid with a ticket, often focusing on them long after every member of the kid's extended family has seen Junior on the tube.

All told, it's a smart, thoughtful piece and applies to many of the telecasts being produced on a nightly basis. I'm with Goodman - clear out some of the clutter and let the games start standing on their own.

(Image from: collegeinsider.com)

Ten long years

It was 10 years ago today that Harry Caray passed away after becoming ill following a Valentine's Day dinner with his wife. It seems like much longer for his thousands upon thousands of fans.

Known for his goofy television delivery and his glasses more than anything else, I miss Harry and his perspective on the sport - mainly that it's supposed to be fun and everything else could go to hell.

Whether he was salivating over the women in the bleachers or butchering names of the visiting (and sometimes the home team's) players, Harry embodied Cubs baseball in my formative years. My parents would have been just as well off sending the checks meant for our babysitter to Caray, seeing as he was the one who kept me out of trouble and in one spot for at least a few hours during the summertime.

I remember watching his funeral on WGN from my dorm room and trying unsuccessfully to keep my emotions in check. Logically, it made no sense to be driven to tears over the death of a man I'd never met, but I can't imagine I'm alone on that count.

After an exhausting off season marred by scandal and speculation, I'll especially miss him this spring. I don't necessarily think he'd have any profound insight into the whole mess, but I suspect he wouldn't spend more than a few minutes throughout the course of the season dwelling on Congress or any of the knuckleheads who spend a king's ransom in legal fees to defend or attack former players.

While it's oversimplified to put Harry on a pedestal and deem him the protector of all that's right and quaint about the game, he comes as close as you can get in my mind.

While the 80's and 90's were certainly not free from big salaries and internal politics, Harry made you forget about all of that taking place on the outskirts of the game. He did, however draw the attention back to the field, the joy of a lazy summer afternoon and always seemed to be enjoying himself in the sunshine at Wrigley.

Oversimplified, yes. I'm OK with that.

* Check out this link to Home Run Derby, where he remembers a phone call with Harry years ago. This is exactly why I read Home Run Derby and not just to borrow photos from their posts.

* As another bonus, here are excerpts from Harry's last print interview that were re-posted today.

Sweet Jesus, get her out of there

Ever been to a ballgame?

Kellie Pickler hasn't.

Ever been to a ballgame with a friend who's trying to sleep with a girl who will never shut up and has no idea what's going on / Ever seen a game from the Wrigley Field bleachers?

Then you know the hell all Cubs fans are suffering through right this very minute.

You see, it's country music night at the ballpark and the way it works, whoever sings the Take Me Out to the Ballgame gets the bottom of the inning to chat with Bob Brenley and Len Kasper. Larry the Cable Guy was last night's guest and it wasn't even Country Night.

There is no way she is this dumb, Southern or oblivious to the world around her. She seemed genuinely shocked at the number of people at a professional sporting event. For all intents and purposes, they might as well have put a hyperactive child with ADD in the booth and had him freebase sugarcane.

Compounding the problem are the announcers, pandering to her. If they're just egging her on because they can't believe how dumb she sounds, I owe them more credit. More likely, though, is that Kasper is sleeping on the couch tonight for his, "I'll teach you baseball, Sweetheart" routine.

Among the gems tonight:

"They should have a baseball team called The Pickles."

"They call that the outfield, right? Sometimes I get that mixed up with racing. 'Cause you know, because we have an infield in racin' but you don't go camp out on the baseball field."

When it was pointed out she had red high heels on, "It's great, because they match the jersey!"

"This is good popcorn!"

In all fairness, most of the guests who sing wouldn't bat an eye at an unassisted triple play and would keep plugging their movie/record/new fragrance as the broadcast crew sputtered with delight, but this was over the line.

I think there should be a simple rule, where if you screw up the song, you get no face time in the booth (unless you're Ditka, because he's just a riot).

"I almost said Apple Jacks instead of Cracker Jacks," said Pickler. (She did biff the peanuts and Cracker Jacks line, asking for popcorn, instead). She capped her half inning with, "They don't sell milk at ballgames do they? Wouldn't go good with the beer, would it?"

No, sweetie, it wouldn't. Now take you popcorn and beat it. It's enough to make you nostalgic for Larry the Cable Guy.

(Image from RealityTVMagazine.com)

I bet you Vin is proud

My favorite announcer of all time is Vin Scully.

Call me old school, but I really look forward to his broadcasts because he'll always add something to the games, regardless of the quality of the play that day.

Whether it's some insight from years of calling ballgames, little things he'll do to make the games more fun or the behind the scenes input he'll add in, I could watch two last place teams phone it in as long as Scully is the one with the coverage.

One of the small things you'll notice without really noticing is that Scully won't openly root for the home team while he calls a game. I'd read somewhere - I think it was the Sports Illustrated compilation on baseball writing - that the decision to not make a scene over the performance of the home team was a conscious decision.

This was a carry over from working the New York market at a time when the Yankees, Giants and Dodgers were all "local" clubs and he was wary about alienating anyone listening on the radio that day.

I was reminded of this tonight during the Red Sox / Diamondbacks game when a play in the bottom of the third got an interesting response from the crew working the game for Arizona.

Daron Sutton and Matt Williams watched as Chris Snyder hit a roller up between the first and second basemen for the Red Sox and Alberto Callaspo advanced to second and swung a wiiiide turn towards third.

JD Drew threw in to Julio Lugo at second, who couldn't catch Callaspo, who slid back to put runners at first and second. The only problem is that when Callaspo stood up to brush himself off, he never called time with the ump.

Lugo watched and waited and when Callaspo stood off the bag to knock the dirt off his uniform, he tagged him out.

Instead of calling it a bush league trick play or bellyaching about it, Sutton and Williams called it a little more evenly, cited a need for the younger Diamondbacks to be more alert and used the whole play to reframe their ongoing storyline of how the Sox - though unconventional personality-wise - make sure they are prepared for the games and execute well.

I'm more than burned out on Hawk Harrelson and Ron Santo in the Chicago market peddling their shtick as unabashed homers, especially when I hear the Arizona crew get back to basics like this.

As Don Sutton's son, I'm thinking there's a conscious decision made here as well. Considering how goofy the D-backs booth has been in the two and a half years I've had the baseball package, this is a nice touch.

Nice work by the most recent addition to the Arizona booth.

(Photo from: OCRegister.com)

Weekly Wrap-Up 4/15

It's Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball and ESPN is doing a great job on the coverage as a whole.

So far, Robinson's wife, Rachel, Hank Aaron, Don Newcombe and Frank Robinson have been given a minimum of an inning each to talk to Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on-air, which they're using as a history lesson and to tell stories about Robinson.

While I appreciate the effort and the man they're honoring, they're really not covering new ground for baseball fans who have kept up with the game's history.

The popular refrain has been that with prominent African-American players following Ken Griffey Jr.'s lead in wearing the number 42 jerseys today, it will force the discussions about African-American participation in the sport (Note that this isn't minority participation, which is doing quite well) and to prompt conversations between parents and children about Robinson and his role in American history.

My big question is why do we need a special reason to talk about this? (Update: Looks like I'm not the only one.)

It's a bit of a disconnect on my part, but many African-American players and coaches are pushing for stronger marketing to the black community to encourage kids to start (and keep) playing baseball.

Why does this discussion only have a window once a decade when we remember Robinson? If there's a problem, why can't we discuss it all season? Better than that, why can't we discuss the instant money and relative better package given to athletes who select football or basketball - a better shot at a guaranteed education, not to mention no time toiling away in the minors - that makes baseball unappealing to talented, multi-sport athletes, regardless of their skin color.

Again, all told, it's been a fun night, with some good stories being told one more time from the game's old guard. I guess I feel about this in much the same manner as I feel about Valentine's Day - why do you need a special day to take care of things that should be discussed every day?

Also, my heart goes out to the announcers for the Dodgers, Cardinals and unknown other games today. I honestly thought that with every player on the team wearing number 42 that they'd add nameplates above the numbers. Nope.

* Weather continues to be a factor, with storms rolling east and rain shutting down several games this weekend.

Cancelled are games in New York, Boston, Philly, Pittsburgh and Baltimore and that's just Sunday.

At least it's not three feet of snow like Cleveland last week and you don't need to wait for rain to melt.

* The story that's under the radar, but that the real nutty fans are having fun with is the second week of play and second time through the rotation. While it's still too early to panic for anyone, a truer picture is starting to come into focus.

A pitcher gets shelled once and it's troublesome. A pitcher gets shelled twice and it starts to look like a trend. Three times? Might mean a bus ticket to AAA.

* Speaking of not panicking, Albert Pujols went yard twice today and had five RBI. I only wish there were people stupid enough in our fantasy league to bail on him for a slow start.

* BJ Ryan is out in Toronto with arm trouble and Jason Frasor is while Ryan heads to the DL. Given that all of the teams in the AL East have had solid starts, with each team having 10 or more games under their belts, this injury is worth keeping an eye on.

It's not an injury-bug thing, but I'm waiting for John Danks to come through soon and I'm keeping an eye on him as well. With five earned runs scattered over two games, it's not unheard of to have two losses hung on him so far, but just a little weird.

* Finally, Johan Santana lost - gasp! - at the Dome this weekend, which hasn't happened since before Joe Mauer was able to grow sideburns and was attending high school down the street.

Something tells me he'll rebound, but it's a real bummer that he pulled up one short of tying the record. Espcially against Tampa Bay and all... This is the equivalent of Kobyashi going down.

I have no idea how to process this.

(Image from GalleryM.com)

Tim McCarver hates the blind

Nothing was quite as entertaining today as watching the Dodgers/Mets Game 3 and hearing the apologies from Thom Brenneman and Tim McCarver having to eat a bowl of shit on national television.

You see, these two dipshits were making fun of the blind on a broadcast this week and it came around to bite them in their ignorant asses.

Now, it's no secret that I hate Tim McCarver and can't wait for him to be put out to pasture, but if openly mocking the handicapped won't do it, what will? Damn, well what about calling for the hook on Greg Maddux in the bottom of the third in a game Los Angeles trails 4-0? I mean, that's pretty stupid, right?

Anything? Can we just fire him for being a douche?

Anyways, I saw the original broadcast and there was an older fan with a set of earphones and what I'll describe as a cross between a jewelers magnifier (with one square lens) and a bunch of circuitry. As this was happening, the first thing that came to mind was that it wasn't an entertainment device and that there were better than average odds that the fan was blind.

I was right.

They made a series of robot and cyborg jokes if I'm not mistaken. All class, those two.

He's a 20-something year season ticket holder and these two jokers had to apologize on the broadcast tonight. Good, now let's fire the bastards.

For the record, if there's even a small chance that the fan you're openly mocking might be handicapped in some way, maybe you should just keep your funny, funny comments to yourself. For my money, it's just a step behind Ty Cobb spiking a crippled man until he bled enough for the Georgia Peach's liking.

Oh, and a little YouTube love, just to pile on.