Baseball Musings: Phillies Win the Pennant

October 15, 2008

Phillies Win the Pennant

Cole Hamels pitches his third brilliant game of the post season, allowing just one run over seven innings. That's three earned runs in 22 innings for the Phillies ace. He didn't have the strikeouts working tonight, but his defense helped with with two double plays. His only mistake was the home run to Manny Ramirez, a mistake a lot of pitchers make.

Offensively, the heart of the Phillies order got the job done. Utley, Howard and Burrell all hit .300 or better against the Dodgers. Victorino made his hits count as he slugged .500 and Carlos Ruiz did a good job keeping rallies going at the bottom of the order. Of course, Matt Stairs will go down in history with one of the most memorable Philies pinch hits, his game winning homer Monday night.

The Phillies hit better, ran better, fielded better and pitched better. Maybe with both teams on the east coast this year, Fox will start the games a little earlier so school kids can watch them without staying up too late?

Posted by David Pinto at 11:40 PM | League Championship Series | TrackBack (0)

Comments

"Maybe with both teams on the east coast this year, Fox will start the games a little earlier so school kids can watch them without staying up too late?"

Ha. Keep dreaming.

Posted by: Vegas Watch at October 15, 2008 11:55 PM

If the networks and MLB cared about children, they would not have constant references to 4 hour erections. They clearly have no interest in children watching baseball, or they think that my young kids should be exposed to such material.

The MLB machine, led by Bud, is interested in nothing but dollars. Those dollars are made at the expense of the future success of the sport. He will go down in history as the person who destroyed baseball.

Posted by: KDDN at October 16, 2008 07:06 AM

Congrats to the Phils

I think the demographic on baseball watching on TV doesn't include very much of the under 18 group

Posted by: Bandit at October 16, 2008 08:30 AM

The only way the games would start earlier is if the affiliates give up their lucrative access hour at 7:00 PM. That ain't gonna happen, and it doesn't have anything to do with Bud, four-hour erections, destroying baseball, or other goofball fantasies.

Posted by: Casey Abell at October 16, 2008 08:54 AM

Bandit and Casey, I think you are both incorrect. My boys are under 10 and they love to watch baseball. There are still many kids who enjoy watching the game. If MLB continues their current approach, however, the fan base will eventually age and fade away.

Casey, it has everything to do with Bud and the TV contracts he negotiated. You think that baseball cannot dictate the terms of their contracts? Seriously? MLB is at the mercy of a local TV station? They could secure any type of deal that they wanted, and they could have made early start times a part of the contract. They instead chose to accept the highest bid. Fine, but you can't say that it has nothing to do with Bud.

MLB's approach has resulted in a rapid deterioration of the fan base. Baseball is now, at best, the third most popular sport in this country. If you want to argue that this is the golden age, as Bud does, then you are the one who is having goofball fantasies.

Posted by: KDDN at October 16, 2008 01:33 PM

MLB is at the mercy of a local TV station? They could secure any type of deal that they wanted, and they could have made early start times a part of the contract.

Ever heard of the Federal Communications Commission? Decades ago, they yanked the 7:00 PM hour away from national networks and gave it to local stations. It was called the "access hour." Since then local affiliates have made a mint off the hour and they ain't about to give it back to Fox or any other network.

Of course, MLB would love to start the games earlier to get more of an audience. But they can't. The local affiliates won't give up the time. Bud Selig could huff and puff all he wanted in negotiations, and he's not going to get the 7:00 PM hour. That is a goofball fantasy.

In general, you massively overestimate MLB's leverage in network TV negotiations. Baseball gets modest national ratings at best. Not that the sport is hurting economically. They just set a revenue record this year of $6.4 billion. The game is hardly in the dire straights you imagine.

Posted by: Casey Abell at October 16, 2008 03:33 PM

By the way, the reason that one LCS has migrated to cable the past couple seasons is that Fox wanted to cut back its postseason baseball. No other national broadcast network was interested in picking up the slack. Baseball can hardly dictate terms on starting times to national broadcasters and their affiliates.

But the much-maligned Bud Selig has found ways to maximize revenue from other sources: local TV and radio, cable, the Internet, even satellite radio. That's why baseball is very healthy economically, thank you, even with a one percent decline in ticket sales this year.

I expect more offense will be injected into the game next year in what looks to be a tough economic climate, compounded by Obama's tax hikes. I might miss my guess, but I think baseball will set another revenue record next year.

Posted by: Casey Abell at October 16, 2008 04:06 PM

I was not suggesting that MLB is struggling financially. I know that they are doing quite well. That's my point. Bud's sole measure of success is revenue. My assertion is that this focus on near term profits is harmful. MLB has no interest in growing the fan base, and eventually they will regret their dismissal of kids.

Regarding the 7:00 hour, you clearly know more about it than I do. However, I am certain that I have seen national broadcasts during that time, so it must be possible.

Posted by: KDDN at October 16, 2008 06:00 PM

Well, we get games on the west coast during that 7:00 hour. So it's OK on the west coast, but the east coast is sacrosanct? Figures.

Posted by: Adam Villani at October 16, 2008 06:39 PM

KDDN - I'm sure your kids like watching baseball but I'm almost one hundred % sure that both NFL and NBA are much more popular with the

Posted by: Bandit at October 17, 2008 07:32 AM

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