What to do on a snow day.

Not everyone is happy with the Yankees signing Teixeira:

Still, I'll just argue that I still think baseball needs a salary cap. It will never happen, but I love what it's done for other sports like hockey and football. Yes, you can still have dynasties emerge, but it seems like everyone has a chance. Everyone will use the Tampa example of a team that is in a horrid market that has risen from the ashes. The problem is that it took the Rays years and years of wallowing in those ashes and getting tons of remarkably good draft picks in order for them to do their phoenix impression.

Listen, I know that it's never going to happen. Selig and company would never want a salary cap and salary caps are initiated from frustrated owners. I just sometimes need to state the obvious. I hate the freaking Yankees and the system in baseball blows.

The system blows because it creates artificial markets in which a small supply can drive up the price of a player. Make everyone free agents from the time they graduate from high school to the day they retire and there will be no need for a salary cap and every team will have a chance at signing decent players. Unfortunately, that will never happen.

Geoffrey Lakings writes:

As everybody is aware Ike just blew through Houston bringing massive devastation and forcing both the Astros & Texans to re-arrange their schedules. However, I was shocked and appalled to discover that the only 'neutral' site available for the Astros to move this weekends Cubs series to was Milwaukee - a team they are chasing by three in the NL Wildcard. How is this considered neutral?? Not only will the Astros have to contend with hostile Milwaukee fans, Milwaukee is also an easy drive up from Chicago for Cub fans. Here are the Astros, winners of 14 of 15 (closing within 3 of MIlwaukee in the Wild Card race) with fortunately a weekend home series to continue this momentum. Then Ike derailed not only this series but wreaked massive havoc around the Gulf states; Galveston, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange and of course Houston. First the Astros make the World Series in 2005 and Bud Selig demands the Astros keep their roof open for their home games destroying much of their home field advantage. Now Bud Selig forces the Astros to play their home games in Milwaukee a team he once owned. Possibly some collusion here. The Rangers have an open date on Sunday so the Astros could play a game there, and in the article below their minor league team in Round Rock(the Express) offered to make their stadium available. Both of these sites would keep the Astros in Texas and make the games a little more like home games. I cannot fathom how this horrid atrocity came to pass. Is Major League Baseball really about money and what Bud Selig wants rather than the teams who put the product on the field.

Some people thought the Cubs were given an easy schedule this year, as they didn't need to face New York and Boston in interleague play. The Cubs winning the World Series this year would certainly be a good story line.

Much as I like to rip Bud, there's probably a very good reason for this. The I've heard is that Milwaukee having a dome, they don't need to worry about weather. The DBacks are at home, Tampa is at home tomorrow, and they probably want to keep it in an NL park, which leaves out Seattle, Toronto and Minnesota.

Bob Ford doesn't care for Red Sox Nation:

The Red Sox, thanks largely to their streak-breaking championship in 2004, became cuddly, cute, popular, and attractive to great scads of casual fans who wanted to glom onto the gravy train.

There's nothing cuddly or cute about a team with a $133 million payroll. You can't be an underdog if you spend like the Kennedys. If the Red Sox - who struggled to draw one million fans under the penurious final seasons of Yawkey family ownership - were once a cold-water walk-up on Kenmore Square, they are now a gated compound on the Cape.

Oh, I know. The fans sing songs together and have other adorable rituals, and tend to overlook small things like the fact that Manny Ramirez is one of the most selfish, self-indulgent players in the game. Ah, c'mahn. He's a Sawk.

The sure sign that the Red Sox have become too annoying is when people outside the northeast start rooting for the Yankees to win.

Red Sox Nation, however, is a truly remarkable phenomenon. Boston combined first rate marketing with deft team building to take Boston from a locally loved team to a national brand. Both on the business and baseball side, the management group should be admired for that, and other teams should try to emulate that success. Ford's team, the Phillies, have a chance to build that kind of brand right now. Maybe create the HURH club, for Howard, Utley, Rollins, and Hamels. Instead of complaining, try beating them at their own game.

Defensive Indifference already had enough of Dusty Baker. The Corey Patterson signing put him over the edge:

Why the hell would you want a guy who had 80 extra-base hits in the minors last season when you could just have a replacement level player get 600 plate appearances in a completely winnable division.

Let's hope Patterson is just a back up player.

The Baseball Musings pledge drive continues through March. Please consider making a donation.

Via Baseball Think Factory, a good rant against the designated hitter:

The usual defense of the DH is that it allows old, washed-up ballplayers, or younger, injured ones, or just tubby ones who have trouble bending over to pick up a ground ball, to extend their careers and allow their many fans more chances to see them display their batting skills. I am unmoved by their plight. Let them get out of the way and make room for the young, new stars waiting for their chance to shine. It's time for the old guys to make the acquaintance of Warren Buffet and various Wall Street investment banker types.

Soccer Dad reprints an essay by a fan who is giving up his Orioles season tickets.

It's Bob Walk bobblehead night in Pittsburgh (worst name ever for a pitcher), and fans are planning to walk out of the game after the third inning. Pat Lackey is concerned that the club is trying to keep the protest from being televised:

The Pirates are actively attempting to crush dissent. The thing is, because the walkout is scheduled to be between innings, Fox Sports Pittsburgh and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (the Nats' channel) cameras will be off, meaning that the Pirates plan might actually work. Local network KDKA does have a camera situated outside the park that can capture most of the images and pass them along to ESPN and other national outlets, but it's not particularly close to the park and won't be able to provide very high quality pictures. I suppose all Pirate fans can hope is that this plan somehow backfires on the Pirate owners and word gets out to bigger outlets that not only are fans protesting, but the Pirates are doing everything possible to make sure no one finds out about it.

Well, it would be fairly easy to walk out after the station comes back from commercial, which would make a lot more sense. And if ESPN really wanted to cover this, it's easy enough for them to send a camera man and producer to the game to film the walkout and interview protesters. Of course, given that the Pirates have the second lowest home attendance in the NL, most of the Pirates fans are protesting already by staying away.

Redus and Weep honors Eric Milton in verse. Milton would be proud!

There will be a protest today during the Tigers/Orioles game:

"Nasty" Nestor Aparicio, the Dundalk guy who's been a radio personality in this town for years and owns WYST ("Sports Talk 1570"), is hoping you'll show up at the "Free the Birds" protest rally he's organized at Camden Yards, when the Orioles play the Tigers at 4:05.

Aparicio, 38, is the little guy who always thinks big.

So today he envisions thousands of ticked-off fans in black "Free the Birds" T-shirts marching through the streets to Oriole Park, congregating in the upper deck, then walking out en masse an hour or so later to deliver a simple message: It's time for O's owner Peter Angelos to go.

"He needs to realize he's hurting the city," Aparicio says, offering the owner this advice, free of charge: "If you want to help this city, you'll put your ego aside, take the check [offered by a prospective buyer] and step aside.

If anyone attends, feel free to e-mail photos from your cell phone to me, pinto@baseballmusings.com. I'll be happy to post them.

One of my co-worker's sons learned not to criticize baseball teams. His assignment was to write about his most embarrassing moment:

Steve and I were working about a month ago at the Big Y. Steve was cashier and I was bagging. Steve turned to me and said "So Mike, how do you feel about the Royals sweeping the Red Sox"? I replied "I think that's garbage. I heard the Royals are the worst team in baseball". Steve agreed and added "Yeah, that is true and Boston got killed by a team that should not be allowed in MLB". A lady in the checkout line was unloading her groceries and said "You two need to watch your mouth, my son is a pitcher for the Royals".

So does anyone know which Royals pitcher has a parent in the area of Springfield, Massachusetts?

Ed Zipper wants a divorce from ESPN.

Yankees fans are facing a dilema:

I stand in front of you accused of Jeter myopia, which is not a bad thing in and of itself, unless it comes at the expense of A-Rod's reputation. And there lies the heart of the matter.

Somewhere along the line it came to be that one must choose between Jeter and A-Rod.

Phil Allard says you can have both!

Here is the thing, both men play for the Yankees. You don't have to choose.

You don't have to choose.

As Yankee fans, isn't it enough that we can watch two of the greatest players of their generation everyday? Why is it necessary to compare the two constantly and choose between them?

I'll take one of each, thank you!

Shouldn't this be obvious?

Thanks to Seymour Ruskin for the link.

Bloggedy Blog doesn't mince words: Mulder must go!

Remember the story about Jacque Jones' mother yelling at a fan who heckled her son? The Postmen knows the fan an gets an exclusive interview! (Hat tip, Deadspin)

Ruz at The Cub Reporter unloads on the northside team today:

So the team isn't contending, it isn't one player away from contending, it isn't rebuilding. I don't know where it is in the success cycle, and I don't think *it* knows where it is. As a fan, that's a really frustrating place for your team to be.

Just in case Philadelphia fans were unsure of how to act when Bonds comes to town on Friday, Paul Hagen reviews the taunts and tactics used so far.

Matt Cerrone at MetsBlog.com is not happy with the new Mets song.

As my friend, Henry “old backstop” Lee told me, “I almost began projectile vomiting when I heard it. Teams like the Yankees stick to classy stuff, and it's our Mets that always try these cheesy, lame attempts to be cool.”…

Aside from being a cheesy, lame song, I can’t for the life of me figure out who this track appeals to, as it features generic hip-hop beats with a corny, lolly-pop, 80’s style rap…

Anyone who likes rap music will laugh hysterically at it, and not in a good way, while anyone who doesn’t like rap music will point to this and say, ‘this is why I don’t like rap music.’ It’s a lose, lose…

Transplated Mets Fan has the lyrics.

Baseball Widow shows off her Latin in complaining about the overuse of the word "tainted" in describing everything in baseball:

"Taint" has become the catch-all accusation that appears whenever anyone is displeased about any aspect of the game. Are the Atlanta Braves' gazillion consecutive division championships tainted because the rosters have included a cokehead, a bigot, and a repeat DUI offender? Is a game "tainted" by a bad call? Is a series? A sport?

Baseball Musings is conducting a pledge drive in March. Click here for details.

A party for Marlins season ticket holders turned into a Festivus celebration:

Among the highlights of Samson's time on stage:

• Boca Raton attorney Larry Corman drew cheers when he accused the Marlins of fielding ''a minor-league team at major-league prices'' and said ''every season-ticket holder would love his money back.'' Samson said, ``we were [considered] the most disappointing team in all of baseball [in 2005]. It's not like we traded the '27 Yankees.''
(Off stage, Samson said the team has received fewer than 100 refund requests, which the Marlins won't grant.)

• When one fan said he doesn't see how the Marlins are committed to staying if they're visiting other cities, Samson said, ``Five of the last seven stadium deals were done in cities where the team started to relocate and then didn't. . . . The first thing I said to the mayor of San Antonio is you are not our first choice.''

• Samson again ruled out building a stadium without a retractable roof to save money.

• Samson received light applause when introduced but was booed when -- in trying to explain how the fan support has risen under Loria -- he said he didn't see people wearing Marlins gear in 2002.

• When one suggested the Marlins sell the team to Venezuelan media mogul Gustavo Cisneros, Samson said, ``I'm sorry. Do you work for [Miami city manager Joe] Arriola?''

Dontrelle Willis was on hand to perform feats of strength, but as far as I know, no one pinned Samson. If you read the whole thing, you'll find it was a pretty poor performance by the team president.

Sheriff Sully, a life long Red Sox fans, takes Red Sox Nation to task over their treatment of Foulke and others this year:

When it comes to the Red Sox, I have no ego. I understood that many before me never saw a World Series. And they certainly never saw the humiliation of the Yankees. Nothing can top that. And nothing can take those memories away from me. It’s a shame that so many have already tarnished those memories.

This season should’ve been one long celebration. Standing ovation after standing ovation at Fenway. It should’ve been about just enjoying the buzz and allowing nothing to take our glow away. Sox fans should’ve enjoyed this season as if they just had the best sex of their lives.

Alas, what was 86 years in the making took less than seven months to crumble.

And in the process, obliviously, the majority of Red Sox fans are living their worse nightmare.

They’ve become just like Yankees fans.

This reminds me of an Aimee Mann lyric:

Once you were just our dear friend Ron
Now you look out for number one
Who would’ve guessed that you’d become
What you hated

Jeff Haught writes:

David,

I'm so sick of being loyal to the Royals, I decided to sell my loyalty to the highest bidder and sent the following letter to every major league team:

I was, until 10 PM last night, a Royals fan. I had been for 32 years. I moved to Kansas City, in part, to be near the team that I love. Now that love has been destroyed, from the strike year of '94 until now, only one Royals team has been worth following and that was the 2003 team that barely finished above .500. I simply cannot be a fan of a team that can't catch a flyball, field a grounder or win a game that they were in complete control of.

I have a wife that went to her first baseball game with me and her favorite player, Tony Graffanino, now plays for the Red Sox. My Royals can't even keep around a fan favorite that costs $2m! I also have twin girls that are 5 months old. They will be brought up in a baseball family, watching 3 or 4 games a week and attending 1 or 2 a month. My groom's cake even had a Royals logo on it.

I have probably spent $10,000 over the years on R's tickets, souvenirs, hot dogs, nachos and pretzels. I and my family won't give the R's any more of my money.

I'm sending this letter to each and every other major league team. I am setting up an auction for my loyalty. In return for whatever gifts you send me, you will have my and my family's loyalty for the next 10 years with a mutual option for the next 10. This means that I will wear your gear, learn your players, support your team and travel to see your team play.
This could be worth several thousand dollars to you.

Just send an email to jbpirate91@yahoo.com with your offer. I will only accept the highest bidder. You will only have to send the merchandise if I choose you. I will be making a decision on August 24 so please respond by then.

----------------------------------------------
The Royals are an embarrassment.

I hope Jeff will keep us informed as to what teams are willing to pay for loyalty!

Batgirl publishes an editorial aimed directly at the Twins marketing problems, using her usual colorful language. :-)

Jay Jaffe lets loose on the Yankees at Futility Infielder. I'm in agreement on so many things it's difficult to pick one out, but this one's my favorite:

I'm sick of being told how much better off the Yankees were with Tino Martinez than they are with Jason Giambi, and that they should have never let beloved Tino leave because gosh darn it, he's a team guy, and this team doesn't have the team guy thing like the Yanks did when Buster Olney's heroes roamed the House That Ruth Built, and that now that Tino's back he's going to show these new Yankees how to win and zzzzz....

And don't miss his take on the Yankees concept of a farm system. You'll really dig it. :-)

Don't get cocky.

Dean Christopher has a different take on the curse of the Bambino.

One of the nice things about not being a fan committed to one team is that I can sit back and enjoy other fans losing their cool over a four game losing streak.

I was doing OK, coping fine with 3 in a row, but this one last night really hurt. I tossed and turned all night. Woke up feeling like Sylvia Plath. You know all depressed and thinking about sticking my head in a gas oven.

"Oh, Sylvia Plath, whose tragic suicide was misinterpreted as romantic by the schoolgirl mentality."

And by the way, the Yankees were two games down in the loss column yesterday. And although I've been told for years that you can't make up the losses, they're only down 1 today.

John Carney has a little movie comparing Cubs and White Sox fans. I found it entertaining, if a little biased. :-)

Athletics Nation wants a ball desctruction moment of its own.

The A's need to track down Jeremy Giambi's shoes. You know the ones that kept him upright in 2001 when he represented the tying run of that Barry Zito gem. The ones that likely cost the A's a possible World Series championship that season.

I'm convinced now that it was those shoes that has started this spiral (even though we lost in 2000, our team was much younger and less experienced and also featured Gil Heredia), this horrible downward spiral of postseason misery the A's have experienced. While we're at it, get Miggy's shoes and Eric Byrnes' shoes circa 2003 ALDS and let's make it a cleat-burning extravaganza.

I'm actually sad they are blowing up the Bartman ball. It's a piece of baseball history that is going to be lost. Maybe they should just give it to the Marlins for enshrinement in Pro Player Stadium. :-)

The latest in Boston Red Sox headwear. Thanks to Michael Genrich.

Brian Schnack writes:

Here’s the ultimate in AL East maneuvers….

In a move sure to escalate the AL East race, the Red Sox announced the surprise signing of 64-year old Soo Yung Kim, a little-used North Korean lefty. Kim has reportedly pitched off and on for 3 decades in the Pyongyang Nuclear Research Eternal Sunshine League, his best year coming in 1989 (3.98 ERA/5 RSAA). Boston GM Theo Epstein, beaming in the lobby of a New Orleans Dunkin’ Donuts, admitted, “He comes with the tools to get a lot of people out. He could be a heck of a closer.”

Following the news of the Red Sox deal, sources close to George Steinbrenner say that the Yankees successfully tested a low-yield hydrogen bomb at their Dominican Republic test facilities. In a hastily-called press conference before a flight to New York, Steinbrenner refused to comment on his moves, saying only, “We are going to win this damn thing. If we don’t, nobody will.”

Chasing the heels of the Alex Rodriguez and Sheffield affairs, the Orioles had just signed Oakland SS Miguel Tejada to a large deal. However, in the fallout of this weekend’s brinksmanship, the Orioles have reportedly scrapped plans to sign Expos OF Vladimir Guerrero and Marlins C Ivan Rodriguez, instead placing their efforts on what owner Peter Angelos calls “Plan Z”. While no movements have been confirmed, reports have placed GM John Andrews in Pakistan and several former Soviet republics in the past weeks.

Capping off a big 48 hours in the AL East, the Devil Rays announced journeyman C Matt Walbeck as hitting instructor.

I guess this is what they refer to as a nuclear winter!

Jan from Wellesley writes:

Most folks feel this is going to get done anyway, right? So why all the righteous indignation from the Sox camp and some of their fans? So they got spanked for all the tampering in which they've been allowed to engage, so all the favored treatment they've received from their buddy, the Commish, hasn't paid off -- yet. So the great crusader for players' rights, Alex Rodriguez, hasn't been allowed to do what he wants. Imagine that! -- the nerve of anyone trying to stand in the way of the great, magnanimous A-Rod! Again, guys, if this was any other organization, you'd be screaming in outrage over how this deal was allowed to develop. Anyway, just relax -- this is just a minor setback.

Mark Olson writes on the NL Rookie of the Year voting:

TO THE PEOPLE WHO VOTE !!!!! YOU PEOPLE HAVE MANAGED TO WRECK BASEBALL FOR ME, ONCE AND FOR ALL !!!!! SCOTT P. FROM THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS GOT THE SHAFT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SCREWED !!!!!!!!!UNBELIEVABLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, I COULD CARE LESS WHO THIS CONCERNS OR WHO IS AT FAULT, GET A LIFE !!!!!!!!!! YOU GUYS SHOULD GET AWAY FROM BASEBALL, YOU DON'T NO A THING !!! NO WONDER SMALL MARKET TEAMS STRUGGLE, DID YOU EVEN LOOK AT HIS STATS ?? THIS WAS A NO BRAINER !!! WOW !!!! IS ALL I CAN SAY....... WHERE IS THE JUSTICE !!!!! NICE JOB OF PROMOTING BASEBALLS FUTURE STARS

As you can see by the stuck shift lock key, Mr. Olson is angry. And he has a point. Podsednik did garner more win shares than either Webb or Willis. The funny thing is he would have won easily in the AL, so I guess it's Selig's fault for moving the Brewers to the senior circuit. :-)

Another thing that might have worked against Scott Podsednick is his age. He is an old rooke, age 27. Of the 114 Rookie of the Year honorees, only 8 have been 27 or older. Two of them were Japanese players, and one other was Jackie Robinson, who for obvious reasons didn't have a chance to earn the award when he was young. So you have an old rookie, who is having a year out of line with his minor league career, and two young sharp pitchers to choose from. I would have voted for Webb, but I understand the vote for Willis. They are up and coming stars. We've probably seen the best Podsednik has to offer, unfortunately.

Rob Neyer has an excellent column on Yankee hatred today.

We're also still arguing about the Yankees. A few minutes after running across Cobbledick's column about the sacrifice "hit," I found this:

"In winning four straight American League pennants and world championships, the Yankees have not won popularity. If anything, as they travel along the path to a victory record unique in baseball, they are also moving through a gauntlet of unparalleled emotion that ranges from fear, envy, distrust, disgust and displeasure to downright hatred."

If you know your baseball (or at least your Yankees) history, then you know this could have been written only twice: not long after the 1939 season, or not long after the 1952 season, both of which ended with the Yankees winning a fourth straight World Series.

Those words were written by Milton Gross and published in the September, 1953 issue of "Sport." The very next month, the Yankees would win their fifth straight World Series, for a record that no one has really come close to breaking since. Gross' article was titled "Why They Hate the Yankees," and one wouldn't imagine that the Yankees were hated less after they won that fifth Series.

Steve Bonner writes in response to my Edward Cossette post:

David, I think your post in response to the disenchantment of Red Sox fan was very insightful. The notion of fandom, is fascinating. People tie their self actualization to the accomplishments and (ultimately as we've seen this week, shortcomings) of events they can't influence and people they don't know.

I root for the Yankees because I grew up in New York and my dad lived the first 30 years of his life in the Bronx. To me the Yankees are a part of my identity, part of my family really.I am certainly affected by the outcome of Yankee games, I do tend to (for a short time) be either a little extra happy or a little extra sad depending upon the outcome of the Yankees season. But a big part of that is that if the Yankees fail to advance, it means that while the season goes on...my rooting interest in baseball is over and that's sad. I truly enjoy following the game. The combination of art and science, strategy and athleticism and day to day drama entertains me and I would daresay enriches my life.

I root for players that I find especially talented and root harder for those who combine talent and charisma. Bernie and Jeter and Soriano seem to me like decent thoughtful and competitive people. The kind of people I'd like to work with in any endeavor. But that is such a superficial evaluation and it leads to this type of depression upon finding out your heros have feet of clay.

People tend to forget that even though Pedro Martinez has shown them his sparkling control and his electric fastball, they don't know him. He has made them happy because he has brought success to their team, their heritage maybe, their self identitiy. But it amazes me that people constantly forget that these people who "represent" them are practically anonymous. I see the big grin on Soriano's face when he gets on base and I think, 'wow, he looks like a really nice kid.' For all I know he is, but there's also the chance that he's not. I don't know Alfonso Soriano. I think fans need to disassociate their love for a game and their love for a team with the sophmoric assumption that their self worth is somehow tied up in the virtue of the players on the team.

Root for a team because of what it means to you because of how it makes you feel. But remember this those 25 guys wearing your town's name on their blouses do not speak for you. Celebrate when the team wins and shake your head when they lose but don't ever tie your own self esteem up in the behavior of human beings you do not know.

I bet this makes Marlins fans happy:

''I was shocked and dismayed to read the comments falsely attributed to me in today's media outlets about rooting for the Cubs in the NLCS,'' Huizenga said in a statement. ``I was not even in Chicago the last two days and never talked to any reporter about the Cubs-Marlins series. I don't know where those quotes originated, but they certainly did not come from me.

``I did grow up in Chicago, and always enjoyed my trips to Wrigley Field. I certainly know what a winning Cubs team means to that city. But I'm a resident of South Florida, and root for all the local teams. It's exciting to see this community rally behind the Marlins, and I hope they continue their winning ways.

Yes, especially now that he doesn't have to pay for it.

Joe Duellman writes:

I just finished watching the Boston/Oakland game and I was stunned to see ESPN lead off Sportscenter with a pretty long piece on the Limbaugh story. Three playoff games today, one that is nothing short of amazing, and they lead with that!?!? That is so incredibly arrogant. Is it that big of a story that one of their "analysts" on NFL Countdown is resigning? I know several friends that were waiting to see the highlights of the other games they missed while they were at class this afternoon. I understand they need time to gather highlights from the last game, but couldn't they have taken care of that while they showed highlights from the other two games? I know I'm not alone in thinking that ESPN has declined in quality over the last year or so. Anyways, just thought I'd share that with you.

Joe, football is king at ESPN. It takes something like a 7th game of the world series to push a football highlight off the lead. That purely has to do with the popularity of the sports and the ratings ESPN gets for each. And this was a story with national attention. I agree with you, I don't care about Limbaugh and I was unaware of the story until I saw the link above. When I turn on SportsCenter, I expect to see game highlights unless there's a momentous event like the death of Joe DiMaggio. Show us the games!

As for the quality declining, I really don't watch ESPN much because I'm usually watching live games. The Sunday Night Baseball games and Baseball Tonight seem to me to be the same quality I've always known. But if you and others think that's true, ESPN has a problem that needs to be addressed.

Josh Schulz points out Redbird Nation responded this morning to the Posnanski column in my previous post. It was about demographics!

Let’s answer Posnanski’s points one at a time. As for attendance, it’s true – St. Louis draws the fifth-most fans in baseball. Last year we were sixth. The year before, seventh.

But is it really fair to compare St. Louis, with a metro area of 2.6 million people, with New York and Los Angeles, which attract fans from populations of 21.2 million and 16.4 million? Given our relatively tiny market size, St. Louis does spectacularly well in attendance.

I guess all my brain cells haven't died yet. :-)

Josh Schulz of the St. Louis Cardinals blog responds to the previous post.

Just so we're clear here: It's now been 18 years since the Royals won a world series.

Since that world series the Cardinals have been to the playoffs 5 times, and made it to the world series once. They've been over .500 10 times in those 18 years.

It's been 9 years since the Royals were over 500. In the 18 years since that World Serires the Royals have been over .500 6 times. They havn't been back to the playoffs since.

The most games the Royals have won in a season is 92 in 1989.

The Cardinals won 97 last year, 93 the year before (2001), 95 in 2000, and 95 in 1987.

The Cardinals lost 92 games in 1990. The Royals lost 100 last year, 97 in 2001, 97 in 1999, and 94 in 1997.

You won a world series. Congrats! But in every other measure of team competency the Royals come out behind the Cardinals.

We're not conceited, we're convinced.

In the Cardinals defense, they are the Yankees of the National League. In fact the DBacks and Cardinals are the only NL teams with winning records against the Yankees in World Series play (the Cardinals have won 3 of 5 played against the Yankees). And with nine world Championships, the Cardinals have the most in the NL. Meanwhile, if memory serves, the Royals only beat the Yankees once in the post season.

Of course, if it gets around that the Cardinals are the Yankees of the NL, no one outside of St. Louis will like them anymore...

Brian Hipp writes me that the Royals are expecting 120,000 for the weekend series vs. the Cardinals.

Even though they're not in our division, this is the biggest series of the year for most Royals fans, as it is our chance to put snobby Cardinals fans in their place and remind them that we won the 1985 World Series, that they haven't won a World Series in 21 years, and that of the 9 World Series Titles they always talk about, we're pretty sure 7 of them came in the 1920s and 30s, so we're not real impressed. Yes, we will concede that the Gas House Gang was a great team and Frankie Frisch was quite a hurler, but let's get real, Cards fans.

We also get to remind Cardinals fans that although Don Denkinger blew that call, it occurred in Game 6, and we did win Game 7 11-0. It's not Denkinger's fault that Jaoquin Andujar had a meltdown and the rest of the Cards folded the next day. The Reds still won the 75 World Series after Fisk's famous shot, but the Cardinals just bitched and whined and gave up in 85.

We might have a bigger rivalry in our division if our closest foe wasn't 8 hours from here.

Any snobby Cardinals fans want to respond?

It's good to see people are starting to turn out for the Royals games. I hope it continues when Cleveland and Detroit come to town.

Update: Shawn Weaver points out that Frankie Frisch was not a hurler.

I'm not sure how many Yankee fans feel this way, but Michele at A Small Victory is a Yankee fan that does not like Roger Clemens. My uncle Anthony feels the same way. I wonder if this is common among Yankee fans?

I just received two letters from Braves fans that are upset that they can't see as many games and can't hear Skip and Pete. The first is from Sally Moss:

I've been watching the Braves on TBS and kept wondering why nobody said anything about Skip and Pete. I didn't know where they were. I finally logged onto your site and there it was. I'm furious. TBS is nothing without Skip Carey and Pete. I switched to the Braves because of Skip and his wit. Upon finding out, I added the MLB pkg. so I could hear Skip and find I'm blacked out. I live in central Idaho, yet I'm blacked out of a game between Houston and Atlanta. Go figure.

I found the game, however, on another station so I have to go. Thanks for keeping us informed. Summer isn't going to be the same for me this year.

Even more upset is Mavis Merrill:

I don't know just how to tell TBS how I feel so I'll tell you! I miss Pete and Skip. The announcers are a big part of the reason I follow the Braves and have for more than 10 years now. I was a Boston Brave fan as a kid but lost touch until 1990 when I started watching cable. Remember the Braves' players then? Most of them seemed like people I would like to know personally. And the announcers were the ones that let me know them. They were educating, amusing and informing me all at once.
The other thing is the number of games TBS is putting on. What is a Braves fan supposed to do in Phoenix, AZ? I don't get Sports South and I resent the fact that I get to see less games.
I am a 65 year old grandma who treasures her baseball that John Smoltz tossed over the bullpen fence at the end of the first game of the play-offs right into my grandson's hands for me, my autograph from Leo Mazzone the same grandson got for me at a restaurant, my two baseball cards (Andruw Jones and Smoltz) and I hate it when I can't see games. If TBS is the Braves station then they should broadcast the games!
And I want Pete and Skip back!

TBS has made a huge mistake. A day doesn't go by where I don't see a couple of queries by people searching for Skip Carey information. If anyone from TBS is reading this, your move to MLB on TBS has angered your loyal fans. You would think people from Atlanta would not make the "New Coke" error.

Joe Moore didn't like Tony La Russa's lineup yesterday:

Aaron & David--
I was surprised that neither of you mentioned TLR's ridiculous lineup for Saturday's Astros game:

Vina (2B)
Renteria (SS)
Orlando Palmeiro (RF)
Miguel Cairo (LF)
Rolen (3B)
Tino Martinez (1B)
Matheny (C)
Kerry Robinson (CF)
Morris (P)

You probably noticed a couple of interesting things about that lineup. First, Orlando Palmeiro (career OPS .714) was hitting third and Miguel Cairo (career OPS .679!!!) hitting cleanup.

Next, you probably noticed that TLR has a left fielder (Robinson) playing CF, a second baseman (Cairo) playing LF, and a left fielder (Palmeiro) playing RF.

So, in one mesmerizing moment, TLR managed to cheat MattyMo out of a win by putting a sub-sub-standard defense in the outfield, while practically guaranteeing that the Cards wouldn't score more than a single run with his choice of lineup.

I understand that JD Drew is injured. I understand that Marrero, Pujols and Edmonds are hurting. However, the Cards have Monday off--couldn't they have waited 2 more days? Both Pujols and Edmonds eventually made it into the game (AP as a pinch-hitter and Edmonds as a defensive replacement in the 9th inning), so they obviously were available. Hell, Eduardo Perez is a hack in the OF, but at least he can swing the lumber.

How about this, from ESPN's GAMELOG:
(Bottom of the sixth inning in a scoreless game)
>>Tim Redding pitches to Edgar Renteria

>> E Renteria doubled to deep right.
>> O Palmeiro sacrificed to third, E Renteria to third.
>> M Cairo grounded out to pitcher.
>> S Rolen flied out to left.

>>0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors
>>Houston 0, St. Louis 0

That's right, after Renteria hit a leadoff double, TLR showed so much confidence in HIS CHOICE of #3 hitter that he sacrificed (no danger of a double play with first base empty). And he was so comfortable with his choice of cleanup hitter that... Well forget the sarcasm: TLR apparently had no confidence in Cairo's ability to get a runner from second home with only one out (assuming Palmeiro couldn't get a hit or advance the runner by any method other than sacrifice bunt).

Plus, TLR pulled Morris after eight innings, although Morris had thrown only 103 pitches and Houston's right-handed murderers row was due up. And who, pray tell, did TLR bring in to face the Astros righties (Bagwell, Kent, Hidalgo, Berkman (switch-hitter))? The one and only 69-year old LEFTHANDER Fassero.

TLR cost Morris a win today, pure and simple. Complete buffoonery. I have no idea why TLR is so revered in baseball circles when the man should be collecting unemployement checks.

There are two question here; why did La Russa go with a weak lineup, and having made that decision, why did he use this batting order? I think the answer to the first question is that Matt Morris was pitching. Remember, La Russa's job is to maximize the number of wins the Cardinals earn during the season. Tony figured his stars needed a day off, so he was going to end up with a day where his offense was going to be bad. The best day to put up a bad offense is when you expect your opponent to have a hard time scoring runs. That's the day your best pitcher throws. And that was yesterday with Matt Morris.

As for the lineup selection, I have to agree with Joe on this one. I would have moved Rolen to third and Martinez to 4th with that arrangement of hitters. I know why La Russa didn't do that. There is this perception that batters like to know where they are hitting, and they don't want to change on a whim. John McNamara was famous for this. Boggs would leadoff for the Red Sox, but when Boggs got a day off, Ed Romero batted first. A better lineup then would have been for Barrett to lead off, move Dwight Evans into the two hole, and everyone behind Evans up a spot, then bat Romero 9th. But the players liked a set lineup, so runs were sacrificed to make everyone happy. I think that's a ludicrious way to run a team. If you can't convince players that a lineup change is best for the team, you shouldn't be managing.

La Russa's star has fallen a lot since he's left Oakland. Yesterday's lineup does nothing to change that.

Travis Nelson takes Joe Morgan to task. Lots of photos of Joe, by the way.

Joe Morgan really is very intelligent when it comes to baseball. It's just that he has to be challenged properly to bring out his knowledge. I don't think a column is the best vehicle for Joe.

Ben Jacobs writes:

I just wanted to give you my two cents on the Boston media's reaction to the Red Sox bullpen. The story you linked to (Case Isn't Closed) opens with a very amusing paragraph about how they can't succeed without an "established" closer. Maybe Bob Hohler has amnesia or maybe he just goes to too many Red Sox games every year to remember all of them, but I do not have amnesia and I only get to go to a few Sox games a year. So I remember Tuesday, August 23, 2002 very well.

I was in Massachusetts for a few days and my dad and I decided to go up to Boston for the first game of a doubleheader against the Devil Rays. The Red Sox blew out Tampa Bay 22-4 in that game. Since Derek Lowe was pitching the nightcap, I decided to stay and watch the Sox move right behind the Yankees in the standings. Lowe was masterful (as he often was last year) and left after seven innings with a 4-0 lead (similar to Pedro leaving after seven innings with a 4-1 lead). Chris Haney came on and got the side in order in the eighth (similar to Mendoza retiring the side in order in the eighth last night). However, Haney ran into trouble in the ninth and left after he loaded the bases with no outs.

Enter "Established Closer" Ugueth Urbina. Urbina gives up a double and a homer before retiring the next three batters and the Red Sox lose. It would be a month before the Red Sox won three games in a row (I should point out that this was just two days after the Red Sox and their established closer twice blew late leads to lose 9-8 to the Yankees). As you know, the Red Sox did not make the playoffs with their "Established Closer" last year.

I guess my point is that the Boston media hates being happy. If Embree had retired the side in order in the ninth, the Boston media would have written that the new OBP offense is a flop because it could only score four runs. If the offense had scored more than four runs, the writers would have written that it was only the Devil Rays so it wasn't important. If it had been the Yankees and the Red Sox had won 25-0 with Pedro pitching a perfect game, they would have written that it's just the first day and they'll still blow it.

New York may be the media capital, but no writers love saying bad things about their team more than the Boston writers.

Meanwhile, Bambino's Curse isn't worried.

I got a letter from one Bleacher Dave today. He's not happy with Steve Schott:

Steve Schott is shamelessly schlepping for Bud Selig when he claims that Miguel Tejada is unaffordable. He's merely unwilling to make the investment in his payroll, and do the hard, uncertain work of growing his customer base – work that comes with financial risk – to reap the rewards of that investment. Mr. Schott is letting his chance for WS glory as a championship team owner slip away to advance Bud's misguided agenda. I generally believe in individual self-interest instead of conspiracies, but Schott toed the party line religiously. Too religiously. He mischaracterized the A’s unwillingness to pay Tejada as an inability to pay, and in doing so he used all of Bud's pet phrases from last year’s labor negotiations: "small market", "new stadium", and the "system", thereby alleviating the A's from any responsibility for their current purported lack of sufficient revenues and absolving them of their duty to manage their business in such a manner as to grow their revenues if they deem them to be insufficient. Schott's lips are moving, but it's Bud's voice I hear.

Schott's going to bleed this once in a generation assemblage of baseball talent off, one by one, maligning the city of Oakland, and alienating his fan base in the process. By the time he's done, there won't be much of a market for baseball in Oakland. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. By casting away recognizable, marketable properties (players) he is hurting the A's potential local media contracts, damaging the A's image with potential corporate sponsors, and making it difficult to be a fan. How many casual fans and corporate dollars is MVP Miguel Tejada or a guy with Jason Giambi's Q rating and image worth a season? People all over the country ridicule A's fans for being pathetic masochists associated with a team that repeatedly lets it best players walk away. Would you pay millions to associate your product with that image?

Worst of all, the damage he's doing is lasting. Even if the team is sold, by claiming penury based on geography he is trading on the misperceptions that are held about Oakland. Those misperceptions that claim that Oakland is a poor city, has lousy attendance, and plays in a "ruined" stadium. By the way, according to the Bureau of Labor, the median annual salary of Oakland residents is higher than the national average. But yet, the perception is that Oakland is a poor city. The misperceptions that Schott is breeding and strengthening won't just go away with a change in ownership, but will cost any owner time and money to countervail. He's hurting the value of his franchise - that's why he has no intention to sell the OAKLAND A's. The franchise would be far more valuable elsewhere. He's in league with Bud to move this team.

This team is drawing less now than it did 15 years ago. I don't think it's a coincidence that the ownership group that came from a background in consumer goods - the Haas family and the Levi brand - was able to draw more fans. They were marketers. They understood the value of a brand and how to market to consumers.

I don't believe for a moment that the PR "gaffes" that Schott makes are gaffes at all - they're intentional. You don't make hundreds of millions of dollars without knowing how to win friends and influence people. The faster that Schott can run this franchise in the ground, the faster the thorny "anomaly" in Bud's side goes away. Besides, from a strictly financial standpoint, it is more profitable for Schott to own a moribund, perpetually non-competitive team. He will be able to turn a profit without any risk by relying on revenue sharing funds, national media income, and local revenues. If the team is lousy, he won't be under pressure to retain players and increase payroll. He'll be able to follow the KC path, reduce payroll to the $30M range, and make money hand over fist, all the while moaning how he can't compete in this "small market."

This is about gamesmanship - pure and simple. Schott wants a new stadium, and he's spiting this region, and A's fans everywhere, for not buying him one. If the taxpayers don’t buy him a stadium, he’ll put us through the annual agony of watching home-grown stars depart for greener pastures. What a financial windfall for him if he gets a taxpayer funded stadium. He's gotta be dyin’, looking around the country at all the other teams getting shiny brand new stadiums for free, and calculating what that does for those franchises' sale value. And poor l'il Stevie is being left out. He bought the team in a sweetheart deal, and if he can get a stadium - wow, the value goes up geometrically. His capital gain would increase from the tens of millions to a hundred million +. If the franchise was worth $170M to a DC buyer without a stadium, do you doubt it would be worth less than 200M+ with a lease to play in a new stadium?

New stadiums are the current drug of choice for baseball franchises - the quick fix, the magic bullet. Whatever ails a franchise, new taxpayer funded digs are the cure. If a new stadium guarantees tremendous new revenue streams, why aren’t teams willing to finance them themselves? Ask the Brewers, Pirates, or Indians – their new stadiums haven’t been a windfall for the teams, but will remain a boondoggle for the taxpayers for many years. The Indians filled Jacobs Field for a time, but no longer. And the debt service goes on.

Steve Schott is no bumbling PR disaster happening before our eyes, he's an avaricious shark despoiling the fabric of our national pastime. The sports industry is unique, in that the score is kept on the field as well as on the P and L statement. A higher commitment to making money over winning championships threatens to undermine the entire premise of sport. If the game is about profitability, why not go watch the cash registers ring at Wal-Mart? I'm ashamed I support his team, because I help to further enrich a man who invests proportionally less of his income in his team than I do - a man who has wealth beyond my wildest imaginings. I'll be the sucker in the bleachers with a bag over his face.

NEW OWNERS NOW!

Bleacher Dave
"A Fan of the Game"

Sometimes you do have to bite the bullet to keep a star around just to show the fans you care about them. That's what KC did with Sweeney. All those other good players who left were good but not great, and if you had a decent organization you could replace them. But players like Sweeney and Tejada and Giambi are the types of stars franchises need to attract fans. Schott needs to realize that, or they'll wind up with the best team that no one comes to see.