Hate to say I agree with Jimmy Roberts in anything, but he had a quote video on nbcsports.com. He hates Interleague play as well. It all comes down to baseball(or ESPN and Fox,since a low rated world series doesn’t seem to tell them not to feature them,)wanting the Mets to play the Yankees, a distant second Cubs and White Sox. Like he says, sure it was nice that Barry Bonds hit a home run in Fenway Park, but how special would that have been had it been in the world series?
It’s like the whole deal with taking out the swim option at IMCdA today. People are willing to give up special in order to see a false replica. Bonds coming to bat in Fenway in June is just a manufactured event. Bonds making his first appearance in Fenway in October would be special. The Tigers and Cardinals have not had a world series rematch. They have played a few games this season, but those games should have never been played, and a rematch only occurs in October. Just like the wild card. 1993, 1987, 1978 and down the line. People loved it so much, they pushed for a wild card so you could have it every year. guess what? The fact something doesn’t happen every year is what makes it special.
TT always dismisses this as “that’s how things are now,” but the Twins last season would have been an epic story for ages coming back from 8.5 games down in early August to win on the last day. But because of how it works they’re just a team that got intot he playoffs and lost in 4 games. The 1987 Tigers lost in the ALCS, but they are remembered for the pennant race and 7 one-run games with the Blue Jays the last week and a half of the season. While I’m a Tigers fan, and the Tigers benefited from the system, what baseball lost in this I think is immense. I don’t think TT even realizes what a sad commentary “that’s how things are now” is on Bud Selig’s regime. Baseball’s lore has always had many prongs: The World Series between league champions who have not played each other, pennant races where it goes down the wire sometimes, and a great team goes home, the long season where flukes cannot happen, the flow of season to season with every additional season adding a litle something to the allure of the game, and then of course the nine innings themselves. Now, the World Series is essentially a playoffs final between two teams that got through their half of a draw(the distinction is huge), it’s likely an 88 win team as opposed to a 96 win team that goes home, fewer wins required for WC/division title makes a fluke more likely.
'That’s the way it is now" frankly puts baseball on trial, if you will, every October, and nothing else matters. I enjoy hockey a fair bit, and an individual game will get my attention, but I barely watched any playoffs. There is no excitement in seeing if a team that is 30 points behind the top team can slide past another team 30 points back, and unless a game goes to sudden death overtime, who really cares, because there will be another one tomorrow night. So basically, AFAIC, this past hockey season amounted to Syndey Crosby winning his first scoring title. “That’s the way things are now” tells me baseball is headed down the same path. The rarity that made baseball so special is being washed away. The teams in the world series have very likely played each other in the last 2-3 seasons, so hey, they’re playing each other again. There are more playoff games, so if you miss one, no big deal, just turn on the next one. It’s easier to get into the playoffs, so those regular season games don’t mean as much because there’s plenty of chances to make the playoffs, even if you aren’t really any good that season. Take away all of those things, and if you have a showcase where the baseball being played is less than stellar, then it’s a failure, because you have basically pinned all your hopes on that.
I realize I am likely in the minority on this because most seem to be willing to take a cheap imitation now, rather than wait for the possibility of the real thing, even though it may not happen. IL play is just another symptom of Bud Selig trying to turn baseball into other sports. When it suits his purpose(post 9-11, etc.) he will refer to baseball as a “social institution”, but really he wants to be like other sports. Those who get their opinions from what they read in the papers will say that would be a good thing. Frankly it will be a real sad day, if we haven’t gotten there already.