Pete Rose is dead

That's exactly the argument why "betting on your team to win" may not be as pure as it seems. However . . .

We've gone quite a ways the other way now. Load management, for starters. Pulling the starter with a no-hitter after six innings likely reduces your chances of winning THIS GAME in order to protect the owner's $300 million investment for . . . later games (that he'll be pulled from early, too).

So the question becomes, do the fans who paid money for THIS GAME deserve to see everything being done to win THIS GAME (barring concussions and continuing to play obviously hobbled players)? Where does protecting players fit with the whole "integrity of the game" thing where you come to the ballpark secure in the knowledge that your team will give its all to win today?

Is the player who crashes into the fence to make the game-saving catch to be lauded for his effort and reckless desire to win, or should he be criticized for jeopardizing his long-term health just to make a play?

 

Protecting players isn't just about protecting the owner's investment. Managers can't just focus on winning that one game. They have to focus on the long-term goal of making the playoffs and winning the World Series. That goal is served by load management. It is tough to win the World Series if your ace blew out his arm throwing 130 pitches in mid-May.

If Rose bet on his team some days and not others, it raises the question if he was ignoring the short and long-term goals of the team so he could win a bet.

 

But the people attending the game don't have a single interest. Yes, they want to see a win, but they also want their team to do well overall. And if a team is winning overall, a fan is more likely to attend and see a win.

 

Read "The Wax Pack" by Brad Balukjian for an entire chapter on Hebner. It's a thoroughly enjoyable read.

 

Screw that. At today's prices, I need them trying to win, and playing all their best guys, on the one day a year I can afford to be there.

 

Tank McNamara. A name I couldn't imagine reading ever again.

 

I snipped the first one out of the Oakland Tribune back in 1974, thinking "this is neat but they'll run out of ideas really fast."

The comic still exists 50 years later while the newspaper doesn't.

 

And those in the know about the days he didn't bet have certain information that may be valuable to share as well.

 

When does Trump weigh in with his trifecta of tweets and bad beats?

 

I remember thinking as a kid it was kinda dorky. But I guess it's still going!