Baseball LCS ratings down! The world is coming to an end!

That's what happened when MNF went to ESPN. The WWL did a lot of shit on how it was the end of an era, and in a way, it was, although they overdid it as only the WWL can do. But to me, it wasn't that big a deal. Networks and cable are pretty much intertwined nowadays.

 

OOP, we all get your argument: Eliminate the gaping disparities in the likelihood of fielding a championship-quality team and distribute prime-time/marquee appearances more equitably and you'll see an end of (or at least a diminishment of) these post-season ratings fall-offs. Some of us share your sentiments. Some of us are skeptical. But I would respectfully argue that just because that has worked for the NFL* isn't proof, as you put it, that it will for MLB.


*I'll so stipulate just for the purposes of this discussion.

 

The World Series is in October and sweeps are in November. Fox has never been married to the traditional September rollout like the other three dinosaur networks.

Whether the Series provides an adequate platform for launching new shows is a fair question.

 

The regional and team-based finances of baseball broadcasting mean that there's really not much incentive for MLB to change its structure to generate higher postseason ratings. Its national TV contract is small beer in the money scheme of things. The ratings are just a prestige deal, and an occasion for the folks who think the sport is on the verge of extinction to vent that opinion.
As far as I can tell, the only ways to lose money in major league baseball ownership in the 21st century is getting divorced or being swindled.

 

He's looking at the gaps between, say, the top few and the bottom few. Sort of like looking at the wealthiest 1% of households and then ... uh oh, better not go there!

DW, I am kidding around. OOP, I am kidding around.

 

In all seriousness, OOP raises an interesting question: If, in late March, a reasonably savvy fan of a team can reasonably conclude that his/her team has no chance, is that sustainable? By that, I mean, can MLB continue to thrive if that is the case? That's not a trivial question. Answering it’s a bear, but it’s a reasonable question (with many facets) that reasonable people can and do disagree on.

 

Depends on how you define small. Some teams, like the Cardinals, are physically in a small market but own a huge regional area in popularity. Others, like the Rangers, sat in what is today a top-five market for 25 years before ownership decided to spend a little money.

Small-market teams have to trade rising stars for prospects constantly. If they get return on those trades and draft well, and pick their spots to spend a little, they can kick some pretty major ass. That requires good ownership and good front office personnel. Look at Tampa Bay and Milwaukee (and, frankly, Texas, an afterthought in its own market before the Cowboys started to suck. Check the calendar.)

I'd love to see these numbers updated with 2010 census figures.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/baseball_markets.shtml

 

There is really no way to change that, though. It's too easy to predict baseball. Do you want a bunch of 81-81 teams playing? That's what I don't quite understand. Basketball has a salary cap, too, and everyone isn't 41-41. Football has a short season and a lot of injuries. Those two facts have very much to do with the alleged parity every season.

 

OOP's position isn't that they have no chance, as I understand it. Simply that they have less of a chance (agreed), that it's fundamentally unfair (agreed), and that such unfairness is unacceptable (meh).

Of course some teams can be out of it before the season starts. Outside of the NFL, that's true of every major sport.

But the idea that some franchises are so buried that they can never get out of it isn't really true. Looking at the NL, the only two franchises that haven't made a playoff run in recent years are the Nats and Pirates.

 

Every time I see numbers like that, I'm reminded of how criminal the Cubs' mismanagement has been. Once Houston leaves for the AL, they will have a bigger market than the entire rest of the division combined.

 

I'm going to start ranting and raving on here about how football needs a minor-league system.

 

Well, OOP's a (recovering, I think) Pirates fan ...