Ratings

I read an article on MLB.com the other day that peaked my interest.  MLB and the MLBPA are starting talks for their CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement).  It is set to expire at the end of this season.  I have to give Bud Selig props on this one.  Baseball is in a better situation than their counterparts in the NFL and NBA.  Those two are coming to a head, with threatening work stoppages.  Selig remembers how devistating the players strike was in 1994/1995 and wants to do anything possible to avoid it.  He feels the owners and players have a much better relationship than his counterparts.  While the NFL will probably not suffer much from a work stoppage, that's a chance the MLB can't take.  I took a home run race between Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa to bring fans back to baseball.  I won't go into the "steroid" area, but baseball is in a pretty good place right now.  There were a few other issues addressed by the commissioner.
There has been speculation in the past few years about contraction.  He basically put that rumor to bed.  There will be no talk of contration with this CBA.  For Royals, Twins, Rockies, etc. fans that's pretty relieving.  The Royals may be a small market team, but Kansas City would not be the same without them.  Same goes for the Twin Cities, Denver, etc.  I will have more on this subject in a little bit.
He was also asked about the loan to the Mets and why he turned down a loan to the Dodgers.  I don't know much about either situation, so I'm not going into that.  But there is a big difference in $25 million and $200 million.  But there is more to this than any of us know, and as Selig said, each situation is unique.
Another issue addressed was revenue sharing.  This is a very touchy subject with owners.  Teams like the Royals, Twins, A's, Rockies, etc. with a small market often don't have the resources to sign all the big players like the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, White Sox, etc. have.  The NFL is a good example of how revenue sharing works.  I don't think Jerry Jones and other owners with large revenue get much sympathy from anyone.  The NFL is a very even league.  Teams have down years, then up years.  Almost every team has done this.  The Chiefs were up in the 90's and early 2000 years.  They hired an idiot for a coach who dismantled the team and had a few down years.  Now they are back up.  The Buccaneers, Saints, Bengals, and even the World Champion Packers had a few down years.  I think it would balance out the league a little more.  The Royals have traded away countless great players that they brought up through their organization.  Zack Greinke being the most recent.  They know these players will not resign as free agents, so they trade them off to get at least a little something for them.  As a Royals fan it's VERY frustrating, but you can't blame them.  The days of George Brett and Mike Sweeney who wanted to retire in KC are gone.  Now, it's "Show me the money."  The Royals, and other small market teams don't stand a chance at landing stars like Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriquiz, Cliff Lee, and so on.  But this will not change over night, and owners like Hank Steinbrenner and John Henry (who was fined $500,000 for comments on revenue sharing) aren't helping matters any.
The other subject addressed was the record low ratings from the World Series last season.  The Giants v Rangers World Series drew record low ratings on Fox last season.  Selig said he had a few ideas and has been talking to Turner (the other network with post-season broadcasting rights) and Fox about this.  I find it kind of ironic.  People are always saying they want to see a different team in the Series, or SuperBowl, or NBA Finals.  Everybody loves an underdog story, right??  Well, apparently not.  We don't want to see the Phillies v Yankees, Cardinals v Red Sox, Braves v White Sox.  Yet these are the matchups that draw the ratings.  Well, if we all want to see different teams in the World Series, why didn't we tune in to watch it?  I wanted the Rangers over the Yankees for that reason.  They haven't been relevent since the Nolan Ryan days.  We all love the small market teams like the Royals, Twins, A's, Mariners, but we do not support them.  You can go to Kauffman Stadium on a Friday or Saturday night and get a ticket behind the dugout at the gate.  A half empty stadium is not a very good way to support your team.  It all starts with the fans.  The fans decide what happens.  Teams like the Cardinals, Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, pack the house EVERY night.  I went to a Royals v White Sox game a few years ago at Kauffman Stadium and the White Sox fans were louder than the hometown Royals fans.  That is NO way to support your team.  Frankly, it's rather embarrasing.  If we want to see more of these small market teams succeed, we, the fans, have to support our teams.  We have to go to the park.  Watch them on TV.  If you don't like the Cardinals, Yankees, Red Sox, etc making the rules, then do something about it...