Article:MLB Gets Intimate With TV

Hey fans,

This past week has exposed Big League Baseball's melancholy relationship with TV.

First, there were several blown home run calls by the umpires who were clearly in the wrong when the instant replay showed the ball to be clearly a four bagger. The quick knee jerk reaction, for the only sports organization to not use instant replay, was to say they will experiment with it in their Arizona Fall Instructional League. Which means there will be more blown home run calls until the 2010 season at the earliest. The next two scenarios feature the Big Apple's "second team", Los Mets. In the midst of a week long losing streak Willie Randolph complained that the Mets' owned TV network, SNY, was treating him too harshly. Hmmmm. Does the fact that an MLB team owned station being too hard on the team's manager get in the way of the first amendment? It definitely presents a problem for all concerned. Just what is the right way for SNY and other team owned media outlets, to cover a team. The station has a symbiotic relationship with the team and its fans (and of course its many advertisers) but for whom do they serve first? The team's owners or the fans? My last comments for today, still with MLB and TV is, check out the Mets schedule this Sunday and Monday. Yes, the Mets play Sunday @ 8:05 PM with a night game on Monday on the West Coast. So, the ESPN Sunday night game ends say, 11:30 PM. The players do post game interviews take a shower, grab some food and get on the bus to the airport for the six hour flight. The result is, the Mets team et al won't get to sleep much before the sun rises on the Left Coast. If I were a betting man, which I'm not, I'd take the home team Monday night against the Mets. And all because ESPN pays MLB BIG BUCKS for the match ups they want. Even if it requires a team to travel through the night to play a game the next night on a different coast. But hey, that's how they can pay Santana more than the first place Florida Marlins. I know some of you will say what about the money the small market teams receive from the Big Market teams, which is supposed to go towards paying bigger salaries. Well fans, that's for another day.

Take Care,

Chuck T

www.wonfan.com