Bud Selig just won't go away

[Bored 0]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1852364

Wednesday, August 4, 2004

 

ESPN.com news services

Commissioner Bud Selig has said in past months he did not intend to push for a contract extension, but that doesn't mean baseball owners wouldn't offer one.

 

A high-ranking official confirmed to The Los Angeles Times for Wednesday's editions that "a number of clubs think it's appropriate to talk about an extension [for Selig] and likely take action" during the league's quarterly meeting in Philadelphia on Aug. 17-18.

 

According to The Times' sources, the agenda for the meeting includes an "executive session" during which two representatives from each team are expected to discuss and approve an extension to Selig's contract.

 

Selig's current five-year deal is to expire Dec. 31, 2006, at which time the labor aggreement with the Players' Association and national TV contract also will be up for renewal.

 

"The clubs consider it a critical period and think continuity in leadership is equally critical," the official told The Times. "Bud is a youthful 70. I never believed him when he talked about retiring when this contract expires."

 

Sources speculated the extension would likely be for two or three years.

 

In April 2003, Selig said he would not seek an extension of his current contract, but has been less emphatic in his decision recently as the league experiences a record attendance pace and improved TV ratings.

 

Selig has served as commissioner, in both an interim and full-term capacity, for 12 years, longer than any of the previous eight commissioners

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Bud Selig has done more harm to the game than any baseball figure in the last 30 years. From constantly downgrading baseball's product, to blackmailing cities for new stadiums, to causing the cancellation of the 1994 season, Selig is baseball's biggest enemy.

[teke184 0]

I'm surprised that having an owner act as baseball's commissioner didn't get Congress to revoke the sport's anti-trust exemption...

 

There's still hope of that, though, considering how the details of just HOW Milwaukee got the stadium have emerged.

[The Man in Blak 0]

From constantly downgrading baseball's product, to blackmailing cities for new stadiums, to causing the cancellation of the 1994 season, Selig is baseball's biggest enemy.

The pros with Selig:

 

- The Wild Card and Realignment

- Standing firm on Pete Rose

 

The cons with Selig:

 

- The Expos

- Contraction

- This Time, It Counts

- The Milwaukee Stadium Debacle

 

Personally, I think he's due to be turfed as well, but he's not quite the anti-christ that most would make him out to be. Purists may hate it, but I really think the Wild Card has changed baseball for the better.

[Slayer 0]

The wild card and realignment into three divisions may have been good, but did the Brewers really have to come over to the NL?

 

My personal preference would be to have them in the AL Central and shift KC to the AL West.

 

Voila, six five team divisions.

[The Man in Blak 0]

My personal preference would be to have them in the AL Central and shift KC to the AL West.

 

Voila, six five team divisions.

And, with that, you get an odd number of teams per league (15) and a scheduling nightmare.

[Bored 0]

I've always thought that at least one reason the '98 expansion happened was so Bud could live out his dream of having a National League team in Milwaukee again (grew up a Milwaukee Braves fan). The '98 expansion was totally unecessary.

[Slayer 0]

My personal preference would be to have them in the AL Central and shift KC to the AL West. 

 

Voila, six five team divisions.

And, with that, you get an odd number of teams per league (15) and a scheduling nightmare.

Then change scheduling procedures

 

It doesn't have to be this hard.

[The Czech Republic 0]

If you have fifteen teams to a league, somebody has a day off everyday. It doesn't work. It's okay in sports like basketball where you don't play so many games, but in baseball, you need to have everyone playing each day.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Essentially, you would have interleague scheduling year round to make it work.

 

I've always thought that at least one reason the '98 expansion happened was so Bud could live out his dream of having a National League team in Milwaukee again (grew up a Milwaukee Braves fan). The '98 expansion was totally unecessary.

 

I think it was a good decision overall. Despite the doom and gloom predictions, baseball is in a healthy condition, and as with any business, when there is demand, expand.

 

I'm surprised that having an owner act as baseball's commissioner didn't get Congress to revoke the sport's anti-trust exemption...

 

The problem is how the public views the commissioner. He is not an independant authority, and was never meant to be. He is merely the figurehead and public voice of the owners. The perception is different because Judge Landis received more power than the owners could have imagined.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

From constantly downgrading baseball's product, to blackmailing cities for new stadiums, to causing the cancellation of the 1994 season, Selig is baseball's biggest enemy.

The pros with Selig:

 

- The Wild Card and Realignment

- Standing firm on Pete Rose

 

The cons with Selig:

 

- The Expos

- Contraction

- This Time, It Counts

- The Milwaukee Stadium Debacle

 

Personally, I think he's due to be turfed as well, but he's not quite the anti-christ that most would make him out to be. Purists may hate it, but I really think the Wild Card has changed baseball for the better.

I don't view the Wild Card and realignment as a positive. I am not a gung ho traditionalist, however, so its not automatically a negative either. At best I'd call it a push. I am more concerned with expansion of the playoffs.

 

Here are my pros and cons:

 

PROS

-Continued rise of revenues

-Expansion

-New Baseball Stadiums

 

CONS

-1994 Baseball Strike and subsequent lockout in 1995

-Threats of contraction

-Conning cities for new baseball stadiums

-Pete Rose (he didn't stand firm, he simply didn't DO anything)

-Interleague play (a fair idea, but it has become too prominant in the schedule)

-The disgraceful situation of the Montreal Expos

-Lying about the problem of competitive balance, and then when the problem fixes itself, claiming it was his solutions which fixed it. Competitive balance is chiefly brought on by the amateur draft.

-Luxury Tax. It was meant to bring the Yankees back to Earth, and it accomplished the exact opposite. The tax is a dismal failure.

-Giving in to Fox's postseason money at the expense of the game.

-Attempting to sell advertising space on game equipment.

[Guest Brian]

If they could pull it off, just add two more teams and have four divisions in each league rather than a wild card.

[The Czech Republic 0]

It would be nice to have 16 and 16, but more realignment? More expansion? Hell, we were talking about 14 and 14, which quite frankly, I wouldn't have minded had the two Florida teams gotten the ax, rather than Expos and Twins. The way things are now is fine for now, I guess.

[Slayer 0]

back when the contraction issue first came up, I thought the two Florida teams were ideal for shutting down, but now that the Marlins have two WS trophies, shutting them down would just be really weird (regardless of how bad they may have been those other nine seasons)

[The Czech Republic 0]

See? That's why we should've offed them when we had the chance! The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, however, are like the hooker in Senator Geary's room in The Godfather Part II: no harm would be done if they died, because they didn't have any fans, nobody knew that they worked at Tropicana Field. It would be like they never existed.

[Vern Gagne 0]

It would be nice to have 16 and 16, but more realignment? More expansion? Hell, we were talking about 14 and 14, which quite frankly, I wouldn't have minded had the two Florida teams gotten the ax, rather than Expos and Twins. The way things are now is fine for now, I guess.

The Twins were offered up by Carl Pohlad the owner. Selig I belived considered Kansas City, but the owner said no. So, Pohlad volunteered the Twins.

[The Czech Republic 0]

The Twins were offered up by Carl Pohlad the owner. Selig I belived considered Kansas City, but the owner said no. So, Pohlad volunteered the Twins.

 

 

[Vern Gagne 0]

The Twins were offered up by Carl Pohlad the owner. Selig I belived considered Kansas City, but the owner said no. So, Pohlad volunteered the Twins.

 

 

Pohlad's at fault for the Twins being threatened with contraction.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I don't buy it. I have always believed contraction was never a serious consideration, and merely a ploy for the Twins to try and squeeze a new stadium from Minnesota.

[Vern Gagne 0]

I can buy contraction was never a viable option. But, Pohlad would of had no problem throwing the Twins into the fire.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

See? That's why we should've offed them when we had the chance! The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, however, are like the hooker in Senator Geary's room in The Godfather Part II: no harm would be done if they died, because they didn't have any fans, nobody knew that they worked at Tropicana Field. It would be like they never existed.

I'm not really for killed the Devil Rays now that it looks like they'll be a potential powerhouse in 4 or 5 years.

 

If they contract they really need to just put the Expos out of their misery. The MLB has fucked them over so much the last few seasons that it'd be more like a mercy killing than anything else.

[JJMc 0]

-Giving in to Fox's postseason money at the expense of the game.

 

YES. YES. YES. Thank you.