Thank you, Eric "Gone-yay.

So what would you like? Another tie game? This time they played TO WIN!
I LIKE IT!
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"YKW '03" <vpotus DeleteThis @undisclosed.loc> wrote in
news:yQDRa.388368$fC.2872534@news.easynews.com:

> Also, even if the
> ASG hadn't awarded home-field advantage, the Series would have been
> played at a site to be determined only a few days in advance of the
> games, regardless; travel arrangements are neither complicated nor
> eased as a result.
>

Yes, but teams that make the playoffs can begin making World Series plans
at that point. NL teams now know they will be the away team, so they know
which days to plan for.

I agree, it's a pretty thin excuse for not decided it by winning on the
field.

Since the Super Bowl is played at a predetermined site, home or away has
little meaning.
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YKW '03 <vpotus.DeleteThis@undisclosed.loc> wrote:
[...]
> For at least a decade, most (although, in fairness, not =all=) All-Star
> honorees showed up just long enough to get their swings or tosses in, then
> ducked out the back door the instant they were through. For far too many,
> the Midsummer Classic was an unwanted personal appearance, not an honor or a
> competitive affair.

Also, it's a source of income for many. A-Rod, for instance, got a $100k
bonus on top of his $25M, just for being named to the All-Star team.
Really, now, does a guy making $25M a year *really* need "incentives"?

[...]
> October is not a particularly heavy travel period for vacationers,
> business travelers or those trying to escape bad weather; booking
> sufficient hotel accomodations in MLB cities (aside from the smallest
> markets, such as Pittsburgh or Cincinatti) doesn't pose much difficulty.
> Also, even if the ASG hadn't awarded home-field advantage, the Series
> would have been played at a site to be determined only a few days in
> advance of the games, regardless; travel arrangements are neither
> complicated nor eased as a result.

Apparently, MLB starts pre-reserving rooms at least by the start of the
LCSes. What gets me is the thought that knowing who's got home field
advantage makes enough difference. "Let's see, we'll need rooms on
Saturday and Sunday and then not again until the following Saturday and
Sunday." Who books rooms that way? Apparently, MLB.

--Paul
** Note "removemunged" in email address and remove to reply. **
 >> Stay informed about: Thank you, Eric "Gone-yay. 

> In four possible cities. If you don't know where you're going, does it
> really matter if you know =when= you'll be going vis-a-vis making and
> confirming actual travel and accomodation plans?
>
>> I agree, it's a pretty thin excuse for not decided it by winning on
>> the field.
>
> The only purpose was to make the ASG more than an exhibition;
> regardless of whether or not one likes the format, it's true that home
> field advantage for one league =was= decided "by winning on the
> field".


Why should the failing of some Dodger pitcher in an exhibition game,
regardless of what ESPN or MLB says, decide home field advantage for the NL
team, especially since the Dodgers are not at all likely to be in it?

As far as the hotel reservations excuse, most corporations just book up
blocks of rooms and cancel the ones that aren't relevant. How does this
affect the home team fan, who will be at his home park no matter what? I
just get the idea that it's corporate America w(h)ining and dining TPTB to
get more perks for themselves.
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"donut" <none RemoveThis @none.com> wrote in message
news:Xns93BF3C31B18Edonut@130.133.1.4...
> > In four possible cities. If you don't know where you're going, does it
> > really matter if you know =when= you'll be going vis-a-vis making and
> > confirming actual travel and accomodation plans?
> >
> >> I agree, it's a pretty thin excuse for not decided it by winning on
> >> the field.
> >
> > The only purpose was to make the ASG more than an exhibition;
> > regardless of whether or not one likes the format, it's true that home
> > field advantage for one league =was= decided "by winning on the
> > field".
>
>
> Why should the failing of some Dodger pitcher in an exhibition game,
> regardless of what ESPN or MLB says, decide home field advantage for the
NL
> team, especially since the Dodgers are not at all likely to be in it?

1) The ASG is no longer "an exhibition game". Regardless of what you think
of the MLB, its pronouncements on what matters do and do not have material
bearing on home-field advantage are very real. The game was played with
something meaningful on the line. "This time, it counts" may be a
pitiful-sounding marketing slogan, but that doesn't mean it's not also
factually correct.

2) The Dodgers are something like four games out of the playoffs right now,
with 65-70 games left to play. (I'm too lazy to do any research just now; I
bow to anyone with exact figures.) To suggest that, somehow, this renders
them "not at all likely to be in it" is to succumb to the fallacy that what
is will continue to be. Four-game leads can vanish in a weekend.

3) To answer a question with a question, why should the turning over of
another year determine home-field advantage? That was the system we had
before, and it was dull and stupid. It didn't matter what happened on the
field; if it was an even year, the AL had home-field. Period. Yawn. Changing
to the current system revitalized what had become almost an irrelevancy at
midseason. No more yawn. Oh, and it did so by making one game matter.... one
game to rule them all. Heightened drama. Meaning to the game. Eyeballs,
man.... lotsa eyeballs.

> As far as the hotel reservations excuse, most corporations just book up
> blocks of rooms and cancel the ones that aren't relevant.

And then just "write off" the lost deposits (if only that)? Uh, sorry,
Cosmo; that ain't the way it goes now. You lock up rooms well in advance,
you're stuck with 'em. And, in the hypercompetitive corporate financial
environment we see today, ain't but a few that can afford that tab just on
spec. MLB is =not= one that can.

> How does this
> affect the home team fan, who will be at his home park no matter what? I
> just get the idea that it's corporate America w(h)ining and dining TPTB to
> get more perks for themselves.

How does the weather in Cleveland affect my vacation plans in Seattle? It's
about as sensible a question to ask. Admittedly, the fans do get one perk: a
potential home Game 7. But, if the reservations thing is even a factor, it's
not =supposed= to be about home-team fans. It's about MLB staff. It's about
network technical crews. It's about media hordes and =their= tech needs.
It's about players and team personnel and their families, friends and other
hangers-on. Just because it's not always and everywhere entirely about the
fans doesn't render it worthless or somehow "evil" for being tinged with the
sin of the corporate.
--
_____

"The company that makes double mint gum has announced that it is coming out
with a new Viagra chewing gum. The company claims this will be the first
gum that really does double your pleasure."

-- Conan O'Brien
_____
 >> Stay informed about: Thank you, Eric "Gone-yay. 

YKW '03 <vpotus DeleteThis @undisclosed.loc> wrote:
[...]
> 2) The Dodgers are something like four games out of the playoffs right
> now, with 65-70 games left to play. (I'm too lazy to do any research
> just now; I bow to anyone with exact figures.) To suggest that, somehow,
> this renders them "not at all likely to be in it" is to succumb to the
> fallacy that what is will continue to be. Four-game leads can vanish in
> a weekend.
[...]

Don'tcha read Rob Neyer? He's proclaimed the Dodgers officially out of
it. He's got some good reasons for doing so, though. Namely, the
Dodgers' offense is almost historically pathetic, and they've got too many
holes to fill.

"Dodgers a complete mess offensively."
http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1583534.html

"For some, major moves needed to stay afloat."
http://msn.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1584461.html

"And the Dodgers? I wrote about them Monday and concluded that they're a
lost cause. They've just got too many holes. This is baseball and
anything could happen, but I just don't see the Dodgers staying in the
wild-card race for much longer."

Of course, even Neyer hedges his bets by pointing out that anything can
happen.

--Paul
** Note "removemunged" in email address and remove to reply. **
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"Paul Wylie" <paul.TakeThisOut@wylie.removemunged.net> wrote in message
news:bfn692$okf$4@reader1.panix.com...
> YKW '03 <vpotus.TakeThisOut@undisclosed.loc> wrote:
> [...]
>
> Don'tcha read Rob Neyer? He's proclaimed the Dodgers officially out of
> it. He's got some good reasons for doing so, though. Namely, the
> Dodgers' offense is almost historically pathetic, and they've got too many
> holes to fill.
>
> "Dodgers a complete mess offensively."
> http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1583534.html
>
> "For some, major moves needed to stay afloat."
> http://msn.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1584461.html
>
> "And the Dodgers? I wrote about them Monday and concluded that they're a
> lost cause. They've just got too many holes. This is baseball and
> anything could happen, but I just don't see the Dodgers staying in the
> wild-card race for much longer."
>
> Of course, even Neyer hedges his bets by pointing out that anything can
> happen.

And, of course, I never said that they =would= make the playoffs. At the
same time, they have (well, they =will= have, when Crime Doggie returns)
three major cogs in their offensive machinery that, to put it kindly, have
been turning much more slowly than they ought to be.

They've upgraded at two positions since the break, though (even if he does
absolutely nothing else, Rickey's OBP talents make him the best leadoff guy
LA's seen since Brett Butler left for the Mets; Burnitz is healthy and out
of New York for the first time in ages and hitting like it makes all the
difference), and it strains credulity that notorious second-half performers
like Green and McGriff will continue to hit like Devil Ray reserves.
(Beltre, though, I dunno.....)

Add to that a tight infield defense (albeit with a substantially weakened
OF -- well, LF, at least) and the club's deepest pitching staff since the
'88 Impossible Dream season, and you can see that there is reason for -- not
optimism, I suppose, but reason to withhold final judgment. For the moment.

Right now, though, I'd swap offenses with the Micro Manager in a
heartbeat.....
--
_____

"The company that makes double mint gum has announced that it is coming out
with a new Viagra chewing gum. The company claims this will be the first
gum that really does double your pleasure."

-- Conan O'Brien
_____
 >> Stay informed about: Thank you, Eric "Gone-yay.