Speaking of shocking baseball-related cover-ups ("Baseball's Shame," 2 items down on the main page), your habit of deleting the "Comments" option whenever flogging your "dead pastime" canard has not gone unnoticed. And so, I post here.
Confronted with the brutal ratings stats, you've wisely sidled away from your "NASCAR has dethroned baseball" fantasy ("Baseball will still pull in viewers..."). But you just can't resist your favorite foolish leap (...America's pastime is dead"). Let's see if I can't draw you out of your dreamland:
As the 1975 Reds could have warned you, it hurts to be Fisked. You're the Krugman of Swat!
To the extent that people are reacting to Rafael Palmeiro & Co., it's because they have a deep investment in baseball. The average NFL defensive lineman is up 90 pounds in 20 years... and the country's talking Mark McGwire. Fans don't care a tenth as much about steroid use in football, basketball, and elsewhere. This, to you, is hard evidence that baseball has lost its appeal to the general public. Oh, baseball will "soldier on," as you say, and people will watch, true, and the money will continue to flow in. But only under double-secret protest. Very shrewd assessment!
Meanwhile, you fight baseball's growing attendance, ratings and profitability with... old-timer quotes? No problem, I'll play ball on your homefield. Here's Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, the greatest third baseman of all time, blasting those selfish drugged-up players last month:
"Let me go out on a limb and say that if I had played during that era I would have taken steroids... We all have these things we deal with in life, and I'm surely not going to sit here and say to you guys, 'I wouldn't have done that.' "
Here's Schmidt this month:
“I had more people come to me and say, ‘It was great to see a player of your caliber treat that honestly, and not come out totally against the current players.”’
But do feel free to keep on keeping on. Wheezy pundits have been bemoaning "what's become of the grand old game" since they started paying the Red Stockings in 1869. You've just hooked your wagon to the wrong hoary old tradition.
4 comments:
Somehow, I'm not surprised that TAR's at the top of your list too. I'd be curious to see what the rest are.
kris@dummocrats
You mean that Square Pegs is not on the list? That's a crime. And, where's Whats Happening?!?
That list is a disgrace.
How does Sledge Hammer! not make anybody's list?
Speaking of shocking baseball-related cover-ups ("Baseball's Shame," 2 items down on the main page), your habit of deleting the "Comments" option whenever flogging your "dead pastime" canard has not gone unnoticed. And so, I post here.
Confronted with the brutal ratings stats, you've wisely sidled away from your "NASCAR has dethroned baseball" fantasy ("Baseball will still pull in viewers..."). But you just can't resist your favorite foolish leap (...America's pastime is dead"). Let's see if I can't draw you out of your dreamland:
Average MLB Attendance, 1995-2005
1995 25,022
1996 26,510
1997 27,877
1998 29,054
1999 28,888
2000 29,378
2001 29,881
2002 28,169
2003 27,831
2004 30,075
2005 31,190
As the 1975 Reds could have warned you, it hurts to be Fisked. You're the Krugman of Swat!
To the extent that people are reacting to Rafael Palmeiro & Co., it's because they have a deep investment in baseball. The average NFL defensive lineman is up 90 pounds in 20 years... and the country's talking Mark McGwire. Fans don't care a tenth as much about steroid use in football, basketball, and elsewhere. This, to you, is hard evidence that baseball has lost its appeal to the general public. Oh, baseball will "soldier on," as you say, and people will watch, true, and the money will continue to flow in. But only under double-secret protest. Very shrewd assessment!
Meanwhile, you fight baseball's growing attendance, ratings and profitability with... old-timer quotes? No problem, I'll play ball on your homefield. Here's Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, the greatest third baseman of all time, blasting those selfish drugged-up players last month:
"Let me go out on a limb and say that if I had played during that era I would have taken steroids... We all have these things we deal with in life, and I'm surely not going to sit here and say to you guys, 'I wouldn't have done that.' "
Here's Schmidt this month:
“I had more people come to me and say, ‘It was great to see a player of your caliber treat that honestly, and not come out totally against the current players.”’
But do feel free to keep on keeping on. Wheezy pundits have been bemoaning "what's become of the grand old game" since they started paying the Red Stockings in 1869. You've just hooked your wagon to the wrong hoary old tradition.
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