Money Talks, BS Walks

In the immortal words of one Dennis Miller: I don't want to get off on a rant here, but...

A World Series game ends at nearly 2 AM, and MLB wonders why their postseason ratings are in the toilet?

Granted, they really had to get last night's game in, as they would had to have used the off-day as Game 5 if last night's (or should I say this morning's) game was postponed. And that would have caused them a logistical nightmare. So MLB got the game going at 10:06 PM. All the fans in Philly stayed, and they all had a great time as the Phillies won, 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth on Carlos Ruiz' infield single with the bases loaded to bring in the winning run.

(I have to admit, I'm pulling for the Phillies to take the title. I have a number of friends who have been devoted fans of the Phillies, and it would be nice to see them celebrate and taste the champagne. As for the Rays, they finished 26th in attendance and still had many empty seats in their park in September, when they were charging towards the division title. And those cowbells have got to go. I have relatives in the Tampa Bay area, but those fans don't deserve the thrill of a title. Not now anyway.)

I stayed up to watch it, but I bet not many in the East did. For years, I've had a beef with MLB starting World Series games at 8:30 PM (or even later). I simply don't understand why they can't have the first pitch thrown by 8 ET, or even 7:30 PM. But they have this fetish with the West Coast, and are obsessed with getting these games in the West's prime time. Hey, let those folks out west start watching at 5 PM out there, what's the big deal? At least the overwhelming majority of them will still be around to see it when it ends.

But these games go on interminably, as MLB allows TV more time in-between innings. Can you remember the last postseason game that lasted less than three hours? I can't. And there's now a whole generation of kids in the eastern US who have never seen a World Series finish. It's criminal.

Now I've seen where Game 2 was the second-lowest rated World Series game of all-time. Much of that is due to the matchup (you know the folks at Fox were praying for a Red Sox win last Sunday night), but you can't ignore the start time hurts as well. Many people don't want to invest the time in watching if they can't see the ending.

MLB sold themselves out to the highest bidder, and the fans get screwed. What a shock.

And of course, as we all know, money talks, BS walks.