I Hate Day-Night Doubleheaders

The Red Sox-Tigers Saturday night game was rained out tonight (I wouldn't have seen it here in NYC anyway because of inane Fox and their regional coverage), and it will be made up tomorrow as part of a doubleheader.

No, not a single admission DH, but one of those asinine "day-night" doubleheaders. Game 1 starts at 1PM, while the second will begin at 7.

And there's a BIG problem with that, Sox fans. Game 2 will be the first Red Sox game in nearly ten years that will NOT be broadcast anywhere.

No, not in Boston, New York, Detroit or anywhere else. NESN can't show it. Fox Sports Detroit can't show it.

It is another of those idiotic rules baseball has for TV. ESPN has "exclusive" rights to the 8 PM game on Sundays (and that time is still too late to begin a game on a Sunday night, so don't get me started on that subject). No game that starts less than three hours before ESPN's game begins can be broadcast, even into the clubs' own home markets.

Having day-night doubleheaders at all is just milking the fans in my opinion. Owners trying to squeeze every last buck out of the fans. When there is a single-admission DH, it is always a rare thing now. (And of course, no one even schedules doubleheaders anymore.) I would love to see a rule made that every team can only have ONE split-admission doubleheader per season. Every other one must be single admission.

I know. I'm dreaming.

And if something special happens in Sunday's second game (a no-hitter, a triple play, someone hits four home runs, etc.), it won't be recorded for posterity.

Is it really asking too much to play a "classic" doubleheader tomorrow, guys? If they had scheduled the second game to follow Game 1 directly, it would be on the local TV outlets.

ESPN Ruins Baseball, too.

UPDATE: The second game of today's day-night DH WILL be broadcast on NESN tonight at 7 PM. Enough Red Sox fans complained, and MLB and ESPN gave in. If the weather cooperates, New England will see Game 2.