MLB All-Star Ratings Were Pretty Terrible
So why didn’t anyone watch the Major League Baseball All-Star game? Last year’s ratings were the lowest in the history of the Midsummer Classic, but Tuesday night’s 5-1 NL win was viewed by even fewer people (just 11 million). Blame it on the absence of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun and Jose Reyes, obviously!
From the Phoenix Biz Journal:
* 2011: 11 million, 6.9 rating
* 2010: 12.1 million, 7.5 rating
* 2009: 14.6 million, 8.9 rating
* 2008: 13.3 million, 8.6 rating
* 2007: 12.5 million, 8.4 rating
* 2006: 14.4 million, 9.3 rating
* 2005: 12.3 million, 8.1 rating
* 2004: 13.9 million, 8.8 rating
* 2003: 13.8 million, 9.5 rating
While not a precipitous decline, it obviously isn’t good news, especially when coupled with declining World Series ratings (don’t think Selig isn’t praying for a Yankees/Red Sox vs. the Phillies/Cardinals World Series). Here’s a jarring stat – an estimated 24 million people watched the All-Star game in 1991 (the number was 34 million in 1981). In 20 years, the number of people who watched the MLB All-Star game has been cut in half.
The weird thing about the All-Star game is that it felt like it mattered more when I was a kid, in the late 80s/early 90s. Now that the game actually matters – home field advantage in the World Series – it feels irrelevant. I caught maybe 10-15 pitches while rocking my kid to sleep. I read online about Joe Buck calling an awful game, but I didn’t hear one word he said.
But hey, all is not lost – MLB made sure to tell the business journals that on the advertising front, the game was incredibly lucrative, generating $50 million in advertising revenue!
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July 14th, 2011 at 11:03 AM
How many channels were there in 1981? 1991? Did people have OnDemand then? Did they have Netflix? Did they have RedBox?
There’s more options for people now. This is simple.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:03 AM
Posnanski wrote a really good piece last year I think about how in general people in this country just aren’t as interested in exhibition games like these as they once were…add to that how the MLB All-Star Game keeps getting worse with bloated rosters and this isn’t a surprise, I gave up on the game in the 5th inning
July 14th, 2011 at 11:03 AM
FOX was so concerned about baseball they inked a TV deal with the Rangers for $3 billion dollars.
Someone please, please stop TBL from ever talking sports business. It’s awful. Always.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:03 AM
BASEBALL RATINGS!!!!
/least shocking post from TBL.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:04 AM
I’m pretty sure TBL’s dick gets hard when sporting events underwhelm in the ratings department.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:04 AM
Not enough Yankees and Red Sox.
/television executives
//unintended consequences of too much Yankees-Red Sox’d
July 14th, 2011 at 11:04 AM
Because its an All Star game?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:05 AM
anyone who gets ripped off on their cable by Cox (raises hand), they are offering up MLB extra innings through next wednesday for free.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:05 AM
There’s more options for people now. This is simple.
There’s nothing else to add after this statement. Case open, case closed.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:06 AM
This is the sort of analysis you can find every day at Bleacher Report.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:06 AM
Don’t give him the reaction he wants…a better conversation to have here is just why the ASG is such bad television even to people who actually like baseball
July 14th, 2011 at 11:07 AM
The weird thing about the All-Star game is that it felt like it mattered more when I was a kid, in the late 80s/early 90s.
Interleague play probably plays a small role in this. Only chance to see certain math-ups back then. Irregardless, to suggest that declining All-Star game ratings has any relevance to the popularity of the sport as a whole is laughable.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:07 AM
in 1981 there were 4 channels if you counted PBS. TV shows used to routinely get 30 million people watching them. So of course people watched the All Star game. It was on television, and it was live sports.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:07 AM
Wow, thanks. Comcast too. I forget every year after the All-Star break, they give you a week. Just like the beginning of the season.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:07 AM
Listen, I’m a baseball fan. I watch anywhere from 3-10 different baseball games on a given day/night. I didn’t watch the All-Star Game in its entirety either. I watched the first inning then turned on the Blackhawks Stanley Cup Game 6 on my local affiliate. I switched back when I saw on Twitter that Starlin Castro has been put in the game.
I can’t tell you why I was disinterested in the game but I can tell you there were other things at my disposal that I preferred to watch or do.
Get Well Soon, Joe Buck.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:07 AM
All-Star games used to be an opportunity to see some players you rarely got to see on TV. It was truly an event.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:08 AM
The three hundred pitching changes (each with a commercial break) do not help.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:08 AM
This is the sort of analysis you can find every day at Bleacher Report.
ahh, but they’ve gamed the system, you see. They’re cheating the googler by usign cheap keywords, unlike this bastion of honesty, which remains uncorrupted and unbeholden.
oh, wait. That ended, right?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:08 AM
In 20 years, the number of people who watched the MLB All-Star game has been cut in half.
back then caucasians weren’t on the verge of becoming a minority.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:08 AM
i watched and enjoyed it. loved the super slo-mo replays.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:08 AM
And yet these declining ratings still topped the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, which did a 6.2
July 14th, 2011 at 11:09 AM
They should be terrible. I love baseball roughly as much as I love my girlfriend even though I can only have sex with one of them but if you watch the All Star game you’re a horrible person
July 14th, 2011 at 11:09 AM
This. I realize baseball is making money hand over fist but that should not be what is argued. The ASG is horrible television now. I don’t know how you can fix it.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:10 AM
Listen
no, you listen.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:10 AM
From TBL last post. I think it’s easy to say 95% of the commenters can agree on this one too.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:10 AM
This post is exactly why I hate July-August as far as sports go. Just a terrible two-month stretch.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:10 AM
We all agree that the homefield thing needs to go. Outside of that? I really don’t have any suggestions on how to improve it. Maybe allowing players back in the game that had been taken out? I really don’t know otherwise.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:10 AM
honestly the casual fan doesn’t want to see good pitching. like they say, chicks dig the long ball. i think more often than not, good pitching beats good hitting.
/lets put some AAA pitchers up there and let price & pujols go to work
/actually let’s put robinson cano’s dad
July 14th, 2011 at 11:10 AM
doesn’t jive with what ratings used to be. Read Butters, then try again.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:11 AM
Doesn’t help that Fox says that the game begins at 7, but after the lineups, the ceremonial stuff, the mandatory American Idol performance at every Fox sporting event, and so on, first pitch wasn’t until like 7:40.
How many people got tired of waiting and turned it off?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:11 AM
And yet these declining ratings still topped the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, which did a 6.2
TBL’s about to explain to you the difference between network television and cable television, and how the NBA all star game outperformed Rizzoli and Isles “in the demo,” making it a success.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:11 AM
Wasn’t the all star game on TNT though? A 6.2 on cable won’t piss any advertisers off. If you are pulling a 6.9 on a network station they will certainly look at moving it off of the network and to one of their cable channels.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:12 AM
Yep, and then there were matchups between pitcher and batter that you wouldn’t see otherwise but with free agency and interleague play there’s nothing special about it anymore
I know I keep harping on it but smaller rosters, eliminate the rule about every team being represented and let the game be played more like a real one with the lineups people want to see getting more cuts in
July 14th, 2011 at 11:12 AM
Very true. Selig traded a few million viewers of an exhibition game for billions of dollars from Extra Innings and MLB.tv.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:12 AM
I really have a hard time caring about it, but the part that makes it most unwatchable is all the moves the managers make. I don’t think giving them more moves to make will help.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:13 AM
not sure what the correlation is between that and the MLB ratings, but fwiw, NBA All-Star ratings have never been good (game is on cable now, too).
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/22/us-nbaratings-idUSTRE71K5L120110222
that being said, 2011 ratings were the best in 8 years.
and more details, if you care
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/ratings/2011/02/21/2011-nba-all-star-game-on-tnt-delivers-most-watched-and-highest-rated-all-star-game-since-2003-and-earns-strong-growth-across-all-demos-13510/20110221tnt01/
July 14th, 2011 at 11:13 AM
Read Butters, then try again.
You could also take your own advice, read the perfectly cogent comments, and have your answer.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:13 AM
Me. I had it off from 7:10 until about 7:45. I didn’t see the first pitch.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:14 AM
Maybe Yankee fans just didn’t tune in to see Russell Martin.
Sportsdork, you from Lisbon, NY?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:14 AM
This is especially true if you lived in an AL or NL only town. There also wasn’t a ton of player movement back in the day so players tended to stick on one team for their entire careers. Now with MLB.tv and Extra Innings, it’s actually easier to see an out of town game than a local one since there’s now blackout restrictions on the out of town game.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:14 AM
I really don’t have any suggestions on how to improve it.
9 DHs and 9 all time fielders for both teams. No lineup changes until the 7th inning. No pitching changes during innings, excepting injuries, real or fake.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:14 AM
I agree with all this but something tells me players and their agents want none of this. Hell Jeter got a 500,000 dollar bonus for making the all star game and going to the beach. Then he was replaced by another player that also probably got a bonus for making the game.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:14 AM
It’s easy to rip on Cox…until you see what other cable companies are like.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Very close to there, yeah.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:15 AM
I think this is about the 5th time I have seen this post over the past few years.
Maybe its just me and my gym, but has anyone else noticed that chicks at the gym are going with the skimpier and tighter shorts lately? It’s not even the fact that it’s summer, I started noticing this last December.
/not complaining
July 14th, 2011 at 11:15 AM
NBA All-Star ratings have never been good (game is on cable now, too).
they used to play it on Sunday afternoons when it was on a network.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:15 AM
but the nba all-star game is supposed to be the best of the best of the all-star exhibitions.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Thank you. I was in the corner sucking my thumb because I didnt want to engage that answer. Too Duffy-esque
July 14th, 2011 at 11:15 AM
That’s true. But wasn’t Ron Washington out of bench players other than Russell Martin by like the 7th inning? He was playing the game to get all the guys some face-time it seemed.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Need to move the game to Wednesday night increasing the likelihood that top players, especially pitchers, will participate.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:16 AM
Graduated High with Rick Carlisle’s sister. Canton.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:16 AM
The All-Star Game’s a bad product and worse than it used to be which was already said, what more do you want?
I think he wrote another piece about exhibitions that I can’t find but here’s a conversation between Posnanski and Bill James from 2009 where they discuss issue and make some good points
July 14th, 2011 at 11:16 AM
Does this count as an Astros post?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:17 AM
now there’s a good point, although for long-term strategy, i don’t think it’s a smart move, unless having Scrooge McDuck money will somehow stimulate interest in the sport
July 14th, 2011 at 11:17 AM
that’s with any FOX event, which is annoying.
also, they’d probably be better off playing this game on a saturday afternoon rather than a tuesday night.
or start the game by 7:05pm EST like any other tuesday night baseball game so it can be done early.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:17 AM
I was under the impression that fan interest was through the roof?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:18 AM
girls back from college. and yes. i agree that’s happening where i work out, too.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:18 AM
I am aware of this.
During the summer? No. That this rating is disappointing is undeniable…but it’s still going to wind up in the Top 10 for the week. Threat of moving cable is an insane exaggeration.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:18 AM
Did they lose again?
I was about to buy tickets for Sundays game vs the Pirates but changed my mind
July 14th, 2011 at 11:18 AM
Very cool. Rick’s father, Preston, is my father’s lawyer. Never spoken with Rick but used to see his parents out to dinner all the time.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:18 AM
long-term strategy it’s genius and revolutionary considering that eventually the internet and tv will be intertwined.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:19 AM
While I agree, I don’t think they’re willing to sacrifice and entire weekend’s worth of baseball, especially at the gate.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:19 AM
There are a few great, in-depth arguements that originate in well thought out posts followed by fantastic questions and counterarguments. Oh wait, no. At this point, all I see is TBL (and Ty) with clubs and a hole where a few dead horses used to be.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:19 AM
Threat of moving cable is an insane exaggeration.
so was “low seven figures.”
/burn
July 14th, 2011 at 11:20 AM
It’s so weird that companies like FOX, cable providers, and satellite companies seem to disagree with you.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:20 AM
Who else is still watching the Open? Nobody really looking all that great right now.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:20 AM
Jesus Christ, are you really so self-centered as to think that YOU are the representative consumer of all entertainment? Actually, I think we already know the answer to that.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:21 AM
I was about to buy tickets for Sundays game vs the Pirates but changed my mind
Good call
July 14th, 2011 at 11:21 AM
Personally I think much better business model is to be “popular” based on subjective criteria and yet be losing money
/David Stern
July 14th, 2011 at 11:21 AM
Also, no mention of drunk Justin Timberlake giving a pool side interview proclaiming the greatness of beer and mocking Joe Buck?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:21 AM
can’t stream or watch until lunch. my pick’s doing ok tho!
July 14th, 2011 at 11:21 AM
And MLB. And all the team owners. And advertisers.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:22 AM
This explanation is a more palpable one for me, personally, because I thought I was just getting old and not giving a shit about these exhibition games anymore the way I used to as a kid.
Access to watch/follow every player/team if you want + Approximately 9 Billion cable channels + DVD/Blueray = No one gives a shit about meaningless “All Star” games anymore in any sport.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:22 AM
love the pic. but shouldn’t the caption refer to his befuddlement about the poor ratings?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:22 AM
Covered yesterday by TSH, I believe. We all applauded JT.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:22 AM
We know you like basketball. But really, there’s no problem with stimulating interest in the sport of baseball. It’s alive and well. There’s still hundreds of thousands of little leagues across this country that are developing new baseball fans year in and year out.
This fight for 2nd place behind the NFL is silly. You’re going to watch basketball* with the people that like basketball. The rest of us are going to watch baseball with the others that enjoy it.
* – when is still TBD, of course
July 14th, 2011 at 11:22 AM
Can’t support that putter
July 14th, 2011 at 11:23 AM
I’m by no means a business guy, but how is it not a smart move? one game on a tuesday night that is an exhibition game that a lot of the best players don’t even play in is supposed to stimulate interest more than making every game/team available to whoever wants it, and making millions off of it in the process?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:23 AM
*yawns*
July 14th, 2011 at 11:23 AM
Don’t care about the ratings, but the game itself needs help. And it’s really simple changes, not overhauls.
Managers: Using Herm as the guide here, YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME. Stop using every warm body. Play the good starters 7 innings or more. Ditch the undeserving starters after an AB or 2 and get in the right guys. Pitch your 3 best starters for 2 innings a piece and get to the 7th with a boatload of relievers to finish it off.
MLB: Pay the players and pay them MORE for winning. A money grab is the easiest way to make them start to care more. For the guys who haven’t hit it big yet, $ will make you dive or concentrate on that next pitch a little more. For guys with monster bucks, its a great charity help.
Bud: Get rid of the home field advantage. Good effort, but it didn’t work.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:24 AM
You can throw a bullshit reality show and get that rating on network tv and move the game to cable and still pull a rating near what it did on Fox. I dont see how it is insane to think that within 5 years the All Star Game will be shown on cable tv.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:24 AM
maybe, if the networks and movie studios ever find a cost effective way of streaming their content, which I don’t see happening for quite a while.
HBO could make a boatload if they decide to start their own streaming service and cut ondemand out of the loop.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:24 AM
I really don’t have any suggestions on how to improve it.
1. make it a wiffle ball game or
2. you get 100 for every ball caught on the fly, 75 for one hop and 50 for two hops
July 14th, 2011 at 11:25 AM
i understand. fortunately, im ethically corrupt and as long as im benefiting, my scruples are nonexistent.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:25 AM
The Pro Bowl gets big ratings which makes me shake my head since it’s just dreadful football but the NFL was an unstoppable monster until they took it on themselves to stop it
July 14th, 2011 at 11:25 AM
Damn my tardiness!
July 14th, 2011 at 11:25 AM
Who might that be? My yearly Open pick of Miguel Angel Jimenez looked good earlier.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:26 AM
This is the answer. That and the Saturday afternoon game of the week.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:26 AM
adam scott.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:26 AM
OK seamheads, let’s get some discussion about the game started. I’ll throw out a few topics:
- Player due for a big 2nd half?
- Callup that will make the biggest impact?
- Who is going to win the AL Central? NL Central?
- Next manager to get canned?
- Biggest name to move at the deadline?
- Who is most likely to make Tim Kurkjian have an on-air orgasm that sounds like a mouse fart?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:26 AM
hbo go?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:26 AM
Why does this course always look like a shithole?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:27 AM
They need more kid friendly moments.
Maybe stage a moment where a player walks up to a random kid and give him a ..I don’t know.. a back pack and some cards.
It will be gold.
/that and there are more options to waste your time now then 30 years ago
July 14th, 2011 at 11:27 AM
I think he meant if they abandoned TV and went to service like Netflix? I don’t see how they could make more money that way. I love HBO GO. that shit is fantastic.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:28 AM
great first step, honestly.
instead of 3 days, make it 4-5 days with the all star game on the second to last day. the first couple days would be the home run derby then the all star wiffle ball game, with the reserves taking the starting spots. the hitters pitch and the pitchers hit. add in a skills competition and you have your all star week.
this does one important thing when you stretch out the break. starting pitchers can pitch in the real game.
and winner of the wiffleball game gets homefield in the world series.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:29 AM
-Twins; Cardinals
- Should be Quade
July 14th, 2011 at 11:29 AM
They tried that with Heath Bell. I felt awful for him. That kid couldn’t carry a conversation if he had a spotter.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:29 AM
/buys sparklers and hopes you’re right
July 14th, 2011 at 11:30 AM
because american course designers figured audiences would be too dumb to embrace subtle beauty so they bash you in the face with course design features.
just kidding…it’s just the geography is completely different than here. the grass is on top of sandy dunes, unlike here, and when coupled with the extreme weather, it’s hard to grow lush, full grass.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:30 AM
- Player due for a big 2nd half?
- Callup that will make the biggest impact?
- Who is going to win the AL Central? NL Central?
- Next manager to get canned?
- Biggest name to move at the deadline?
- Who is most likely to make Tim Kurkjian have an on-air orgasm that sounds like a mouse fart?
-Jeter
-Does Jeter have any relatives in the minors
-Tribe and Buccos
-Ozzie
-KRod-yes brewers will move him again
-Heath Bell
July 14th, 2011 at 11:30 AM
- Player due for a big 2nd half? Adam Dunn
- Callup that will make the biggest impact? Dayan Viciedo
- Who is going to win the AL Central? NL Central? Sox/Brewers
- Next manager to get canned? If the first three don’t come true, Ozzie
- Biggest name to move at the deadline? Carlos Quentin (makes room for Viciedo)
- Who is most likely to make Tim Kurkjian have an on-air orgasm that sounds like a mouse fart? Adam Dunn following a 6 home run game
/Homer’d
July 14th, 2011 at 11:32 AM
I knew you couldn’t give up on Adam Dunn yet! I KNEW IT! I’m actually in the process of orchestrating a trade for the big fella. Guy in my league that has him is in 9th place and has told me all it will require is a bench player to make it look legit and a cheesesteak or sandwich of similar quality.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:32 AM
- Player due for a big 2nd half?
- Callup that will make the biggest impact?
- Who is going to win the AL Central? NL Central?
- Next manager to get canned?
- Biggest name to move at the deadline?
- Who is most likely to make Tim Kurkjian have an on-air orgasm that sounds like a mouse fart?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:33 AM
just checking my controls
July 14th, 2011 at 11:33 AM
I agree with Vezina.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:34 AM
- Biggest name to move at the deadline?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:34 AM
- Player due for a big 2nd half? Choo
- Callup that will make the biggest impact? Kipnis
- Who is going to win the AL Central? NL Central? Tribe and Reds
- Next manager to get canned? Leyland
- Biggest name to move at the deadline? Beltran
- Who is most likely to make Tim Kurkjian have an on-air orgasm that sounds like a mouse fart? Grady Sizemore
July 14th, 2011 at 11:34 AM
He’d still be an upgrade at short over Yuni in Milwaukee, make this happen GM Melvin
July 14th, 2011 at 11:35 AM
Would that really improve the team though? Going from a guy with real power who plays awful defense to a guy who has unproven power who will play awful defense?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:35 AM
Nice use of Hunter Pence for banner picture. He is the single point of light in the otherwise black hole that the Astros have become.
Well him and Bourn, who is have a pretty good season too.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:35 AM
always a solid move st. bear
July 14th, 2011 at 11:35 AM
no, just eliminate the cable companies as the middle man to get the HBO product. for example, you can sign up for HBO directly to access all content, and with your internet TV ready app, just log on and stream whenever you want. you can sign up and cancel whenever you want, like netflix, but not be tied into the cable company and their mark up fees.
essentially it would be like the cable a la cart model.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:36 AM
viciedo’s power is not unproven, dork
July 14th, 2011 at 11:36 AM
Timmy is not only the president of Grady’s Ladies, he’s also a member.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:36 AM
This approach certainly did not work for Arizona when they had Quentin.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:37 AM
I hope the NL Central race shapes up like it looks like it is going to. the Cards/Reds/Brewers race has potential to be pretty sweet.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:37 AM
id pay for it. id pay $30 a month for it.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:37 AM
It would probably be a lateral move, I just know that Quentin’s been rumored to be ealt so it fit with the theme to keep my answers Sox centric…I suppose in terms of actual biggest name to be moved it kinda has to be Beltran, no?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:38 AM
He has 100 MLB ABs
July 14th, 2011 at 11:39 AM
how many do you have, dork?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:39 AM
I’m not sure which subject TBL understands less of, business or college football. either way, his ideas and opinions on both just plain suck.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:39 AM
It used to be that unless you lived in NY, CHI, or LA you could only see one league or the other on a regular basis. So a) there were lots of guys you were itnerested in seeing actually play and b) you kind of had an affection for your league that I don’t think exisats anymore. The all-star game is definitely less interesting, but it’s a trade MLB will take.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:39 AM
GIO! not a big name but I dont give a shit. Make it happen Towers, dont let me watch Duke pitch again.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:40 AM
there’s no accounting for how the wsox have handled viciedo. he hits and hits, and hasn’t been given more than those 100. he can’t make them play him
July 14th, 2011 at 11:40 AM
Odds are, I suppose. The Rays might move somebody, though, that might surprise some people. They are always capable of anything, and moving BJ Upton so Desmond Jennings can play probably wouldn’t cost them any wins.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:40 AM
cough… Pirates…cough
July 14th, 2011 at 11:41 AM
Would that really improve the team though? Going from a guy with real power who plays awful defense to a guy who has unproven power who will play awful defense?
Sounds like good Sox logic
July 14th, 2011 at 11:41 AM
Brett Anderson underwent Tommy John’s. Sorry for the A’s.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:41 AM
im pretty sure he understands business…he’s just smarter than us and knows how to get people to click isn’t thru thousand word pieces of brilliance but by shit that’ll get people to come. whether that’s thru quality of the work of less ethical means, the model’s pretty fucking solid considering he’s a millionaire.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:41 AM
they could also do a HBO+ feature that allows you access to their entire back catalog of original programming for an additional fee per month. their standard option would contain their current programming and the first couple episodes of the back catalog. then they could do HBO cinema which would allow you to watch and stream their latest hit films now showing on HBO.
i’d certainly pay for the current content to stream, occasionally the back catalog as well.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:41 AM
college football on the other hand?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:42 AM
and really, if anyone should be experimenting it’s the wsox. such a pall around that team right now. 5 back seems like 50
July 14th, 2011 at 11:42 AM
The only possible explanation I would have for the Pro Bowl is the gambling angle. Pretty sure people can (and do) bet on that game, if they were so inclined.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:42 AM
Friday Night Lights.
Damn.
/had to be said
//shows self out
July 14th, 2011 at 11:43 AM
Sorry for the A’s.
the sincere-ometer didn;t go off
July 14th, 2011 at 11:43 AM
there’s no accounting for how the wsox have handled viciedo. he hits and hits, and hasn’t been given more than those 100. he can’t make them play him
Vez you probably have been listening to radio here in Chicago, seems like the kid is being hostage in Ozzie and Kenny’s pissing contest over the woes of the team.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:44 AM
Why would someone pay 30 dollars a month for it when you can get HBO on TV for what 12 dollars? Or am I missing something.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:45 AM
I said “business,” not entrepreneurial sports blogging. there’s no doubt TBL knows how to apply the journalism-bred sensationalism tactics to his sports blogging. that’s no doubt made him some money and will continue to make him some money, but I don’t call that an understanding of business. I call that being an excellent salesman.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:45 AM
One of them has to go and at this point I don’t care which
July 14th, 2011 at 11:45 AM
I agree he’s earned a chance to play. The problem is the White Sox roster doesn’t have an ideal place for him. He’s a huge dude who doesn’t move very well. So if he takes Pierre’s spot you have a big problem in left. And if you sit Quentin you aren’t really helping the offense any. You could DH him, but are you really giving up on Dunn?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:46 AM
forgot about them, I would love to see them in it as well.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:47 AM
To be fair, Pierre is a poor fielder himself. He has a terrible arm, drops fly balls on occasion and his only value is his speed.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:47 AM
spalding, that’s where i get most of my sports knowledge, so good pickup
July 14th, 2011 at 11:47 AM
fair enough.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:48 AM
Naw, that was sincere. Dude’s a stud, and it sucks to see guys out for a year or two.
/Liriano
//Nathan
July 14th, 2011 at 11:48 AM
Ozzie and Kenny’s pissing contest over the woes of the team.
this is not a media creation. it’s amazing reinsdorf has 1, let it get to this, and 2, let it continue
July 14th, 2011 at 11:49 AM
Oh, he sucks. You won’t find me arguing. I just think people get enamored with the young guy and rarely take into account things like defense. Guys with a well deserved nickname like “Tank” generally don’t translate well to MLB outfields.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:49 AM
man, i loved this thread. time capsule, for shizzle
July 14th, 2011 at 11:50 AM
not enough Mazada talk for the time capsule to apply.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:50 AM
his only value is his speed.
and SBs are overrated especially on a bipolar team. small ball or slugging? which is it on the southside?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:51 AM
TBL, that pic of Vonn and Decker is great, but stretched out for the main page is scary.
July 14th, 2011 at 11:52 AM
I will never hate on TBL’s business acumen. The guy made a million dollars!
July 14th, 2011 at 11:55 AM
You obviously have never seen pro athletes spend cash
July 14th, 2011 at 12:03 PM
Tom Smykowski?
July 14th, 2011 at 12:13 PM
the rates vary for HBO, anywhere from 10.99 to 24.99 depending where you live, a good chunk of that goes to the cable companies. surprisingly, with comcast I’m moving from one county to another in NJ and i’ll end up paying an extra $2 for HBO per month than at my current address.
July 14th, 2011 at 12:20 PM
These recycled, agenda-driven posts aren’t even interesting.
Why doesn’t TBL just take a stance on the issue? He throws all this shit out there and then doesn’t even really put a definitive stance on the issue on paper. Kind of chicken shit, if you ask me.
July 14th, 2011 at 12:28 PM
I didn’t watch because it was on Fox. Who wants to watch baseball on Fox? I’ve had colonoscopies I enjoyed more.
July 14th, 2011 at 1:14 PM
thank goodness baseball is back today.
July 14th, 2011 at 1:18 PM
TBL’s thoughts on baseball are absolute garbage, I’m proud of you all for dismantling them.
By the way…baseball will always be the #2 sport, it’s the sport that most kids go to their first professional sporting event to. It’s the most kid-friendly, period.
July 14th, 2011 at 1:32 PM
baseball then hockey then everything else as far as kid friendly.
July 14th, 2011 at 1:46 PM
The funniest thing I read in this entire thread was where TBL attempted to discuss the effect that MLB TV and Extra Innings have on ratings and baseball’s demographics. Here’s that nugget of “knowledge”:
Yes, I’m certain that MLB TV and Extra Innings really appeal to baseball’s older demographic.
And regardles…pretty sure that “Scrooge McDuck” still carries a lot of influence over what his son watches and is interested in.
The lack of basic insight here is rather jarring, but I guess that’s the sacrifice you make when you troll for page views.