Share this Post

Comments

  1. Mish

    I really loathe having to root for Luke Scott.

    EDIT – not too much, actually, cuz I don’t give a shit about these players off the field and I’m sure Scott’s not the only whacko. But he’s still not a savory character.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  4. Author
    Berselius

    Mish wrote:

    I really loathe having to root for Luke Scott.

    Is Luke Scott really a racist asshole? There isn’t consensus in the scientific community. The media really needs to Teach The Controversy.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  7. Author
    Berselius

    MLBAM braindump from the end of the last thread

    It looks like the mobile site ate my comment, but everyone gets the FOX games, and ESPN and TBS games are carried in all basic cable packages. There’s also MLBN and whatever local RSN, which are a little spottier in standard packages to varying degrees. MLB highlights are available on their own site, and FWIW I hate the NFL site as much as I hate mlb’s. I’ve never been to NBA/NHL since I don’t follow those sports at all.

    I don’t think MLB directs teams not to do deals with local channels, I think it has more to do with how much MLB is desired by the local stations. No networks want to cut into their weekday primetime ratings (though I think NBC affiliates should push harder for live sports considering their ratings). And the big problem is volume. The NFL has it easy because it’s such a weekend sport and there’s just one a week so you don’t want to miss it. With mlb, it’s more meh with 162 games. It’s going to be a lot harder to slice up that package across various channels unless they’re all owned by the same media corp (Like the Trib with WGN/WCIU/the stake in CSN).

    One other thing that I’m too lazy to look up is what the market penetration is on cable tv and other video outlets. MLB.tv has expanded to a TON of streaming platforms (basically anything that has netflix), and young people value broadband and cable tv access far, far more than older folks these days. GW has a good point with the advertising and the interwebs stuff but I think most of the younger generation has access anyway.

    Then again, the entire internet flipped its shit when netflix was going to raise its fees by $3 or something so I don’t know shit about what most people want to pay for streaming video (dying laughing)

    Our views could also be pretty skewed having grown up with so many free games on WGN. Growing up in the DC area you couldn’t get jack shit as far as live O’s broadcasts even if you did have cable went but fan sentiment was still very strong.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  11. mb21

    GW wrote:

    do we know that advertisements increase the number of fans? no, but if they don’t, someone should tell them.

    Where exactly are these things posted, GW? I don’t visit any sites that embed NFL videos. I’m not being subjected to youtube after youtube of NFL highlights that grab my attention and make me want to be a fan. I’d guess I see more NFL videos embedded on this site than I do on all the other sites combined (that I visit). I see 50 times the number of baseball videos embedded. Probably a lot more than that. Most of the people who visit this site are already baseball fans.

    That’s what I’m asking. Where exactly are these awesome advertisements that I’m apparently not seeing? Are these really advertisements? I don’t think so. I see embedded baseball videos because I visit a lot of baseball sites. I visit no NFL, NBA or NHL sites.

    Here’s the only question that matters: does MLB make more money forcing people to come to MLB.com to view recent videos or would they make more money if they allowed them to be posted elsewhere? Considering how MLB has maximized their revenues over the last decade I’m going to say that they’re making more money forcing people to come to MLB.com. No sport has maximized their revenues like MLB has over the last decade. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I’ve also added it up before and forcing people to watch those videos on mlb.com generates MLB at least $5 million per year in ad revenue.

    Regarding blackouts, I agree with you, but I couldn’t care less what territory MLB claims. That shit is nonsense. I expect the blackout restrictions will be lifted at some point in the near future.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  19. mb21

    Berselius wrote:

    I don’t think MLB directs teams not to do deals with local channels, I think it has more to do with how much MLB is desired by the local stations. No networks want to cut into their weekday primetime ratings (though I think NBC affiliates should push harder for live sports considering their ratings).

    Yeah, this is baseball’s problem and I think it stems from so many teams being eliminated early on. By the end of the season you usually only have a couple teams looking for a spot.

    There’s now more than one major sport and some fans have left baseball. MLB has done a good job at finding other markets, but they’ve given up on trying to attract a larger audience here. Even their inner city program is nothing more than PR in my opinion.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  20. mb21

    @ Rice Cube:
    Actually he wasn’t out and he wasn’t safe. He never touched home and after Yadier jumped up to tag DeJesus before he did touch the plate the umpire called him safe. Yadier started arguing and he had every right. I really don’t know how the umpire standing over that play missed it. I saw it live. I didn’t even need replay to see that DeJesus didn’t touch home.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  28. EnricoPallazzo

    Rice Cube wrote:

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2012.shtml

    So what factors (other than the teams sucking) are suppressing offense this first month of the season? I was fairly confident the Cubs could muster 70 runs in April but the Pirates have barely scored two runs a game. I didn’t think that was possible. I assume it’ll equalize over the course of the season but what an epic fail

    very curious about this myself.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  29. GW

    mb21 wrote:

    Here’s the only question that matters: does MLB make more money forcing people to come to MLB.com to view recent videos or would they make more money if they allowed them to be posted elsewhere?

    right, but there is a tradeoff between maximizing revenue currently and capturing the attention of casual fans (not you). and they are ads in the strictly classical sense of getting people interested in the product. this has been explained to stern, and thus youtube is filled with nba highlights that get millions of views, often by people who would not otherwise see them, myself included.

    do you think it would be wise for mlb to restrict any mention of its teams outside of mlb.com domains? (not they could do that, mind you, but lets assume for the moment). should they host one cubs blog and try to shut the rest of them down? should they restrict all baseball news to their own domain? these things woud surely maximize revenue in the short term. they would also be retarded.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  33. EnricoPallazzo

    Rice Cube wrote:

    So what factors (other than the teams sucking) are suppressing offense this first month of the season?

    i’ve been very amused lately by everyone blaming obama for everything, no matter how ridiculous the connection. so it’s probably his fault somehow.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  45. mb21

    GW wrote:

    this has been explained to stern, and thus youtube is filled with nba highlights that get millions of views, often by people who would not otherwise see them, myself included.

    Basketball is seen as more exciting than baseball.

    GW wrote:

    do you think it would be wise for mlb to restrict any mention of its teams outside of mlb.com domains?

    Obviously that would be stupid, but I’m fairly sure MLB has done the analysis here. Maybe they reached the wrong conclusions. I don’t know, but I’m not willing to say they’ve made an obvious error. Especially not when you factor in the way in which they’ve raised revenues over the last 10 years.

    Like I said at the beginning of this discussion, as long as I can watch the games I just don’t care about this stuff. I usually avoid any of these discussions because taking part in them assumes I really care and I don’t. I give zero fucks about MLB’s blackout restrictions, their video policy or their new gif policy. If at some point I’m no able to get as many games as I do now I may feel differently, but at the moment, this is just a waste of time for me. 1) MLB doesn’t care what I think and 2) I’m perfectly happy with how things are. I’m not going to be any more pleased if they get rid of the blackout restrictions or change their video policy.

    I also don’t care if MLB is creating a situation in which there will be fewer fans. I’m going to be dead before that’s a major issue. Not to mention there are some obvious ways to make the game more entertaining (speeding it up, DH in both leagues). MLB doesn’t care. It’s also not like I’ve spent the majority of my life watching good baseball. I am a Cubs fan. (dying laughing)

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  48. mikeakaleroy

    I can now tell my kid that I was watching when Soriano got his first extra base hit of 2012. (dying laughing)

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  82. Recalcitrant Blogger Nate

    @ Rice Cube:
    I’d rather have Barney 2nd than Campana. I have some confidence in Barney’s ability to make contact.

    Whoa, looks like F7 is kinda good again.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  84. ACT

    I actually don’t have a problem with Campana bunting some of the time, given who he is (his bunt attempts are too predictable, though). That said, he’s quite bad at hitting and shouldn’t be starting very often let alone hitting high in the order.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  85. mikeakaleroy

    ACT wrote:

    I actually don’t have a problem with Campana stepping into pitches some of the time

    (dying laughing)

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  91. mikeakaleroy

    Samardzija’s mullet twin gets them out of the inning.

    Edit: My bad. wasn’t paying attention and thought Russel was in. Plus I’m drunk.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  93. uncle dave

    So wait a minute. We’ll double-switch in like the fifth inning to get our best hitter out of the game but won’t do it in the bottom of the seventh to protect Darwin Barney? Not that we need to see more than one batter of Shawn Camp, but…I dunno.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  99. mikeakaleroy

    Off Topic Comment: If anyone is wondering what happened to Corey Patterson, I get to see him in Des Moines leading off for the Nashville Sound against the iCubs on Thursday. Anyone have a message for him?

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  101. GW

    mb21 wrote:

    Obviously that would be stupid, but I’m fairly sure MLB has done the analysis here.

    I don’t think they have a clue. Every move they make smacks of the lawyers having the reins. I think they saw $ signs after they released mlb.tv and have been focused on squeezing that ever since. MLB.tv has jumped in price such that you might as well get extra innings now. They tried to shut down fantasy baseball, which has to be the major driver of their mlb.tv subscriptions (along with transplants). Their blackout zones are inane. And the vehemence with which they go after video clips is staggering.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  108. GW

    it’s to the point where i’m actually surprised they haven’t gone after the bloggers. i think if they had to do it all over, they would keep all the reporters out of the clubhouse save for those from the team website.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  113. GW

    @ Berselius:

    hmmm… well i can’t say for sure regarding that, but i seem to remember getting it for in the neighbohood of forty bucks a few years back. (and had my subscription autorenewed, despite cancellation)

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  119. Recalcitrant Blogger Nate

    That inning when DeJesus lead off with a double and got picked off, they should have scored, as well as the one where they had 2 and 3 with nobody out

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  122. mb21

    Bowden was DFA’d? The best the Cubs could do for Byrd is someone who was DFA’d? The Cubs probably should have waited until Byrd turned things around.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  127. EnricoPallazzo

    GW wrote:

    mb21 wrote:

    Obviously that would be stupid, but I’m fairly sure MLB has done the analysis here.

    I don’t think they have a clue. Every move they make smacks of the lawyers having the reins. I think they saw $ signs after they released mlb.tv and have been focused on squeezing that ever since. MLB.tv has jumped in price such that you might as well get extra innings now. They tried to shut down fantasy baseball, which has to be the major driver of their mlb.tv subscriptions (along with transplants). Their blackout zones are inane. And the vehemence with which they go after video clips is staggering

    agreed. it’s easy to assume that they must know what they are doing since there is so much $ at stake but they have proven us wrong on that many times.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  137. Author
    Berselius

    mb21 wrote:

    You can’t second guess Sveum’s lineups though. Didn’t you get the memo from Rogers?

    He forgot to put on the cover sheet, so I wasn’t sure what to make of it

    /TPS

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  142. Rice Cube

    They had to complete the trade first and then DFA’d Rodrigo Lopez to make room. Bowden was DFA’d by Boston a few days ago before the trade and I guess that was within that period where he could be traded.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  143. mb21

    GW wrote:

    MLB.tv has jumped in price such that you might as well get extra innings now

    You were better off getting MLBEI before. I’d rather pay 3 times as much to get EI than mlb.tv. Fortunately it’s not even close to 3 times more.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  158. mb21

    @ GW:
    Which is kind of funny because one of the arguments against Hendry was that he loved his own players. I don’t know how good Bowden is. The numbers look OK and it’s probably not a bad return for Byrd, but he was DFA’d. I’d rather the Cubs have taken a chance that he’d clear waivers. I don’t like the idea of selling low on a player and getting a DFA’d player in return. Why not wait a month for Byrd to rebound? If he does you’re going to get more. If he doesn’t, you’re going to get the same return.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  159. Recalcitrant Blogger Nate

    Glass half full approach:

    2nd night in a row the Cubs have really tamed the best offense in the NL.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  161. mb21

    EnricoPallazzo wrote:

    huh? i thought lopez got DFA’d so bowden could take his place?

    Lopez was DFA’d. The Red Sox DFA’d Bowden on April 15th. If no team claims him after 10 days Bowden is free to sign with any team. If a team claims him the Sox can pull him back, let the team take him or work out a trade. My guess is that if the Cubs claimed Bowden they could have gotten him for less than Byrd. You usually don’t see an established MLB player traded for someone who was just DFA’d. Weird.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  172. ACT

    I know Campana was successful, but stealing on Molina is generally not a smart idea and that close call is a good demonstration why that is.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  174. uncle dave

    mb21 wrote:

    @ GW:
    Which is kind of funny because one of the arguments against Hendry was that he loved his own players. I don’t know how good Bowden is. The numbers look OK and it’s probably not a bad return for Byrd, but he was DFA’d. I’d rather the Cubs have taken a chance that he’d clear waivers. I don’t like the idea of selling low on a player and getting a DFA’d player in return. Why not wait a month for Byrd to rebound? If he does you’re going to get more. If he doesn’t, you’re going to get the same return.

    It’s possible that Bowden was DFA’d with the knowledge that this deal would get done, and the Sox used the ten-day window (I think) where a team can stash a guy in DFA limbo to fill some other roster need. I think stuff like that happens on a semi-regular basis.

    As for the return on the deal, I think at least part of the reason for making the trade is likely that the Cubs were doing Byrd a favor by trading him to an ostensible contender, or for some other reason that Byrd might have requested. Favors like that are done not only for players, but also sometimes at the request of agents who a team might want to maintain a relationship with.

    Also, I think that some trades include PTBNLs that are contingent on the performance of a player post-trade. In this instance, the Red Sox might have provided more than one list of acceptable players to the Cubs — perhaps one to be used in the event that Byrd continues to suck, and one to be used if he’s good from here on out.

    I don’t know if any of these things are a factor here, but stuff like that does happen, especially in low-stakes deals like this one. Given the relationship between the front office principals, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more to the deal than meets the eye.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  185. mb21

    @ EnricoPallazzo:
    Bad call after the replay, but prior to it not bad. It’s one of those calls that could either way so I’d definitely not call it a bad call by the umpire. Greene did a great job of blocking the bag with his foot, but the umpire missed it.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  187. mb21

    I have to admit that I really enjoy watching Molina catch. Watching him throw is fun too, but has the best receiving skills I’ve ever seen.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  196. josh

    @ mb21:
    He’s awesome. I had a friend who’s a Cardinals fan give me a “meh” on Molina, and thought they should have let him go FA. I couldn’t believe it, honestly.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  198. mb21

    @ Berselius:
    Yep. I remember when he was an automatic out, but he’s not that anymore. He’s just a good ballplayer.

    Good game tonight. Really good start from F7. Marmol set up the game tying home run for LaHair and the eventual game winner by Soriano. I wish every game was like the last two. (dying laughing)

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  200. josh

    Watching the replay on Castro’s sac fly. It was funny, because it looked like DeJesus missed the plate and Molina missed the tag. DeJesus then calmly walks around Molina and steps on the plate, while Yadi argued.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  208. josh

    @ Berselius:
    After the Orchid Wars AND the second Chinese War? When the Earth is but a barren ball of chalk and the only human is Wiqui, the monkey that remembers being a man?

    Sounds about right.

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  211. Longchamptaschenoutlet

    Then he traveled down to the wires climbing out from his hospital gown. “What do these do?””They keep track of Longchamp taschenmy heart beat.””Make sure it stumm works?””Yes.”Little fingers traced the IV. “And this?””It gives me medicine, right into my blood.””So it doesn’t taste bad?””Right.”Cameron frowned a Longchamp taschenmoment. Longchamp taschen outlet http://www.longchampslongchamptaschen.com%2

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0
  212. True Religion Jeans

    care to conceal their real selves. They play the part that is expected from foamposites 2012 acquire by being able to tell your friends that you know famous men proves only that you are yourself of small account.The celebrated develop a technique to deal with the persons nike foamposites come across. Them, and with practice learn to play it very well,Get free daily emails on topics of interest to you, from breaking news to the day?s top stories. A huge secondperiod brawl included exRanger Mike Rupp, then with the Penguins. A second major brawl erupted in the third period, and it included Haley threatening to fight Penguins goalie Brent Johnson and Eric Godard left the bench to confront Haley. Haley was eventually ejected, the Nassau Coliseum crowd continued to chant his name..
    True Religion Jeans http://www.inexpensivecoachhandbags.com/

      Quote  Reply

    0

    0

Leave a Comment