4.03.2009
Spring 2009
The year's most daunting challenge is to confront how much the sport of baseball means to each and every one of us.
Shouldn't have to expound on this, but let's just say that in times like these it can feel surprisingly hollow to dissect Jeff Francoeur's bounceback potential, Tom Glavine's last hurrah or the Braves' playoff chances overall, And what could possibly have suffered from worse timing than the unveiling of two lavish New York ballparks that weren't really necessary in the first place (as new ballparks so rarely are)?
In spite of all the analysts furiously rushing to call the bottom to Depression '09, we still have yet to see several dominoes fall as a result of the crash. One of those dominoes is MLB attendance this year, particularly luxury box attendance, particularly in weaker markets such as Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Bill Simmons wrote a great piece recently on the NBA's fiduciary woes and how that's affecting the product on the court. It may not be surprising to see Detroit's baseball franchise start to crumble along with the rest of the city. But even if Miguel Cabrera isn't pawned off for pennies on the dollar to the Red Sox in June, far and away the most fascinating subplot of the season is to see what effects occur as a result of this pandemic of Sudden Onset Poverty.
Generally there are two ways to predict what's going to happen to baseball this year. The half-full view says America will need entertainment now more than ever in these troubled times. (Look for that article to be popping up on ESPN.com and its counterparts right around Opening Day.) The half-empty view says America has more important things to worry about than whether this year's Johnny Breakout is chemically aided, or whether his team's push for the wild card is heroic or hopeless, or whether to spend good money finding out. Considering that virtually every institution in the nation has suddenly found themselves woefully short of cash in the past nine months, we are putting our penny on the latter.
Yet another pressing uncertainty: MLBeat is not sure how it is going to adequately cover the 2009 season. The ol' employer has not only discontinued its Giants season tickets in reaction to the crisis, it has laid off yours truly (and has taken many more severe measures than that to avoid having to shutter up altogether). So when it comes to forking over any portion of the pittance that was Yon Severance Check on Giants tickets, A's tickets, the booze that inevitably accompanies a trip to either stadium, MLB.tv, digital cable, and several other options, well...apologies to you, faithful audience.
Instead we're going with a Cost-Effective 2009. This means using my newfound spare time to manage the living daylights out of four different fantasy teams, as well as running one of the leagues. (Co-author John has finally joined the league this year, so perhaps he will see fit to add his own perspective on the Smokey League experience.) Only my league has an entrance fee, and it goes towards a pot that I intend on winning with -- recurring theme alert -- all my newfound free time. This approach will not only save money but also represent a deeper headlong dive into the realm of following a sport exclusively through its fantasy component. This has worked for me and fantasy NBA for years.
And maybe, just maybe, if we cut enough corners and discover an extra $15ish burning a hole in the pocket, we'll consider springing for a season's worth of MLB Gameday Audio. Baseball via audio is one of the last few remaining throwbacks to the olden days, and it can be a refreshing tonic to the swooshing animatronic graphics or the self-fulfilling manufactured drama of Fox or ESPN. We have long wanted to go around MLB and produce a summary of the best and worst radio announcing teams. Perhaps this will be the year.
Shouldn't have to expound on this, but let's just say that in times like these it can feel surprisingly hollow to dissect Jeff Francoeur's bounceback potential, Tom Glavine's last hurrah or the Braves' playoff chances overall, And what could possibly have suffered from worse timing than the unveiling of two lavish New York ballparks that weren't really necessary in the first place (as new ballparks so rarely are)?
In spite of all the analysts furiously rushing to call the bottom to Depression '09, we still have yet to see several dominoes fall as a result of the crash. One of those dominoes is MLB attendance this year, particularly luxury box attendance, particularly in weaker markets such as Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Bill Simmons wrote a great piece recently on the NBA's fiduciary woes and how that's affecting the product on the court. It may not be surprising to see Detroit's baseball franchise start to crumble along with the rest of the city. But even if Miguel Cabrera isn't pawned off for pennies on the dollar to the Red Sox in June, far and away the most fascinating subplot of the season is to see what effects occur as a result of this pandemic of Sudden Onset Poverty.
Generally there are two ways to predict what's going to happen to baseball this year. The half-full view says America will need entertainment now more than ever in these troubled times. (Look for that article to be popping up on ESPN.com and its counterparts right around Opening Day.) The half-empty view says America has more important things to worry about than whether this year's Johnny Breakout is chemically aided, or whether his team's push for the wild card is heroic or hopeless, or whether to spend good money finding out. Considering that virtually every institution in the nation has suddenly found themselves woefully short of cash in the past nine months, we are putting our penny on the latter.
Yet another pressing uncertainty: MLBeat is not sure how it is going to adequately cover the 2009 season. The ol' employer has not only discontinued its Giants season tickets in reaction to the crisis, it has laid off yours truly (and has taken many more severe measures than that to avoid having to shutter up altogether). So when it comes to forking over any portion of the pittance that was Yon Severance Check on Giants tickets, A's tickets, the booze that inevitably accompanies a trip to either stadium, MLB.tv, digital cable, and several other options, well...apologies to you, faithful audience.
Instead we're going with a Cost-Effective 2009. This means using my newfound spare time to manage the living daylights out of four different fantasy teams, as well as running one of the leagues. (Co-author John has finally joined the league this year, so perhaps he will see fit to add his own perspective on the Smokey League experience.) Only my league has an entrance fee, and it goes towards a pot that I intend on winning with -- recurring theme alert -- all my newfound free time. This approach will not only save money but also represent a deeper headlong dive into the realm of following a sport exclusively through its fantasy component. This has worked for me and fantasy NBA for years.
And maybe, just maybe, if we cut enough corners and discover an extra $15ish burning a hole in the pocket, we'll consider springing for a season's worth of MLB Gameday Audio. Baseball via audio is one of the last few remaining throwbacks to the olden days, and it can be a refreshing tonic to the swooshing animatronic graphics or the self-fulfilling manufactured drama of Fox or ESPN. We have long wanted to go around MLB and produce a summary of the best and worst radio announcing teams. Perhaps this will be the year.
