My initial reaction to Monday night’s postponement of Game Five of the World Series in Philadelphia was not to blame Bud Selig. I understand that four people flew up from Tampa to see Game Five. I understand that Joe Buck had already gone through the trouble of having his chin hole drilled out and cleaned. I understand that it costs ESPN hundred of dollars of per diem to feed Jon Kruk. Everybody wanted to play Game Five on Monday, and there was a chance that they could have gotten the full game in with no harm to either team. Moreover, if this was a game in June, does anyone have any doubt that the game would have at least been started as long as no rain was falling? No, I didn’t want to throw Bud under the bus.
At least not at first. But the more I think about it, the more annoyed I am that Bud is the most powerful man in baseball.
The problem, once again, is that Bud has absolutely no foresight. None. Bud could go hiking through grizzly bear country in the height of grizzly bear mating season dressed like a grizzly bear vagina and have no escape plan for a scenario in which he gets sodomized by a grizzly bear.
During the 2002 All-Star Game up in Miller Park, wasn’t there a point (like maybe when it was 6-5 in the 7th inning; or 7-7 after the top of the 8th) when Bud thought to himself, “You know? There’s a possibility that this game might still be 7-7 in the 9th inning. If I were the Commissioner of Baseball, what would I do if that happened?”
It seems to me that if Bud had formulated a plan sometime prior to the 9th inning, he could have saved himself a lot of grief. It didn’t even have to be a good plan. If his plan was to have the game end in a tie, so be it. We’re Americans. We like decisive actions. We don’t care if the plan involves us smacking our own mothers in the face with frying pans as long as our leaders HAVE A PLAN.
Would anyone have been in an uproar over the 2002 All-Star Game if Bud had unrolled a giant scroll and announced prior to the 8th inning, “If, at the end of the 9th inning, this game is still tied, this game will be declared a tie, and the winners will be all of you for getting to leave the shithole city of Milwaukee earlier than you expected to”? No. Everyone would have stockpiled ten more beers, returned to their seats, and enjoyed the last couple of innings of baseball. Because Bud told them what THE PLAN was, and at least they knew what was coming. Incidentally, why was anyone in an uproar over the 2002 All-Star Game to begin with? But that’s a question for another day.
Similarly, assuming people understood why the game Monday even started (Honestly, how could you NOT? Have you ever seen a game canceled before the first drop of rain even falls on the field?), I would suspect that most people would have been perfectly fine with Bud saying, prior to the game, “The forecast calls for some rain. We expect that we will be able to complete nine innings of baseball, but if by chance the conditions become unplayable, I assure you that all nine innings (or beyond) of this game will be played at some point. I will not have any game of a World Series decided in fewer than at least eight and a half innings.”
The twelve people watching this Series would have said, “Whether I like his decisions or not, that Bud Selig is a hell of a leader. He always has A PLAN.” Or it’s possible they would have said, “Is that guy dead?” But either way, it would be better than calling him a moron, like everyone was doing on Tuesday.
I’m not going to look at statistics, but I assume the World Series is second only to the Super Bowl in the most popular championship in all of American sports. Even if you had blue skies and 75-degree weather, HOW DOES ONE NOT HAVE A PLAN TO ENSURE THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT IN ONE’S SPORT RUNS SMOOTHLY??? What in the hell is Bud doing with his time?
Once again, instead of calm, collected leadership out of the Office of the Commissioner, we get more images of Bud throwing his hands up in the air, smacking his liver lips together, and apologizing for not having a goddamn clue on how to run a league.
Communicate, Bud. And if you don’t know what the hell to do, ASK SOMEONE.
Right on AND it would have minimized the hyperbole from Jim Buckarver spouting out over and over again how the Rays 2nd run was HUGE because they would have lost the World Series in a rain shortened game without it. Their never-ending conquest to completely exaggerate any hint of controversy is must see television.
I was
sort ofreally hoping for Philly to have the 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth. And then I’d love to see the Rays re-start the suspended game with an 8-run rally, take it back to St. Pete and win the World Series. It would be the perfect cap to Bud Selig’s storied career as commish.As it is, did you know that a bet on Philly was a winner in Vegas?
@Mark Giangreco Roman Wrestler – Not to mention how badly the Baseball Tonight guys were tripping over themselves to say how Bud did the right thing and shouldn’t have been so defensive.
I heard that, TJ, and I didn’t understand it for the life of me.
If Bud did, indeed, get sodomized by a grizzly bear whilst dressed as a grizzly bear vagina, would he then BLEED from his GRIZZLY PINK?
Bud Selig is to baseball what Bush/Cheney is to humanity.
Why don’t I get this rant at all?
@TDubbs – Because you’re an idiot?
@Bad Kermit – I’m not sure that’s it this time.
I do think Bud is an idiot, but I don’t understand the rant either. The game was postponed and will be played out in it’s entirety. What’s the issue?
I agreed with his decision to start and to cancel the game in the post, and I don’t know how I can be any clearer on what my beef with Bud was.
Meh. I just felt this rant was a stretch. Just looking for an alternative reason to bitch about the situation.
@Andrew – Again, I wasn’t bitching about the situation. At all. Once again, I agreed with what he did.
Thesis Statement: “But the more I think about it, the more annoyed I am that Bud is the most powerful man in baseball.”
Proof: Bud is totally incapable of foresight and is a terrible communicator, as was in plain view during the 2002 All-Star Game, and during the events of Monday night.
Conclusion: Bud is a terrible leader, and it sucks that he is the commissioner of my favorite sport.
Bud Selig and leadership go together like St. Louis and good credit ratings.
How’s this for a Friday Night Fukudome: “Would you let Bud Selig supervise one of your shits?”