I’m happy that major league baseball is coming back so some people can get back to work and players can have their season. I hate the new rules, and I won’t rip the sport for piping in crowd noise, there aren’t a lot of great options out there.
What are we going to see? I’m worried about the starters yielding to the bullpen early and we, the viewers, will have to watch a parade of relievers that might not be very good as a whole. Some teams like the Yankees will have solid bullpens but I think there will be a lot of teams with awful bullpens.
The MLB package is $60 for 60 games. So now the question, is this season worth $60? It sounds like it is, but what is the viewer getting for their money? The quality of the product is very much in question until they prove otherwise to me and more than a few others.
In my area I can’t get SNY, as an example, to just watch Mets games, so now will I watch a lot of “these” games to justify the price tag? With so many people out of work, is this price too high, since affording non-luxury items is hard right now? I think it is. MLB should have had the option of watching just “your team” for $40 as an example. They’ve had that option in previous years, but the option is gone.
Let’s face it, this sprint should be exciting, it also could be a disaster for teams that start out of the gate cold and coast the rest of the way. The fact that these statistics will count the same as any other season rubs me the wrong way. Too many things have changed. Too many marginal players will see more playing time then in previous seasons, if someone hits .400, I’ll probably scream.
ESPN’s Mets-Yankees scrimmage game will probably help me decide what direction I will go this year. I do get Phillies games with my cable plan, but I won’t be watching their games just because it’s on. I’m going to need some convincing this year.
What are the odds that MLB created some new technology to make their broadcasts more interesting for younger viewers? I know, I can dream, odds are, it will be the same old, same old.
photo by Sportsology
