Oct 21st, 2008 - Must Zzzzz TV
What's the hottest topic of discussion going into the 2008 version of the World Series?
Not if a team who went from worst to first in one season and with a payroll less than half the left side of the Yankees infield can actually win the whole enchilada. Nor is it about the lovable loser Phillies, who are the losingest sports franchise ever, who could win their second title in their 124-year history.
Nope - it's about if this match-up will produce the lowest-rated World Series ever.
Now that's something worth not tuning in for!
How could something that started out so tremendously end up with such a thud?
It was a playoffs scenario marketers were dreaming of, and banking on. Big market battles between any of the Red Sox, Angels or White Sox vs. the Dodgers or the Cubs were going to set ratings records from people dying for a break from the 24/7 Obama-McCain show.
However, none of those teams cooperated either dropping out early, or holding on for the last minute. It looked good for a while there for at least one "name" squad to make it. Last Thursday was the Red Sox miracle comeback. It was perhaps the most exciting baseball game ever played - and since it didn't end until 12:16am, only those on the west coast, the truly faithful or the unemployed got to enjoy it live. The rest of us had to settle for watching it using DVR the next morning getting ready for work.
About that - after getting over the sac-sports-rilegious aspects of fast forwarding through pitching changes and the talking head-a-thons, isn't watching baseball better recorded anyway?
Regardless, Boston was still in it and they stretched the Rays as far as they could go. According to Nielsen Media Research Sunday night's Game 7 averaged 13.3 million viewers, making it the highest-rated baseball game in cable history and the top-rated telecast on any kind ever on TBS.
Now we have to suffer through a real battle of the biggest losers.
On the field, for those who will actually tune in the series, it should be a good one. There is no clear favorite. Both finished second overall in their respective leagues. Both have Series rookie managers. The Phillies have the better infield, the Rays, the better outfield. The Rays have the better starting rotation; the Phillies have the better bullpen.
That said, that bullpen might have cost the Phillies the title already, not for what they are going to do, but for what happened some months ago.
In irony almost too symmetrical to imagine, Philadelphia's incomparable closer, Brad Lidge, has only one stain on his otherwise perfect record in 2008. Going a perfect 41for 41 as a closer in the regular season he is perhaps most responsible for his team making it as far as they have. His only blemish came at the end of the All-Star game.
He gave up the sacrifice fly to Michael Young in the bottom of the 15th inning ending the longest ever mid-summer classic. As a result, the NL lost home field advantage for the World Series - which is exactly what this series could hinge upon.
The Rays have a huge home field advantage due to their playing in the silliest stadium in sports. Tropicana Field wasn't meant for baseball. In fact, all it's good for is demolition. Unfortunately, never having finished above .500 before, the Rays haven't had the fan base to build a new home, so Tropicana is were they have been forced to remain these past 11 years.
With all its catwalks, (fair balls that hit the lowest two catwalks, the rings that circle the perimeter of the ballpark, are home runs. Fair balls that hit the highest two catwalks are in play. Any fair ball that stays on top of the A and B catwalks is a ground-rule double), the muted lighting, the sloping roof and the terribly bouncy turf, it is easily the worst playing facility in all of the North American major league professional sports.
Simply put, it takes a lot of getting used to, and this year it has been especially good to the home team. At 57-24, they had the best home record in baseball, and by a lot. No matter how many times a team visits, it seems something crazy happens resulting in an additional run or even two for the Rays.
No Phillies team has been inside Tropicana since 2001 and these Phillies haven't played on artificial turf once this entire season.
Brad Lidge said on Tuesday, "Nothing is different just because it's the World Series. Don't change a thing. Just play our game."
Wait until he sees Tropicana.
Rays in six.
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
Bet MLB World Series action at betED.com now!
What's the hottest topic of discussion going into the 2008 version of the World Series?
Not if a team who went from worst to first in one season and with a payroll less than half the left side of the Yankees infield can actually win the whole enchilada. Nor is it about the lovable loser Phillies, who are the losingest sports franchise ever, who could win their second title in their 124-year history.
Nope - it's about if this match-up will produce the lowest-rated World Series ever.
Now that's something worth not tuning in for!
How could something that started out so tremendously end up with such a thud?
It was a playoffs scenario marketers were dreaming of, and banking on. Big market battles between any of the Red Sox, Angels or White Sox vs. the Dodgers or the Cubs were going to set ratings records from people dying for a break from the 24/7 Obama-McCain show.
However, none of those teams cooperated either dropping out early, or holding on for the last minute. It looked good for a while there for at least one "name" squad to make it. Last Thursday was the Red Sox miracle comeback. It was perhaps the most exciting baseball game ever played - and since it didn't end until 12:16am, only those on the west coast, the truly faithful or the unemployed got to enjoy it live. The rest of us had to settle for watching it using DVR the next morning getting ready for work.
About that - after getting over the sac-sports-rilegious aspects of fast forwarding through pitching changes and the talking head-a-thons, isn't watching baseball better recorded anyway?
Regardless, Boston was still in it and they stretched the Rays as far as they could go. According to Nielsen Media Research Sunday night's Game 7 averaged 13.3 million viewers, making it the highest-rated baseball game in cable history and the top-rated telecast on any kind ever on TBS.
Now we have to suffer through a real battle of the biggest losers.
On the field, for those who will actually tune in the series, it should be a good one. There is no clear favorite. Both finished second overall in their respective leagues. Both have Series rookie managers. The Phillies have the better infield, the Rays, the better outfield. The Rays have the better starting rotation; the Phillies have the better bullpen.
That said, that bullpen might have cost the Phillies the title already, not for what they are going to do, but for what happened some months ago.
In irony almost too symmetrical to imagine, Philadelphia's incomparable closer, Brad Lidge, has only one stain on his otherwise perfect record in 2008. Going a perfect 41for 41 as a closer in the regular season he is perhaps most responsible for his team making it as far as they have. His only blemish came at the end of the All-Star game.
He gave up the sacrifice fly to Michael Young in the bottom of the 15th inning ending the longest ever mid-summer classic. As a result, the NL lost home field advantage for the World Series - which is exactly what this series could hinge upon.
The Rays have a huge home field advantage due to their playing in the silliest stadium in sports. Tropicana Field wasn't meant for baseball. In fact, all it's good for is demolition. Unfortunately, never having finished above .500 before, the Rays haven't had the fan base to build a new home, so Tropicana is were they have been forced to remain these past 11 years.
With all its catwalks, (fair balls that hit the lowest two catwalks, the rings that circle the perimeter of the ballpark, are home runs. Fair balls that hit the highest two catwalks are in play. Any fair ball that stays on top of the A and B catwalks is a ground-rule double), the muted lighting, the sloping roof and the terribly bouncy turf, it is easily the worst playing facility in all of the North American major league professional sports.
Simply put, it takes a lot of getting used to, and this year it has been especially good to the home team. At 57-24, they had the best home record in baseball, and by a lot. No matter how many times a team visits, it seems something crazy happens resulting in an additional run or even two for the Rays.
No Phillies team has been inside Tropicana since 2001 and these Phillies haven't played on artificial turf once this entire season.
Brad Lidge said on Tuesday, "Nothing is different just because it's the World Series. Don't change a thing. Just play our game."
Wait until he sees Tropicana.
Rays in six.
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
Bet MLB World Series action at betED.com now!
