WIL WHEATON dot NET: 1.5

Selig == Bush?

I mean, they both so famously piss you off and all that.

My thoughts exactly. I could understand calling it in the bottom of the 43rd, but the 11th? Didn't Bud "Boom boom boom; three in the head, baseball's dead" Selig get booed in his own hometown at the HR Derby last night?

Mr. Selig, sir, hit the showers.

Don't make me angry, Mr. McGee. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

I was a huge fan. I've even coached little league, and high school ball. I haven't watched a game though since the last strike. MLBB really has had a lot of shame for quite a while. Little League Baseball is the best anyway. The game is just a game. Kids can be kids. A homer is really a grand thing in Little League, not just an everyday event. That really great play is something special.

Ditto, Artone. *Was* is the operative word.

Politics always seem to take over the things we love.

Damn Americans.

Wrong order (minor nit)...

It's not:
"Don't make me angry, Mr. McGee. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

it should read:
"Mr. McGee. Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

I long for the days of Dave Winfield, or Reggie Jackson, or even Doc Gooden... baseball has really fallen a long way these days.

Hi Wil,
i don't know a thing about baseball, but i always wanted to go to a game and sing "Take me out to the ballgame" and start a wave in the crowd.

Hey Wil,

Regarding your last entry on WWDN; I thought you might find this link amusing. A good friend of mine sent it to me and I'm passing it along to you.

http://www.mlbfanstrike.com

Take it easy,

Your Chicago Doppelganger
(I've really got to post my new avatar. We're eerily alike.)

I suppose college baseball doesn't quite do it for you, huh?

(Which is totally irrelevant, except that it's yet another chance for me to give hella mad props to the Texas Longhorns on their College World Series victory. Hook 'em!)

I don't know anything about baseball, so this question should be valid enough: What the hell happened and why was it bad (in layman-non-baseball-english please)?

How is this for a sorta stupid idea: The All Star game should count. Whichever league wins the All Star Game earns home field advantage for its respective team in the world series. Regardless of final standings at the end of the year. Players would be playing for themselves and a whole lot more. This way the game could never be called and players couldn't be said to be taking it easy.

Hey,

I lurk like mad, and this my first time posting.

Synix, as to your question, this is what happened: It was a very entertaining game, which eventually led to extra innings because it was tied.

All the pitchers on both teams had been exhausted since they only play two innings in an All Star Game... since they don't want to get hurt or tired, so as not to ruin regular season games, which "count".

So with no pitchers to pitch, it was decided the game would end at the end of the 11th. No one scored, so the game remained tied, and was called as such. With no winner, or MVP.

This really shows how little importance MLB puts on the All Star Game. People pay good money to see this, and they don't even care enough to play a pitcher for more than two freaking innings, because they have to be ready for "important" games. Very uncool, and if MLB continues such an apathetic attitude, I believe fans should stop watching and attending.

Nice to meet you all,

Ilana

I'm not a baseball fan and still anxiously awaiting to hear more personal news from you, such as, what you did on your Alaskan cruise trip, if you and Anne feel better...

Wil, I'm apologizing in advance for mentioning Trek on your site. Sorry.

Anybody else remember how the end of baseball was predicted on DS9? Nobody cared anymore and it was gone by 2051 or so?

Perhaps this kind of crap is the first sign...

Sorry.

Ralph Nader can't come to the phone right now as he is on hunger strike in Pitkin, Colorado over a disputed red rover call at Park Lane Elementary.

Your call IS important to Mr. Nader, so please try your fool's errand at a later date or leave a profanity-filled tirade after the beep.

*beeeep*

Well I didn't watch the All-Star game due to personal objections with what's going on with baseball (as Mr. Wheaton is a Dodger fan, I'm a die-in-the-wool AZ Diamondbacks fan), but I was seriously disgusted with Bud's calling of the game. Bad move Bud, very bad move!!!

I also hope that there is no baseball strike, but after everything that I've seen gone on, and after everything that I've heard, I'm holding out little hope, and I fear what this will do to my favorite sport...

Perhaps this quote is the most eloquent description of how the players feel toward the game:
"If I was a fan, too, I would be disappointed."
--Arizona catcher Damian Miller commenting on Selig's decision to call the game.

To John the Nebraskan:

First, I was sorry to see the 'Huskers leave the CWS so early. They deserved better.

Second, the third-season TNG episode "Evolution" also mentions the demise of baseball, in a Wes-and-guest-dweeb scene about halfway through. (Guess who just bought the third season DVD set...)

Hi Wil,

I'll try to do this in proper english. You see: I'm Dutch. So bare with me. Anyway: when it comes to baseball, you can always count on my full attention. I understand what you are saying, but you really shouldn't be so mad. In holland baseball (amzing but true) is totally unpopular. So I didn't even get to see the game!!! Boohoo!! If we see any Major League games at all, we have to get up at 5 in the morning for a 3 second recap! OK, I know some things sometimes suck, but appreciate (I have no idea how to spell this) what you have. If you ever come to holland (to Rotterdam specificly) please come and watch a sunday game at Neptunus. It may not be MLB but it's good fun and the player show up!

Enjoy, wil

Love your website

Abe

OMG! I couldn't agree with you more! I stayed up late for that?!?

Damn you, Mr. Wheaton... Just when I decide to go to bed and sulk over this whole fiasco, I have to come back here and read the ramblings of a man as angry as I.

I am a Minnesotan, born and bred. I've been going to Minnesota Twins' games since long before I can remember, and I can't remember a time when I haven't loved the game or the noble team that proudly represents the glory of a united heritage between two communities that otherwise share very few true commonalities to one another. St. Paul – the smaller, more contemplative older sibling tends to sit quietly in the background as the cautious matriarch watching carefully over it’s younger, louder, hipper and more rebellious brother – Minneapolis. Even here, people have a definitive preference over which of these cities holds their heart. Baseball closed those gaps, if only for a few hours at a time. We were all Twins, and we all shared a common bond. A love. A pride.

I don’t remember the glory days of Harmon “The Killer” Killebrew. His 22 years in Major League Baseball… His 13 All-Star games… His 573 home runs… But I DO remember his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1984 (I was 10.) And then there was the street named after him leading to the parking lot that was once known as Metropolitan Stadium. Although I can’t remember the specific moments anymore, I DO remember what our family and our community shared on these otherwise random days. In these moments we were all Minnesota Twins. We shared a bond. We shared a love. And we shared a pride.

And then there were the glory days of the late 1980s and early 1990s. That first ever World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games. Hell, I still have my Homer Hanky, my Twins pennant clock, and the Wheaties Boxes. Oh, the Wheaties boxes… I remember the radio stations (all of them) interrupting any song or news story to play Queen’s “We Are the Champions” over and over and over. I remember the party in the streets long into the night. I remember leaving my 7th grade class to go to the downtown parade with a few friends and the one unlucky parent that drew the short straw and had to drive us. And these moments were GLORIOUS!!! They were Gods among men - Kent Hrbek, Tom Brunanski, Kirby Puckett, Frank Viola, Dan Gladden, Bert Blyleven, Zeus himself – coach Tom Kelly. Minnesota shared a bond, a love, and a pride in ourselves and in our new heroes unlike any we had shared before.

In ’91, we did it again. And again we shared those feelings and emotions that had united us so many times before. Since then we’ve had our ups and our downs, like any team. Team owner Carl Pohlad is nothing more than a flesh and blood Mr. Burns… The rich, evil miser that doesn’t give a damn about anything other than his pocketbook. And then there’s the stadium debate… Oh, God – the stadium debate… Another time, another place… But not here…

And then it came, just if it were prophesized by Nostradamus or forshadowed in Revelations. The second coming of the anti-Christ destroying all in his path… With one fail swoop of his mighty talon, teams could die… They call it CONTRACTION, but we know it for what it is… MURDER… The murder of the soul, the heart… Worse, the demon set out to kill all that had been built by this love we shares – our bonds… our love… and our pride…

Tonite this devil (referred to in the vernacular – Bud Selig) raised those disfigured claws once more… “There will be no winner… There will be no hero… There will be no glory!!!” In a game designed to bring people together, he chooses to tear people apart… In a sport designed to showcase talent and success, he chooses to emphasize mediocrity… He tries to destroy… There is no good in him… He’s more machine then man now…

And what of the outcome? Strike? Probably… Contraction? Sure, but he’ll be prying the Twins out of my cold, dead hands if he chooses to take them from us… The courts have stopped his minions onceand we can do it again… It would seem as if Mr. Selig is out to destroy baseball as we know it and love it, and soon the jokes we make about the sport dying in the early 21st century might truly come to pass… But Mr. Selig, Mr. Pohlad, and all the other horsemen must realize one thing… This is America’s Pasttime… And as we’ve proven all too many times, we are stronger when we stand together and fight… Baseball is the bond… Baseball is the love… And most importantly, baseball is the pride that we are stronger than the sum of our parts and can do whatever we must to survive… And not Bud Freakin’ Selig or anyone can ever take that away from us…

Anyway, this is your forum, not mine… I’ll go back to my little hut and get some sleep… Thanks for the time, Wil…

NOW BRING ON THE DANCING GIRLS!!!

Dodgers Rule! World Series! Shawn Green MVP!!!!!

Hey, Wil and others -

If the all star game DID mean anything, the players would not be rotated out of the game so everyone has a chance to play. That is a little league rule, not for serious MLB compition. Curt Schilling getting pulled in the second inning? Please - the only time that would happen in a real game is if his arm fell off. The all star game is nothing more than a gift to the fans. It's a fun night of baseball where Barry Bonds is allowed to mock-tackle Torrii Hunter after the later robs him of a home run. It's a night where the coaches and players are allowed to wear ear pieces and be interviewed durning the game. You don't see pitchers brushing back batters like they would if it were heated competition. THIS IS NOT SERIOUS BASEBALL! If it was then there would have been enough players left by the bottom of the 11th for the game to go on and a winner crowned. Look at the scorecard on MLB.com - there are 60 players on it for Christ's sake. The only thing I'm pissed about is the no-mvp thing. Hey, they had co-mvp's in the world series, didn't they?
If anyone sees this game as being any indicator that there is anything wrong with baseball, they are silly. This has nothing to do with a strike or steriod use or salary caps or any of this crap. This was Bud, Bob and Joe realizing that there were nobody left to play and Bud Sellig making what he KNEW would be a very unpopular decision. It sucks, of course, but c'mon - this is NOT a real baseball game, it's an exhibition.

Kayt

Dude I hate baseball. Those kids get paid way to flippin much to pay a sport. Now soccer, that's a sport. Baseball's just soup compared to it.

Now, I love the A's with a passion bordering on ill-educated lust.

I'm not one of them big ole baseball fanatics who knows every little thing. I know enough to get by, and even enough to heckle creatively.

But a tie? In the ALL-STAR game? What. The. Fuck.

This excuse for a donkey's asshole Selig should realize his mistake, and submit to being covered in thousands of tiny spiders.

Like the one crawling across my desk right now.

I mean, fer chrissakes, a TIE?

That's like getting to the point of orgasm - you see it in your sights, it's riiiight there - and someone interrupts to say that Mary Tyler Moore is getting a colonoscopy RIGHT NOW.

And it was going to be a damn good orgasm, too. Spudnuts-worthy.

Wil, you're lucky not to stuck in a city with a sorry excuse for a baseball team. The folks here in Tampa really wouldn't being losing anything if there was a strike.

Hey, why not try cricket instead? There's only ever been *one* tied Test Match - though there have been plenty of draws...

Baseball is dead...no wait I meant Disco. Nevermind. I shall always have my memories of being at Wrigley field and singing along with Harry Carey to "Take Me Out to The Ball Game"
My heart for baseball died in the last strike with the exception of my love for the Cubs.

Hey Wil, why don't you send a copy of this post to... umm, whoever's in charge of that stuff? I make it a point to send a letter of complaint whenever I am really, truly pissed off. Sometimes I'm ignored, but sometimes something will happen as a result. I'm not a baseball fan, but it sounds like a lot of players and owners and (whoever else) have forgotten that without fans buying tickets and merchandise, they'd have no jobs. So remind them.

Wil,

I can't agree with you more. I feel your disgust for Bud Selig. Let me tell you, as a resident of the state of Wisconsin, we hate him just as much, if not more, than you.

I, unlike you, have not beena fan of MLB for many years. Sure, I love the game, and I go to several minor league games a year, but MLB? Forget it.

I know many many people who have said the same thing as you. If the players strike, MLB is done. Stick a fork in it. The little pop-up thing is out. They're through.

Both sides of this manure-slinging contest are dirty, have no moral ground to stand on, and are just money-grubbing babies.

Ignore them, and maybe they'll take their ball and go home.

Kahuna

Hey folks, calm down. I am a longtime baseball fan myself, but come on, they ran out of freaking players. You can blame that on poor management (Barry Zito throwing 3 pitches??), but the bottom line is that they used up all of their players. Can someone tell me what they would have done had they been the manager in the 11th inning of last night's game? Huh? Maybe gotten some people out of the stands and used them instead? Stop crying. There is no crying in baseball.

I think baseball is boring, but listening to Harry Carry....THAT was entertainment.

to clarify. Bud Selig is from McCook Nebraska. and i too am a baseball fan. my whole life. i agree it sucks that they called what has always been my favorite game to watch, however, if one of these all-stars, one who could become the next babe ruth, or hank aaron, were to get hurt and end their career in an off-week, simply for fun, display of baseball prowess... that my friends would be the tragedy of the night.

good to hear you're a baseball fan wil. it's really good to know there are those of us who'll fight for the game left.

"PUT ME IN COACH"...Wil have you ever thought
about YET another career as a 'player"?

I mean look how dedicated you are..you just
happened to marry a lovely woman with two son's
named Nolan and Ryan...

IT'S A OMEN!!! Go Wil..reform baseball !

Im not surprised. Baseball lost most of its flair after the strike in 1994(5?). Football has long since surpassed Baseball as Americas pasttime.

On another note, I thought that the tribute to Ted Willams was pathetic at best. Gee, you spent $5 for a little more chalk in the outfield. Whoo hoo! Here's a guy who defined baseball, and you give him painted grass.

Calling a baseball game for going into the 11th inning? What is this world coming to?

I dont care if they ran out of pitchers. Each pitcher only pitched a couple of innings max, bring them back in or have some of the other position players have a stab at pitching.

That would have made it exciting.

It was a very sad night, I was pissed as hell and I am completely sick of Selig. Being from Minnesota, that guy really gets under my skin. Him and Pohlad

Wil,
I'm with you man. There's no tying, there's no tying in Baseball. What a rip off. Yea, rename the MVP trophy for Ted Williams and then not give it away? What, do they put the trophy on ice and save it for next year? Baseball is screwing itself royally and us too. It's over!!

Alright. I am heartily in agreement with most of hte above posters. I am a baseballnut and I calculate out the weird stats. I was even doing WHIP before it was cool. Hoever I have to admit that I can undestand not exhausting the pitchers. Now, don't they have something similiar to this in many other sports to keep it from becoming boring? Something called a shoot out? They should pick 5 players from each team and *hold your breath* have them hit homeruns. I mean (insert sarcastic tone) I realize that fans hate seeing people hit homeruns, there were only about 50,000 fans that paid to watch 8 men hit little white balls on monday. How hard would it be to setup the pitching cage and throw out 5 pitches to each side??? I am sure Bud Selig though of everything during that 10 minute delay before the bottom of the 11th, that is what he gets paid to do. Fricken bunch of Idiots.

This goes down as a little foreshadowing: The All-Star games gets cut short just like the season will be. No one will be a winner, especially not the fans.

- Law (Die-very-hard Blue Jays Fan)

I'm not a huge baseball fan because I've always felt like most of the players were greedy. They cared more about money than their fans (at least in the last 10 years or so). In fact, I'd rather go to a minor league game. The stadiums aren't as crowded, the tickets are cheaper, the team is REALLY local and it's all about the game. Those guys are just trying to improve their game so they can make it to the big league ... there's the spirit of baseball.

I'm more of a football fan ... individuals matter, but they can't do much without a good team. In baseball, too much hinges on one player.

I was at the game. I was amazed that Bud would do this to us.....He is the reason Milwaukee has baseball. As a season Ticket holder for the Brewers, I was able to get my Ticket for face--$175 bucks. Scalpers were getting over $1000 per ticket prior to the start. The fans that were still there at 11:30 pm were true fans--many corporate suites had already bailed. To do this to us was the final blow that may just kill America's pastime.

See, now you know why I stopped watching after the first strike. I was a huge fan in the 80's, with Gary Carter, Dale Murphy, and Ozzie Smith being some of my heroes. Those were men on and off the field. Now who do you have to look up to? Barry Bonds? It's a sad state of affairs when millionares are fighting with billionares about money. Just play the damn game already.

Is Bud Seling deliberately trying to ruin the game of baseball? I mean what is it with this guy? Call the All-Star game in the 11th inning and not give out an MVP? What's the excuse? "We ran out of pitchers."
I call bullshit on this one. I saw Barry Zito pitch to ONE batter in the 7th inning. You want to avoid this problem, make all the pitchers pitch at least two innings. If all of them don't get to play, then too bad, at least you were chosen as an All-Star.
Boy, Ted Williams would be proud.
Mark it down, if there is a lockout or a strike, the only games I will go to or watch again will be my son's little league games.
Bud Selig, what a dick.

Amen, brother!

Sounds like they did the only sensible thing that they could given the situation. Perhaps Bud Selig is a jerk and they should change the rules for the all-star game, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. No team would want to risk injuring a pitcher that they pay millions for just for an exhibition game. The sudden death home run thing sounds like a good idea. But then again, what do I know? The only baseball I watch each year is the Little League World Series and even that was tainted by controversy (Danny Almonte) last year.

The All Star game mattered to Pete Rose

Being a baseball fan in Canada, I hope contraction does not go through. However, Bud Selig is a total jackass and doesn't seem to give a shit about the Expos. Even in their, most likely, last season, he still manages to screw them by not allowing them to increase payroll. Good God man, let them live a little! 1994 screwed us. Let them try to have this.

I gave up on baseball when the strike happened. Bunch of money-grubbing, selfish weenies if you ask me.
Ummm, wait....you didn't ask, did you?
Give 'em hell Wil!

I was threw after the last strike. I was a major Dodger fan and now I Watch a game occasionally if nothing else is on. Fighting over money when they already make enormous amounts of it is rediculous. Let them dope up and strike all they want but ignore them the way I have. It is the best revenge for ruining one of my favorite games as a child. Join me in the BAN GREEDY BASTARDS campaign.

I totally agree. I stayed up last night to see a victory, not that. Poor Bud, sitting there in the front row, fearing for his life when the crowd began to boo. Serves him right.

I agree with you whole-heartedly. I bleed Mets blue, my mom bled Brooklyn Dodgers blue till they broke her heart. Between the fiasco that is the Mets this season and last night's "tie," it's getting mighty tough to be enthusiastic. I've kept my season tickets, but the in-game banter with the neighbors has progresssed from optimism to sarcasm to the voice of doom.

If you want to see an amusing Top Ten list of other ways to end the All Star game, check out www.thecloser.com.

Hey Wil,
The only thing I can say about baseball is I played it in little League for 3 years.... But being the loyal fan I am to you, if it makes you angry, I'll be angry too!
See? I'm angry, I'm ranting, I'm raving!
I'm sorry, Wil, I dunno what else to do!
But I do know what you mean by something you like not being there...
Like one by one, my favourite shows got cancelled!
Best I could cheer you up...
Only 14 here, remember?
But hey, I can sure take yelling! Anyone wanna blow off steam? Do it right to my face!LOL!
Lily

Look at it this way: What if they'd kept it going? What if it went for another couple of innings? And what if, worst case scenario, one of the pitchers threw out his arm after going much longer than he had expected to go in a game that's just for fun?

There's already players who turn down All-Star nominations because they're worried about injuries or being too tired to play after the break. Can you imagine what it would do to next year's game if something like that actually happened?

You got eleven innings of a really great game. Yes, the MVP deal is a travesty, but ending the game was the only safe decision available.

I hear ya, Wil. This whole thing stinks. It's such a slap in the face to the greatest hitter who ever lived, Ted Williams. They name the AllStar MVP award after him, and then don't even give it to him! I just wanna pull a Latrell Spreewell on Bud Selig.

"A pitcher could get hurt...." you mean like during any other game during the year???????

The All-Star game might not be important to the players, managers, or owners, but it is important to the fans...the fans who come out to the ballpark for the game, the fans who by the tickets, the beer, the popcorn, and the taxes (whenever the teams feel like they want a new stadium, or threaten to move everytime they want something for free).

Its an opportunity to see the best players in baseball go head-to-head, one time out of the year. There are no hard & fast rules for the all star game, only conventions (more like traditions) that most certainly could be changed, just to give the fans the thrill of having a winner (instead of two big losers - the fans, and MLB).

And not awarding an MVP? WTF, especially after renaming it this year and all. Its a real travesty. Baseball is on the way out, I'm afraid. The owners don't care, the players don't care, and the fans are started not to care. If there's a strike or lock-out this year, I don't expect the game to recover.

It'll be a shame to not see the Red Sox win a World's Series, but at least I wouldn't have to go through the agonizing process each year with the big letdown.

I'm with you Wil, I have been a Yankees fan my entire life. I live in Texas so I also follow the Rangers and Astros, however I have always loved the Yankees. What happened last night is a tragedy. In a time when America is looking at baseball for a relief from everyday fears these people are turning their backs on us. I was crushed in 94,I was only 17 and realized then that politics are everywhere.
What sucks the most about last night is the fact that they just named the All-star MVP after Ted Williams and didn't even hand it out to anyone. I also love the NBA and NFL and if baseball does strike I will never again watch another baseball game played by the Major League. I think Bud Selig sucks.
Josh Sol

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the news of the All Star Game. I had a softball double header last night, but game 2 was cancelled due to a thunderstorm. That only meant eveeryone could get home in time for the first pitch of the game. I had no idea it would be worse than watching a softball game in my league (some teams are really, really bad)! I didn't know a game was allowed to end in a tie! That isn't right.... I say, DO-OVER!

Yeah I was wondering if Bud Selig posted on here and goes by the name of Roach.

It is a shame that the All Star Game ended the way it did last night because it will probably be the last one before the end of baseball as we know it. You can almost bet that there is going to be a strike later this summer and that is going to change everything. MORE people NOT showing at the parks and a contraction of MORE than the 2 teams that Selig was looking for.

While a tied game might be frustrating....I agree with the managers in their desire not to overextend players and send them back to their teams less than 100%. By its nature, the All-Star game is an exhibition game. Pre-season exhibition games end in ties often. Every player played. There have been years where this was not the case, and fans of that player had reason to be upset.

The purpose of the all-star game for me is to see the league's best players play each other. Which team is the victor is really irrelevant.

I am more upset with Fox for deciding that while the pre-game tributes to Hall-of-Fame announcer Jack Buck and 33 year-old-pitcher Darryl Kile...both died in the last month...for deciding this was a good time to air commercials.

I've been a Cardinals fan since I first learned about baseball...and grew up listening to Jack Buck announce the games. 33 myself, the concept that a healthy 33 year old can die of natural causes stunned me, along with many others. And Kile was great both on and off the field.

That Fox would have the insensitivity to air commercials over those tributes just shocks me.

I, too, was very disappointed with the way the game ended last night. I mean, a tie in baseball? That's ridiculous! It's gotta be downright un-American! No MVP? They could have at least named an MVP from both the AL and the NL. As a fan, I feel that this bodes very ill for the rest of the season. I think it's an omen of bad things to come. I thought it was especially cruel considering all the sappy sentimental stuff in the pre-game. It was like being made to love someone only to be told "it's not you, it's me"...

Hmm first of all Mr. Selig tries to contract my team, the Twins, now look, they have a 7.5 game lead in tha AL Central. Just today I saw a story in my newspaper that he is still threatening the Twins with contraction if they don't get a new stadium. Now he call's the allstar game? Give me a break. For all I care he could have gone out there and pitched, then maybe someone would hit a line drive and knock some sense into him.

I am like that, but not about baseball. I am like that with Duke men's basketball.

Now, I don't want to go off on a rant here, but...

Is it just me or is Bug Selid ;) making the game suck more than monica lewinsky at a bill clinton clone convention? I mean, here we are, good little drones boosting the clusterf**ked economy by paying more money for hot dogs and beer than for most movies in theaters, and he calls the game with less grace than janet reno belly dancing for al-qaeda. Sure, giving Ted Williams some honor was good, but I think the Splendid Splinter would like to see Bud's splinter cut off and fed to various sea creatures after seeing what happened to the All Star Game, if you know what I mean.

The All Star Game is just that. A time for the best of the best bat swingers, runners and pitchers to go out there, whomp much ass and take a few names along the way. I'll take Bratney Spears singing Take Me out To The Ball Game in some obscure indian language any day rather than see one of the major games of the season get swept under the rug more than Area 51's real purpose. We paid not with little slips of paper and metal circles to get in the stands... we worked too damn long like drunken ants to get paid in the first place.

So what's next. I think some of the previous posters on the forum were right... baseball is dead, if not dying a painful messy death that makes boiling to death in your own skin seem like a calm refreshment. You just know that by 2100 or so we'll probably have Thunderdome-like battlefields where people legally sign their lives away to kill others since violence and sex still make more money than say, learning about Mars and eventual habitation there so we can save our species.

I'm running out of lame jokes here, so I'll simply say this: Bud Selig should be taken out of the gene pool. Permanently. And George Steinbrenner, come to think of it.

Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Spudnuts said: Sorry.

Ralph Nader can't come to the phone right now as he is on hunger strike in Pitkin, Colorado over a disputed red rover call at Park Lane Elementary.

Your call IS important to Mr. Nader, so please try your fool's errand at a later date or leave a profanity-filled tirade after the beep.

*beeeep*

This has got to be one of the funniest things I have read regarding this whole sorry-assed situation! Way to go Spuds!

I don't follow baseball at all. I am a Dodgers fan in that if they make the World Series I will watch. A bandwagoner through and through. I can't name ONE player on the Dodgers roster and I am proud as hell. I vaguely recall that Piazza is no longer a Dodger, but that's as much as I know.

I will go see a baseball game LIVE just for the nostalgia factor (and to get some sun and drink a beer), but I find the game deadly dull (although I played and enjoyed the sport many years as a little leaguer and was a damn fine -- all-star even -- catcher and second baseman). On par with soccer (1-0!) or golf.

But this "ran out of players" thing really reinforces a lot of criticisms made against pro sports. How the FUCK can you "run out of players?" They're still there, right? What, the fat fucking multi-millionaire pitchers are such finely tuned athletic machines that they are spent after throwing to TWO batters and are done for the night? I bet you bring in some minor league scab from Nowheresville and see if he's "done" after two batters. He'll pitch for the whole night and you'll have to drag him off the field.

I'm a big NBA fan, but even though I was once an NFL fan and MLB fan, I find my enthusiasm for pro sports waning every day. And baseball is the WORST. At least NBA players are generally in some seriously fucking good shape. Baseball players have been phoning it in for decades. The overwhelming majority are coasting on steroids.

Fuck 'em.

Baseball hasn't been the American pasttime for thirty fucking years. Maybe Major League Baseball and Michael Jackson can go halfsies on Johnny Cockring and sue... um... America... for... uh... having a life.

P. S. This post has been grouped into a very un-Spudnuts-like paragraph structure to meet the stringent writing guidelines handed out by my fifth grade English teacher Mrs. Connelly who USED TO RAP MY KNUCKLES with a ruler. But you know what, Mrs. Connelly? You're dead and I'M STILL ALIVE.

So who is laughing last?

Bitch.

I hear this from hardcore baseball fans everytime there's a strike, or the threat of one. But it's the very same hardcore baseball fans who are keeping this running gag running. If there is a strike this year, everyone will say "i'm sick of this bullshit, never again." But as soon as the next season starts, as soon as that sound of a bat cracking hits your ears, you'll be back, with stats running around your brain. Bud Selig knows this.

I guess I dont get it.

Wil, you mentioned that the All star game was the classic sandlot game, where the best of the best could go out and just play... Show us what they've got. So.. my question is.. Who cares if anyone wins? Do you really sit there and root for the National over the American league, or vice versa? You got to see the best of the best last night, and they put on a great show for 11, not 9, but 11 innings. I think we got more than we paid for.

Now.. I dont think they handled it all that well. Deciding to call the game in the middle of an inning is a little strange, but how else are you going to do it? And yes, the players on the field had their respective teams to worry about. In the larger sense of the major league season, this game absolutely doesn't mean a thing, unless... someone gets hurt. Then you're compromising the fortunes of another ball club, and clearly that was in the minds of Joe Torre and Bob Brenley.

A co-MVP would have been nice to see. Especially since the award had just been named after the late Ted Williams.

Say what you will about Selig, the owners, the players and the whole mess that could come to pass for MLB this season. But, I think they made the right call last night.

Come on guys. If any one of those players had gotten hurt everyone would be calling "foul" There is NO pleasing everyone. It was a all star game, it doesn't count, its done for the fans. Those who attended the game in person and are disappointed; well you paid a crap load of $$ to see a 9 inning game, well you got that plus a few more innings. I know if my Freddy Garcia got hurt I would have to take some one out. If he gets hurt in a real game, I would still have to take some one out. No MVP does NOT make sense, but calling the game does. Get over it. We are lucky enough to at least have the game of baseball.

I'm not a baseball fan but I understand how angry it can be. I mean I can't imagine watching the all star baseketball game and having the umpire just end the game like that. I think the fans anger should be heard this time.

Hey, GODDAMMIT!

Get this fucking straight.

There are no ties in America.

Ever.

EVER EVER EVER!

In anything!

How fucking obvious is this?!

Jesus CHRIST!

I completely agree With ya Wil. Execpt for the DH. The DH is fantastic.

Go Dodgers!

You all are stupid sheep to believe that the game deserved a second chance after 1994.

Now you see the true colors of that industry again, and you still make statements like, "If they strike this year, I'm going to hold my breath until they grow a third leg."

Well, dream on. Baseball is dead. LONG LIVE HOCKEY!!

www.mlbfanstrike.com

The fans will walk on July 11. Bud, its time you see how much you need the fans and not how badly the fans need you.....

Even though I am still a die hard Blue Jays fan, baseball lost its strong appeal for me after the first strike. I'll watch the occasional game but not as much as I use to. Of course, living in VA makes it hard to catch a Blue Jay game anyway. =P If they go on strike again, I will be too angry for words. They lose alot of fans this way. Anyway, lets hope not.

Side note: The firework incident in your previous entry, happened to our family this year. What a thing to happen but we are laughing hysterically about it now, its all you can do. =)

My thoughts exactly! As a die hard baseball fan myself (Toronto Blue Jays are my team. *ducks to avoid being hit in the head with a base ball* Hey come on, it's a buliding year. :) ) I echo your sentiments. It's time the boys of summer stopped thinking about the almighty buck and started thinking about the fans. Who by the way, provide them with the almighty buck.

Tamara

Why are you so obsessed with their being a winner and a loser?

Well said, Wil. Spot on.

I know you're a big baseball fan and everything Wil, I mean come on aren't we all, but you do realise that you''ve jsut written nearly a full screen worth of banter about the game. Not that I'm dissing it or anything, but maybe it's not as good as you thought.

I'm from Seattle. I wanted to see Freddy Garcia get the hell out of that game and save his strength for the second half. But, it's easy for me to say ... I attended an ENTIRE All-Star Game here last year.

Bud Selig is in desperate need of a personal PR person by his side at all times.

Like I tell my kids, "It's not what you say, it's the way you say it." It's not the fact that they ended the game in a tie; it's the fact that they screwed around and announced it in the middle of the 11th inning, instead of at the end of the 9th saying: "We only have enough players to play to more innings...let's fight it out until the 11th."

I still can't imagine telling Pete Rose to end in a tie (as I see him crashing into Ray Fosse in the bottom of the 12th of the 1970 All-Star Game)...or telling Ted Williams to end in a tie (as I fume about them naming the MVP in his honor, then not even awarding the damn thing).

I could see Tony Gwynn (who scored the winning run in the bottom of the 12th in 1994) squirming in his ESPN commentator's chair...he hated it, too. In fact, I'll bet if they asked the players, they would have wanted to continue. This is all on two clueless managers and one bonhead commissioner's hands.

Wil,
Thanks for saying it all. The only thing I differ from is that I will always be a baseball fan. I know its rediculous, but if they strike, I will always watch. I just hope they don't ruin the game. Thanks again.

You must read this post by Todd at excess bloggage.

http://www.excessbloggage.com/archives/week_2002_07_07.html#001677

I love Baseball.
I love to watch Baseball.
I love to play Baseball.
It is, afterall, our national past time.
The season when the "Game" of Baseball is played is over. It ended on June 22nd in Omaha. The "Business" that is called baseball runs until September. The business where corrupt Unions battle each other for the lion's share of our ticket money. The business where the "role models" for our children fight for the right not to be tested for drug use. What happened last night only strengthens the fact that Professional Baseball is more of a business now than a game. Mr. Selig you are an inept moron who is ruining the game of baseball. Step down immediately so that we can somehow salvage the game that so many of us love. Players, you get paid to play a game. Stop demanding to be paid millions of dollars to do so. It is your high salaries that make it so that a day at the ballpark for a family of four now costs nearly $200. I think that you can live very comfortably on $150,000 a year. The problem is that most of the players and owners are not very bright. Think about it. A lot of the owners are former players. Most of the players are drafted out of High School and those that did go to college have degrees in communication or broadcasting. So we essentially have a multi-billion dollar a year industry being run by people with little or no business sense. This is causing a domino effect that is killing the game of baseball. Players demand more money, which causes owners to jack up ticket prices, which causes less fans to go to the games, which makes it so that the poorer teams can't afford good talent, which causes them to cut teams. Eventually we'll be stuck watching the Yankees play the Braves 162 times a year. Won't that be an exiting time for Baseball.

Hey Wil! First time caller, long time listener (although my wife, Laura, occasionally posts)... We live in Milwaukee (Please, come to GenCon!) and we despise Bud Selig. The man's cancelled a World Series, now he's killed an All-Star Game. He may have left his princess daughter in charge of his sad little ballclub, but he's still an owner ruling over the game. The conflict of interest is obvious, and it's killing the game.

Getting back to last night, since the game doesn't count, why not be flexible and let players back into the game? You can't tell me Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa, guys who always play their hearts out, wouldn't have gone back in if asked. People paid $175 and $125 to attend. Those folks, and the rest of us who can't afford this rich man's game, deserved a complete contest. They just named the game's MVP in honor of the recently deceased Ted Williams, and now there's no MVP to award! How can one man be so clueless? OK, I forgot about Bush. Make that TWO men! It's interesting to note that if Selig hadn't named himself commissioner, Dubya just might have taken that job and therefore never stolen the White House. There's someting else we can blame Selig for.

Leave it to Bud to ruin a great party. I almost hope there is a strike. I'm tired of watching my beloved Cubs flounder year after year. When does football season start? My equally beloved Packers should have a good year.

As it happens I live in the Chicago suburb of Milwaukee and I would never have shelled out $125 for a regularly $2 Uecker (obstructed)seat knowing what a bunch of overpaid primadonnas these donkey's are.
I am glad Barry and his kind are gone, the stench is lifted!!! Baseball will live through this but Bud, well he'll have egg on his face for some time to come. Just be glad your baseball team doesn't suck as bad as ours. A $300 million stadium does not a guarantee a good team or organization.

Wow. Such venom. You think a US Circuit Court had just come out and declared a sensitive part of the Pledge of Alliegiance unconstitutional. ;)

Okay, before I begin, everyone channel your inner Randy Jackson and yell "This is AMERICA! We don't DO that here!"

Done it? No, you who yelled "I'm as MAD as HELL..." go back to the window and do it again. I said Randy Jackson, not Howard Beall.

With that in mind....

In Japan, they have ties. After 12 innings, in one league, it's officially a tie. And in some circles, they play for ties. To the Japanese culture, it's the best scenario, with both teams saving face.

And tell me, if one team did beat another, was it going to count one bit in the standings? One more homer for Sosa in the record books?

I don'tknow about you, but I'm more concerned about a healthy Pedro and wondering if a 4-2 stretch against the Jays and the Tigers mean a collapse for the BoSox.

Meanwhile, while everyone is duking it out a la "Lisa on Ice" (http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F05.html), I'll just skate around Miller Park and stripping until I'm down to my jockstrap....

Play Ball!

I'm sure this will just be one of many rants on this topic. But I have an idea that I haven't seen mentioned, and I write computer baseball games for a living, so I think a lot about this kind of stuff.

Everyone in baseball seems to agree that Joe Torre, Bob Brenly, and Bud Selig did exactly the right thing last night by ending the game after 11 innings. That all pitchers were used up, and that it was a "no-win" situation.

I beg to differ. In the top of the 9th inning I was already thinking (and talking out loud to my wife) about what they would do if the game went into extra innings and they ran out of pitchers.

The first thing that came to mind, and something the rulers of MLB seem to have missed, is to bring in the position players to pitch.

Most of these guys probably pitched in high school, and I bet a few even pitched in college or the minors. I'm sure Nomar could go out there and throw some 70-MPH batting practice fastballs for a few innings without hurting their arm. Move Garcia and Padilla to right field, and LET THEM PLAY!

The only reason a meeting would be needed would just be to decide at which point BOTH teams would put the infielders on the mound and perhaps open the floodgate of hits. However, hitting a baseball is pretty tough -- as shown by the home run derby where the pitcher is TRYING to throw meatballs. In other words, each team probably would have scored a few runs in the 12th inning hitting BP fastballs, and the game would have ended with a winner.

What amazes me most is that in addition to making the horrible decision to end the game in a tie -- they also bumbled all over themselves making the decision. They stopped the game in the 11th inning to decide what to do. As if it didn't occur to anyone ahead of time that the game would go into extra innings. The fact that they didn't plan ahead is perhaps the biggest sign of incompetence here. It's like going on a long trip without checking the gas tank.

MLB has really shot themselves in the foot with this one. And I fear it's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how incompetently baseball is being run. Oh well.

Clay

Clay Dreslough
President
Sports Mogul Inc.
196 Boston Avenue, #2500
Medford, MA 02155
clay@sportsmogul.com
www.sportsmogul.com

> The All Star game should count. Whichever league > wins the All Star Game earns home field advantage > for its respective team in the world series.

I've heard this and I like it. Another idea I just thought of is that the winning league gets to host NEXT YEAR'S All Star Game, selected at random. And the host gets to keep a chunk of the money.

So even someone like Randy Winn of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will go out and want to win, because if he does they might play in Tampa next year, thus bringing money and attention to his hometown club.

Clay

Baseball will never be baseball until the players get paid less and they don't use steroids to knock it out of the park.

True baseball died with the likes of Kent Hrbeck and Wade Boggs. True baseball legends. I don't care how many homeruns are hit by the players today. Back when baseball was baseball, they didn't need steroids. It was grit and muscle.

Until baseball is played by the true player, I refuse to watch another game.

I'll readily admit, I'm not a huge baseball fan.

When I first read Wil's comments, I misconstrued them to mean that Bud Selig was calling the play-by-play for the all-star game. Why the Hell would I wanna listen to Bud Selig call a baseball game? Is his ego so huge that he believes no one else could possibly do it in a manner befitting the midsummer classic? How about Bob Costas, or Bob Euker (Front Row!).

It was only when I went to espn.com's website to read up on this that I realized that Bud didn't do the play by play, he used the power of his comissionary position to end the game in the 11th inning while the teams were still tied, officially making him the Bane of Major League Baseball (until the players strike).

Now I feel Stoopid.

So...who was doing play by play?

Wil et al,
I hate to say it but what did you expect? You get what you deserve. Every fan of MLB EARNED this. By continuing to support financially MLB with your ticket-buying and memorabilia purchases, your lobbying for taxpayer-funded stadia, your blissfully ignoring the rampant drug-use and criminal behavior of your "heroes" like Darryl Strawberry, you've dealt your own brand of snob-nosed millionaire crybabies who demand 1/4 of a BILLION dollars in order to play a game that long should have passed from our national collective memory. Besides it's utterly boring. I hope they strike. I hope the season is called. And I hope they contract and eliminate ALL the teams and their stupid Monopoly is finally broken by Congress. And I hope Jerry Collangelo and the Diamondbacks all die in a tragic plane accident so we don't have to have those drunken, millionaire, crybabies driving the streets of Scottsdale anymore.

You deserve it. You bred this contempt and continue to let them get away with it.

Every time I hear about another "baseball outrage" I laugh because every SINGLE time all the baseball fans state collectively "Well if they do ONE MORE THING... that's it I'm done!" But what happened the last time they striked. As soon as the new season started.... every single one of you was back in line. Jockstrap Intelligencia...

Enjoy your shortened season...

When did baseball turn into soccer? let's have a tie so nobody's feelings get hurt, fuck that!! I'm sure all you liberal panty-asses that come to wil's site were excited about the tie!!YEAH. just more feel good liberalism.Who cares about the score as long as everyone plays, FUCK THAT. you stupid left-wingers are ruining this once great country. and how about that piece of shit singer anastacia, she should be kicked out of the country for not even knowing the words to the National Anthem.What a Fucking disgrace she was. and I see wilwheaton is a supporter of that CUNT!!

in 1982, i was 7 years old. my dad happened to be a professional skydiver for old style at the time, and often jumped into milwaukee county stadium before the games (milwaukee COUNTY stadium, as in, it used to belong to us). during this time, i met almost the entire team, as we (brother and i) were allowed to watch my dad jump in from on the field, ie: during practice. at 7 years old, the chance to meet cooper, yount, fingers and molitor was pretty significant, and i developed a love for the team. that is, until selig came along... when was the last time they had a winning season? ok, but we still loved them. you've been made commisioner and you're giving the team to your freak-ugly daughter? ummm, well... ok, i guess they're still my brew crew... you want to tear down the stadium and build a new one? i guess so... it is pretty old. wait... you want to tear down our stadium, then have us pay for a new one that will belong only to you and your daughter, to do with as you like, so you get any extra income from non-baseball events? (how the hell did he pull that off?) enough is enough. piss off, you weasly pinheaded self-serving bastard for destroying one of my few remaining positive childhood associations you prick.
ok, i'm done bitching.
for now.

Baseball, what a bunch of coked-up steroid heads. So juiced up on the 'roids that they can't even pitch to more than 2 batters. DIE BASEBALL DIE.

Bud Selig=Head Up His Ass

Wil's update is getting Farked at www.fark.com today.

BASEBALL=SOCCER=NO FUN

Growing up, I was a Giants fan and I hated the Dodgers more than anything =P I remember my
favorite players... Darrell Evans, Bob Brenly,
Jack Clark, Chili Davis. I also remember hating
Kirk Gibson even more after that gimpy home run
in the World Series.

But the '94 strike really made me lose interest
in the game quite a bit. Then they renamed
Candlestick Park to Pacbell Park, much like every
other corporate named park nowadays. I really
didn't care anymore...

Then, this year, someone introduced me to fantasy
baseball, and I'm enjoying baseball again to
small degrees. But if there's another strike, I
will never care about professional baseball again.