Selig's main requirement for a new Dodger owner: SIGN PUJOLS!

I don't believe in random events.
I don't believe in first causes.
I don't believe that actions take place in vacuums.

Even me typing this blog post is the result of a long chain reaction of events.

And a chain reaction of events could be conspiring to bring Albert Pujols to Dodger Stadium.
I have no evidence to back up these theories. But I still think it makes sense.

- Albert Pujols launches 3 home runs in one World Series game, putting him in World Series history with Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth. And he helps spark one of the World Series saving rallies in Game 6. (The fact that he was basically a non factor in the other World Series games is forgotten by everyone.)

- Albert Pujols is a free agent... a perennial MVP candidate and one of the few marquee stars in the game. Plus he is a class act, free of scandal and has multiple rings in St. Louis. He's probably staying in St. Louis with his father figure, Tony LaRussa.

- LaRussa retires, ending his career with his crowning achievement. He can spend his days saving animals and writing his Cooperstown speech.

- SO Pujols has nothing left to prove in St. Louis. He can leave St. Louis on top and take on a new challenge and more money than any of us can ever dream of. ($30 million a year?)


Meanwhile in Los Angeles...

- The Dodgers fiasco might be finally grinding to a halt. Frank McCourt, in denial like William H. Macy's character in Fargo, might finally realize that he ISN'T just one deal away from keeping control of the team. MLB might take over the Dodgers. They did that once before with the Expos.

- This is a different scenario. That was saving a team from contraction and getting them to Washington DC. The Dodgers need to be lifted from the humiliation of bankruptcy and mismanagement. The Dodgers SHOULD be one of the glamorous franchises. And it would behoove baseball to have a big west coast superpower (sorry Giants fans. Your team isn't a superpower.)

- So if MLB takes over the Dodgers, they can hand pick whomever takes over the team. They will have to be committed to turn the Dodgers back into a powerhouse, make L.A. as baseball crazy as New York and Boston and bring some star power to Dodger Stadium.

- The Dodgers just HAPPENED to have a hole at first base (sorry James Loney). They just HAPPENED to have an MVP candidate to protect Pujols in the lineup with Matt Kemp. They just HAPPEN to play in a winnable division. (Sorry Diamondbacks.) And unless Juan Uribe has more pull than I thought, #5 just HAPPENS to be available in Los Angeles.

- The Dodgers also just HAPPEN to be a team in a desperate situation to have some positive press after all the off the field embarrassment. And they need something, besides a face who ISN'T Frank McCourt, to jumstart season ticket sales.

- If MLB can control who buys the Dodgers, they COULD make "Will you make a big push for Albert Pujols?" a requirement. It would be good for the franchise and could make the Dodgers a marquee franchise again.

Fans are going to show up in St. Louis. It's a new era there anyway.

Pujols (paired with NL MVP candidate Matt Kemp and Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw) could have his new challenge.

Bud Selig, someone NOT above colluding, could be in a unique position to handpick someone to bid on Pujols.

Where else is Albert going? Sure Theo Epstein wants to make a big splash with the Cubs, but he has to weed OUT big contracts before bringing in a new one. The Mets are a mess. And maybe the Marlins would make a run at him, but they are a dark horse at best.

Of course the Rangers, White Sox, Nationals and Orioles are never shy about throwing money around. But I can't see Albert going to any of those places.

The Dodgers are the most logical landing place in many ways.
It's a boost to the franchise.
It's a bump in West Coast baseball's interest.
And it could make Albert even more marketable than he is now.

Don't think this ISN'T going through Bud Selig's mind.
It's a chain reaction of events... and it could lead to the image of Albert Pujols playing first base for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

(For the record, I think Pujols is staying put... but you never know!)

Hats

Here's how long Mets owner Fred Wilpon conversation should have been with Bud Selig regarding September 11th first responder hats on the 10th anniversary.

WILPON: Mr. Commissioner. We want to wear hats honoring the NYPD, fire department and Port Authority on September 11th.

SELIG: During the game?

WILPON: Yes.

SELIG: Well all the teams are wearing special September 11th hats that day already. We don't like having teams wearing unofficial uniforms during a game.

WILPON: I understand, but we are a New York team and there will no doubt be fire fighters, police officers, rescue workers who were at the Towers that day at CitiField. And also relatives and friends of those who didn't make it. And we'd like to show a sign of solidarity on this 10th anniversary.

SELIG: What if we had every team change their hats on a whim?

WILPON: What other city had a September 11th? If the Nationals wanted to do something, they should. That's up to them. But September 11th was unique and this is the 10th anniversary and we are the only team playing in New York. I think an exception can be made.

SELIG: You aren't going to sell the hats or try any September 11th merchandise, are you?

WILPON: No. Certainly not.

SELIG: And it is JUST for September 11th, not the whole weekend?

WILPON: Just the Sunday night game.

SELIG: Well, I can't see how that's a problem. It's a nice gesture. Go ahead.

WILPON: Thank you Mr. Commissioner.


Boom!

All the bases covered.
That conversation would last, what? A minute? 90 seconds?

The fact that it WASN'T that simple and it has turned into a "He Said... She Said" spat involving rules that may or may not have been enforced, fines the Mets were worried they had to pay and Bud Selig was mad that it became public shows how incompetent the two parties.

Those parties of course being the Mets organization, who took every baseball advantage in the world and ran the team into the ground... and Bud Selig who every day finds new reasons to want to throw him out of office. How could Selig not see this was the right thing to do?

And of course Joe Torre was thrown into the middle of this, trying to destroy whatever good will is left for him in New York.

A simple thoughtful act of wearing a hat to honor the memories of brave men and women instead became a nice barometer of people who have lost perspective.

And frankly it is kind of fascinating.

10 Reasons why the Milwaukee Brewers winning the 2011 World Series would be good for baseball

It's time to continue the Why Each Team's Potential World Championship Would Be Good For The Game series. The next entry? The Milwaukee Brewers.



On July 26th, the Brewers were in second place behind the Cardinals and just 1/2 a game ahead of the Pirates. 1 game separated 3 teams. And the Defending Division Champion Reds were a mere 5 games back.



The NL Central promised to be a dog fight to the end... that is until the Brewers starting winning.



Since that day, the Brew Crew is 27-8. No team in baseball has played better than Milwaukee since July 26th and their magic number is 16.

Playoff baseball is returning to Wisconsin. But why would an average baseball fan want to see the Brewers win?



Read on...

10 Reasons why the

Milwaukee Brewers

winning the 2011 World Series

would be good for baseball

1. Wisconsin fans would appreciate a "Multiple Championship" Decade



There's no doubt who the biggest team in Wisconsin is. The Defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers reign supreme. But it would be great for their fans to experience an embarrassment of riches. Places like New York, Boston, Detroit, Miami and Tampa Bay have experienced multiple titles in different sports last decade. Hell even Anaheim had a World Series and Stanley Cup champ close to each other. Why not in Wisconsin? You know it will be a great party.





2. Prince Fielder's defection would not be as harsh if he delivered a title to Milwaukee.



Prince Fielder is as good as gone. It wouldn't make sense for the Brewers to devote such a gigantic chunk of their payroll to a first baseman. And no doubt a team in need of a PR boost this off season will overpay for Mr. Fielder. But stars who depart without a ring leave their old city with unfinished business. Fielder can erase all that in October (and match his father with rings, making the most public Father and Son rivalry even more intriguing.

3. A World Championship would help make Ryan Braun a legit star.



Ryan Braun could very well win the NL MVP this year. And I have a feeling that if you said his name to most sports fans, they would say "Who?"



The former NL Rookie of the Year has put up 5 years of wonderful numbers and not a lot of fame to go along with it. Maybe shining on the national stage would change that.



How could America NOT embrace a power hitter named Braun?



4. It would simplify the question "How long have Brewers fans waited for a World Champion".



How long have Brewers fans waited for a World Champion? Well the Brewers have NEVER won a World Series... but the Braves have. Not the Atlanta Braves, even though THEY did as well. The Milwaukee Braves won in 1957. But have Brewers fans been waiting 54 years? What about the few years there was no team in Milwaukee? Do those count? It is very complicated. But if the Brewers win, it is cut and dry.





5. A Brewers title would mean a lot of Hall of Famers would be celebrated



For a team that has exactly one pennant to its credit, there would be no shortage of Cooperstown enshrined heroes to throw out the first pitch.



It helps matters that the 1982 pennant winners had four, count em, FOUR Future Hall of Famers. Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers and Don Sutton.



And some fellow named Hank Aaron finished his career as a Brewer and supposedly had some decent years in Milwaukee as a Brave. I'll have to look him up.





6. A Ron Roenicke led title could be traced back to Walter Alston



Bear with me.



Walter Alston, whose big league playing career consisted of one strikeout, worked his way up to the bigs as a manager. He became a World Champion and a Hall of Famer.



One of Alston's coaches was Tom Lasorda, who became a World Champion manager and a Hall of Famer.



One of Lasorda's players and coaches was Mike Scioscia. He became a World Championship manager and I believe is putting together a Hall of Fame caliber career.



One of Scioscia's coaches was Ron Roenicke. If he wins a World Series title, it bodes very well for for one of the coaches on his staff to pass on the Alston wisdom.





7. A THIRD unlikely championship for Craig Counsell would be amazing.



Counsell has bounced around between the Rockies, Marlins, Diamondbacks and Brewers. Hardly marquee big budgeted franchises. (He played 1/2 an unmemorable season with the Dodgers as well.) Yet he was a World Champion in 1997 with the Marlins and 2001 with the Diamondbacks (winning NLCS MVP honors.) 3 rings in three decades without being a Yankee or a Red Sox would be impressive.



If the Brewers are trailing in Game 7 of the World Series, look out for Counsell. Incredibly, he was a part of two Game 7 comebacks.



He hit the game tying sacrifice fly in the 9th inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. In the 11th he would score the World Series winning run.



In Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, he was hit by a Mariano Rivera pitch in the 9th inning and was on base when Luis Gonzalez blooped his World Series winning single. If the Brewers are trailing in the 9th, they might send Counsell up just to see what happens.





8. National exposure to Miller Park rituals would be wonderful for the game.



Just imagine casual baseball fans seeing a Brewers game for the first time.



"Wait, they have a race with men dressed as sausages?"



"Explain to me why Bernie the Brewer goes down the slide from his chalet after each homer?"



There's no logical explanation for these rituals, which makes them being seen on National TV even better.





9. A Brewers championship would be a subtle middle finger to Bud Selig

Of course Bud Selig would be thrilled to see the Brewers win and I bet he would gleefully hand the World Series trophy to owner Mark Attanasio. But lest we forget all of those years Selig was owner of the Brewers and never won that trophy himself.



And remember he took part in the cabal that ousted Fay Vincent and put himself, the owner of a team, as "temporary commissioner" in 1992. Here we are 19 years later and he's still here.



In 1992 the Brewers had a terrific season. Then year in and year out for the rest of the time that the Seligs ran the Brewers, they had a losing season. And all the while, the refrain that came from Selig was that smaller market teams couldn't compete. Attanasio took over the team and in 2 years they were a .500 team. In 5 years they were a playoff team. Now they are a World Series contender.



Maybe Selig could have done that as owner, if he wasn't too guilty colluding.

10. How great would a Bob Uecker World Championship call be?



Seriously. Bob Uecker calling the final out of a Brewers title. Have a few beers in him and build up the excitement and I have a feeling it would be the phone ring of everyone in Wisconsin.



And you thought his "Jusssssst a bit outside" call in Major League was memorable. Imagine him happy with the World Series result!







So it looks like post season ball in the Dairy Land is going to happen again. I for one wish they went back to the "ball in glove" hat from the 1970s and 1980s. But guess what? I am thinking that Brewers fans won't be too picky about what hat their team wins in they win it all.



And that is a distinct possibility.

















If you liked this then go ahead and read the entries for the other teams.



CHICAGO WHITE SOX

CLEVELAND INDIANS

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM

NEW YORK YANKEES

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

It's the entire American League versus the entire National League

Seriously, HOW many All Stars are there?
83?
There are really more than 2 entire 25 man rosters of elite players?

When they all line up on the foul lines will they reach the foul poles and wrap back around?

Forget each team having one rep. Each team can have TWO reps and still have 22 more roster spots!

I have to double check to make sure I'M not supposed to go to Phoenix.

So Bud... I don't think you are going to run out of players this year.
But next year, see if you can have the All Star roster reach 100.

This "Being Controled By MLB" thing works for the Dodgers

The Dodgers were absolutely reeling. They went on a 5 game losing streak. (Only Tony LaRussa's inexplicable decision to pitch to Matt Kemp on Sunday afternoon kept it from being a 6 game losing streak.)

They were beaten soundly on Tuesday 10-1 by Atlanta.
Then on Wednesday, Bud Selig and company took over the team, shocked that Frank McCourt couldn't keep the team afloat financially. (Never mind the fact that Selig KNEW he didn't have the cash to keep the team afloat. Let's not let facts sneak into this.)

Since MLB took over the team?
They beat the Braves 6-1 on Wednesday.
They won with another Matt Kemp walk off shot yesterday.

And today they went to Wrigley and clobbered the Cubs 12-2.

The Dodgers are now above .500.
They are 3-0 after the take over.

Maybe Dodger fans shouldn't be so quick to see a new owner!

Albert Pujols will be a Dodger or a Met… and I predict a conspiracy theory

A bizarre and round about series of events and coincidences have made it clear to me that Albert Pujols will almost certainly not be a member of the St. Louis Cardinals next year.

Before Pujols files for free agency, two large market franchises will change ownership and be in position to bid for him, and I believe Bud Selig will be manipulating the whole thing to help preserve his legacy.

That’s right, I am predicting a conspiracy before there are any facts or events to back up my theory. I admit that is no easy trick. But I think I am on to something.

Follow me…

Bud Selig is retiring in 2012. With the steroid era evidently behind him and if baseball avoids a work stoppage (and the NFL and NBA have one) then he will be able to claim that he left the game clean and thriving with labor peace.

But there are four gigantic messes he needs to clean up before riding off into the sunset.

Two won’t be covered here, but I will mention them: The Rays and the A’s stadium disasters. Neither team can last in their current dumps and nor have a viable solution for survival, especially if the Giants can block the A’s move to San Jose. But that is another post.

The big BIG mess is the state of the Mets and Dodgers, two of the flagship franchises of the National League. According to USA Today, only the Yankees and Red Sox are worth more than the Dodgers and those teams plus the Cubs are the only ones worth more than the Mets.

I don’t think it is stretch to call New York and Los Angeles big markets. And guess what? They are both in financial chaos.

The Dodgers have been mismanaged to the point where MLB had to take the unprecedented steps of essentially removing the owner from power. (We’ll see if Frank McCourt surrenders the power of the team.)

And the Mets should be on notice. If the twisted finances of the McCourt divorce can make Selig and company take over the Dodgers, then being swindled by Bernie Madoff (and not being sure what they knew in advance) should be even a greater cause for MLB to step in and take the car keys away from the Wilpons.

In the very least, the Mets should be forced to sell.

So that would mean the Mets and Dodgers would have new ownership going into the 2012 season. And also have a disillusioned fan base, declining attendance and a natural division rival playing well (the Phillies for the Mets and the Giants for the Dodgers.)

Whomever is going to run the Mets and the Dodgers will need to assure their paying customers (and TV viewers and sponsors) that not only are the bad days behind them but glamorous superstar days are ahead.

The Giants were in a similar boat when Peter Magowan took over the team in the wake of the proposed move to Tampa Bay. He found the quickest way to get the fan base energized: He signed the best player in baseball, Barry Bonds.

Which brings us to Albert Pujols. He’s a free agent to be. He has nothing left to prove in St. Louis when he finishes this, his 11th season. He has given the Cardinals a championship, post season heroics, MVPs and done so with class and a flair for the dramatic. And, as I said in a previous video, Cardinal fans can NEVER boo him.

Pujols could need a new challenge in his life, the biggest contract in baseball history and a chance to be a hero in a brand new market.

(See Rose, Pete. See Jackson, Reggie. And Albert is better than both of them!)

And if just so happens that the Dodgers have an opening at first base. I may not be 100% sure how VORP works, but I can guess that Albert Pujols replacing James Loney is an improvement.

And the Mets have Ike Davis, who is a nice player. When you have the chance to get one of the great offensive players of all time, you might think about sacrificing a nice player or two!

Both the Dodgers and the Mets will have new owners, money to spend and a city to impress. And they will BOTH bid on Albert Pujols.

Why do I say that with such certainty? Because Selig will make sure of it. Captain Bud will not let an owner take over the Dodgers nor the Mets unless they were intending on trying to sign Pujols.

It makes sense for the Dodgers to win back their fans and show there is a new era in Chavez Ravine.

It makes sense for the Mets to turn the page on the Wilpon fiasco (and no doubt Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins would welcome Albert’s arrival.)

It makes sense for labor peace as players making big contracts is always looked on fondly by the Players Association.

And it makes sense for Selig as he leave the game with franchises other than the Yankees and Red Sox bidding over the biggest free agents.

And which ever team can’t land Pujols will have a nice consolation prize in Prince Fielder.

Think Selig is above this sort of backroom dealings? Or perhaps not clever enough?

PUH-lease. I am not going to even go into the whole “Used Car Salesman” past of Mr. Selig.

This was the guy who maneuvered the ownership of the Expos, Marlins and Red Sox around so his hand picked successor would take over in Boston instead of the McCourts.

This was the guy who claimed to have no clue about the steroid culture, even though allegations were made public as far back as 1988, when Peter Ueberroth was commissioner.

This was the guy who was part of the owners group that ousted Fay Vincent for not doing their bidding and installing himself as owner/commissioner. It was supposed to be temporary. That was 1992.

This was one of the many owners found guilty of collusion in the 1980s.

Shady wheeling and dealing are right in Bud Selig’s wheelhouse.

So a nudge here and there and making sure the new owners come with an aggressive eye on Albert is not as outlandish as colluding, kicking the commissioner out and not noticing that the players all were bigger than the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

You heard it here first on Sully Baseball.

I am declaring it a conspiracy before it actually happens.

Colluding is and always will be part of Bud Selig’s legacy.

Red Sox fans... can you IMAGINE if this guy bought our team?

He wanted to!
Frank McCourt is a Boston guy and he wanted to buy the Sox from the John Harrington and the Yawkey family.

Instead John Henry and company took over in 2002 and won two more World Series titles in the first 7 years of his ownership than the Yawkeys did in nearly 70 years.

Meanwhile McCourt took over the Dodgers... and now they need to be taken over by baseball. Not loaned money like the spend crazy Diamondbacks. Not bailed out like the Madoff sucker Mets.

Nope. TAKEN OVER! It's Bud Selig saying "We are taking your toys away."

When has this happened before? Well, kind of once when nobody wanted to buy the Expos and Bud Selig wanted to make sure John Henry moved from the Marlins to the marquee franchise Red Sox and Jeffrey Loria could take over the Marlins.

The Expos were part of baseball and run in a disgraceful manner, yet still managed to put winning products on the field in 2002 and 2003.

That was a different scenario. The Expos were devastated financially after the strike and couldn't draw small crowds to Stade Olympique. They had no TV deal and desperately needed to move. Everyone knew they had to move to Washington DC (the only place that had a big league ready park) but they also needed to appease Peter Angelos and the Orioles. So while that was being hashed out, MLB owned the Expos and destroyed a once wonderfully quirky franchise.

This new situation is different. This isn't an expansion team gone wrong. This isn't a team that needs to be relocated.

This is the FREAKING LOS ANGELES DODGERS!
If there is any team in baseball that should be a big spending colossus like the Yankees it should be the Dodgers! The play in Los Angeles! They have a terrific stadium... a steady fan base... money... tradition... stars want to play in L.A.

It can be argued that Frank McCourt is the worst owner in the history of American sports.
In 2004 he bought the Dodgers... one of the glamor franchises in baseball. And in 8 years it was transformed into such a catastrophe that the league had to pull and Expos.

IMAGINE this with the Red Sox!
Imagine there is no 2004... no 2007... the Curse is alive... this obscene divorce hanging over the team... the experience of going to the ballpark is WORSE... and it is so bad that baseball needed to take over.

It could have happened. And Bud Selig made sure the Sox were sold to John Henry.

It's not often I say this, but MAN am I thankful for Bud Selig's decision.

So now baseball owns the Dodgers, which means there will be a new owner soon.
Why not me?

How could I be worse?

Was tonight an ALCS preview? TBS is hoping not

The Rangers are playing the Rays at the Trop and game one of the series was a Cy Young match up of David Price versus Cliff Lee. The game itself was a thriller with the Rays coming back from behind and recapturing a portion of the AL East lead (and be tied for the best record in baseball.)

Both teams are filled with young exciting All Stars playing a brand of baseball that should be emulated across the land. And both are winning big despite financial constraints (the Rays and their microscopic payroll and the Rangers with bankruptcy and changing ownership.)

It could be a playoff preview, especially if the Rays capture the AL East crown, and a best of seven series between these teams (each in search of their first ever World Series title) would be filled with tension.

And it would the match up of TBS' nightmares.

Baseball has a hard enough time getting a national audience... with this series they will stuggle to get a LOCAL audience. The Dallas/Arlington/Fort Worth area would probably be wondering why the coverage of Cowboys practice has been preempted and 13 years and a pennant later, people in Tampa Bay still seem unaware that there is a baseball team in St. Pete.

If baseball had any promotions savvy they would be able to make these teams seem exciting and the antidote to big market teams bullying smaller markets.

Then again, people CLAIM they don't want to see the Yankees play a big market team in the World Series... then the Yankees vs the Phillies gets higher ratings than when smaller budget teams like the White Sox, Astros, Tigers, Cardinals or Rays are in the series.

Baseball will never be football in popularity, but why can't they at least make their product SEEN more? Football can turn a Super Bowl between New Orleans and Indianapolis into a national event.

You'd think that a series that features Evan Longoria, David Price, Carl Crawford, Josh Hamilton, Elvis Andrus, Cliff Lee and Vladimir Guerrero would at least catch some people's attention.

Maybe when Bud Selig steps down, someone who can MARKET a sport can take over.

(That's right, I had to find a way to blame Selig.)