I've never been interested in the playoffs

[bacon06]

It brings me great comfort knowing so many other people despise Joe Buck and Tim McCarver too. But it also brings me great confusion as to why Fox seemingly has earmuffs on about the criticism the duo receives and the potential turn off they are to fans who would otherwise be watching.

[hawing]

It brings me great comfort knowing so many other people despise Joe Buck and Tim McCarver too. But it also brings me great confusion as to why Fox seemingly has earmuffs on about the criticism the duo receives and the potential turn off they are to fans who would otherwise be watching.

I suppose enough of FOX's audience watches anyway, or even likes Buck and McCarver. All that matters is the ratings.

 

I think my lower interest in this year's postseason is due to a bit of a hangover from 2008. Since I work on a college campus populated with people from across the country, most years I know someone who's an avid fan of at least one of the playoff teams, and I can vicariously follow the postseason through that person or persons. (It was interesting in 2004 when I had both a Cardinals fan and a Red Sox fan among my employees. I didn't have to separate them, fortunately.)

Having finally had another taste of "the real thing" last year, following the Twins for my employee or the Angels for my high school classmate just isn't doing it for me this year.

 

As for the Angels-Yankees marathon on Saturday, if failing to stay up until midnight or 1:00 AM for a game between two teams I barely follow - on a day when I was already tired - means I'm not a baseball fan, then I guess I'll hand in my badge.

[jerichoholicninja]

For me it has nothing to do with having the same teams in every year. Yes I hate seeing the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and whatever random team from the AL Central make it but ultimately I just don't care. You play 162 games and then at the end of the year the best team is the one who wins 11 games first. Everything is different. It's not about depth anymore it's about who is best at the top. You only need 3 starting pitchers, 3 relievers, and unless you're in the NL 9 position players. In football and basketball the game doesn't change in the playoffs, the best teams almost always win in the end. In baseball it's all about who is playing best or has the most luck that wins it. I love baseball but the playoffs just don't get me excited. I watch more of the WBC and the Little League World Series than I do the MLB playoffs.

[rluzinski]

It's not so much that it's the same teams every year, it's why they are always there.

[Flood Pants]

Part of the issue was the little fanfare leading up to the playoffs. Last year gave us a heck of a month of September, with Philly storming from behind to overtake Milwaukee and New York, and Milwaukee and New York battling to the bitter end. Minnesota and Chicago also went down to the wire, while Tampa Bay managed to wrestle a playoff spot from New York, and Manny Ramirez was "being Manny" on the opposite coast. Last year was outstanding in terms of interesting stories. Things for fans of the game to cheer for even if not for their own team.

 

This year, blah. New York, Los Angeles (both of them), St. Louis, and Philly kicked everyone else's butts. Colorado locked it up with a few weeks to go. Our only real excitement was Minnesota/Detroit, and that was quickly quenched when New York opened a can on them in the first round. There's very little for even the hardcore fans to care about.

[Ennder]

In football and basketball the game doesn't change in the playoffs, the best teams almost always win in the end

 

In basketball sure, in football this really isn't the case at all. If anything football is the most random come playoff time.

[Patrick425]

It brings me great comfort knowing so many other people despise Joe Buck and Tim McCarver too. But it also brings me great confusion as to why Fox seemingly has earmuffs on about the criticism the duo receives and the potential turn off they are to fans who would otherwise be watching.

If it was not for this site and other forums/blogs, I would not know what announcer to not like.

 

I'll never understand all the critisism of sports announcers. I think I can count on one hand the times I have watched a sporting event and have been bothered by the announcing.

[Ennder]

Everyone dislikes different things. I'd rather not watch baseball than listen to Hawk Harrelson as an example. He just is so unpleasant to listen to.

 

Buck and McCarver are just boring to me. They don't make a game unbearable, they just don't add anything to it.

[Teatoe993]

Someone should tell Joe Buck that 1991 wants it's haircut back.

[Tbadder]

This is the most heartening thread I've read here. I won't watch any baseball that includes the Yankees. So I won't be watching this year. Otherwise non-Yankee playoffs I generally enjoy but not nearly as much as the regular season. I just love the regular season. It feels like history, unlike the playoffs which feel like a Mariah Carey video.

[AJAY]

This might sound crazy, but I actually think putting the playoffs on TBS makes these games seem less relevant compared to before. When I was a kid, the games were on ABC or NBC and the whole country was into it. Then they went to ESPN (which at least had some relevance in the sports world). But to now put games on TBS just makes it seem like the MLB playoffs aren't as important as they used to be. Some of the aura seems gone.

 

Also, I wish baseball would bring out the heavyweights to cover the postseason in the booth. Guys like Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Chris Berman, etc. give the postseason a bigger feeling of importance. The TBS crew in the booth just doesn't have that same aura.

 

It's all about the packaging.

[joepepsi]

This is the most heartening thread I've read here. I won't watch any baseball that includes the Yankees. So I won't be watching this year. Otherwise non-Yankee playoffs I generally enjoy but not nearly as much as the regular season. I just love the regular season. It feels like history, unlike the playoffs which feel like a Mariah Carey video.

That's perfect!

[jerichoholicninja]

This might sound crazy, but I actually think putting the playoffs on TBS makes these games seem less relevant compared to before. When I was a kid, the games were on ABC or NBC and the whole country was into it. Then they went to ESPN (which at least had some relevance in the sports world). But to now put games on TBS just makes it seem like the MLB playoffs aren't as important as they used to be. Some of the aura seems gone.

 

Also, I wish baseball would bring out the heavyweights to cover the postseason in the booth. Guys like Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Chris Berman, etc. give the postseason a bigger feeling of importance. The TBS crew in the booth just doesn't have that same aura.

 

It's all about the packaging.

I definitely agree with this.

[owbc]

I also agree with Ajay. I do know the details of the deal, but I am guessing that MLB took a slightly larger amount of money (vs. ESPN) in exchange for moving their games to some network that I can never even remember what channel number is. The NHL did the same thing...they should be a seeing huge resurgence right now due to their young stars, but instead nobody hears about them until the playoffs start. MLB finally has exciting postseason games to show, but they are plagued by being on an obscure network, long game times, poor umpiring, awful announcing, starting games at 3:00, etc. Seems like a missed opportunity to me.

[Baldkin]

I cannot stand McCarver.

The guy talks to hear his own voice. What he says doesn't make sense half the time.

 

He's like Uecker, only he isn't funny and he isn't on the radio (so he doesn't need to fill every second with his voice).

[danzig6767]

I have no interest in watching the Yankees roll to a championship. Until baseball gets a salary cap I will find very little enjoyment in watching playoff baseball because the Brewers will rarely be a part of it.

I can't stomach watching the Yankees either and the we'll just buy the best players roster. I watch some of the other series though, except that i generally don't tune in until roughly the 6th or 7th inning if the game is close.

[Invader3K]

TBS isn't exactly obscure. I would guess pretty much every single cable and satellite system carries them. It doesn't bother me what channel the playoffs are on, I guess. I prefer their coverage of the games to FOX.

[JohnBriggs12]

It's not McCarver and Buck so much (though they are annoying) it's how FOX produces the game. They aren't produced as a baseball game for baseball fans, they are produced as a reality TV show only without the editing. It's all tight closeups as if somehow seeing the pitcher's eyes adds to the drama or seeing some fan react to a play or seeing a manager's face over and over really makes the game better. Add in the simplistic McCarver talking as if the watcher had never seen a baseball game before and the always smug Buck, and it's completely unwatchable for anyone not with a rooting interest.

[Patrick425]

A lot of what I'm reading here is frustration with the teams that are in the playoffs, in particular, the Yankees. I understand this sentiment and I'm in complete agreement that baseball still has several issues when it comes to competitive balance. I would love to see a day when more teams have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs on a yearly basis. Until that happens, I still love watching baseball, even if that means watching teams that "purchased" their way into the playoffs.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Yankees. First of all, they are not breaking any rules. The rules need to be fixed and it's hard to blame the Yankees for spending all the money that they can. It's a baseball issue, not a Yankee issue (although one could argue that its the Yankees and Steinbrenner that put baseball in this position, and it very well might be a valid arguement). It would probably be more criminal of the Yankees if they they didn't reinvest their "winnings" back in to the team every year.

Also, keep in mind that the Yankees have won a majority of their 26 titles prior to free agency and payroll discrepancies among the teams. Salary Cap/Revenue sharing or no Salary Cap/Revenue sharing, the Yankees will always be the Yankees. I think baseball is a better sport for having antagonists like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers. To me it would be like watching "24" without the bad guys. It would be kind of boring. Yes, I realize that the difference is that the good guy usually wins in "24", but I do find myself sometimes getting bored with football and all the "parity" it offers. Dynasties and knowing who to root against is not always a bad thing.

[Invader3K]

The Yankees do make good villains...but it's just when the odds are so stacked against certain teams, it gets to the point of being ridiculous.

 

To draw an analogy I've had in my head for a while, a GM like Brian Cashman basically gets to walk on a golden paved four lane bridge. Sure, he can make screwups, and even fall off for a season, but there's a safety net if he mis-steps. A GM like Doug Melvin walks a tightrope blindfolded while other teams shoot arrows at him. There's a safety net underneath him, too, but it's covered with broken glass.

 

I think everyone assumes the Yankees will and maybe should have a stronger chance than everyone else. But I think someone figured that they have about a 75% chance of making the playoffs every year, while the Brewers might get a 25% chance at best, often less. That is just wrong.

[sheetskout]

I used to find that once the Brewers were out of the playoffs I because disinterested. But anyone who doesn't appreciate the playoffs should refer to the Angels/Yankees series this year. If you don't appreciate the playoffs with all those extra-inning games and tense moments, something is definitely wrong with you. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[logan82]

There is no tension in a game between 2 teams when you have no emotional investment. An extra inning game when you have no emotional investment is just killing time.

[Robideaux]

In the NBA and the NFL, the teams that succeed on a consistent basis do so because they are run better than the others--better coaching, better personnel moves, better scouting, etc.

 

In baseball, the teams that succeed on a consistent basis do so because they spend more money than the others.

 

This is a fundamental difference.

 

A "small market" NFL or NBA team that is efficiently and intelligently run can have prolonged success. A "small market" team in MLB has to be smarter and luckier than the big spenders to pull of that lightning-in-a-bottle miracle run every 5-10 years.

 

Sure, you can quote the exceptions--but the fact that we need to track the exceptions really serves to prove the rule.

 

I bet a simple correlation test between team salary and winning percentage would show a stronger positive correlation in baseball than basketball and football. It would likely be most pronounced at the extremes--which is what a salary floor and ceiling would address. The argument isn't that you spend more money and you automatically win. Teams can and do spend a lot of money in dumb ways, but that the only way to have sustained success is by spending in the upper quartile of the league. In other words, a high team salary is a necessary, although not sufficient, condition of sustained success.

[joepepsi]

Also, keep in mind that the Yankees have won a majority of their 26 titles prior to free agency and payroll discrepancies among the teams. Salary Cap/Revenue sharing or no Salary Cap/Revenue sharing, the Yankees will always be the Yankees.

Free agency is responsible for the longest period of parity in baseball history--the 80's-1994 strike. The problem isn't player salaries, it's disparate broadcast revenues.

[TheCrew07]

I'm not sure how accurate the statement quoted above is regardless. I seem to recall when I was watching the "When it was a Game" series on HBO lots of talk regarding the "haves" buying player from the "have nots" so the "have nots" could keep their teams afloat. I seem to remember something about St. Louis coming up with the idea of the farm system as well, they went out and signed everyone possible, with the idea of being able to compete better with the teams on the east coast.