kentx12 wrote:I believe that all of you have some great points but I dont agree that any of them are the reason that the ratings were so low. The games start way to late.
If you live in the Central or Eastern time zones. Out west, these games probably started and ended at just the right times.
The games are too late. I'd bet MNF suffers after halftime.
Baseball as a whole isn't developing casual fans because there are the big money, big star teams, and the have-nots. Does anyone in Milwaukee or Kansas city care about playoff games when they have no hope of ever making them? You won't develope casual fans that way.
Well, for a football fan, your team plays after 4 PM, maybe two or three (if you're a Falcons fan and the NFL caters to your Quarterback to draw ratings ) times per season. The rest of the time, you can catch them a) on the weekend and b) at 1 PM or 4 PM EST. Now, that's not something we can really equate to baseball, in the differences of schedules, but I do agree with Kent that if games started even an hour earlier, young fans nation wide would be able to watch more baseball.
Sluggers, I actually enjoyed that article, believe it or not. And I think the main reason people will remember last year's Series and not this year's was the route that the Bo-Sox took to get there in the ALCS. I can't tell you a single score of a Series game last year, but I could probably give you play-by-play on those 7 ALCS games. The World Series was anti-climactic. However this year, there wasn't even a build up to be anti-climactic from, for the casual fan. It seemed like they were just going through the motions.
Then again, that's probably just my East Coast bias talking...
StlSluggers wrote:Being brutally honest, I think this sweep was tons better than last year's sweep. At least each game was close, and the Astros always had a chance in each game.
I agree that it was better than last year, but it was still pretty bad this year. There was some bad baseball and I think all the retired latino all stars could still outhit Houston. I really wanted them to pinch him with Edgar Martinez.
My apologies. I have a nephew named Anfernee, and I know how mad he gets when I call him Anthony. Almost as mad as I get when I think about the fact that my sister named him Anfernee.
MLB and Selig has very poor marketing. When you hype the Red Sox and Yankees all year and both teams fail to make it out of the first round of the playoffs, you shoot yourself in the foot.
Look at the NBA. They hype up Lebron James, Carmelo and Dwayne Wade. Not only do these players bring attention to Cleveland, Denver, and Miami, but they are young and will continue increase fan interest for many years to come.
"And so he spoke, and so he spoke, that lord of Castamere. But now the rains weep o'er his hall, with no one there to hear." - The Rains of Castamere
wkelly91 wrote:The games are too late. I'd bet MNF suffers after halftime.
Baseball as a whole isn't developing casual fans because there are the big money, big star teams, and the have-nots. Does anyone in Milwaukee or Kansas city care about playoff games when they have no hope of ever making them? You won't develope casual fans that way.
Nonsense. I spent my school years in Chi-Town, watching some uniformly awful Cub and Sox teams (mid-late 70s-early 80s). Both Kansas City and Milwaukee have played in a World Series since 1980, unlike the Cubs and, until this year, the White Sox. The Brewers finished at .500 this year, and any record over .500, especially in the NL, puts you in contention for a wild card.
Part of the problem is that MLB, FOX & ESPN no longer have a clue on how to televise a baseball game.
Part of the problem is that the World Series BEGINS on October 20th or thereabouts. Baseball is not a cold-weather game, and play naturally suffers.
A LOT of the problem that turns people off is the continuing negative media surrounding baseball, especially as compared to other major sports.
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by StlSluggers » Thu Oct 27, 2005 5:22 pm 
) times per season. The rest of the time, you can catch them a) on the weekend and b) at 1 PM or 4 PM EST. Now, that's not something we can really equate to baseball, in the differences of schedules, but I do agree with Kent that if games started even an hour earlier, young fans nation wide would be able to watch more baseball.
