by Brian P. Foley, The College Baseball Blog
B
obby Valentine who managed in MLB baseball with the Texas Rangers and New York Mets after being let go by the Mets he was hired by the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Pacific League of Japanese Baseball. He has proposed that the champion of the Japan Series should take on the World Series winner in Hawaii for a true World Series. In 2005, Valentine's Marines won the Japanese Series and Valentine quickly challenged the Chicago White Sox to a real World Series. MLB balked at the idea and it went under the rug for awhile until the Red Sox and Athletics showed up in Tokyo to open up the MLB season. Valentine brought this idea up again and I think that it would be a great thing to do for the sport of baseball.
So lets take a look at the logistics of this happening.
Do the dates work between the Leagues? The MLB World Series ended on October 28th as the Red Sox completed the sweep of the Colorado Rockies. The Chunichi Dragons won the Japan Series on November 1st which was only four days after the MLB World Series. So it is possible as both leagues end around the same time period.
Where could this be held? If they were to play a 7 or 9 game set between the MLB/Japan champions we would have to have it hosted in a warm weather city in the United States every season. Valentine suggested that they go to Honolulu and play the series there since it is halfway between both of the countries. Is there a facility that is big enough to host this event in Hawaii? The current Aloha Stadium has hosted a three game set between the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in 1997 and hosted a Padres vs Seibu Lions exhibition game in 1975. The biggest problem right now is that Aloha Stadium is currently locked into a football configuration which would force them to somehow fit a diamond into the current setup. This can probably be done with getting a diamond inside the stadium.
League issues? The MLB players have one of the best unions in the World so this would be a major issue as many MLB players have already raised concerns over traveling to Japan to open the season with two games over there. We would also be extending the season for the players another 2 weeks roughly which would put the tourney into the middle of November which gives the players a smaller off-season and less time with their families. I think the Japanese players would love to be involved in this as they think their league is on par with MLB. This is the biggest roadblock to having a true World Series.
I don't think you will see this series a reality over the next ten years as MLB needs a commissioner who is going to look at this type of event as an excellent opportunity to market the league in the Far East.
Monday, March 24, 2008
A TRUE WORLD SERIES?
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
HIGH PAY CLOSERS LEAD TO FAILURE
by Brian P. Foley, The College Baseball Blog
A report from Forbes magazine examines the effect of a high paid closer and the success of the team on the field. The four teams with the highest paid closers were eliminated in the first round of the MLB playoffs. Teams around MLB are currently paying closer's a salary of $3.9 million/year which is 30 percent higher then the average player.
The Red Sox and Rockies faced off in the World Series where the Red Sox used Jonathan Papelbon as a closer and the Rockies split time between Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas as they led their teams to the promise land. The Red Sox bullpen money is spread throughout the bullpen as Papelbon only received $425,000/year as he is still working under his rookie contract. The Red Sox were able to pay more players quality money. Papelbon ended up pitching 59 innings out of the team's 1500 innings which equals out to playing in only four percent of playing time for a top of the line closer. Fuentes on the other hand makes up 29 percent of the team's bullpen salary. This is still substantially lower then the Yankees who spent 52 percent of their budget on Mariano Rivera.
I know that every fan hates to watch their respective team lose a game in the ninth inning as an ineffective pitcher comes into the game and proceeds to blow the game. This move to paying pitchers big time money to come into the game for the final three outs is Tony La Russa's fault as he made Dennis Eckersley the first real closer in MLB and made it common for the closer to only pitch one inning. This has stuck in MLB since the late 80's and is still used today.
What do you think should be done about closers? Should they be paid better then Starting Pitchers?
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
THE MIDWAY: HOOPS COACHES, KOBE & UPSTAGING THE SERIES
Why would anyone want to be an assistant college hoops coach? (The Meaningful Collateral)
Could Kobe being moving to the nation's capital? The Magic 8-ball says check back later. (Deuce of Davenport)
Lost in all of this A-Rod stuff is the fact that THE WORLD SERIES can be upstaged. (Home Run Derby)
Sunday, October 28, 2007
TOP 10 CONCLUSIONS FROM THE RED SOX SWEEP OF THE ROCKIES
by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool
10. Maybe God doesn't hate gay marriage and universal health care that much after all
9. Winning 20 out of 21 against National League opponents may not count as much as beating real teams
8. The karmic payback for voting for Bush in 2004 is a bitch (see Ohio, Teams Of)
7. When push comes to shove, bet on the team that spends $100 million more on their payroll
6. Josh Fogg is more of a "Dragon Happy Meal" than a "Dragon Slayer"
5. Having a lot of rest between playoff rounds isn't terribly helpful
4. The defensive problems of playing David Ortiz at first base may not be very crippling
3. Brian Fuentes may not be a very deserving All-Star
2. Baseball games don't need extra innings to last for five hours
1. Waving white towels really doesn't seem to intimidate the Red Sox very much
WORLD SERIES MVP ODDS
by Jacob, Vegas Watch
Sportsbetting.com is not very good at putting up odds. They've consistently shown this. Today, they have odds on who will win the World Series MVP. Josh Beckett is the favorite at 3:2, followed by Manny at 4:1 and Ortiz at 5:1. After that, it's gets interesting:
Pedroia has hit Boston's only HR; after Beckett, I'd say him and Ellsbury are the favorites. But look at their odds- Ellsbury is 25:1. In his column today, BP's Joe Sheehan even mentioned him as a leading candidate:
"Jacoby Ellsbury—who might go from Double-A to a World Series MVP award in three months..."
Sportsbetting clearly hasn't been paying much attention to this series- Matt Holliday is still 11:2. Do whatever you like with this information.
Photo: OregonLive.
IT'S A FEEL-GOOD GAME
by Sooze, Babes Love Baseball
With both starting pitchers for Sunday's Game 4 of the World Series overcoming life-threatening illnesses, this game is a feel-good story.
Red Sox lefty Jon Lester bounced back this season after chemotherapy while Rockies righty Aaron Cook underwent 8 hours of surgery to remove blood clots in his lungs during the 2004 season.
Those two aren't the only ones to overcome adversity in this Series! Boston veteran Curt Schilling has managed to pitch through osteoporosis and dementia, while Colorado reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who survived growing up here, has made it through sucking his entire career.
It really puts things into perspective, when you really think about it. Hard.
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