Thursday, May 9, 2013

It's Not Baseball Season Yet

When I'm watching SportsCenter or surfing the web for insightful articles I've noticed I don't pay much attention to baseball stories.  I take in a few scores and glance over the standings, but nothing major.  Right now it's all about playoff hoop.  Whether it's LeBron James and D Wade, Nate Robinson, Carmelo Anthony, or Kevin Durant playing at a high level the NBA title is on the line and these players have my undivided attention.  Although it's almost 1/4 of the way into the season I can't really say I'm all that interested in curveballs and sliders.  Is this a sign that baseball is losing its popularity?

Yes and no.  Since the BALCO scandal major league baseball has been on a crusade to clean up the game and in doing so the production has fallen off dramatically.  No more seasons with multiple 60+ home run guys and power pitchers in their mid 40's.  Instead they have tried to replenish the game with up and coming stars they would love to pass the torch to.  Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Miguel Cabrera, and the great Robinson Cano are all on the cusp of becoming household names, but they're not quite there yet.  Subsequently the game lacks star power and the long ball at the same time which makes the games somewhat boring until after the all star break when the outcome is more significant.

Truth be told the baseball season is too long to follow from opening day unless you live in a city with World Series aspirations.  Unlike football season (which trumps everything from beginning to end) the overlap baseball has with the NBA finals is too much to overcome.  Talk to me again around the mid July and I'll have much more to say about RBI's, RISP's, and ERA's, but for now I'm just a somewhat curious observer.  Your thoughts.

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