Sodo Oh No

Color me confused on the blackout strategy imposed by MLB.com today. According to the schedule every game today is blacked out due to national broadcast restrictions. According to the schedule there are 7 simultaneous games going on and I can't see any of them unless I'm sitting in front of a TV. I don't get it. The MLB.tv feed is exactly what the network shows including commercials. What revenue are they possibly losing if they chose not to black out games across the country?

I guess being a techie I simply don't understand the mind of marketing. For example take a look at this interview in Hardball Times with the brilliant head of Victory Network which owns Twins games. This business decision by the Twins amazes me. It appears to equal the "negotiations" between Cox and Comcast on allowing our local cable company to carry the CBS HDTV feed in its stupidity. The inability to reach mutually acceptable negotiations between giant corporations continues to hurt the consumer. Any marketing experts out there want to enlighten me on what I'm missing?

I'll get off the soapbox now. At least I can listen to the audio feed of the Red Sox vs. Orioles.

As far as the M's opening day debacle....ugh...

The Angels scare me. Despite the pundits pointing to Erstad playing 1st base as the reason why the Angels won't win the West, I'll point out that a lineup that contains Guillen, Anderson, Salmon, Glaus and Guerrero is pretty damn imposing compared to what the M's have to offer. I've always believed in Earl Weavers philosophy in GP + 3 R HR = Win. ( Good Pitching and a 3 run home run equals a win). I'd expand on it even more with GP + 4 BB + 2 HR = Win for baseball in the new century. I stated it through most of last year that the M's lack of power will continue to hurt them. They just have to string together too many positive events to score runs ( Punch and Judy ). I expect their runs scored to drop this year as their power continues to diminish and their team OBP continues to drop.

Spezio's injury is now being listed as "soft tissue with some disc activity" and he's expected back in 3 weeks. Don't count on it. I have a partially herniated disc that made my life hell for 6 months until I got a cortisone shot. Then I embarked on a lengthy rehabilitation phase before I could play soccer again. It's always there, although it only impacts my life when I let myself get inactive. Most back injuries eventually go away without surgery but it takes time and proper care. I fully expect Sand Frog to suffer several recurrences over the course of the season as he tries to play through the injury. I hope I'm wrong. The M's need his bat to have any hope.

posted by John @ 5:00 PM