\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " MLB Insider
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " January 27, 2009
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Time for Changes… MLB Network… Rumors and More
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " One hundred and one years ago the Baseball Writers’ \n" ); document.write( " Association of America was formed to improve the working conditions for \n" ); document.write( " sportswriters in the early part of the 20th century. The \n" ); document.write( " BBWAA is a professional association for baseball journalists writing for \n" ); document.write( " daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying Web sites.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Their primary function is to work with MLB and the \n" ); document.write( " individual teams to assure clubhouse and press box access for it’s’ \n" ); document.write( " members. Additionally, BBWAA members also votes annually for the MVP, \n" ); document.write( " Cy Young, Manager of the Year and Rookie of the Year Awards… at last, \n" ); document.write( " but not least elect players to the Hall of Fame, provided that they have \n" ); document.write( " had 10-years continuance membership in good-standing before eligible to \n" ); document.write( " vote or are honorary voting members.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Over the years, the BBWAA has been criticized for being \n" ); document.write( " behind the times when it comes to membership. In the early years, \n" ); document.write( " newspapers were the dominant means of obtaining the all the news that \n" ); document.write( " was fit to print. Most cities carried two, three or even four daily \n" ); document.write( " newspapers with many writers and reporters covering everything and \n" ); document.write( " anything under the sun.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " When it came to sports, cities that hosted professional \n" ); document.write( " teams would have handfuls of reporters and writers covering each and \n" ); document.write( " every team, regardless of the sport. It was commonplace for a “Daily” \n" ); document.write( " to have four or five journalists following the team.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " As time progressed into the 20th century, \n" ); document.write( " television came into being and the local dailies began seeing the \n" ); document.write( " effects. Readership was down as homes began adding televisions. \n" ); document.write( " Readers would now watch games inside of listening to them on radio or \n" ); document.write( " reading about them. The newspapers no longer were the means to getting \n" ); document.write( " the news. Newspapers began laying off writers, many went bankrupt and \n" ); document.write( " no longer did cities like New York have their five dailies.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " By the end of the 20th century and start of \n" ); document.write( " the 21st, the Internet more or less became the number one \n" ); document.write( " means of addressing the news – especially sports for the fans. Fans \n" ); document.write( " from all over could do a simple search and find news, sports or just \n" ); document.write( " about anything else with a few clicks of the computer keyboard.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Considering the availability of the internet, it amazed \n" ); document.write( " me that it took the BBWAA years to include Web-based journalists (2007), \n" ); document.write( " albeit there is only a handful. But, what is more disturbing is that \n" ); document.write( " the BBWAA hasn’t broadened its membership to the broadcasters and the \n" ); document.write( " researchers – two vital entities.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " As mentioned earlier, a BBWAA member must wait ten years \n" ); document.write( " before he/she has voting privileges. Hopefully during the waiting \n" ); document.write( " years, they have seen some if not all of the players on a ballot when it \n" ); document.write( " comes time for them to vote.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Unfortunately though, that’s not the case – as in recent \n" ); document.write( " years some members announced that they couldn’t vote for said player \n" ); document.write( " because they had not seen him play enough. Talk about a cop-out \n" ); document.write( " answer. Did they not have access to the internet? Did they not have \n" ); document.write( " access to the wire news? Did they not have the eyes to read out-of-town \n" ); document.write( " newspapers? Did they not have access to a television?
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " The BBWAA in my opinion is doing a disservice by not \n" ); document.write( " allowing more Web-based journalists to become members but more so for \n" ); document.write( " not including the broadcasters and researchers.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Broadcasters see more games than anyone else and they pay \n" ); document.write( " much closer attention to the game than the writers. If you have never \n" ); document.write( " been in a press box then you haven’t a clue as to what the writers’ are \n" ); document.write( " actually doing… nine out of ten writers covering the game are working on \n" ); document.write( " other stories, surfing the net and even watching out-of-town games while \n" ); document.write( " the game they’re supposed to be covering is going on. \n" ); document.write( "
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " The broadcaster on the other hand, is actually watching \n" ); document.write( " the game and keeping score, taking notes etc. They don’t have the time \n" ); document.write( " or the opportunity to surf the net or watch out-of-town games. There \n" ); document.write( " are some that feel broadcasters couldn’t be impartial when it came time \n" ); document.write( " for a vote, because they’re employees of the team… another cop-out \n" ); document.write( " answer. How about the writers that are employed by a company that owns \n" ); document.write( " the team… The Tribune Company owns the Cubs, the Chicago Tribune and the \n" ); document.write( " Los Angeles Times. How about the New York Times that owns a minority \n" ); document.write( " interest in the Red Sox?
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Could it have been to have Phil Rizzuto, Ralph Kiner, \n" ); document.write( " Harry Carey or the handful of other broadcasters from the 60’s, 70’s and \n" ); document.write( " 80’s to have a vote? Would it be such a bad thing today to have some of \n" ); document.write( " the broadcasters like Jon Miller, Dave Niehaus or Harry Kalas to have a \n" ); document.write( " vote? I didn’t include Vin Scully because he has a vote as a member of \n" ); document.write( " the Veteran’s Committee.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Researchers do just that, they research every statistic \n" ); document.write( " available for every player from all levels of the game. Many indeed do \n" ); document.write( " attend numerous games and have more insight into players than even a \n" ); document.write( " writer has.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " The Elias Sports Bureau is the primary source of \n" ); document.write( " statistics for ESPN and as well national newspapers and magazines, many \n" ); document.write( " websites and for dozens of broadcasters of MLB, NBA and NHL telecasts. \n" ); document.write( " They’ve been around since 1913 providing historical research and \n" ); document.write( " statistical services for most of professional sports.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " They are also the Official Statistician for Major League \n" ); document.write( " Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball \n" ); document.write( " Association, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, the \n" ); document.write( " Women's National Basketball Association, and the Arena Football League.\n" ); document.write( "
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Would it be a disservice to include members of the Elias \n" ); document.write( " Sports Bureau to the BBWAA? I think not – matter of fact, they could \n" ); document.write( " probably be of great assistance.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " There are plenty of devoted writers that are members of \n" ); document.write( " the BBWAA… some even cherish the fact that they can vote, some even \n" ); document.write( " agonize over their votes. But then there are some that are columnists \n" ); document.write( " and editors who rarely, if ever attend games and couldn’t care less \n" ); document.write( " because they don’t care for baseball any longer, yet they vote.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " The BBWAA needs to step up to the plate and get with the \n" ); document.write( " times. They need to remove the “dead” weights, they need to include \n" ); document.write( " more web-based journalists and more importantly, they need to get away \n" ); document.write( " from the “Good Old Boy” network.
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document.write( " ![](\"http://www.sportznutz.com/columns/mlb_insider/images_2/MLBNetworklogo.jpg\")
When \n" );
document.write( " I heard that Major League Baseball was going to launch its own network a \n" );
document.write( " few years back I was very excited. Being a diehard baseball fan, the \n" );
document.write( " off-season was always a drag. Surfing the internet for anything \n" );
document.write( " baseball was the only way to get baseball in blood. I couldn’t wait \n" );
document.write( " for the start of “Baseball Tonight” on ESPN to begin during spring \n" );
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\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Finally, on January 1st, Major League Baseball \n" ); document.write( " followed the NFL, NBA and NHL unveiling its own channel – the MLB \n" ); document.write( " Network. With its 50-million subscribers, the Network had the largest \n" ); document.write( " launch in the history of cable programming.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " After a 2-minute welcome from Commissioner Bud Selig the \n" ); document.write( " network opened with its “Hot Stove” studio show, followed by the \n" ); document.write( " original broadcast of Don Larson’s perfect Game 5 of the 1956 World \n" ); document.write( " Series. Finally after years of anticipation I had baseball 24/7.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Set in beautiful state-of-the-art studios (Studio 42 and \n" ); document.write( " 3) named for Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth, the “Hot Stove” gives \n" ); document.write( " viewers the feeling of being inside the studio. Take for instance Studio \n" ); document.write( " 42, which features a large baseball diamond on which the analysts use \n" ); document.write( " for demonstrations of plays etc. The visuals surpass anything that I’ve \n" ); document.write( " ever seen on television.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " The major show during the off-season is “The Hot Stove,” \n" ); document.write( " with studio host Matt Vasgersian, studio analysts Harold Reynolds, Al \n" ); document.write( " Leiter, Joe Magrane and reporters Trenni Kusnierek (former FSN reporter) \n" ); document.write( " and Hazel Mae (former NESN reporter), and a handful of other studio \n" ); document.write( " analysts that appear on the show as well. Basically, this show is a \n" ); document.write( " poor man’s rip-off of ESPN’s Baseball Tonight.
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document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Harold \n" ); document.write( " Reynolds... boring in his new \n" ); document.write( " role | \n" );
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\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Over the years I’ve come to enjoy Baseball Tonight, \n" ); document.write( " despite John Kruk or some of the other studio analysts they have, but \n" ); document.write( " watching and listening to MLBs Hot Stove show these days is just plain \n" ); document.write( " boring. By no means am I entertained… Harold Reynolds is the lead \n" ); document.write( " studio analyst and after a week, I have had enough of him.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Reynolds has this tendency of making ludicrous statements \n" ); document.write( " with such conviction that after a while you think he’s right because of \n" ); document.write( " being an ex-ballplayer. He’ll do this over and over no matter who the \n" ); document.write( " other analysts are by his side. For instance, enough of the discussion \n" ); document.write( " on Barry Bonds – we have all come to learn that you want him on your \n" ); document.write( " team… and the same can be said about some of the other free agents that \n" ); document.write( " are still available.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " One would think that being an ex-player would give you \n" ); document.write( " better insight to the hot stove talk. Unfortunately, with Reynolds \n" ); document.write( " flapping his yap all the time it’s hard for studio analysts Mitch \n" ); document.write( " Williams and Al Leiter to get a word in edge wise and give their \n" ); document.write( " analysis.
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document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Matt Vasgersian... needs to spice \n" ); document.write( " it up | \n" );
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\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Matt Vasgersian, the lead host is okay – but he’s very \n" ); document.write( " bland and needs to spice it up. I can’t imagine listening to him \n" ); document.write( " calling San Diego Padre baseball games, which he’s done for the past \n" ); document.write( " seven years. Studio reporters Hazel Mae and Trenni Kusnierek have been \n" ); document.write( " okay, but it would be nice to see them more often.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Overall the Hot Stove show hasn’t been done anything for \n" ); document.write( " me… as for the rest of the programming; it’s been okay, but nothing \n" ); document.write( " spectacular to say the least.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " I guess that I had much higher expectations for the MLB \n" ); document.write( " Network. Honestly, I’m bored stiff before reaching the halfway point of \n" ); document.write( " most shows. I’m tired every time that I tune in that I’m seeing yet \n" ); document.write( " another rerun of the same show I had seen earlier in the day or days \n" ); document.write( " before. There’s been enough coverage of the Yankees and Red Sox to last \n" ); document.write( " a lifetime… how much more do we really need to see?
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy watching some of the old \n" ); document.write( " games… but how about showcasing some of the majors other teams once and \n" ); document.write( " awhile.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " I really don’t know what I had expected from the MLB \n" ); document.write( " Network, but it sure wasn’t this… especially after all the hype weeks \n" ); document.write( " before the launch. I imagine that once the kinks are worked out and the \n" ); document.write( " season gets underway things will change – at least I sincerely hope so.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Rumors and More
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, free agent \n" ); document.write( " starter Tom \n" ); document.write( " Glavine is expected to meet with Braves GM Frank Wren \n" ); document.write( " this week. Wren wants a progress report on Glavine’s health; apparently \n" ); document.write( " Glavine received a positive report from Dr. James Andrews recently. \n" ); document.write( " Glavine would have to battle for the fifth starter job in Atlanta.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " Crasnick also writes that free agent outfielder \n" ); document.write( " Bobby Abreu \n" ); document.write( " has lowered his expectations to the three-year, $10-11-million range of\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Raul \n" ); document.write( " Ibanez and \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Milton Bradley.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh \n" ); document.write( " Post-Gazette, \n" ); document.write( " the \n" ); document.write( " Pirates are pursuing free-agent outfielder \n" ); document.write( " Luis Gonzalez, \n" ); document.write( " with their most recent discussion having occurred late last week. \n" ); document.write( " He adds that two other clubs are also pursuing Gonzalez for a fourth \n" ); document.write( " outfielder type role. Kovacevic says the Bucs are eyeing other free \n" ); document.write( " agent outfielders as well.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " ESPN’s \n" ); document.write( " Keith Law reports that Brandon Lyon turned down more lucrative \n" ); document.write( " offers for a chance to close in Detroit.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Nationals GM Jim Bowden says that a Tom Glavine \n" ); document.write( " signing is unlikely.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Nomar \n" ); document.write( " Garciaparra and Rich Aurilia are two right-hand hitters the \n" ); document.write( " Phillies remain interested in signing.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says a \n" ); document.write( " baseball source confirmed that the Sox have presented Jason Varitek \n" ); document.write( " with a January 31st deadline to accept or decline their most \n" ); document.write( " recent proposal, which gave the player a pair of options to choose \n" ); document.write( " from. According to another source, Varitek has the choice of picking \n" ); document.write( " between either a straight one-year, $5-million contract or a one-year \n" ); document.write( " offer for a guaranteed $5- million with a dual option for 2010.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com believes that a Cubs \n" ); document.write( " sale could catalyze a trade with San Diego that would include Jake \n" ); document.write( " Peavy. Bloom notes that neither team has re-engaged the topic, but \n" ); document.write( " sources suggested the move looks like a matter of when, not if, based on \n" ); document.write( " various developments.
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document.write( " Artist rendering of Marlins \n" ); document.write( " Park located on the site of the Orange Bowl | \n" );
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\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Marlins Fans get out those calendars and circle Friday, \n" ); document.write( " February 13th – yes, that’s correct – Friday the 13th. \n" ); document.write( " That’s the day when the Miami-Dade Commissioners are scheduled to vote \n" ); document.write( " on the remaining contracts that would give the Marlins a home of their \n" ); document.write( " own.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " County Manager George Burgess released the five contracts \n" ); document.write( " needed to close the deal Tuesday, saying the Marlins agreed to a host of \n" ); document.write( " concessions that make the $515-million stadium plan much easier to \n" ); document.write( " accept at the county level.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Among the changes in the agreement:
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\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " If Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria sells the team in the \n" ); document.write( " seven years after the agreement has been reached, the county would \n" ); document.write( " almost double its share of any profits.
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\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " The ball club’s $2.3-million a year in rent will go \n" ); document.write( " up by 2 percent each year.
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\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " Extra costs due to scheduling or problems between the \n" ); document.write( " contractor and subcontractors will now be paid by the Marlins.
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\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " The Marlins consistently among the lowest salaried teams \n" ); document.write( " in Major League Baseball have complained for years of the bad deal they \n" ); document.write( " get from renting Dolphin Stadium from H. Wayne Huizenga. \n" ); document.write( "
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " They hope to be able to play in a 37,000 seat, \n" ); document.write( " retractable-roof stadium by Opening Day 2012. It will include 1,000 \n" ); document.write( " standing room only tickets. The team’s lease at Dolphin Stadium runs out \n" ); document.write( " after 2011, but Marlins executives hope to renegotiate for another year \n" ); document.write( " with soon-to-be new Dolphin owner Stephen Ross.
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " To finance the stadium, the county will spend \n" ); document.write( " $347-million in mostly tourist created taxes, the city will spend \n" ); document.write( " $13-million and the Marlins will pony up $155-million, though \n" ); document.write( " $35-million of that will be fronted by the county and repaid through \n" ); document.write( " rent payments.
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