Here's the deal, baseball stinks. I know, I know, Tim and J will argue with me, they have gone to most of the parks and enjoy the game...even regular season. But, I have a different perspective. I love football and basketball (not NBA basketball. I don't really think it's basketball anymore). I really enjoy watching the golf majors on TV. I grew up going to the Indy 500 and still go, so I enjoy IRL racing. After that, comes baseball...but I do enjoy the playoffs.
I asked my brother for his opinion on the Mitchell Report a few weeks back and he gave me one of the best answers I've heard. The gist is this:
-Baseball season is too long already...it takes away highlights from sports that I care about...
-We already have to hear about baseball during non-baseball months because of Winter Meetings, trades and rumors of trades...This report only makes more publicity for a game that I wish would go away.
I don't wish baseball would go away, but I do wish the season was shorter. I also recognize that I'm part of the problem since I'm still talking about it. I'll do my best to stop, but I want to give Bonds, Clemens et al all of the rope they need to hang themselves. They are truly buffoons.
So why does baseball suck?
In its purest form, it doesn't. It's a great game to watch with someone you really enjoy being around. It moves slowly, but that's what makes it such a great game to watch with a loved one. Some of my fondest memories of my life are at the baseball park with my Grandpa, Dad and brothers
That said, the games take too long (especially with TV in the equation) and the season is waaaaaaay too long . But that's not why the sport stinks.
The game that I grew up playing got greedy and lost a bunch of fans in the process...So instead of trying to earn the fans' respect and viewership, it got lazy and allowed itself to be bastardized in the name of ratings and popularity. I will say that I don't see HGH or steroids as an unfair or competitive advantage simply because such a high percentage of the athletes used these drugs. But, the guys that some kids grow up trying to emulate are truly an embarrassment and are nothing that I want my son to emulate. They're liars and cheaters and just a half step from being animals or machines...because they are most certainly no longer human after they've altered themselves to the degree that many have.
That's why baseball sucks.