Separation Wars: Rays of Confusion

Just when I thought Major League Baseball was ridiculous enough, I am proven wrong once again. And so I write.

Last week, the baseball world was stirring at reports that the Tampa Bay Rays are going to look to take a vacation from their home stadium. Because 81 home games is "a lot of games" according to Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg, they're going to split their home games elsewhere starting in 2024. [1]

The location, you ask?

Montreal.

Yes, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Granted, Montreal had a team up until 15 years ago, when the franchise was moved to Washington D.C. and became the Nationals. They had a pretty solid following before then. MLB Network did a documentary on the history of the Montreal Expos, and you can find it here. For the last several years, especially after Rob Manfred came on board as commissioner of MLB, many wondered if we were going to see another move to bringing a second team back to Canada. Well, you see, with all of the expansions and the status of baseball in 2019, there is a problem with that.

To begin with, there are 30 teams in the league. If you want a singular team, you have to add another to the other league. This would throw off the divisions and more games would have to be added to the season by default. One rumbling over the last two years has been the divisions being reconfigured entirely (4 teams in a North-East-Midwest-West setup) to make way for even divisions, but it would ultimately eliminate the Wild Card. [2] That being said, this ridiculousness ultimately justifies not affecting any teams that exist, and still getting Montreal, as well as other major western markets that MLB has been ogling over, such as Portland and Las Vegas.

When I first read the articles coming forth from the Rays' owners, this looks like a giant case of "we're expanding our 'market,' so we don't have to take the big fall if our market fails somewhere else, and if it succeeds, WOO MONEY!" While they've gone on-record saying that they're not moving out of Tampa Bay entirely, it is probably the absolute dumbest idea to have your team play half of their home games in another location that is over 1500 miles away. You're supposed to develop a knowledge of your field and to develop a faithful enough rapport with your fanbase, so you have, you know, home field advantage. switching your home field halfway through the season is a completely bogus idea in my mind.

Their idea allegedly justifies not needing a new ballpark right now, or using that "time away" to construct a more efficient ballpark that doesn't have low ceiling beams that determine certain extra-base hits. The St. Petersburg area is rather cramped as it is, and the Tampa Bay-metro area doesn't really have the space to construct another stadium right now. Even if there is a spot, freeways are rather bunched together in Western Florida, and you're going to have another Dodger Stadium situation in which you're moving people out of their homes to build a ballpark.

You can see what I mean here. Thanks, Google Maps!

As you can see, there isn't a lot of space to move around, unless you become the innovator of an underwater ballpark in Tampa Bay. [Oh no, please don't let that happen, baseball gods.]

While I can see what the owners are trying to do, it's another thing to pick a location that is not only so far away, but literally in another country. I kind of want to know what kind of mice were running around in the owners' brains in that thought process.


--

Here's a fun little bit that I'll do:  

How would I fix this, despite asking myself, "...and who am I in this situation?"

I'm no expert on the baseball business, but let's give this a go. You have another team in Florida with a fairly new ballpark in the Miami Marlins, right? At the end of, say, the 2021 season, move the Miami Marlins franchise to Montreal to keep a fifth NL East team. Name them accordingly, whether it's bringing back the "Expos" name, or renaming them the "Montreal Grey Jays" (Canada's national bird, and the National League's "Jays" as Toronto is in the American League). Rename the Tampa Bay Rays the "Miami-St. Pete Hammerheads" and use both of their ballparks until 2023, when you'd have to make a final decision on what to do with Tropicana Field. By 2027--which is the original timeline as to when the Rays' deal with Trop ends--you'll most likely have a brand new ballpark by then.

I won't lie, I think I'm a genius with this idea.

But it's never gonna happen, because who am I in this situation?

--

The closest thing I can liken this situation to be is a sports separation, and Tampa is splitting custody of the Rays with Montreal to "strengthen the Montreal market." I mean, it isn't like baseball ever died in Montreal, let alone in Canada. It isn't a full-fledged divorce from Tampa, but they're thinking that business is going to be on the rise once this idea goes into effect.

Much like kids in a separation or divorce, are the players and coaching staff going to have a say in all of this? Of course not, because they're not high enough on the totem pole to really make an impact. If anything, I feel the worst for them, because you have unstable residences for half of your season. Not only that, imagine the fans in the area. It's like one of your attractions seemingly leaves and it cuts out something to do. Meanwhile, in Montreal, it's like you're an NFL fan in London, and the league is going, "Hey! Here's something you don't have! Wouldn't it be cool if you had a team of your own? Here's a free trial!" It seems sympathetic, and at the same time, kind of a cop-out.

It's still rather early in this planning process, so it's difficult to draw any conclusions as to how this is all going to go down. At face-value, this is a ballsy idea that could definitely bomb if it isn't planned from start to finish. Who knows? Maybe this idea will kill itself before it gets any further than this.

Only time will tell.

-- Stephanie

___________________
Other articles referenced:

[1] Rays explain details of Montreal plan: "This is not a staged exit" - Tampa Bay Times - https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rays/2019/06/25/rays-montreal-primer-what-you-need-to-know-before-todays-press-conference/ 

[2] If MLB considers expansion, what would a 32-team league look like? - SI.com - https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/10/19/major-league-baseball-expansion-proposal-realignment

Sportsmanship and the Overkill of Social [Media] Commentary

Shoutouts to all of the "coaches" on Soccer Twitter for truly making this evening a masterpiece for me mentally. You don't know how much your inability to have a discussion is appreciated.

Unless you haven't checked out the news or any piece of social media today, you should already know that the US Women's National Soccer--Football--Team completely destroyed Thailand 13-0 in pool play of the FIFA Women's World Cup. That's right. 13-0. Because Team USA is not only one of the top women's teams in the world, but they're also the defending World Cup champions, it wasn't too surprising for them to take a win in this game. However, it's how much and how it was celebrated that is causing a massive uproar among people.

Basically, the term "unsportsmanlike conduct" is being thrown around.

While it's expected that a lot of people are going to disagree on a subject like this, it's also really telling when you're seeing analysts openly getting into arguments over this debacle and blocking anyone who remotely disagrees with them. It's burtal. Yes, it's pretty clear that there's no such thing as a discussion anymore, but that's an essay for another blog for a much later date.

Because there really isn't much more exposition here, we're going to cut to the chase.

Is scoring a lot on a team a form of unsportsmanlike conduct?
No. You guys. This is the World Cup. This is the absolute highest level a woman playing this sport can take part in. While there is such a thing as goal differentials and how that plays a part in advancing to the knockout stages, let's put this aside for a moment. When you're in a heavily one-sided match like that, one of the last things you can think about doing is taking your foot off of the gas. It isn't just because of pride and integrity, but if I were the other team (in this case, Thailand), I'd be a little angry if the opposing team was playing at anything below 100% because it's like they're spoon-feeding me an opportunity to not embarrass myself. That, and it would also be unsportsmanlike if they just spent the last half hour of the game passing around to each other. There's no integrity in that.

In a situation like this, if you're up by more than, say, five goals, the rest of the game becomes a "practice." You're going to work on different strategies and formations to see how they're going to equate to different squads later on. Sure, you don't want to give a lot of that away, because that can easily show up on a tape later for the team to capitalize on, but every minute is needed to see what works and what doesn't. If they score, that's fine. They're doing their job in their practice. That leads to this next point...

Were the celebrations after the sixth goal unsportsmanlike?
If you don't count Megan Rapinoe's slide--which, yes, I'll give you that one, because that was a bit much--no! Again, people, this is the World Cup. If I scored a goal in the World Cup, I would probably get a yellow card because of the amount of celebrating I would do. Let's just say that I would have been wearing less than what Brandi Chastain did after the '99 shootout.

This is years and years and years of hard work for some of these girls that are making their first World Cup appearance. Heck, I'm pretty certain that their first experience of soccer was watching Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain and Michelle Akers back during the 1999 Women's World Cup. I was one of those girls too! While my ship sailed many years ago, those other girls wanted that moment too. They have it. Let them be excited over it.

If the next game happens to be a blowout or even a game that shows a lack of competition, we may possibly see a change in demeanor just because the butterflies are out, and most girls who have scored a goal won't have that honeymoon phase about it.

"They can't do that in college!" That's also college soccer. Different world.
"The men aren't allowed to do that kind of stuff!" Oh boy. On that note...

This is hard for me, but at this point in the post, this is my mental process:

Please don't make this a gender issue. Please don't make this a gender issue. Please don't make this a gender issue. Please don't make this a gender issue. Please don't make this a gender issue--

I'M MAKING IT A GENDER ISSUE. FOR ONLY A MINUTE.

Not like we have a major example of this happening, but if the men did something like this, would you respond the same way?

[Yeah. Where were they last year anyway? That's right. Watching the World Cup while sitting on their couches.] 

"Oh, well, that's just the boys being boys! huehuehuehuehue--" NO. Stop right there. If the men did something like that, you would soak in every second of it because there's pride involved. It shows how great we are. Because the women are doing it, we're being overdramatic and unsportsmanlike.

"What does it matter whether a woman or a man does it? It's the same thing!" You say that now because that's never happened with the men. We as human beings enjoy a slaughter every now and again, but you rarely see women take part in that outside of something like UFC. Even then, there's this joke.

I'm done now. You can read the rest of the post.

The last time there was a blowout of this caliber, it was in the 2007 Women's World Cup where Germany beat Argentina 11-0. The highlights, albeit in German, can be watched here. While there wasn't as much in celebration compared to today, they showed absolutely no mercy throughout, and there wasn't a lot of backlash from this. In fact, Argentina, having only qualified three other times for the World Cup since 1995, has only earned a single point in World Cup play, and that was from a tie against Japan yesterday! Twelve years since that game! So now what? Are we going to be quiet now because Team USA weren't the only ones that did something like this? Be serious.

After being accused numerous times of justifying unsportsmanlike conduct during this game today, all I can really do is shrug. I don't see it as such. Were there certain sketchy acts committed during the game? Sure, but it wasn't the amount of goals scored or the first-timers that scored their very own World Cup goal. I understand where other people are coming from with this, but you also have to realize that you're allowed to disagree with somebody without turning into some version of a social justice warrior. We as a society haven't gone entirely berserk, but one thing we have become is overly critical of what is and what should be. They weren't doing anything demeaning in celebration, and to be honest, it doesn't look like the Thai women weren't taking the loss too harshly. Believe me, there are way more embarrassing things going on in this country right now, and today's game couldn't even hold a candle to it even if it was aided by 1000 tons of TNT or the process of how the Chernobyl disaster went down. But hey! We need more things to get upset about and argue about, am I right? We're just an angry, wild, and crazy country!

Best thing I can say at this point is that we're going to see some sort of change on Sunday for better or for worse. However, I can't say that everyone is still going to be a fan of what unfolds. Not everybody can be satisfied today, I suppose.


-- Stephanie

Netting Your Attention

Happy June. The weather is heating up, and so are my typing fingers. Plus, baseball has given me far too much to rip upon this season in a few short months, and for that, I'm eternally grateful. No joke.

This past Wednesday night was a frighteningly worrisome one in baseball. During the Houston Astros - Chicago Cubs game at Minute Maid Park, Cubs outfielder Alberto Almora Jr smacked a line drive foul into the third base line stands. That hot ball hit a four-year-old girl, causing a massive stir in the stands, and physically, psychologically, and emotionally affecting Almora at the plate. He finished the at-bat, but it was clear to tell that he had great difficulty going through with that. On a positive note, the young girl is doing just fine now. [1]

Psychological fallacies aside, we're seeing this all too often, aren't we?

As expected, This is bringing up the conversation yet again of working to expand the netting along all of the stadium foul lines. There has been some expansion in the last year, but it obviously hasn't been enough to guarantee the safety of the fans closer to the action. As of right now, the nets only reach to the ends of each dugout. MLB has what they call a "baseball rule,"a, "warning that they're not liable for risks fans accept by attending the game." [2]

So, basically, kids fall into that category, and they're not old enough to really be held responsible for anything. OK then. Let that sink in. The only thing they should be held responsible for is for the food they hold. That's it.

What amazes me was when there were growing concerns in the NHL about crowd safety and pucks leaving the ice, they had quickly implemented measures to require netting surrounding the backstop areas at all arenas to ensure player safety. Of course, they don't have to be around the entirety of the ice, as most of the shooting will occur around the backstop. They ruled this three months after a young girl was killed by a puck during the 2001-2002 season. [3] Three months, everybody. Three months, and something was done about it. We're talking about a sport that is much more physical and fast-paced than baseball, and as soon as there was a major incident, the correct measures were taken to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again.


You can argue that there are already a lot of nets at ballparks already, and if you're going to sit that close to the action, that you need to pay attention at all times. That's cool and everything, but when a ball or a rogue bat comes flying at you, not everybody that close has a glove, and there's no decent way to defend yourself from a hard-hit ball or a flying bat. A lot of the less-modern ballparks like Wrigley and Fenway also has their baseline stands much closer at some angles than most others. The game has changed a lot since then.

Seriously--what's it going to take? Somebody has already died from an incident like this. What MLB has done is a disgrace and is far from enough of an effort.

Baseball leagues in Japan and South Korea have already taken measures to have extensive netting around the entirety of the infield area. On that note, it hasn't affected the game at all over there. In fact, it gives the fans more of the reason to immerse themselves without any sort of worry. [To be fair, the atmospheres of games out there are literally night and day compared to baseball in the United States.]

I hate to beat a dead horse, but you're so worried about fan attendance this early in the year, and you're not focused on their safety? OK then, Mr. Manfred. Keep on looking at the revenue and gain some liability issues on your hands. Not acting upon what is becoming far too common is putting the fans at risk and putting attendance figures at risk. It doesn't matter that most ballparks are "cultural experiences" nowadays, where instead of watching the game--you know, what you're normally supposed to do at ballparks--you can go to these interactive playgrounds for kids or beer gardens for sportsball supporters. Pardon the strong statement, but when I go to a ballpark, it's because I want to watch the team. If I want to do interactives, I'll go when the ballpark first opens to kick some butt in wiffleball or something. Other than that though? Gimme a scorecard.

With the evolution of the game today, you can't take any chances. With the way the world is today, a sporting event should be fun, relaxing, and free of worry, no matter where you sit.

You can afford to shell out a few thousand dollars for extra netting, MLB. It's time to be smart.


-- Stephanie

___________________
Other articles referenced:

[1] Chicago Cubs batter breaks down after his line drive strikes 4-year-old girl - CBS News - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/girl-hit-by-foul-ball-albert-almora-chicago-cubs-batter-breaks-down-line-drive-houston-astros-game/
[2] After foul ball injures girl, does baseball need to do more? - Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/05/30/after-foul-ball-injures-girl-does-baseball-need-do-more/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4c45b88bc666
[3] HOCKEY; N.H.L. Arenas to Add Netting To Protect the Fans From Pucks - New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/21/sports/hockey-nhl-arenas-to-add-netting-to-protect-the-fans-from-pucks.html