The Cinderella World Series

There is a phrase, paybacks are a bitch, and if there was ever a payback to MLB, this year’s World Series was it. They only good to come out of it was that many young Phillies fans were still not tucked in bed when the Philadelphia Phillies jumped joyously on field and were presented the 2008 World Series Trophy.

In a bygone age, my youth long past, playoffs and the World Series were viewable in under 4 hours. The World Series games started at 7:00 in their time zone, not 8:00, which is really between 8:30 and 8:45 due to televised pre-game crap, the TV viewer must suffer through. The games would end between 10-11:00PM, and school children were allowed to stay up and watch. The games did not impact on their being awake in school the next day. How do I know all this, I lived it before Bud Selig and his prime time marketing of MLB.

The 2008 World Series drew an overall 8.2 market share for all the televised games. This is the lowest ratings recorded in the history of the televised World Series. Prior to this the 2006 World Series between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals was the lowest with a 10.1 market share.

But who cares about ratings, the fans care about the game, and really the Rays don’t have a fan base. If it wasn’t for all those other MLB teams, in particular the Yankees, the Rays would have a negative a balance. Those who watched were most Philly Fans.

Now back to the ratings, are they are a big dud for Bud, of course; but considering the lopsided fan base, that the Phillies drew 8.2, that kudos for the Phillies. If a more fan oriented team like the Red Soxs, Yankees or Indians had been the AL opponent, the ratings would have been above 14.

What does that mean for the Rays, it means build on your market. You have a decent team, although no one batted well during the playoffs. But you played in the Fall Classic; the only competition were 2nd place means something; time to analyze your faults and build on your strengths. Despite what the sports pros are saying, about the World Series and the World Series ratings, the Rays are not a bad team.

The Rays now need to market to get fans. Hoisting the American League Championship banner will be the first step. Playing to that banner will be the second. In a league where the majority of the championship banners are held by the New York Yankees, you retired the Yankees from playoff participation for the first time since 1994.

The Phillies have always had a good team, ask all those NY Mets fans. Do they deserve their trophy, yes they do. They kept their eye on the prize. Are the Rays a bad team, no they are not, that AL banner they are designing for their 2009 Opening Day proves it; but unfortunately neither the Phillies or Rays are American sweethearts like the Yankees, Red Soxs, Cardinals or Cubs so the writers have to rate this a lackluster Word Series with stepsisters playing. Poo on the writers.

In my final act of Bud bashing for today, there was the $3,000,000 FOX took and paid a partial sum to MLB to delay Game 5 for the Barack Obama infomercial. Really Bud, can’t you stand your ground. Even Disney passed on the money and showed regular programming at 8:00PM.

Kudos to the Phillies, even more kudos to the Rays, this is was baseball is about, it’s not over to the last out and anything can happen. It’s not the divine right of the Yankees to win all the time and occasionally a Cinderella story unfolds. Most of of all thousands of young Philly Phanatics got to watch their team hoist the World Series Trophy live and not on the morning news because of the game delay on Monday. Only a Fairy Godmother could do that.

There is No Snow In Baseball

It was bound to happen sooner or later, a World Series delayed on the premise of snow. Of course most of us with any sense believed it would only happen if Boston, Milwaukee or Colorado was in the Fall Classic, not a snow in Philadelphia in October.

Snow has been the vex of Bud Selig since he started tinkering with the schedule. First we moved up the start or the season, to give more off days. This cause a multitude of snow outs in the north.

Last year Selig announced he would schedule more off days so that prime time viewing of the playoffs and Fall Classic would benefit the fans. Who was Bud kidding, it was to benefit the advertisers who would then pay the channels big bucks, who would pass the cash onto MLB. Bud's affinity for snow would have better served him a the Commissioner of the NBA, at least the only snow the NBA deals with is the dry powdered kind sold illicitly to players who think that illegal drugs are not illegal for professional athletes.

Anyway the Philadelphia snow out of the delayed rain out is Bud's fault. Place the blame squarely with him. Bud Selig, not in it for the fans, it is for himself and his checkbook.

No one item I must note is the unfair chastisement of the delay of tonight's Game 5 Part II by Casey & Rossi, aka " The Jersey Guys" on NJ 101.5FM. They, Casey & Rossi, were chastising MLB for calling tonight's game because of the weather. Originally the rain was supposed to end by game time with high winds. There was never supposed to be snow. However by the end of the business most of eastern PA and most of NJ north of Trenton had been dusted with the white stuff. Most of NJ was a Shadow Traffic nightmare by 2PM when the Jersey Guys went on air.

The decision of MLB , rain or snow to postpone the Game 5 Part 2 was in my minds the only intelligent decision of Bud Selig in this decade. I had been at a client site in Princeton, and was traveling home through Pine Barrens at 2PM. The road conditions coupled with the visibility were extremely hazardous; and it was even rush hour yet.

For those listening to the Jersey Guys, there complaint was calling the game because of the weather conditions. I assume they tune out during the traffic reports, had they tuned in, they would have realized that asking 48,000+ to re-trek to South Philly for the game would have been irresponsible.

Was MLB right; to postpone the completion of Game 5 till Wednesday? I think so. I was out driving in daylight on slippery roads. It would have not been prudent to have people risk their lives in the current weather conditions with hazardous winds forecasts added. Winds that with a very wet ground might bring down trees and power lines. Add the alcohol factor to that, and you have a potential for catastrophe.

So what has been learned form this experience, not much, Bud Selig continues to demonstrate he is incapable of learning. yes a few weeks ago, he re-thought the scheduling of the playoffs, too many off days. In reality I doubt it was his brilliant original idea, but based on the lower ratings the baseball playoffs were getting in the face of the superior college football on Saturday, Sunday night NFL game,s and the start of the Hockey and NBA season. Loyal baseball fans will tune in, but those sports seasonal fans, weren't staying tuned to the MLB playoff.

Selig has yet to learn the season is too long. The addition of the Wild Card and the virtual extinction of weekend doubleheaders lengthens tunes out the fan. The only doubleheaders are for make up games. Outside of those games, they are not scheduled, too taxing on the players; high potential for injuries. For the first 40 years of baseball, the double header on a weekend was a staple of the sport. And look a the long list of talent, Gehrig, Mantle, DiMaggio, Ripken, and the others who played in the age of the doubleheader.

Shorten the season, start in mid April, not end of March, bring back the doubleheaders, and get the World Series over with by Columbus Day. But of course whats good for the fans, isn't' good for baseball; because Bud Selig like George Steinbrenner isn't dong it for the fans, he is doing it for the money.

Baseball Player's Drugs of Choice

I spent the better part of my professional career as lab rat / pharmaceutical engineer testing anabolic steroids and HGH. The correct drug name for HGH is Somatropin and the anabolics are Nandrolone decanoate (Deca-Durabolin) and Nandrolone phenylpropionate (Durabolin). I worked for the drug company, that manufactured them, they still do, thought I have moved on to provite consulting.

Anabolic Steriods

The anabolic steroids are sterile injections. The drug active is solubilized in Sesame Oil and filled into pre-sterilized vials or syringe for sale to hospitals. It is sued to promote tissue growth in after trauma, either trauma from ambulation or surgical removal. It is commonly given to women who have radical mastectomies to promote growth of the breast tissue and muscle that is removed with the cancer. Having handled the product for testing, I cannot imagine injecting it; it’s like injecting a tablespoon of oil under the skin. Its use is to promote muscle and tissue growth after cancer or where limb amputation has occurred.

The powder forms of the drug actives are common sold to illegal drug manufacturers. They manufacturer the liquid forms. The liquid forms must still solubilized in an oil solvent, however the activity is limited. True performance of the product is from injecting the sterilize liquid under the skin. The only approved legal form of both drugs, a sterile injection. Both active drugs are destroyed in the stomach, therefore oral medications have limited activity until a liquid partially absorbed in the oral mucosa.

The two active substances, Nandrolone decanoate and Nandrolone phenylpropionate are chemically synthesized. Not of animal origin but similar to the naturally occurring hormone in the body. Both materials have been around as approved since 1959. My knowledge of these drugs and Somatropin, HGH comes from the extensive safety precautions we were trained in just to test he materials, raw material and finished drugs.

HGH, Somatropin

Somatropin was originally obtained from urine. The drug hormone was extracted chemical and recrystallized to be prepared for an injectable substance. The original assay for testing the product involved animals. The original drug manufacturer was Eli Lilly & Company of Indiana.

In the late 80’s with the advances in tissue culture, a synthetic form of Somatropin became available. This was desirable due to the issue surround natural substances. Substance of animal origin must be tested for infectious diseases including viruses, especially the hard to detect HIV/HTLV viruses as well as Hepatitis B and C. The new substance could be made using mouse cells implanted with the HGH production gene. The new form of drug manufacture was cheaper and safer.

With the new technology came a new requirement. There must be a validated analytical test for the product, no more animal assay. The FDA and industry does not like animal assays, they have issues, beyond the use of animals. Approval of the better from of HGH required a repeatable analysis other than an animal assay could quarantine the safety of the patient taking the drug.

The new assay for Somatropin using High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) for testing the product. It still uses a rat assay as well as HPLC in testing the drug raw material. However the official test is the HPLC Assay.

For the non chemists out there, HPLC generates a wavelength pattern unique to the material tested. Each pattern is fingerprint, unique to that product. This test has been around and approved or 15 years now, despite claims from MLB Commissioner Bud Selig it (the test) didn’t exist. The International Olympic Committee and other international athletic organization have been using this test to detect HGH use in athletes since the early 90s.

Somatropin is also a product only absorbed through injection. While some absorption through the mouth or through the skin can occur, the official route of administration is injection. It like the anabolics steroids is a very dangerous drug with serious side effects.

None of these materials were designed to be used in the athlete's game of Russian Roulette for enhanced performance.

Official dose information and route of administration on HGH and anabolic steroids can be found on the FDA website, http://www.fda.gov/.

MLB Opening Day

With a new full slate completed, MLB can chalk up the success of completing games to Mother Nature. Only the Yankee Home Opener was delayed, and having lived and breathed at in and in the rainless 6 hours after the game was called; postponing the Yankee game tonight is classified as a big mistake. Hopefully it will be the only mistake the Yankees make this year. Glamourbee and I will return to the Bronx tonight and hopefully not freeze.

For the last 2 years MLB has made the master schedule. This is done so that there are no conflicting big games in prime time MLB revenue slots. There is no consideration for the fans.

The desire for $$$ by Selig and MLB leads to weekend home games being scheduled in odd afternoon times. I guess Bud forgets ballparks sell out on weekend as it becomes a family affair. The traditional after lunch ball game is few and far between, so as not to tick off ESPN, FOX and other networks. Forcing baseball to 4 and 7PM on the weekends for east coast games. Explain that to your your little leaguer.

Baseball on March 31 is crap shoot. Even Vegas won't give odds on getting a better than 50% completion in. Worse yet many games of snow city teams are scheduled in the snow cities, instead of sending the northern climate affected teams to play in warmer or enclosed fields.

This year MLB is off the hook, because Mother Nature sent a warm front through Wisconsin, and Illinois in time to allow those games to be played in Florida evening like conditions, as opposed to freezer like conditions; which will be the case about the 4th inning of tonight's Yankee Home Opener, Part II. And God forbid we schedule a day night doubleheader.

Baseball is going the wayside of a family sport. The sport is under the under influences of the greedy money hungry commissioner's office and the greedy owners. It's time for Selig to go. As for the owners, the should all be ashamed. They will eventually price themselves out of fans; and even the Yankees, the most expensive ticket in baseball have stopped catering to the average Joe.

In the zeal to sell seats in the new digs in the Bronx, ~800 seats are being priced between $500-$2500 dollars, So far 200 seats have sold. In addition fan ticket prices were raised again this year. Contracts should be lower so that ticket prices can come down and all who want to can afford a nice seat. This is forcing many to minor league baseball, part of the overall success of the minor expansion of the last few years. It remains the most affordable professional sporting event for families.

MLB games are rapidly becoming a tax write off for uberpaid executives and businesses; most of whom don't really follow the game. They attend to have status, not to watch and spend more time talking business the the game.

My Yankee tickets are the one extravagance I give myself. I use some myself and give some away for business and family, and the rest sell off to fans what I can't use. However I always make sure the person is a fan of the game; an absolute must.

I am hoping Mother Nature pounds some sense into the owners, before they price themselves out of the game and a fan base.

Its time for some common sense to come to baseball management. You can't always count of Mother Nature being kind and the fans being there.