Page 2
Since every third channel on my Andro-laced cable system tells me poker is the hottest thing on the market, I'm wondering what baseball could learn from poker's popularity. Everyone who professes to love baseball seems to feel an undeniable urge to signal its demise, maybe only to be the one who engineers its revival. So here goes:
More percentages. More numbers. If the Cubs get the leadoff runner on base in the first inning, put a graphic up there that tells me the likelihood that he'll score is 56 percent. With one out, 37 percent. With two outs ... you get the idea.
If the Orioles are leading the Mariners 4-2 in the seventh, give me the projections up there next to the score.
Orioles 4 (77%)
Mariners 2 (23%)
Do it with the count, too, so we can have an entire industry of numbers guys – baseball actuaries – who do nothing but figure out the probability of David Ortiz's getting a hit against Randy Johnson with a 2-1 count in the sixth inning of a tie game.
Isn't this the logical progression for the Moneyball Era? This would give even the casual fan an insight into the decisions made by the brightest watts in the business, the Epsteins and DePodestas and Jameses.
We live in a world of polls and numbers and instant analysis, and it's time baseball got off its antiquated hind end and entered the new century. If it works for Fox News ("Today's poll: Is Hillary Clinton evil by nature or circumstance?") then it should work for the folks who televise baseball.
People watch poker, and we all know television ratings run the country.
So think of it this way: Every pitch is a card. Turn over the card, learn a little more about the game. With a little luck and some good marketing, pretty soon baseball won't be dead anymore. Its popularity will rival poker's. Dads will be inviting the guys over on Friday night to smoke a cigar and watch a game. Kids will be joining baseball leagues and playing every weekend. Baseball's back. It'll be great.
This Week's List
• An existential question concerning the classiest act of the draft: Do you think Aaron Rodgers' stock in the draft rose after he handled his free fall with such grace and dignity?
• Or, to put it another way: If teams knew he was that mature and composed before they picked, do you think one of them would have picked him sooner?
• Or, to put it a third way: Do you think this particular discussion is the type of over-analysis that makes the NFL draft the most over-analyzed bit of half-news in the sports year?
• Since they couldn't draft a coach who could manage the clock while Herman Edwards does everything else, they were left with just one option: With their first pick, the Jets chose Mike Nugent, a kicker from Ohio State, in the second round of the draft.
• And not only that, but all the Charlie Weis you can handle: There was big coverage over the weekend of the Notre Dame spring game, which apparently means there are still people who think Notre Dame football remains a big deal.
