MLB World Series 2018: Eh. Dodgers/Boston. Eh.

In a perfect world, this would be a symptom of water going from sitting on a hot stove to starting to simmer as the union realizes just how much they've been fucked over and letting MLB know they'll strike in 2021 ... but that won't happen until they shoot Tony Clark into the sun and hire the most bare-knuckle labor lawyer they can find as their executive director.

 

Honestly, unless you were a huge fan of the Expos or Alex Rodriguez, there's a decent argument to be made that Selig was the best commissioner in baseball's history.

Don't get me wrong, he was a corrupt piece of shit and his sins are legion, but Selig:

- Presided over more than two decades of uninterrupted labor peace (something no commissioner in any other major sport in America can say)
- Was forward-thinking enough to realize that the Internet was going to change media consumption, so he formed MLB Advanced Media, ultimately leading to the creation of MLB.tv and BAMTech, which now powers ESPN's streaming, the NHL's streaming, WWE Network and a bunch of other things; its sale to Disney led to a >$50 million payout to every MLB team, which leads me to:
- Presided over an unprecedented, exponential level of economic growth for the sport
- Oversaw a ridiculous boom in ballpark construction (the ways he went about making that happen were terrible, but it still happened)
- Introduced realignment, the wild cards and interleague play
- Expanded the league from 26 to 30
- Convinced Don Fehr to agree to drug testing

That's a lot more than just about any other commissioner can say.

 

Or not.



@Timby you make some excellent point about Selig. Question the methods, but it's hard to argue with the results.

 

Joey Bats has been officially released by the Braves. Man, age was not kind to him.

 

I think it was always intended to be a short-term thing while the Braves had a spot open, and AA has always had a soft spot for Bautista. It was probably a favor to give him a chance to prove he still had something.

 

If the Braves play .500 ball the rest of the way, they'll end up around 90 wins. Where the Christ did that team come from?

Meanwhile, chaosball reigns in the NL Central, with four teams still within a game and a half of one another. It would be nice if the Cubs would get out of their "win five, lose five" streak.

 

I think most of all I'm shocked that Nick Markakis re-discovered his swing.

 

Welington Castillo has been popped for PEDs and is now serving an 80-game suspension; once again, we see that steroids don't magically make you a good hitter.