Monday Mail

The price of postage went up again today. I won’t mail this letter out, but I did write one to Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig. In the letter, I address my concerns about the league he is governing.

Dear Mr. Selig

It was great to see all the players decked out in pink for Mother’s Day. Baseball does a wonderful job of giving back to charities. It’s always nice when professional ballplayers acknowledge and support other people.
I am still upset with several issues in the sport. As you know, one of the biggest sluggers and proven champions was caught using performance enhancers last Thursday. Manny Ramirez has been household name in all the cities he played in, and most knowledgeable and casual fans are familiar with him. He deserves to be suspended and punished for testing positive for the banned drug. It’s quite evident there are still players using masking agents and steroids despite the league rules. The player’s association should be commended for having more tests performed to inhibit the use of substances. However, not enough is being done. The game is tainted and the fans are now unable to trust any player when it comes to steroid use. This paints a very dismal picture for the future of America’s pastime. Do we want baseball to be portrayed as mere theater, or do we want to keep it established as a platform for talented athletes who use their natural ability to compete? I think the latter is the consensus choice. We all realize there is no quick solution to cleaning up the sport. But, testing should be more frequent and penalties more severe for positive testers. Manny claimed to be using a fertility drug not intended to enhance his performance at the plate. Whatever the truth may be, players need to be informed which drugs are allowed and which aren’t. Everyone involved in developing young players must have a list readily accessible so excuses will not be tolerated. There are probably going to be athletes who still try to gain an edge by trying new, unknown steroids. Maybe the more they are tested, the more they will be discouraged from trying to cheat the flawed system.
My second concern involves the cost of games. The economy is shot and we all are cutting back on expendable income. I think baseball owners should cut fans a break. Instead of raising ticket prices and charging an arm and a leg for concession stand items, why not at least maintain them? At the very least, fans should be able to enjoy sports without using their charge card for a hot dog. I understand owners have bills to pay, but with all the revenue the sport takes in, there has to be a way to alleviate the rising prices at the turnstiles. Yankee Stadium and CitiField are beautiful new venues in New York, but the locals can hardly afford to see more than one game a year. Fans are at a disadvantage if they do not have a high income. I never thought I would see the day Yankee Stadium was empty behind home plate but it is becoming an everyday theme in the Bronx these days.
Can we please schedule more day games? Baseball is a sport for children and most cannot stay up late on school nights to see their teams on TV. It’s pretty pathetic when the clock strikes midnight and the game is only in the bottom of the fifth inning. The games should either start earlier or be scheduled more often during the day. Summer is coming and people have more time to watch TV during the day. The weather is warmer and fans might just want to attend games too. Prime time TV will suffer but baseball will gain in the long-run with the return of day games.
Finally, I don’t know about you, but I would like pitchers to last a little longer in their scheduled starts. There is no need for managers to pull the plug on a pitcher after four innings of work. Today’s logic seems to dictate once a guy throws 100 pitches, he has to come out of the game no matter how well he is performing. Well, maybe we can raise the mound again. That way, balls won’t be flying out of the park quite so often and pitchers can throw fewer pitches. I like a classic pitcher’s duel, where the score is close. Too many relief pitchers are being installed early in games. This depletes the team bullpen and wastes solid starts. Pitchers are winning fewer games because they are not even throwing an adequate amount of innings. There are exceptions, of course. But more often than not, quality starts are not occurring. Some of the newer ballparks are so-called “bandboxes”. The new Yankee Stadium is already in that category. Pitchers need to be trained to go the distance. Nolan Ryan is doing a commendable job seasoning the Texas Rangers. Endurance should not be a hard concept to grasp. Please find a way to address this to today’s baseball minds.
I hope to hear from you soon. I know you have plenty on your agenda this time of year and my concerns are not of highest importance. I also know changes are not around the corner, but will be a patient fan. I love the sport with all my heart, Mr. Selig. Since I am trying to save on postage, I will kindly ask you to read my online blog and respond accordingly.
Thanks,
Lindi

Parting points: “I’ve got two turntables and a microphone”- Beck