World Series Snoozer

Even out here on the left coast this current World Series has been devoid of competition. With three games now under our belts, there can be no doubt that the Red Sox are utterly superior to the young Rockies. The Sox have a swagger of extreme confidence that has carried them to easy victories in all of the games. The bright eager faces of the Colorado nine are a contrast with the baggy look of Manny, the power of Ortiz, and the bald sea-fearing appearance of Youklis. Even the Coors Field fans seem to pale when one scans the hardened baseball only attitude exhibited at Fenway.

So there seems to be no real drama for television fans to rally around. But what is making things so difficult is the record length of these games. Saturday's game three went well over four hours and holds the dubious distinction of being the longest nine inning Series game in history. Once again I found myself battling slumber and the temptation to check on college football, hockey, and news while the game was going on. And imagine if I was on the east coast!! Fox has done everyone a disservice by having the first pitch thrown after 8:30. What that means is that by 10 pm (around inning four at the snail's pace these games are moving), an entire generation of little leaguers have checked out. By 11 pm (inning six), the die-hard AARPers have given up and gone to sleep. The only excitement in tonight's game came when the Rockies crept to within one run of the Sox in the seventh inning. Of course, how many fans were still around?

Knowing that the boring pre-game talkfest, Chevy and Taco Bell promotions, and longer commercial breaks would push the game to lengths never experienced before, how could Fox not start the games at least an hour earlier. They still would have captured primetime on the east and have westerners plugged in around dinner time. Ratings have been stagnant this year (even with a popular team like Boston). Then again I am not a Fox programmer nor a MLB executive who has sold out the soul of the game. I'm just a small voice (hopefully multiplied by millions of others) who wishes that our national game could be saved from money counting suits who know nothing about baseball.