Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask about baseball ’97 now that our national pastime has figured out the weather:
Question: The weather?
Answer: Yes, the Lords of Baseball are very proud over their scientific breakthrough on how to make up a schedule. Only one game was postponed on Opening Day, at Baltimore, while much of the East Coast shoveled out from a blizzard.
For years, baseball outdumbed itself by sending teams from warm-weather cities to open in cold climates. In 1996, the Cubs started at home against San Diego and Los Angeles. Naturally, it snowed. Tuesday, the Cubs were in Miami.
Also, instead of sending the Mariners to New York, where it also snowed during games last April, baseball decided to have the Yankees start indoors at Seattle. Pretty cerebral stuff.
Q: So baseball is on a roll?
A: Yes and no. Spring training attendance was spotty, partly because a number of teams were lame-duck tenants. For instance, the White Sox are leaving Sarasota for Arizona.
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Q: But when the Sox open here Friday, Comiskey will be packed, right?
A: Not necessarily. Advance sale for the game against Detroit is soft, as in not even 30,000. Fans might be saving up for the Astros in August.
Q: What about the Cubs?
A: If exhibition TV ratings count, the Cubs still are loved. Arne Harris, producer-director for WGN-TV, says the numbers were excellent. Same for the Sox, in fact. Harris, by the way, is in his 34th year on the job, meaning he is closing in on Jack Brickhouse’s record: Most Chicago baseball losses watched, one man, lifetime.
Q: Why did the Cubs use Terry Mulholland in their opener Tuesday instead of their No. 1 pitcher, Steve Trachsel?
A: Easy. The way the schedule breaks, by saving Trachsel until Wednesday, he will pitch only once in two upcoming series with the Braves, against whom he has a career earned-run average of 8.68. That was slightly worse than Mulholland’s 8.10 ERA versus Tuesday’s foe, Florida.
For Jim Riggleman, the Cub manager, it’s like going to your garage on the first day of spring and trying to decide which car to drive, the Rolls-Royce or the Bentley.
Q: What’s baseball’s biggest problem with peace restored?
A: Competitive imbalance. The Yankees have a payroll of $61 million and the Pittsburgh Pirates are at 1/6 of that. Things are so grim in Pittsburgh that manager Gene Lamont said it would be nice if the Pirates could win 70 games.
Q: What about George Steinbrenner’s $100 million deal with a shoe company and the umpires’ threat of zero tolerance?
A: Those are problems, too. Who can stop Steinbrenner from maximizing his assets? Who can stop umpires from throwing players out of games? Dr. Gene Budig? Don’t think so.
Q: Does baseball also have a perception problem?
A: Absolutely. When there’s a 64-59 stinker in the NBA, it’s an act of God. But when everybody’s hitting home runs, the talent is diluted and young people are playing soccer.
Q: Who can help?
A: Probably not Greg Murphy, baseball’s new marketing whiz, who declared the sport’s return to glory now that the Yankees are champs again. Wonder how that plays in Pittsburgh.
Q: Who is Greg Murphy?
A: Baseball stole him away in broad daylight from Entenmann’s. There’s nobody around who knows baseball, so the Lords hired a guy who knows baking. Makes perfect sense. Is that what you meant by baseball being on a roll? Hello?