Some things in life just don't make sense. Why hot dogs come in packs of six, and hot dog buns come in packs of eight I'll never understand. Why do we drive on the parkway, and park in the driveway? That's just the way it goes, and I understand that. It's semantics. It's 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife. Cool.
Major League Baseball in general does not make a lot of sense. From the All Star Game deciding home field advantage in the World Series, to "neutral" site games in the thick of the playoff chase, and Dusty Baker's near constant employment, it's a head-scratching league to say the least.
News coming out of Chicago this week, to be honest, irked me more than usual. Mark Cuban, the boisterous, quasi annoying owner of the Dallas Mavericks has been in talks to purchase the Cubs. Just when it seemed like Waveland Ave. would be home to another Cuban-owned entity, MLB pulled a Lee Corso- Not so fast, my friend.
There's no room at the Old Boy's Club for a guy like Cuban. What's more, the Commish has one of his buddies lined up to buy the Cubs...how convenient. I understand that MLB thinks of itself as an timeless tradition in this country, one that is steeped in memories of lemonade, sunshiny afternoons, foul ball souvenirs, and the like. That's fine with me. What I have a problem with is keeping a man, who, whatever your opinion is of his shenanigans, is a proven winner in the realm of business and professional sports. When he bought the Mavs in 2000, the team had a .400 winning percentage for the previous 20 seasons. The following six seasons under Cuban's ownership saw the team win 69% of their games. He invested in a culture of winning in Dallas, something that had never been there. As a result, the team prospered.
Not only that, but he is an innovative billionaire businessman. MLB is often seen as stodgy and behind the times. A young, brash owner of one of the league's primer franchises surely could do a great deal to change that perception. As America's entertainment options continue to grow, MLB has to do whatever it can to keep up with it's competition. Not to say that one man could be the key, but I think this is just a microcosm of their ineptitude and desire to maintain the status quo.