Time Warner to explore sale of Atlanta Braves – Dec. 14, 2005
The key to the deal is that it’s apparently a package deal for both the Braves and Turner South. If the Braves were sold, to Arthur Blank or someone else, you would probably see TS wind up with even more of the Braves’ games, perhaps 120 of the total, with only a token number of games left on TBS for a few years. (I know there was a contract renewal but loosening that would probably be part of any sale; you wouldn’t buy the team if you were going to be forced to give games away.) TS would probably wind up on more cable systems that way, but if you’re outside its area — roughly, I’d guess, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Florida, maybe parts of NC, Arkansas, and Kentucky — you’re out of luck.
Hard to say about payroll. You might see some short-term cost-cutting. Certainly it isn’t going to go up if the team is being shopped. After that, it would depend upon the buyer. Blank’s a sportsman, he might loosen the purse strings, but don’t expect him to go crazy, because he’s also a businessman. And we might get stuck with a bunch of clowns like Atlanta Spirit.
What I’m saying is, “Be careful what you wish for.”
Is Turner South available on DirecTV or other satellite networks?
You can get it on Dish Network but you have to be in the south to get it.
Info here
The payroll should go upOnes AOL don’t own the braves anymore.Even if it go up just to 90Mill.The Braves Would be able to keep our own player as well as to sign a big time Free agent .The braves could have sign a big time closer this off-season but do to the fact that AOL said no. The brave?s pen would not be any better then this year pen was. Sure who ever will buy the braves is a businessman with that benign said I don?t anyone that will buy the braves will tolled JS you can?t sign any top player I don?t care if you win or lose I only care how much cash I make. If the Braves don?t sign a top player or 2 then that braves won?t win the East or make it to the playoff. And with that the FANS will stop showing up for the games. And at the end everyone lose the Braves and the new guy or guys that will own the braves. As far as TV deal go. I know for a fact that right now you got TS on cable in Charlotte NC.And I am sure that you get in WEST NC.I think they all start getting TS on cable in Cities east of charlotte
Mac, I think it’s possible to be as careful of what you wish for as possible, and still come out with the decision that I’d rather have Arthur Blank own the Braves than the bloated corporate hellspawn of the worst merger in human history.
Not that it couldn’t be worse–Time Warner has been thousands of times better than David Glass in KC. But still. Time Warner’s the Rat King, and Arthur Blank is the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Turner South’s broadcasts are usually on the MLB Extra Innings package, which is available on many cable systems. If not Turner South (or SportsSouth on Wednesdays [also often on Extra Innings]), the Braves’ opponent’s television feed is usually shown. All in all, here in Chicago, with the Extra Innings package, we were able to see about 145-150 Braves games on television. Not bad at all for someone not living in the South.
Are there any rumors regarding who else (besides Blank) might be in the market for the Braves? And how would that change things? Take Kasten for example…
Mac, don’t apologize for being a little twitchy-eyed when you see grammar mistakes. I’ve got the same neurosis, and so I just cleaned up the post John made a moment ago.
Here’s what I think John meant:
Once AOL no longer owns the Braves, the payroll will go up, even if it goes up to just $90 million. Then, the Braves would be able to keep their own players, as well as sign big time free agents. After all, the Braves could have signed a big time closer this off-season, but AOL said no. As a result, the Braves’ bullpen for next year won’t be any better then this year’s pen was.
Sure, who ever will buy the Braves is a businessman; however, that being said, I don?t think that anyone who bought the Braves would tell JS, “You can?t sign any top player, I don?t care if you win or lose, I only care how much cash I make.” If the Braves don?t sign a top player or two, then they won?t win the East or make it to the playoffs. Then the fans will stop showing up for the games. And at the end everyone will lose: the Braves, and the new guy or guys that own the Braves.
As far as TV deals go: I know for a fact that right now Turner South is available on cable in Charlotte, NC. And I am sure that you can get it in west North Carolina. I think they are about to start getting TS on cable in cities east of Charlotte.
If what it takes to get a good owner who will spend money on the franchise and put fans in the stands is me shelling out $100 for MLB.TV to get every game on my computer and be able to watch each game in the archives whenever I want all year, well, gee, that sounds okay to me. In fact, it sounds better than what I have right now, which is about half the games on TBS, occasionally at inconvenient times that I can’t watch. I think I can deal with it.
And I will join the Grammar Police Department. Poor mechanics and spelling drive me up the wall.
I don’t think that I could write that bad on purpose. Nice wrok Alxe, plees too meat yu on this wundefol sight.
The problem is the fans aren’t showing up even with the team winning. You can talk about TW not being a good owner, but the fact is that the Braves have won the division 14 years in a row and attendence had fallen until this year–and that’s including years when the payroll was over $100 mm. Yes, I understand from what everyone says that the field is hard to get to and so forth, but that’s not going to change with a new owner. And if you were a new owner and the team is winning anyway, what really is your incentive to increase the payroll when it’s not clear that it will impact attendence that much. If I was the new owner, I would say something like, I’m willing to increase the payroll but people better come out b/c I’m not going to spend just for the sake of having a good team. The fact is, Atlanta is a mid-sized market that was distorted by the fact that Ted used the team to build TBS. And it’s certainly not the baseball town that other mid-sized markets like St. Louis are. So I think the assumption that a new owner will bring back the glory days might be a bit misplaced.
Yes the team has won for 14 years straight, but hasn’t been an overly exciting team to watch over that span of time. There have been some exceptions, especially Chipper’s first few years, and last year with the rookies. The rest have just been good teams and not much else.
Off subject, but there’s a good blog entry (on Nov 11) about JS and the Braves at the following location http://cmdr-scott.blogspot.com/ The blogs notes parallels between the business world and baseball. This particular post attributes the Braves’ success to JS and his management ability.
I have two reasons for not wanting the Braves to be sold.
1. I live outside of TS’s broadcast area.
2. I have seen what can happen when you get the private ownership thing going. I live in Columbus OH. I’ve watched as the once proud Cincinatti Reds have gone from model organization to laughingstock. I observed keenly as the Red’s ownership group put their bottom line over the product on the field. I grimaced when the good folks of Hamilton County and the tri state area that comprises the Red’s fan base were duped into financing a public facility for the Red’s owners. I watched with amusment as the Reds did things like sign Eric Milton to a 24 million dollar contract.
So indeed be very careful for what you wish for. I’ve found it very amusing to read the rants and raves against Time Warner and their cheap ways but it can be very very worse.
When you look at it from their point of view, why the hell should they spend 100 million dollars on salaries? The Chicago White Sox a 76 million dollar team just won the freaking world series. More:
year Team Payroll]
2001 Dbacks 81206513
2002 Angels 61721667
2003 Marlins 48368298
2004 Red Sox 125208542
2005 White Sox 77000000 or so I didn’t feel like adding it up.
the point being is that 4 out of the last 5 years teams with payrolls under 85 mil have won the WS. From a business perspective, if I’m TW I’m telling the Braves to do the same thing. Again from the TW perspective if 80 million or so buys a contender why spend 120 million?
My final statement about TW ownership is this. We Braves fans are fortunate that TW has allowed the baseball people to run the baseball team. That fact has been a huge contributor to the teams run of seccess.
I live in NC. 1 hour outside of Charlotte.
I have turner south and TBS.
Are they not gonna show games anymore or something?
What constitutes enough “excitement” that would bring fans to the ballpark?
Teams that don’t win, but have much-hyped, HR-hitting players?
Teams that do win and have much-hyped, young talent?
I’ve just described Cincinnati & Florida, neither of which draw particularly well.
It’s true the Braves haven’t been overly exciting, but a lot of cities would gladly take a dull team that wins all the time. All I’m saying is that Atlanta is not a great baseball town and that a new owner doesn’t necessarily have an incentive to come in and jack up the payroll when it might not lead to a big jump in attendence and he might make just as much if not more money running the team at a lower payroll. And baseball isn’t the money machine anyway that the NFL is.
Thats Selig’s fault there, or the overall incompetence of MLB.
Blank is interested
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/braves/entries/2005/12/14/index.html
Considering everybody on earth knew he had to be traded, Arizona just got a ton from the White Sox for Vazquez.
nomar would put fans in the stands. the braves icons are players that the fans have grown accustomed to seeing(smoltz, a. jones, chipper). 2 more were spawned last year and attendance went up (hudson, francoeur). we really need an eye-catching name in order to put more fans in the stands. i feel sheffield became an eye-catching name after he left the braves. i think nomar could be the answer. does any1 know what dennis rodman is doing these days? maybe he could stir some things up. as many of you might know, we go to games to see the team we love, but a lot of people go to see individual players (like jeter, a-rod, clemens, randy johnson, manny, nomar, etc). nomar is not the player he once was, but i think he would make a difference in attendance.
i think this is the reason that the yankees could lose 100 games and still have one of the highest attendance averages in the league. george steinbrenner might be the most arrogant man in the business, but he knows an icon when he sees one. that being said, i know we dont have the payroll to splurge like the yankees, but just one would help.
It also helps that the Yankees are in New York City. They have an immediate fan base of 20 million, and that doesn’t even count the suburbs (White Plains, etc.) and New Jersey.
I’m not sure citing Cincinnati as a danger of private ownership is so relevant. Marge Schott was a special breed of awful.
The Yankees were in last place when I moved to NYC in 1990 & they couldn’t draw flies with a guy named Don Mattingly (he was kind of the Yankees’ Dale Murphy). It wasn’t until 1997–after the ’96 Series that they saw a spike in attendance. By 1999, it was off the chart, but that was only because of the winning. I don’t think Roger Clemens had anything to do with it.
That said, I know that their having Matsui has impacted attendance dramatically.
Jenny, I’m talking about the most recent Reds ownership. I still think its still Carl Linder and his band of renown. Schott’s teams won a world series.
If you are wondering why the Braves have a hard time drawing, please read BP 2004. Excellent study about the demographics/traffic/location concerns specific to the Atlanta Metro area. BTW the Atlanta Metro area if I recollect is over 5 million people.
Johnny, I think Jenny’s point is that you can’t cite Cincinnati as a former “model organization” of private ownership, because while Carl Lindner is a really terrible owner, Marge Schott was a truly awful human being.
Your general point is sound, though–a whole lot of private owners suck. Likewise, two-team owners often suck, like Mike Illitch, who spent all his money on the Red Wings and had none left over for the Tigers; or Jerry Reinsdorf, who didn’t really care about the White Sox because he had the Bulls.
Hopefully, if Arthur Blank buys the Braves, he will be better than them (though it wouldn’t be hard to be better than scum like Marge Schott). Something tells me he would be.
Do Braves games on TBS still gain higher ratings than the ESPN national games?
The thing about the Braves is their main revenue sources SHOULD be (and would if their networks weren’t owned by the same company as the team) television and merchandise. The Braves fan base is largely regional, so they probably have TV ratings and merchandise sales in excess of, say, the Dodgers, but they have mid-market attendance.
Being one of those regional fans, the only games I ever attend are weekend games, and whenever they pull random people from the crowd on the weekend, they’re always from Alabama or Tennessee or South Carolina or some part of Georgia nowhere near the Atlanta metro area. Attendance doesn’t tell the whole story of potential revenue, especially when the fanbase covers such a wide geographic area.
A lot of the attendance problem is still that the ballpark isn’t accessible. There’s no MARTA line, so you have to take the shuttle, which the city has been doing its darndest to make more and more difficult. If you drive, there’s not nearly enough parking. They’ve managed to combine the worst aspects of urban and suburban locations, all in one. I don’t see what new ownership can do about that that TW can’t do by pressuring the city.
about attendance…i’m going with the “bad location” theory. i lived in NYC and now i’m in Boston and it’s incredible how much easier it is to get to a game in those cities.
when i lived in atl, i rode the MARTA to 20+ games/season. it was fine (better than sitting in traffic) but, for the most part, still a hassle. i’d drive to a MARTA station, park, catch a train to catch a bus. even worse after the game when everyone’s going your way.
i know that atlanta isn’t a pedestrian-friendly city but maybe putting a stadium in an area like midtown would push it in that direction. the big-market teams sell thousands of tickets the day of the game from walkups. atl also misses out because there’s nothing to do around the stadium.
on the other hand, i’ve also been to Angel Stadium a few times, also in the middle of nowhere, and the game was sold out. so obviously there are other factors to consider…but a stadium in town would help.
Didn’t the Atlanta Crackers draw well…ok, i have no idea. but i bet they did ok in their stadium off Ponce. hey that stadium is now a Home Depot and that’s owned by Arthur…this is too weird.
i wasnt saying that is the only reason ny has great attendance, but why do you think the mets are signing so many big icons? they are trying to get the biggest names in the game, not the absolute best team players for on reason. i think their attendance will go way up, but they still will not win like they are capable. the braves already have their core fan favorites, but i just think that one more big name would help attendance.
atl also misses out because there’s nothing to do around the stadium.
…and the projects are just blocks away. Both Wrigleyville and Lansdowne St. are great in the opposite respect.
by ny, i meant yankees. my point is that the mets are going with the steinbrenner theory of buying icons to increase attendance
WE get Turner South in Chattanooga, and i know they get it in Memphis
Wouldnt life be better if:
(1) Ted Turner had dumped all his TimeWarner stock before the merger.
(2) Ted Turner didnt give $1 billion to the UN (being selfish)
(3) Ted Turner didnt date some weirdo french chic that convinces cable documentaries and over-acted civil war movies are good used for his remaining fortune
(4)Ted still came to the park regularly.
I appreciate what Arthur Blank has done witht he Falcons. But, he’s so very corporate. So very villainous looking. And so very on the damn side-lines during the game too often.
I want Ted back. I want Chief Nakahoma Ted. Ostrich race Ted. Andy “Channel” Messerschmidt, Ted. That would be a great year to start 2006. Why settle for Atlanta’s second coolest mustached billionaire, when we once had the best.
Mac,
You’re a librarian? I knew there was something I liked about you.
While I certainly applaud all those who encourage the use of proper grammar, I still believe the most popular person posting on this site this year was DANNY!
To answer Aram, DirecTV does carry Turner South and I think Dish TV does as well but they can not broadcast it outside of the southeast.
When I did live in Atlanta the traffic and MARTA situation are what kept me from a lot of games. Putting a station next to the stadium would have been great but when they were putting MARTA in it was Fulton County Stadium and the city/county ownsed all the parking places. They didn’t want MARTA to cut into the revenue by putting a stop there so they will forever have the same issue unless they can extend the rail or put in a better system than the buses from downtown.
I think Blank has shown himself to be greatly concerned with putting the best competitive product on the field with the Falcons. Seems like that would be the main difference b/w him and TW. TW is more concerned, especially in their current financial situation, with the bottom line, not whether the team is winning or losing (although the two may be correlative). Sure, any private investor would be interested in making money instead of losing it, but I think Blank’s approach would be different in that respect.
IF we were able to bump the payroll up another 10-20 million dollars, think of the players we could have signed or kept. And I don’t understand some people’s assertions that there is very little to bring people back out to the Braves games. The last I checked, Fulton County stadium was right next to where Turner Field is now, and Braves fans were coming out to games even then. I truly believe that if a smart owner can get in and creatively think about ways to get people excited about the Braves again, you will see the fans at the games every night.
Yes, I’m a librarian. A cataloger to be specific.
Picture of Mac?
Yes, I believe that’s Mac on the left.
JoeyT, I would like to thank you for sharing that moment of joy.
Here’s a real picture.
I for one am very sad to see Braves games reduced on TBS. Growing up in Jersey, TBS is the reason I became a Braves fan. If there wasn’t a Yankees/Mets alternative to watch on TV, who knows where my rooting interests would lie? I was born in 1980 to immigrant parents. They wouldn’t know a baseball from a Sea Doo. I had no interest in the sport until I was 9 or 10. I didn’t go searching for baseball, baseball (and the Braves) found me through TBS. It kind of sucks that some kid in a random state won’t be able to turn on TBS 4 times a week and decide he likes the Braves.
Kevin, I absolutely agree with you. I for one will miss Danny. At least we’ll always have his blog–for example, this highlight from May 21:
IAM TYIPNG THISAT THE BOSTON PULBIC LIBARY AND I AM NOT WAREING ANY PANTS. OOPPS IHAVE TOGO.
JC, you just made a reference to UHF, one of my favorite movies of all time!
God bless you, sir, God bless you!
Alex, that was my favorite DANNY moment of all time. It still brings me to tears laughing when I read it.
And how was starring in a movie with Noah Wyle, Mac? Can you get me his autograph? Is he as handsome in person as he is on “ER?”
😉
Yes, I am.
Ha, I wish. I look more like this
Only taller.
I’m with Aram. Living in West Virginia at age 11 in 1985, I randomly found the Braves. They played terribly, but they were on every night. Now I’m in Columbus, Ohio, and I only see them once or twice a week. Soon it will be never, unless I splurge for extra innings. I don’t want to have to do that because I don’t want to feel obligated to watch every game. I simply want to switch to channel 17, see the Braves, and sink into my chair for a nice game.
Too much to ask? Probably. I’ve been spoiled. Still, I’ll be sad to see them leave basic cable.
Technical note: To view Mac’s link, after clicking on it, click on the address bar and hit return. The page should refresh with the picture shown.
You look like Peter Jackson? I would not exactly say that’s a BAD thing, since he’s rich and famous and talented…
Has anyone seen the items they’re selling in the Braves MLB shop online? I have to tell my parents what I want for Christmas IMMEDIATELY so I was looking around. An autographed photo of Tim Spooneybarger? A 20-piece set of Adam LaRoche baseball cards? A ball autographed by Raul Mondesi (for $107, nonetheless!)? A plastic Atlanta Braves stealth bomber? Wow, is this stuff bad.
They should sell Francisco Cabrera autographed baseballs.
Funny news note: a WEEI host is in some argument with management over whether or not he gets some job and they aren’t telling him their decision. So he took over the air half an hour before his show started (6:30) and right now, he has apparently gone crazy and has barricaded himself in the studio with a huge bookcase in front of the door and is refusing to come out until they give him a decision. Apparently the station owner is flying in right now and news trucks are headed over to the station building. It’s completely hilarious.
And WHAT is up with Cuba not being allowed to participate in the World Cup????
Oh, he just got the job. Wow. He’s lucky he’s not canned. Funniest radio I’ve ever heard. He had his lawyer on the phone and everything.
And I meant the World Cup of Baseball, if that wasn’t clear.
I am originally from Charleston, S.C. TBS meant the Braves. Thats how I became a fan. I’m sure that it was just me and 2 other guys watching in the 80’s. I still remember the annoying ticking of the news ticker in the background during the telecasts. Skip and Pete had to be damn funny back then. I am totally with Craig Calcaterra. It would totally suck if watching the Braves meant having to pay for it. Alas I probably would find a way. Damn it, this blog has made me even more of a fan than I was a couple of years ago. Nice going Mr. Librarian Mac Thomason, you had to have a good thing here that I spend wayyyy too much time reading. I don’t know about you Craig but I don’t know that many Braves fans here in Columbus so this blog has been terrific. End of rambling, multi directional blather.
Sounds like a publicity stunt.
Uh, I’ve been listening, and if it is a publicity stunt, it’s REALLY good acting. Amazingly good.
No, it wasn’t a stunt. The guy just flat denied it.
And the WBC thing was going so well … so now Selig’s hand is forced. If it truly is a WORLD Baseball Classic, and not a Come-Play-The-Americans Baseball Classic, they’ll hold the Cuba games somewhere else.
And if Cuba advances to the semis, bye-bye San Diego. Hello Kyoto.
Of course, since this is really just a chance for Americans to pat ourselves on the back and tell ourselves how great we are, of course they won’t let Cuba play. The whole thing’s a sham.
MOVE THE GAMES. LET CUBA PLAY.
My mistake. The problem isn’t where the games are being held. It’s that MLB teams, American companies, reap some financial reward from playing Cuba.
So what’s the penalty if they play anyway? A fine? Jail?
If Cuba doesn’t participate, the tournament utterly lacks legitimacy. They are the reigning Olympic gold medalists. You can’t have a true tournament if they don’t participate.
Why does it seem as if politics is sticking its dirty hands into EVERYTHING these days? This is totally bogus.
They should change the name to “The U.S. Baseball Invitational”.
TBS meant the Braves.
For me, TBS meant the Braves and “Space Giants.”
I thought the problem is that each participating countries will be allocated a portion of the profit of the WCB, but transferring cash payment from US to Cuba is against the US national policies.
Why don’t they just ask Korea or Italy or Netherlands to make the payment then?
Johnny — I think there are more Braves fans around here than you might think. If I remember correctly, Colin was (and maybe still is) a Columbus person. I’m blanking a bit since I’m more of a lurker these days, but I seem to recall another Columbus (Ohio) Braves fan either here or on Primer/Think Factory.
If the pitchers aren’t going to go all-out, I don’t see how anyone can view this World Cup of Baseball as legit, anyway.
Also, the reason the Mets spent so much money this season has more to do with their new TV network than it does anything else. They need perceived stars to sell TV ad bucks.
Politics poisons everything it touches, like a twisted Midas’ curse, down to the very the very air we breathe, and bleeds the humanity right out of the wretched souls unlucky enough to get close to it.
God, I wish I weren’t a poli sci major.
Basil,
Very nice “Space Giants” reference. Brings back fond memories of childhood spent watching TBS(and the Braves of course).
They are just following the law with regard to cuba. The Treasury department can’t just up and ignore what Congress has dictated. That is how checks and balances work in a nation of laws. Relax people, this is the first act in a play that’s got a ways to go yet.
TBS meant the Braves and “Space Giants.”
Wow, I hadn’t thought of Space Giants in 20 years. I still remember the names – Meeko, Gamm, Goldar, Silvar…and I seem to recall something about the bad guys turning into blue foam?
Oh, put Wrestling on my TBS list as well. And Bill Tush was in there somewhere. Ah, good times, except the Braves kinda sucked.
“And it’s certainly not the baseball town that other mid-sized markets like St. Louis are. So I think the assumption that a new owner will bring back the glory days might be a bit misplaced.”
Glory days? He must mean 1995
“For me, TBS meant the Braves and “Space Giants.”
And the baddie…..Rodak! I found the shows on the net a few years back….you could download portions of a few episodes. They didn’t quite stand the test of time, but the nostalgia factor was huge! I’d love to see them on DVD. My favorite, Land of the Lost, is out now. I teach 5th grade and am having a LOTL marathon during lunch with my class…every day a different episode. Believe it or not, they love it! I even had one mother come eat lunch with her daughter just so she could see the show.
Okay, for a baseball reference….I had about 5 or 6 of the ‘Baby Braves’ Jeff Francoeur posters from the AJC laminated and am giving one away as a prize in my room for the top score in reading. The kids are after that big time. (incidentally, Jeff signed one of those for my daughter at a game earlier this year. He’s such a nice guy!)
Basil, you made my week. I’d go looking for the show on a torrent site somehwere or something, but I think it’s best just to remember it the way I thought it was…
Count me in the group of folks who think that TW ownership hasnt been all that terrible. The payroll has been tight, but far from unreasonable, and the baseball people have been allowed to run the show.
Grst,
I think my real problem is that I think that said law is wrong in the first place. But yeah, I doubt we’ve heard the last of this. My bet is that Cuba will be there in March.
Any of you ever catch the classic cheesy sci-fi movie “The Ice Pirates” on TBS back in the 80s? That was a favorite of mine, in a MST3K sort of way.
The Ice Pirates!
Tough luck Cuba. Try not being a dictatorial slave state next time. Cuba is the place where politics injects itself into every nook and cranny of life, and where baseball teams are treated like a herd of cows, (owned by the state) to be displayed at shows to earn its owner a county fair blue ribbon.
This isn’t the “Goodwill Games,” thankfully. I do feel sorry that members of the Cuban team may miss an opportunity to escape and defect into a chance to play in a private, capitalist, baseball league where their skills can be appropriately rewarded.
hey man, cuba’s been on the upswing since they got that Trillion dollar bill. Not to mention, well to do pederasses have taken advantage of the post-soviet funding vacum and helped revive Cubas “sex-tourist” economy. Catro once said that Cubans had become nothing more than servants and whores to the gringos, but its just about come full circle. All in all, not a bad run for a guyt that’s refused to wear anything but a Military Surplus one-sey for the last 30 years.
Does anyone else think its lame that Piazza is playing for Italy?
Yeah, it’s kind of lame, but I understand it. Piazza’s just playing where he’d start instead of be on the bench. It’s not quite as lame as a native New Yorker playing for the Dominican when he’d start for either team.
It doesn’t matter, though. The whole thing’s a crock without Cuba.
CTom,
Actually, I consider all the days from 1991 through the present to be the glory days. I grew up with the Braves in the sixties, seventies, and eighties; if you had told me that they would win fourteen straight divisions, five pennants and a WS, I would have had you put in a straight jacket.
But, specifically, I was referring to the day of the $100 mm payrolls, which wasn’t really that long ago. But, yes, 1995 was the best, especially since my daughter was born on the off-day before Game Six. A pretty good year that was.
As for Cuba, whatever happened to the idea that sports was a way for people to interact apart from politics? For example, ping pong diplomacy. I don’t know what the law requires, but I can’t believe there is not some discretion in how the law is enforced. Castro’s an asshole, but I don’t see how keeping Cuba from playing baseball does anything for the United States or for the Cuban people.
I live in Winston-Salem and I get to see every single Braves game on TBS, Turner South, ESPN, and whatever else they are playing on. Turner South is part of Time Warner Cable’s programming as long as you don’t have the basic cable programming package (which give you half the channels).
I really don’t have a problem getting to and from Turner Field when I go to games. Every year I go I am always afraid that we are going to get stuck in traffic and have to wait forever to get to the park. In fact, just the opposite is true. Knowing some back roads through Atlanta doesn’t hurt either! But I am left 30 mins. before game time and drove 20 mins. to get to the game on time to see the team run out on the field to start the first inning. The location isn’t bad considering it is right off 85. I have never had a problem going or coming from Tunrer Field or Fulton County.
As far as Blanks go, I think he has done a great job in Atlanta with the Falcons. They were so bad for so many years and now they are in the playoff hunt every year. Blanks is a sports guy so that means he loves sports and wants to do well. I think a guy like that rather than a corporate owner or a group of businessmen looking to mkae a few bucks is a lot better. If you read what he has done with Home Depot and the Falcons you will see that he listens to what the consumers want and implements their concerns into his plans.
(http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/US/Media_-_Release_-_11-19-05FDC)
I don’t see Blanks as a bad thing at all. Would definitely be better than AOL or any other corporate owner that is more concerned with the almighty dollar than winning a championship!
***Disclosure: I didn’t read the whole thread and all the posts so if any of this was already said or noted I apologize!
My experience getting to/from the park has always been similar, B. Wall. I’ve never lived in Atlanta, so I’ve always been coming from some other place anyway even if I’ve already been in the area a few days. However, even though it’s no big deal for me as an out-of-towner, if I ever did live in Atlanta it would quickly become a pain. It’s at least 30 minutes from damn near anywhere. And if you do drive, it’s 30 minutes just to get out of the lot and onto the freeway. More to get back to a train if you don’t drive.
I don’t recommend walking from the Marta station to the game, but it can be fun. I did it once during Freaknick (sp?) about 12 years ago, and it was a blast! I mean that sincerely… no cars could move in the gridloack so we just weaved between them and talked shit with people.
But, really, it’s in a very inconvinient area for locals. And I think that hurts weeknight game a ton.
Please be kind. I can spell… I just can’t type 🙂
Can someone explain to me why we are banning Cuba from participating in the WBC and yet having the People’s Republic of China in it is just fine?
The technicall correct explanation is that the laws are different. The reason the law is different is, because, well… that’s another blog.
I agree that it’s a joke without Cuba. I’m not sure it ain’t a joke with Cuba, but it surely is without.
Peoples republic of China has over a billion potential fans, a third of which probably have access to media to follow baseball games.
Cuba doesnt make all the MLB authenticated goodies.
Also, chinese immigrants living in america dont dominate a swing-state electorate.
Lastly, cuba might beat someone and bolster the body politic. No one fears the Wang.
Jenny, the official explanation is that we’ve embargoed Cuba, whereas we haven’t embargoed China since Nixon established relations with them. Apparently there’s some sort of money involved in the WBC, and for Cuba to receive any money in any way is unacceptable.
The reason we’ve embargoed them and not China? First, they’re in our backyard–the Monroe Doctrine–and second, if we cut off trade relations with China, we would cease to be financially solvent.
Better dead than Red, huh?
They could easily get to the semifinals and beyond, they’re in a pretty weak pool. I predict this works itself out somehow, it just seems far too petty to be permanent, but the tournament is kind of a joke anyway. We all make fun of soccer (well, some of us do), but it’s way more popular in the rest of the world than baseball.
And by “they,” I mean Cuba. And I do know about the embargo, I wrote a paper on it a few weeks ago. I just don’t get the double standard and how they’re reconciling this ideologically.
I have always had a HUGE crush on Erin Andrews. Does anyone know if she is available, and if so, do you think she’d go a humpbacked drawf with Crone’s Disease and tedder? Thanks.
JH
Some politicians might describe our concessions towards China as carrots, strategically offered in response to China’s freeing up its markets, or allowing for some measure of democracy at the local level, or even paying lip service to the concept of human rights. We’re embracing them, supposedly, because they’re willing to reform.
If Castro would do the same, we might let Cuba play, some would say. It isn’t like we have that much leverage there at all. But I imagine that’s how it’s reconciled.
Jenny, you rock. I have been asking that question among friends for some time now and the only viable answers are:
“China has a billion potential paying cusomters.”
and
“China embraces distateful labor laws such as child labor, which enable US companies to manufacture goods much, much cheaper.”
Castro has his political enemies killed. China waits for a peaceful demonstration and rolls over them with tanks. How far does the double standard go?
The US refuses to acknowledge democracy-practicing Taiwain as a sovereign nation and has gone on the record stating that we will support China in the event that Taiwain formally declares independance.
And we have the gall to state that our reasons in Iraq are to spread democracy.
Sorry for the political tangent, but Cuba is not allowed to play baseball because of the all-mighty dollar.
Man, this is a good sandwich. Rather simple, really. Just a fresh croissant with a little ham and swiss cheese… mmmmmmmmmmmm.
So you say China’s big, huh? Interesting.
🙂
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…How bout them Braves?
Sorry, I have a knack for ruining conversations. So, here goes.
Personally, I think acquiring Barry Zito makes sense as long as the price isn’t too high. We can fit another $9 million in the budget and he seems to be the only lefty on the market.
We cannot enter the 06 season with HoRam as the designated LHSP.
I don’t think Zito is available anymore, but I might be wrong. I thought Beane reneged on that one.
The differences between Cuba and China relate to different historical contexts. If there is a double standard, it relates to the fact that China is a huge country with nuclear weapons; eventually, Nixon realized that we had to deal with them on a geopolitical basis; also he used China as leverage against the Soviet Union. Cuba has little importance geopolitically and, unlike China, spent a lot of time trying to destabilize Central and South America–a no no as far as the US is concerned. Also, Castro had the nerve to nationalize American business assets and become a base for Soviet nuclear missiles. Of course, the politics of South Florida was important as well. It’s actually quite logical if you understand how the world works.
I don’t think we have ever said that we would support China if Taiwan declared independence. We have tried to discourage Taiwan from doing so for the quite reasonable reason that we don’t want to fight the Chinese to save Taiwan’s ass.
I don’t think the difference is entirely because of money because, in fact, we treated Cuba and China quite similarly until the early 70s and China was just as much of a closed communist system as Cuba. It’s more the fact that they could drop a nuke on Los Angeles. (Of course, the dollar has something to do with it too; I find it hilarious for people to complain about a capitalist system being out for money.)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-10/25/content_385511.htm
And Beane would trade his mom if the price were right. Again, if the price weren’t too steep, Zito is the perfect rental.
If this has already been said, I apologize. I didn’t take the time to read every post.
I live in West Tennessee and I have DirecTV, and I get basically every Braves game on TV. I don’t have any kind of special package, just the basic “Total Choice” or whatever they call it. I get TBS games on channel 247, Turner South games on 631, and most every other game is on Fox Sports Net South, channel 630, which is also obviously a regional channel. I spent some time in D.C. this summer and I got FSN Mid-Atlantic, so no FSN Braves games for me. Hope that helps someone, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I am repeating what has already been said.