Yeah, That's a Theory

So, we have some economist coming out with a book where he claims that former used car salesman Bud Selig is the best commissioner in the history of major league baseball. And while I'm certainly no connoisseur on commissioners' past, I will say that if a guy with Selig's less than stellar resume is the "best ever," than Bowie, Bartlett, Frick, Happy, Kennesaw Mountain and all them other cats, musta been part of some type of special needs affirmative action program.

A run down of Selig's disgraceful business that I'm aware of (after the jump):

1) sitting by idly while the juiceheads have destroyed the integrity of the record book (i'm not gonna go with the "integirty of the game" as I think that pours it on entirely too thick) -- anyway, can we get an investigation into Barry Bonds? is that too much to ask?;

(2) allowing a system to stay in place where -- it pains me to say this, but let's been honest here -- a ton of teams really have about zero chance to be competitive -- now, that's not totally on Selig, but still, I can see where folks in the Pittsburghs and Kansas Citys of the world get pissy here;

(3) not only letting the All-Star game end in a tie, but allowing the meaningless exhibition to determine home-field for the World Series, now that's particularly horrific idea right there, why?;

(4) his cold-hearted, reprehensible treatment of Jason Christiansen in his efforts to honor Daryl Kile;

(5) his ill-advised, and then failed, efforts at contraction; turned out he looked pretty smooth targeting the Twins too, huh?;

(6) his treatment of the Expos like a red-headed step child being raised by some hardened disreputable folks who'd grown up as sharecroppers and have hated white folk ever since;

(7) which leads right to his openly shady dealings with the whole Expos-Marlins-Red Sox triumverate; appearances be damned, we've got people to screw over;

(8) his lies about baseball's finances; and

(9) being totally outclassed in front of Congress by a real commissioner, the NFL's Paul Tagliablue.

Just seems to me that such a laundry list of unsavory crap leads to the inescapable conclusion that Bud Selig is nothing more than an extrememly fortunate dude who somehow hit paydirt yet he doesn't appear to have risen above the fuckwit intellect that likely qualifies for success in trying to get a ton of "As Is" lemons off the lot. Like I said, I'm not the most versed guy on this, but I can't help but think Andrew Zimbalist, and his claim that Selig is the best ever, is just another douchebag economist pushing some barely supportable nonsense in an effort to get noticed, and more importantly, paid.

Comments

[Kramer]

He really does suck. His handling of the sterioids remains one of the weakest ever. Anyone who paraphrases Mark McGwire for any reason has a limited intellect.

[membengal]

Great post, jackie. It has been Selig's unwillingness to address the on-going steroid dealie is the most maddening, but maybe only to people that used to care about baseball records. Maybe he chooses not to because baseball (and Selig certainly) was so complicit in the rise and nurturing of the steroid era. Either way, he comes as as slime personified.

[BillCross]

A. economists aren't really the be all and end all of business arguments as they almost never consider anything but money.

B. If Zimbalist has steadily earned a reputation as an analyst of the economics of baseball, it's only because the best one Doug Pappas died 2 years ago.

C. Impartial arbiter running the game = bad is cetainly a novel concept but one that I would think is difficult to sustain.

[moin]

That silliness with which baseball handled the Christiansen and Kile situation was about as stupid as the way the NFL handled the Manning-Unitas tribute or the Plummer-Tillman tribute. Apparently, all Commissioners lack a sense of humanity.