BBTN: Could Rangers Make the Postseason?

Speaking of ESPN

Is the game going to be on 360 tonight??

"Well, the Dallas Mavericks got beat by the New Orleans Hornets last night ending their season. Word is that someone on the team is dating Jessica Simpson." - Jay Leno

LSB facebook group ---->>> http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33345329288

by hinduplaya on Aug 6, 2008 11:35 AM CDT 0 recs

What is Buck talking about. Yea we see KC and SEA a lot but we have a series against the Rays, 2 against the Red Sox, 2 with Detroit and they still think they’re in it. Not to mention 3 more series with probably the best team in the majors

by meatbonelefty on Aug 6, 2008 11:42 AM CDT 0 recs

home games

I think he means we have the most home games down the stretch. I actually prefer having the other contenders on the schedule, especially at home. The reason the Rangers won’t make the playoffs is because they don’t play any games against Minnesota or Chicago. Even if the Rangers vault over 2 of the three AL East teams, they still won’t get the wild card since they won’t catch the AL Central teams.

Signature! I don't need no stinking signature!!

by DerekSTheRed on Aug 6, 2008 12:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

Minor Point Buck said Best,

not easiest. Mainly in respect to the number of home games they have I assume.

Godwin's Law Version 2.0 (Rangers Edition)
"As a Ranger discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Danks, Volquez, or Young approaches one."

by LBBRangerFan on Aug 6, 2008 12:13 PM CDT up 0 recs

I took it to mean

that they have a lot of home games and are getting to play against their main competition for the WC and division. They will be the main ones responsible for making or missing the playoffs and not have to hope that other teams get the job done for them.

By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw

by Gdawg1 on Aug 6, 2008 2:01 PM CDT up 0 recs

East Coast Sports Network

Apparently it takes beating the third-place Yankees to garner national attention as a contender. I know the Rangers aren’t the biggest deal in baseball right now, but it’s ridiculous how much more they’re discussed when they’re playing the Yankees!

by Minnesota Texan on Aug 6, 2008 11:48 AM CDT 0 recs

I think it might have to do with this:

Population of Dallas: 1,232,940
Population of New York City: 8,274,527

I could be wrong though :)

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 11:50 AM CDT up 0 recs

Couple things

1. DFW is the 4th largest metropolitan area in the country:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_metropolitan_areas

2. Do you feel compelled to write a diary every day?

Last week I took a pleasure trip. I drove my wife to the airport.

by Brian Thomas on Aug 6, 2008 11:57 AM CDT up 0 recs

Heh

If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base. ~Dave Barry

by HaoleKlaus on Aug 6, 2008 12:11 PM CDT up 0 recs

Calling this a diary is a stretch

Skills Showdown: Battle of the Texas Backstops

by jparks77 on Aug 6, 2008 12:17 PM CDT up 0 recs

I love population lists

Fun to note that Fort Worth – Dallas is the largest metropolitan area with only one baseball club. Also, Boston, who ESPN spends the other half of their time covering, is 10th on that list…

by JBImaknee on Aug 6, 2008 12:17 PM CDT up 0 recs

Boston

The Red Sox are the only team in New England. So while the media market might be smaller than some, they are the default team for several states. When I was in College Station, the default team on FSN was the Astros. Throw in the goofy concept of Red Sox Nation (they even elect a president), their viewership is greater than the media market.

by Excel Hearts Choi on Aug 6, 2008 12:29 PM CDT up 0 recs

I don't disagree

Obviously there are a lot more Boston fans than there are Rangers fans. There are also probably more St Louis fans than probably 75% of teams, even though St Louis is a relatively small city. Its a combination of history and passion about other sports.

Arguing that ESPN’s bias to NY and Boston has anything to do with city size is just wrong though, which was the point of my pointing out the size of Boston. It has to do with their fan base, the general appeal (all baseball fans have an opinion on the Yankees and Red Sox; only AL West fans care about the Mariners), and the fact that they are routinely good.

by JBImaknee on Aug 6, 2008 1:09 PM CDT up 0 recs

Boston is No. 5 and Dallas is No. 7

among DMAs with cable (pay) tv.

The Red Sox also get an average 12.1 share compared to the Rangers’ 1.4—which is better than only Washington among all MLB teams.

by robert_d_wilfong on Aug 6, 2008 4:57 PM CDT up 0 recs

And what's number 1

with three times as many people?

Do I feel compelled to write a diary every day?

As long as you keep reading ‘em, I’ll keep writing ‘em. And I know you love ‘em!

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 12:23 PM CDT up 0 recs

The Mayor of Superobviousville says, FYI

Hey everybody, did you know that there are like, loads and loads and oodles of people in New York?

Like a whole whole lot. There’s like, a superplethora and stuff. I bet you didn’t know that.

Cup. Saucer.

Chair. Table.

New York. People.

Agreen07. Shitty diaries.

Last week I took a pleasure trip. I drove my wife to the airport.

by Brian Thomas on Aug 6, 2008 2:33 PM CDT up 0 recs

So by insulting me instead of responding

you conceded the argument…thank you.

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 3:27 PM CDT up 0 recs

The big flaw in your argument

is that it implies that the same percentage in both the NY area and DFW area care about baseball. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 12:24 PM CDT up 0 recs

backtracking

so now it doesn’t have to do with the population huh?

"You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns." - from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, by Mark Twain

by dstar442005 on Aug 6, 2008 12:43 PM CDT up 0 recs

shhhh!!!

he isnt ranting about acquiring greinke for 3 badass farm prospects and signing sheets, let him rant.

"I’m sure you’ve seen Kiker before but I’ll just reiterate that the kid is mean on the mound. He is only 5’10’’ but he is an intimidator. He looks like he hates hitters. He has the juice for pressure situations."
-Jason Parks on Jul 22, 2008 10:08 PM

by Jayslick on Aug 6, 2008 12:49 PM CDT up 0 recs

Greinke

will only pitch in cities with small populations.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Aug 6, 2008 12:55 PM CDT up 0 recs

I don't want to acquire Greinke

for 3 badass farm prospects, only 2.

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 1:14 PM CDT up 0 recs

No it just emphasizes my point even more

not only is NYC significantly more populated but they have a higher rate of baseball fans.

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 1:14 PM CDT up 0 recs

+ 1

I've never seen a pitcher with "bone spur" issues throw 96 mph. The only spurs I'm aware of are the spurs that Wash has buried in C J's ass as he rides him. I love ya C J but welcome to Wash's DOGHOUSE.
.

by LAMuscleFag on Aug 6, 2008 2:47 PM CDT up 0 recs

also

We can gripe all we want about national attention or lack thereof but if ESPN is covering the teams that matter they might look at attendance. The Rangers are currently 25th. If local fans aren’t getting excited why would ESPN think that the rest of the baseball world would care?

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Aug 6, 2008 12:16 PM CDT up 0 recs

good point

there isn’t going to be any national coverage for the Rangers if they’re still drawing 17,000 fans on the weekend… people need to start filling up the seats… this is one of the most exciting offenses in the league, can’t believe people don’t wanna see that

by Baseball North on Aug 6, 2008 12:22 PM CDT up 0 recs

we havent had decent pitching since the rangers arrived in '71

i think people are sick of seeing 30 years of no pitching and i think they are sick of being a low salary team when dallas is a huge market. i have no reason to say ” [i] can’t believe people don’t wanna see that.”

i know exactly why people arent coming to games. apathy.

if the rangers finish 10+ games out every season , please explain to me why an average fan should go spend more and more every year to see that product.

dont you dare blame the lack of attendance on the fans. that my friend, is all on the organization. every little bit.

"I’m sure you’ve seen Kiker before but I’ll just reiterate that the kid is mean on the mound. He is only 5’10’’ but he is an intimidator. He looks like he hates hitters. He has the juice for pressure situations."
-Jason Parks on Jul 22, 2008 10:08 PM

by Jayslick on Aug 6, 2008 12:56 PM CDT up 0 recs

dont you dare blame the lack of attendance on the fans. that my friend, is all on the organization. every little bit.

How so? The fans are the only ones who can buy tickets to raise attendance, correct? I understand apathy and fans being tired of a mediocre product but what’s the excuse this year? This is the best team to take the field in several years, but the attendance is still down almost 5,000 per game (24,919 this year vs. 29,795 last year) from last year. You can blame the organization for quite a bit but the lack of attendance this year isn’t one of them.

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Aug 6, 2008 1:31 PM CDT up 0 recs

The excuse this year would be

1) Season ticket sales are a large portion of attendance, and guess where we finished last year. Attendance typically reflects the previous season’s record.

2) This team is still basicly a .500 team. Maybe a .500 team on a little bit of a hot streak now, but about a .500 team nonetheless.

"And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago." -John McCain

by DJCahill on Aug 6, 2008 1:49 PM CDT up 0 recs

this team was worse than ever in april, last in the entire MLB

it takes a long time to rebound from that to get a normal semi-fans attention back.

attendance has been better recently.

the preceding post is not nearly as negative or insulting as you think it is

by DSheppard on Aug 6, 2008 1:57 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yes, consider

That for an average regular season baseball game:

846,000 people watch the Yankees
542,000 people watch the Red Sox
238,000 people watch the Twins
168,000 people watch the Marlins
86,000 people watch the Rangers

by robert_d_wilfong on Aug 6, 2008 5:14 PM CDT up 0 recs

Ouch

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Aug 6, 2008 5:17 PM CDT up 0 recs

well it looks like Greenie was right..

The Yankees have almost 10 times more people watching them even with their respective metropolitan area populations being a 3 to 1 ratio in favor of NYC. You da man Greenie!!

I've never seen a pitcher with "bone spur" issues throw 96 mph. The only spurs I'm aware of are the spurs that Wash has buried in C J's ass as he rides him. I love ya C J but welcome to Wash's DOGHOUSE.
.

by LAMuscleFag on Aug 6, 2008 5:32 PM CDT up 1 recs

Yeah!

Except, my point was never that DFW is a comparable market to New York. That would be, I dunno, kind of softheaded and imbecilic and doltish and whatnot.

I was merely alluding to the fact that DFW isn’t the dumpwater bumpkihicksarubeatropolis that Northeastern writers so incessantly portray it to be.

The fact is, we aren’t winners and never have been. If our lack of coverage was indicative of our “market share,” then the Cowboys wouldn’t be page one pigskin material four days out of every week.

Last week I took a pleasure trip. I drove my wife to the airport.

by Brian Thomas on Aug 6, 2008 6:19 PM CDT up 0 recs

EXACTLY

The Cowboys get, what, 2 times as much airplay than the Giants do most years, and way, way more than the Jets. Unless sports fans are migrating like geese as baseball season becomes football season, there must be some other force at work than pure population totals…

by JBImaknee on Aug 6, 2008 6:36 PM CDT up 0 recs

Amazing what happens

when one franchise is one of the biggest Super Bowl winners in the NFL, and the other franchise is one of the worst in the sport.

"And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago." -John McCain

by DJCahill on Aug 6, 2008 9:52 PM CDT up 0 recs

Hey

I never said DFW was a dumpwater either but you still insisted on arguing with and then insulting me…I just don’t get you sometimes.

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 6:44 PM CDT up 0 recs

I always try to figure out

when this argument comes up, why the national media should cover the Rangers more. They are going on almost a decade with a consistent record of 3rd and 4th place finishes. For all the nonsense of “East Coast Bias”, the national media also doesn’t cover Pittsburgh or the Nationals all that much.

"And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago." -John McCain

by DJCahill on Aug 6, 2008 9:51 PM CDT up 0 recs

+ 1,000,000

Like Greenie was saying not only do the Yankees have a huge following based on their tradition, population of the NYC metropolitan area, and a greater percentage of that # 1 metropolitan area being baseball fans all things that the Rangers don’t have going on.

ESPN makes their money on ratings. If ten times more people are watching the Yankee games than Ranger games you can’t really blame them for wanting to show a lot of Yankee games and not too many Ranger games. Until the Rangers start winning and get a bigger following ESPN is going with who makes them the most money. It’s more about the almighty dollar and less about bias.

I've never seen a pitcher with "bone spur" issues throw 96 mph. The only spurs I'm aware of are the spurs that Wash has buried in C J's ass as he rides him. I love ya C J but welcome to Wash's DOGHOUSE.
.

by LAMuscleFag on Aug 6, 2008 10:44 PM CDT up 0 recs

Thanks for getting my back

big guy.

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 6:44 PM CDT up 0 recs

anytime my friend :)

cuz ..he’s a New York City Boy!

Pet Shop Boys song btw :)

I've never seen a pitcher with "bone spur" issues throw 96 mph. The only spurs I'm aware of are the spurs that Wash has buried in C J's ass as he rides him. I love ya C J but welcome to Wash's DOGHOUSE.
.

by LAMuscleFag on Aug 6, 2008 10:46 PM CDT up 0 recs

And just think

on a really good night, ~0.1% of those people are probably following along on the gameday threads.

by robert_d_wilfong on Aug 6, 2008 5:37 PM CDT up 0 recs

It is customary when bandying numbers about the series of tubes to provide some manifestation of substantiation

I’m certainly not impugning your integrity, but a link or a reasonable facsimile thereof would be most welcome in this instance…

Last week I took a pleasure trip. I drove my wife to the airport.

by Brian Thomas on Aug 6, 2008 6:08 PM CDT up 0 recs

wow you sound like a sore loser...

unbelievable.

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 6:43 PM CDT up 0 recs

That was a serious question, no sarcasm.

I have no issue with Wilfong whatsoever.

I would just like to see where he gets his numbers. Most statistics are open to a wide berth of elucidation.

No need to get all colicky.

Last week I took a pleasure trip. I drove my wife to the airport.

by Brian Thomas on Aug 6, 2008 7:10 PM CDT up 0 recs

Collected from multiple user encrypted data set interweb sources

and calculated using a Texas Instruments BA-20 Profit Manager solar-electric abacus.

I’ve got some secret tube-distributed info that comes from organizations who would be somewhat aggrevated if I provided the necessary uniform resource locators to allow you to see this information.

by robert_d_wilfong on Aug 6, 2008 6:52 PM CDT up 0 recs

You are wrong

by JBImaknee on Aug 6, 2008 12:18 PM CDT up 0 recs

i like buck the manager

but, not buck the manager, gm, scouting director, etc…

Josh Hamilton is better than you.

by Longhorn on Aug 6, 2008 12:21 PM CDT 0 recs

sorry

you dont get to pick your buck, its a combo package, always has been.

source:

fired NYY
fired AZ
fired TX

"I’m sure you’ve seen Kiker before but I’ll just reiterate that the kid is mean on the mound. He is only 5’10’’ but he is an intimidator. He looks like he hates hitters. He has the juice for pressure situations."
-Jason Parks on Jul 22, 2008 10:08 PM

by Jayslick on Aug 6, 2008 12:57 PM CDT up 0 recs

ESPN does not have an east coast bias

They have a bias towards what makes them the most money. They aren’t a charity, they are a business.

That said, I really dislike a lot of their programming and thus don’t watch it very often.

by dieselT8 on Aug 6, 2008 1:03 PM CDT 0 recs

yeah

b/c womens softball on ESPN2 screams bankroll!!!

"I’m sure you’ve seen Kiker before but I’ll just reiterate that the kid is mean on the mound. He is only 5’10’’ but he is an intimidator. He looks like he hates hitters. He has the juice for pressure situations."
-Jason Parks on Jul 22, 2008 10:08 PM

by Jayslick on Aug 6, 2008 1:10 PM CDT up 0 recs

So they aren't trying to make money?

I’m confused. You think they intentionally lose money so they can talk about the East Coast because that is where they are located?

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 1:15 PM CDT up 0 recs

no, im just saying

that you dont play the “we are always about money” card and then spend extended periods of the year playing womens softball and “major” league lacrosse during prime time hours. and dont get me started on poker. if those are sports that maximize profit potential and growth while increase in future advertising fees, then please forgive me.

"I’m sure you’ve seen Kiker before but I’ll just reiterate that the kid is mean on the mound. He is only 5’10’’ but he is an intimidator. He looks like he hates hitters. He has the juice for pressure situations."
-Jason Parks on Jul 22, 2008 10:08 PM

by Jayslick on Aug 6, 2008 1:29 PM CDT up 0 recs

Do you think ESPN

should cover the Rangers more?

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 1:35 PM CDT up 0 recs

I think a sports network

should cover the most exciting (or unusual) sporting events of the day, regardless of location.

by jwiscarson on Aug 6, 2008 2:41 PM CDT up 0 recs

but the only thing that excites me

is rangers coverage

by Smoakin in the Boys Room on Aug 6, 2008 2:52 PM CDT up 0 recs

That seems like a subjective term

and the most exciting thing to NY people is the result of Yankees games. And there are way more NY fans than TX fans.

"Sooner or later, prospects kill you, because you hang onto them." - Greggo, 11/22/2005

by Agreen07 on Aug 6, 2008 3:26 PM CDT up 0 recs

exactly

What’s exciting us (Rangers fans) isn’t exciting to Yankees fans or Marlins fans or Dodgers fans. If you want Rangers news and coverage just stay tuned to LSB where it’s all Rangers all the time.

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Aug 6, 2008 3:44 PM CDT up 0 recs

the problem

is that ESPN can make it exciting if they show it. A great baseball play is a great baseball play even if it isn’t in a Yankees or Red Sox game. They can build up these players and make them more household names. Instead, they concentrate on other guys and you have plenty of great players like Jason Bay left out until they make it to one of these major teams and all of a sudden, these guys are breakout stars because they weren’t heard of in Pittsburgh, Florida, w/e.

By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw

by Gdawg1 on Aug 6, 2008 11:08 PM CDT up 0 recs

From their standpoint

why cover bad or mediocre teams, when you get national ratings than covering good or at least famous teams? If the Rangers were in the hunt, year in and year out, I have no doubt they’d get more coverage.

"And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago." -John McCain

by DJCahill on Aug 7, 2008 10:52 AM CDT up 0 recs

I guarantee you that money drove the decision

to put niche sports like that on the air. Maybe they decided that hitting a huge percentage of the softball viewers was a wiser decision than over-saturating their audience with another 3 hours of Farve-talk, or whatever else happens to be the go-to story of the day.

by dieselT8 on Aug 6, 2008 1:37 PM CDT up 0 recs

it's because they don't have to pay much for some of that programming

often times someone else subsidizes the cost of televising those events

Team chemistry trumps all!!!!

by simplesimon on Aug 6, 2008 4:36 PM CDT up 0 recs

Poker gets better ratings than baseball, hockey & golf

and the rights fees and production expenses are minimal.

by robert_d_wilfong on Aug 6, 2008 5:05 PM CDT up 0 recs

Poker is a goldmine

just because of ad revenue from the Casino’s large budgets and the ease of making poker for TV.

by laxtonto on Aug 6, 2008 5:40 PM CDT up 0 recs

apples and oranges

I don’t think you can compare what sporting events ESPN does with it’s sports reporting. Since sporting events make money on networks, ESPN has to compete for it’s core audience during prime time slots with lesser programming. They end up filling their programming with events that aren’t likely to compete directly with the big sports event on the network. Case in point, bowling on Sundays which competes against the NFL. They have to show something sports related during NFL games, but they know most of their core demographics aren’t going to watch.

Now look at their sports reporting which generally doesn’t run against another sporting event. They now have almost all their core audience watching, but tend to focus on the majority of viewers. This is a business decision, but it’s still not fair to the little guys sometimes.

Signature! I don't need no stinking signature!!

by DerekSTheRed on Aug 6, 2008 1:43 PM CDT up 0 recs