PROBLEM: Baseball playoff games are ending at 11:30 p.m. (or later)
11:30 p.m. seems late, doesn't it? Very late.
CAUSES:
* Baseball playoff games are starting at 8:07 p.m. (or later).
This is because of TV networks. If it was up to the team, these games would start at 7:05 p.m., as was the norm all season.
* Commercial breaks are long.
TV networks again.
* The games are all lasting three and a half hours or thereabouts, an unusually long duration for a baseball game.
You might think that this is a perfectly natural length for a game and conclude this is merely a baseball problem instead of a playoff baseball problem, but you'd be wrong. The majority of baseball games all season were played in under three hours, most closer to 2:20 or 2:30 or 2:40 in length.
* The course of action is slower than usual.
This is the same as the NBA, where a half-court style predominates in the postseason. When each pitch (or possession, in basketball) could determine advance or elimination, each team understands that each moment counts. Quality at-bats are valued more than ever. Pitchers cannot simply groove fastballs; they have to focus more on every pitch they make.
BUT, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE...
* These games have been fantastic. What a tremendous postseason of high-quality baseball!
CAUSES:
* Baseball playoff games are starting at 8:07 p.m. (or later).
This is because of TV networks. If it was up to the team, these games would start at 7:05 p.m., as was the norm all season.
* Commercial breaks are long.
TV networks again.
* The games are all lasting three and a half hours or thereabouts, an unusually long duration for a baseball game.
You might think that this is a perfectly natural length for a game and conclude this is merely a baseball problem instead of a playoff baseball problem, but you'd be wrong. The majority of baseball games all season were played in under three hours, most closer to 2:20 or 2:30 or 2:40 in length.
* The course of action is slower than usual.
This is the same as the NBA, where a half-court style predominates in the postseason. When each pitch (or possession, in basketball) could determine advance or elimination, each team understands that each moment counts. Quality at-bats are valued more than ever. Pitchers cannot simply groove fastballs; they have to focus more on every pitch they make.
BUT, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE...
* These games have been fantastic. What a tremendous postseason of high-quality baseball!
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