the dumbfounding stupidity of Bud Selig

the All-Star Game is a fun spectacle that shouldn't matter. for no discernible reason, Bud Selig made the call that the league that wins the All-Star Game would get home-field advantage in the World Series. though it hasn't always made a difference (witness last year's outcome), it's still a patently ridiculous policy.

the fact is, the leagues play the game differently. this has mostly to do with the use of the Designated Hitter in the American League, which makes the best pitchers those with ERA's in the low 2.00's, and hitting bonanzas the name of the game. I realize I'm completely biased as a lifelong fan of a National League team, but in simple terms I prefer the running game to the hitting game. it's not that I don't love the way that Beltran and Delgado and Wright can send the ball out of the park, but I love the way Reyes and Wright and Chavez and Gomez and even Beltran and Green run the bases even more.

in my mind, it's analogous to my preference for women's tennis over the men's game; to my eye, the men's game is all about who can hit the ball harder, but the women's game is about strategy and finesse. I find the latter significantly more interesting and fun to watch. it feels like the American League is about hitting while the National League is about pitching, and I much prefer the latter.

never the less, the differences in the way the leagues play the game is demonstrated in the American League's clear advantage in the All Star Game: in the one-game only match-up, outstanding bats have a good chance against outstanding pitching admittedly not working it's hardest, and since AL teams are geared much more toward their hitting than their pitching, they're going to win the majority of the time.

the World Series is played not just in two different ballparks but also in two different leagues, and the rules of the home league apply in each park. sometimes home-field advantage doesn't end up mattering, and some teams (like, of course, the Mets) play better on the road than they do at home. but there's a reason it's called and advantage, and a silly one-shot promotional event for MLB like the All Star Game shouldn't be allowed to confer an advantage in the World Championship Series. home-field advantage should be afforded in the fairest possible way-- to the team with the better record, as is the case in the Division and League Series.