And so it goes, The Grand Old Game

Well, for us baseball fans, winter is for daydreaming about what might have been and what might yet be ... early spring hails the annual rebirth of the Phoenix when the boys of summer head south or west for Spring Training ... followed by april showers and opening day.

The summer is filled with game after game ... our'n agin' their'n ... and may the better team win, unless they're better than us! Then comes the fall and the cream of the crop face off against each other in order to determine the World Champions, just as another winter set in!

And so it goes, the grand old game!

I saw neither "Babe", the "Georgia Peach", nor the "The Big Train" play ... but, my money is on them as being the best ... they didn't know about "the cream" and "the clear" ... some boys are just better than others.

All but forgotten are the events leading to establishment of the Office of the Commissioner ... it all started with the National Agreement of 1903 that made peace between the National and American leagues and evolved from there ... we got our first "Commissioner" ... Kenesaw Mountain Landis, following the 1919 Black Sox Scandal and public perception that the sport was crooked ... a lot has changed, but the more things change ...

It's true that the Judge played judge and jury ... and perhaps "Shoeless Joe" told 'em it wasn't so ... but, the fate of the game was at stake ... as it may well be today.

We had the breaking of the BALCO investigation and scandal back in 2003, the "Senate Steroids in Baseball Hearings" in 2005 ... the Mitchell Report in December, 2007 ... then there's been the ongoing "Roger Clemens - Brian McNamee" drama, the indictment of Barry Bonds ... and all those unguided missiles aka shattering bats ... and like Yogi said, "it ain't over 'til it's over" ... and it ain't!

With such scandalous things grabbing media attention, it's little wonder that the silence surrounding the other serious issues besetting the game is so overwhelming.

The list is long ... very long, indeed ... including, but certainly not limited to, conglomerate ownership, the roles and influence of the media and advertisers, outrageous salaries and salary caps, competitive balance, ticket prices, season's length, interleague play, designated hitters, the All Star Game, unions for multimillionaire players with agent negotiated individual contracts .... not to mention $5 Cokes and cold hot dogs!

With your help, we hope to identify and discuss these issues, among ourselves and hopefully with others throughout the land ... blogging fans primarily, but sports writers, players and management ... at all levels ... majors, minors, college, kindergarten ... big cities and small towns too. We're all in this together and we hope so doing will allow us all to gain greater perspective, make some new friends, and perhaps a difference.

Fans everywhere face similar problems methinks, but many issues and situations are indeed team and location specific ... and thus different perspectives. For example, I imagine ticket prices are indeed an issue and concern everywhere ... at Turner field, the 2009 dugout season tickets run $4,316, while at the new Yankee Stadium, I understand the best seats range from from $500 to $2,500 ... per game! Like Jimmy Smith, our residing dean of journalism says ... the same, only different ... oh, the humanity!

We're on the outside looking in ... and while that shall always be, I truly believe that those who love the game have different perspectives that the casual fan to whom the business of baseball seems most concerned.

We want the issues addressed and resolved as they emerge, and in its best interests ... so as to preserve the game and its integrity for our enjoyment, and that of generations yet to come ... winning, losing and money are but parts of this complex but grand old game!

Baseball is a sport, one of very best ... but the operation of the leagues and the teams is a structured business that has become increasingly complex over the last hundred years ... few seriously question that, methinks. However, my view is that there needs to be better separation of Church and State ... the business may be well but the sport is truly sick, methinks.

It appears that the business is redefining the game in what it perceives as the best interest of the business ... and though promoted as in the best interest of the sport, is being so done at the game's and our expense!

So, from your perspective, what's the skinny regarding each of the issues with which the game is being faced? That is to say: stripped of the fat, ... "what's the real issue? ... why is it an issue? ... what caused it to become one? ... why has it not been resolved? what's being done? ... what should be done?