> I shall ignore that ill-judged bit about cricket being stupid
You're right, Rob. That arrogant strain of chauvinism can pop up at the worst times.
> Did you watch that PTV documentary on the social history of baseball?
Yes, Ken Burns. My favorite part was the segment on "shadow ball" in the 30s by the old negro league players.
> >Baseball is not based on cricket.
>
> Doug Bagnall's great post did a good job on this.
I don't think so. Please read my reply.
> But this isn't what I
> was saying. What I was saying is that the baseball model, with its
> same-day guaranteed results, its worship of the brutish big hit, its macho
> posturing, and its 10000 games a week all merging into each other, well,
> this is now the basis media moguls have chosen for cricket in the future.
> And I'm a diehard conservative about cricket's virtues of yore (which I
> realise can't be translated into American).
Maybe we could separate a few things. Baseball is a summer game, designed to be played at a leisurely pace in the afternoon sun. There's time to ponder its nuances between pitches. There's no clock to end the game; the winner must get 27 outs. All of this is similar to cricket, except, if anything, cricket is even more leisurely. As you say, games can go on for more than one day.
This bit about all the games that are played is, it is true, integral to baseball. It fits the purpose of the game. The long season is to separate the wheat from the chaff. Unlike the sports that depend more on an emotional charge, like football and basketball, baseball players must remain on an even keel the whole six months. No matter what happened today, they must play again tomorrow. Together with the pace of the game, this creates an atmosphere of calmness so that nothing gets in the way of the display of skill by the players. That's all to the good, in my view.
Your other complaints about the posturing and focus on home runs has nothing to do with baseball itself, but is merely a reflection of the reporting of it by the media you abhor. That's what they value and play up.
The media moguls hate leisurely sports, with no time limits, played by calm athletes--baseball, as well as cricket. So, I suggest that their makeover of cricket ultimately has little to do with making it more like baseball. And if it appears that way now, this is probably just a way station to further changes designed to make it more compatible with their TV prerogatives, if they can get away with it.
RO