A little while back I had the privilege of going to New York and talking with Bob Costas about a great many issues in the game. It was a great conversation. Long, wide-ranging and totally no-holds-barred. We tackled a number of things that afternoon. Among them expansion of the playoffs and realignment. Those are the topics which forms the bulk of this edition HBT Daily.
Anyone who follows baseball has an idea -- or thinks they have an idea -- of what Bob thinks about these kinds of issues. The issues which touch on tradition and change in the game. I found, however, both during our taped conversation, but also during our chats before and afterward, that he gets a bum rap on this stuff. Sure, there is a traditionalist strain to his thinking, but far less than advertised and far less than a great many people who think about and comment on the game. And if you don’t believe me, let me say this much: within three minutes of the beginning of this video, one of us was pounding his fist on the desk and accusing the other of being “a damn traditionalist.” It wasn’t me.
There were other topics we touched on that aren’t here, but which we may roll out some time in the future. Or we may meet up again -- maybe this time in my basement instead of New York! -- to talk about stuff we didn’t cover before. I guess part of that depends on how you like it, so please, let me know what you think.