More on the 2007 schedule - whining about lack of national TV for PETCO

by TheRevRun on Dec 24, 2006 4:05 PM PST Comment 6 comments

My copy of the schedule has start times for home games. None of the Saturday games are day games and none of the Sunday games are evening games. That means NO major national coverage at home for the Padres as we battle for the three-peat. I can't believe we are really a small market team that hosts no national tv in our home ballpark until October (then we had two mid-week day games last year!?!?!). Or can they change the start times for regular season games like football does based on standings and predicted tv ratings?

There's two weekend series with LA which is a plus. Other interesting home weekend series are StL (11-13 May), BOS (22-24 June), and possibly the HOU series (17-19 August) if we get a Clemens start. No disrespect to MIL, SEA, ATL, PHI and the divisional opponents but I understand why they aren't national tv. At least we'll be on TBS during that ATL series so our friends in distant cities can see PETCO on their local cable.

This FanPost was written by a member of the Gaslamp Ball community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gaslamp Ball managers or SB Nation.

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As far as I know...

... they can change times to accommodate later decisions about national TV. I know last year when I went to see the Red Sox play in Atlanta they changed the Sunday game of a weekend series to a night game when ESPN picked it up, and it was just barely before I bought my plane tickets--I was grateful I still had time to plan for a Monday departure!

Similarly, there's no way I'll plan to leave SD on 6/24 after the game--I'll wait until Monday, just in case.

by sittingstill on Dec 24, 2006 6:16 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I hate

Being in Colorado and never getting to see the Games. Chaps my ass.

by From the 303 on Dec 25, 2006 11:34 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

www.mlb.tv

under $80/year and money well spent for a seamhead

Relax, all right? Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.

by TheRevRun on Dec 26, 2006 7:09 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Just think how they feel in Tampa Bay

Seriously, if Fox is paying these unbelieveable rights, they want to make their money back, so especially on FOX -- big market good teams are going to be favored -- more eyeballs, it's just business sense.

There will be plenty of ESPN games during the week -- those always are added later. But of course due to that messy PST zone we are in, they start at 10 EST -- which is the zone that ALL revolves around.

And, let's face it -- some baseball fan in Syracuse (unless he's a die-hard who watches everything) -- cares little about the Padres and the Giants.

I really wouldn't worry about if Padres games are scheduled for the world to see, or not. If they win, they'll get their exposure. But, save for for SD transplants -- the market for Padres baseball is 1 county.(And Southern Riverside County, but MLB considers that as Dodgers/Angels territory, sice that is is the "Los Angeles Area of Dominant Influence" -- TV terminology) It's all geography. However, even that's changing -- at least for areas from Menifee to Temecula, as some Padres broadcasts are blacked out in Riverside County on TBS/WGN. (Which, makes little if any sence because "Channel 4 Padres" is not carried on CATV systems in Riverside County. That's probably happening via a Padres request. They'd prefer you make the 65 mile drive.)

Besides, if you buy mlb.tv or the MLB Extra Innings package (Outside of SD, but -- not in Riverside County. Orange or LA counties, yes.) you'll get to see Padres games if you live in Omaha.

The NFL, due to its' uniqueness (fewer games) has more fans, of all teams scattered around the country, not just in their home market. I believe there is a map of "Baseball America" divided as to where a team's fan base is. If I can locate it, I'll post it. (It may have been posted here a year ago)

Bottom line is there's no reason for concern about what others think about Petco or Padres baseball. Good baseball fans follow the game and what's going on elsewhere -- you are really referring to the casual fan who might check out a network game -- every now and then. But really, who cares what others think? That's small-market, insecurity-complex talk and isn't valid for fans like San Diego. That line of thinking must come because of all the transplants from other cities that attend games here. Again, that's what make California markets unique. For that matter, All Sun Belt markets arew similar. That's why all these cities grew! People moved there! So, no whining in baseball...

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Dec 26, 2006 9:29 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Or in DC when they didn't even have a local feed

As a former San Diegan, I have had to go the route of mlb.tv which is a godsend. I just have a problem with the fact that 95% of the time mlb.tv uses the feed from whoever the Pads are playing, so those of us who watch the majority of our games on mlb.tv are subjected to homers who have provide very little knowledgable commentary on the Pads. At least with the nationally televised games, you don't get the homers. It is a small price to pay when I get to watch every game.

by dcfriar on Dec 26, 2006 9:42 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

The reason why you can't see Ch 4 Padres

on MLB.com or the Extra Innings package is that the Padres prohibit it - according to Cox Cable.
They'd like to offer it -- but the team says no.
That's rather unusual, as the Pads and the Blue Jays may be the only teams that do not offer up their local telecasts to these special paid packages.

It may be that the Padres are not satisfied with the rights fee. They've never explained this -- perhaps you should listen to Double X Sports Radio on-line, and call in to Sandy Alderson when he comes on for his weekly (un) informative chat.

As a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks, I buy the NHL package, and since the backwards management of that team only televises about 3 home games a season -- I see the other team's telecast almost 75% of the time so I understand your frustration.

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Dec 29, 2006 2:41 PM PST reply actions 0 recs