Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Giants or Dodgers?

Beginning this week, pitchers and catchers report to Florida and Arizona for the beginning of Spring Training. I've always loathed the lull between the end of the Super Bowl and the beginning of baseball season (sorry, but basketball just doesn't do it for me like football and baseball). It is a tough withdrawal.

That brings me to the essence of my blog today. I will forever be a passionate fan of the Texas Rangers. I love the Rangers, despite the fact they've been mired near the basement of the AL West since the Doug Melvin/Johnny Oates era ended. With Major League Baseball's awful decision to sign an exclusive agreement with DirecTV for the Extra Innings package (we are DISH subscribers), I either have to switch satellite providers to get the Extra Innings package in order to watch my beloved Rangers or add an NL West team to my favored list.
I'm leaning toward the latter option.

Who should I choose? The Giants? The Dodgers? The Padres?

The Padres get little to no press in Fresno, their games aren't broadcast either, plus it's too far to travel in one day, so they are eliminated despite the fact there is a significant Rangers' connection with the Padres front-office. That narrows the choice down to the Giants and Dodgers. Both teams broadcast their games into the Fresno market. Both teams have exemplary voices calling their games (the Giants have Kruk, Kuip, Flem and Jon Miller; the Dodgers have the legendary Vin Scully and Charley Steiner). Both teams have beautiful ballparks (the Giants play in scenic AT&T Park; the Dodgers in historic Dodger Stadium). Both teams draw over 3 Million fans per year. And both teams are notorious rivals.

I'm opening the floor today for your feedback. I'll choose to follow one NL West team during 2007. Should I choose the Giants or the Dodgers?

Email me today at jim@wpcoc.com with your best pitch (and please, no emails pitching the A's or Angels).