Case of Happy

 

MLB I Loathe Thee

 

Between the dodgers getting Skubal and the Guardians posturing over a bunt attempt, it's hard to like the MLB right now.

It is hard to imagine a pair of headlines that better capture the modern fan's frustration with Major League Baseball:

1. Financial Oligarchy: The Dodgers—already stacked with a surreal concentration of elite, highly paid talent—go out at the trade deadline and pull off a deal for Tarik Skubal, a back-to-back Cy Young winner. It makes the regular season feel like a minor inconvenience for a couple of super-teams with blank checks while small-to-mid-market fan bases are left acting as farm systems.
2. Fragile Unwritten Rules: Meanwhile, you have the Guardians getting their collective blood pressure up and clearing the benches in the pouring rain because Tim Tawa had the audacity to try a bunt in the sixth inning of a game.

The Guardians situation is a textbook example of how backwards the logic of "unwritten rules" can get. The 6th inning isn't even late-stage! A hitter is trying to spark an offense against a pitcher who is currently dominating them. To act as if a batter owes the opposing starter a pristine, unbunted environment halfway through a game is absurd. Expecting an opponent to play soft-ball for your guy’s stat line cheapens the competition.

When you stack giant market teams hoarding all-world arms on one end and teams throwing tantrums over basic competitive strategy on the other, it’s completely reasonable to feel alienated by the product.