A Curious Statement and a Bit of a Rant

So I'm watching Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, and one of the commentators (might've been Steve Phillips) said that interleague play ought to continue because that's what the fans want and that's all that counts. Now, I'm no fan of interleague play-- I think it's inherently unfair because of the arbitrary way they set it up, in that some teams are forced to play superior teams from the other league, while other teams get relatively easy pickings. I also think it detracts from the excitement of the World Series, when you have the prospect of two teams facing off who've already played each other during the regular season. But I know I'm in the minority and, as long as the Braves sweep their AL competition as they did this weekend with Toronto, I'll grin and bear it.

But here's the point I wanted to make: Phillips (or whoever) is arguing that decisions should be made based on what the fans want, and I find that hugely hypocritical. I would venture to guess that most fans would vote to make steroids ok if they thought it would produce more offense in the game; I think that's why players were tempted to dabble in steroids in the first place (well, that and the higher salaries they would command-- which in turn was partly a function of their greater appeal to the fans). Is the commentator suggesting that if the fans say that's fine with them that the leagues should go along with that? Of course he isn't, but that's the premise he's promoting with his statement. I imagine that when you're on the air live and compelled to keep talking, there's a tendency to allow a lot of things to flow through your mouth without passing through your brain. But these guys are supposedly professionals who spend a lot of time thinking about these issues before they even go on the air, so that's not much of an excuse. I hate to say it, but it's kind of reached the point where most sports announcers irritate me with this kind of prattle much more than they add anything to the experience of watching a game. Isn't there anyone left in the profession to uphold the ideals of legends like Ernie Harwell? I'm sure there are; the problem is not too many of them work for ESPN.