Bud Selig gets granted an undeserved extension

For those baseball fans looking to cast aside the sickening nausea associated with Bud Selig’s term as commissioner and hope for a brighter future for baseball, the wait will have to continue as Selig was granted a three-year extension to continue as baseball commission. At least us rational baseball fans will be able to get a reprieve when his term expires in 2012, as he will not seek an extension beyond that. Or so he says. He made similar statements regarding the ending of his current contract in 2009.

It’s pretty pathetic that the commissioner is being rewarded while the game’s reputation has been sullied and dragged through the mud under his watch. Sure, the revenues of the game has increased six-fold during his tenure, from revenues of $1.5 billion when he took over the reins from Fay Vincent, who was pushed aside by the owners, to the $6 billion-plus in revenues being raked in by owners today. The troubling thing is, Barry Bond’s head has expanded by a similar amount over the same time period.

The truth is, when the Mitchell Report was released, I watched a muted news coverage in a bar. I couldn’t hear what was being discussed, and I didn’t need to. When I saw Selig’s face, I lost control of my stomach as I wretched on top of the bar. Thinking the worst was past, I was proven wrong when the screen flashed to Donald Fehr, and I wretched again.

It’s these two individuals that make it so tough to be a fan of this game. But I will solider on, regardless….