One, two, three strikes Selig’s out regarding baseball’s most recent issues

By Matt Vachlon

Apparently, I was being too nostalgic for Bud Selig’s taste.

It was only two weeks ago when I called for Selig to step down, based on a decade of poor decision-making. The commissioner responded last week by taking his ineptitude to a whole new level.

He stepped up to the plate and whiffed on three pretty significant issues: the 2011 All-Star Game, the Phillies binoculars scandal and the relocation of the Blue Jays-Phillies series.

I kid, of course, that Selig’s decisions had anything to do with what I said. But, all kidding aside, his actions continue to raise red flags regarding his decision-making skills.

In simply ignoring calls to move next year's All-Star Game from Phoenix, as a result of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, Selig missed the opportunity to make an important political statement, regardless of his stance. As Bob wrote, “whether you disagree with the bill or not, you must realize that sports are more than just a getaway for a 40-year-old guy to decompress after a day’s work.”

The Phoenix Suns, who are in the midst of a playoff run, certainly weren’t afraid to take that stand.

But Selig, instead, took the coward’s way out spewing something about Major League Baseball’s minority hiring record and how he received a lifetime achievement award from the Jackie Robinson Foundation. That’s fantastic and congratulations to him, but it has little to do with addressing the issue at hand.

And it’s one that certainly requires his attention.

Two-time All-Star Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres has already gone on record as saying he will boycott the All-Star game next year if the law is still in place. So has White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. With nearly 25 percent of Major League players being of Latin American origin it’s a fair assumption that many of them could be impacted by this new law.

Add in the fact that the All-Star game determines home-field advantage in the World Series and it make’s Selig’s view (or lack thereof) incredibly short-sighted. After all, can you really play such an important game without some of the game’s best players?

Of course not, which is why such a gutless response was so unacceptable in the first place. If he truly believes the game absolutely must remain in Phoenix, then the players are owed an explanation, and one that amounts to more than just saying “we’ve built up enough good will, so deal with it.”

Then again what do you expect when your commissioner supports cheating?

I was truly disheartened by Selig’s response to accusations that the Phillies were stealing signs from the Colorado Rockies’ bullpen with binoculars. While I have no problem with players or coaches stealing signs with their own eyes (the signs are meant to prevent this in the first place), the use of foreign devices is a different story. A commissioner simply must be above the “back in my day this happened so that makes it okay” response. As I’ve said before, think of what used to happen “back in the day” regarding any facet of history.

At least we know that excuse can’t be the reason behind the bone-headed decision to shift the Blue Jays-Phillies series from Toronto to Philadelphia because of the G20 summit.

Prior precedent in those cases would’ve moved the series to a neutral site. Upon looking at the schedule for that weekend, Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Detroit were all suitable and available locations.

The end result is that Phillies get three more “home” games than everyone else (even if they’re technically going to be the visitors), while Blue Jays get three less and lose out on welcoming Roy Halladay back and drawing perhaps their biggest crowds of the season. Why the G20 summit wasn’t taken into consideration when the schedule was made is beyond me, but as I’m sure you now realize, much of what that man does is baffle me.

With about 75 percent of the season still to go, one can only wonder what Bud is still capable of screwing up.