This is kind of a rant about a few things, with little to no research. Just spitballin’. It’s all over the place, but have at it.

Just watched the Giants man-handle the Rockies again, this time 12-0 on an Anthony DeSclafani complete game shutout. I’m headed to the park tomorrow with the old man since the opening series against said Rockies, should a classic weekday freeze-fest, and I’m hoping they didn’t use up all their runs tonight.

The Giants are tied for the league lead in total wins, tied with the A’s and those damn Dodgers. However, the story in baseball still is that wild weekend series in LA with the Dodgers and Padres.

I was only able to watch Sunday’s game in full, in which the Pads stormed back after being down 7-1 to win late. Otherwise I caught bits and pieces, but definitely full-game highlights after the fact. But every game in that series was a baseball masterpiece; there was great pitching, stellar defensive, a little off-field beef between two stars, and plenty of fireworks offensively, particularly from Fernando Tatis Jr., who’s jersey is in the running to be the first non-Giants jersey I ever purchase. And every single game was a nail-biter, just two titans going blow for blow, giving fans everything they could want.

The first series in which these two teams clashed earlier in the year was no different, just unequivocal, must-see action throughout.

Now, of course, you’re probably thinking, “Well obviously, dude. These are the two most talented roster’s in baseball, I would hope the games were entertaining.”

But for me, it proposes an interesting dynamic that we’ve come to associate quite often with the NBA: the power of the Super Team.

As much as we covet parody in sports, crying out in agony, “This is bad for the league!” when superstars team up, it brings an unparalleled buzz to the playing field every time said team assembles.

Whether you loved or hated LeBron taking his talents to Miami, you tuned in every time to see what would happen. And even those who can’t stand the notion wouldn’t dare argue that the things James, Dwyane Wade, and co. did on a basketball court together was the most exciting, enticing stuff for viewers both die-hard and casual alike. Same goes for Kevin Durant joining Golden State.

The NBA ratings skyrocketed; you couldn’t help but make plans around catching every game you could. Dubs fans tuned in for obvious reasons, opposing fans did also to see if their team could take down the big dogs, and even the most nonchalant basketball viewer at least gave some games a look.

It also generated an insane amount of consumable drama when the season was over, with sports radio shows, podcasts, and tv networks clamoring to cover the latest free agent news. Who’s signing where? or who’s teaming up? became huge topics of conversation, and more importantly, kept the league relevant and buzzing even in the offseason. That kind of attention fans helplessly drool over, coupled with the amazing performances and moments produced by insanely talented teams, makes the NBA arguably pro sports’ most fun and watchable league.

It’s not secret that Major League Baseball has been struggling to find ways to bring more life to their game, who’s ratings and viewership, although both are currently up according to some reports, has been dropping consistently ever year.

They’ve tinkered with play clocks and rules to make games shorter in hopes of drawing more eyes, giving guys less time to horse around on the mound, in-between innings, and in the batter’s box. Last year’s COVID season saw the universal designated hitter throughout baseball, eliminating pitchers from hitting and, in theory, generating more offense having another everyday hitter in the lineup and, consequently, making the game more lively. The Giants certainly benefitted from this, and even appeared to build their roster in expectation that the DH would be back again for 2021, but we got classic National League rules again, and it looks like if it’s going to be universal, it’ll be as soon as next year.

I’m in both ways, if I’m honest.

Having the pitcher in the lineup forces managers to mix and match more often, having to use most of their roster on most nights. I’m also a lover of sacrifice bunt situations that come with having the pitcher in there; defenses are forced to make plays, you got guys moving all over the place to cover the bunt, it’s another one of baseball’s normal, yet beautiful moments. Lastly, it’s pretty awesome if you got a pitcher like Madison Bumgarner on your team that actually can hit, and even if you don’t, one of those bums is going to run into one eventually, and the pitcher devastating an opponent with a big hit when he’s not expected to get one is pure magic only baseball can provide.

On the flip, getting another hitter in there, typically a guy who’s a big bat that you love having in the lineup but don’t love out on the field defensively, makes for more offense and could prolong some guys’ careers *cough, bring back Pablo Sandoval if the DH goes universal*.

I’m undecided on the runner on 2nd to start every inning once its in extras thing. I enjoy the instant drama, and getting a game that’s going longer than it’s scheduled to over faster makes sense all around. But I’m not sure if the home team getting one hit, having the runner that started on 2nd for free dashing home, and then the game you battled so hard to break even through after 9 innings is just over, is all that great.

Ranting aside, baseball’s efforts to shorten their game and make it more “exciting” haven’t been total home runs thus far, no pun intended. I almost forgot to mention the MadBum no-hitter debacle that also happened this weekend.

We’ll get to the Super Team thing, I swear. But I gotta vent.

So Bum pitches and wins the rescheduled 7-inning double-header game, in which he does not surrender a hit. However, per-MLB official rules, it cannot be ruled a ‘no-hitter’ because it was not a 9-inning game. So MLB schedules a 7-inning game, and the starter completes that game without allowing a hit…HOW IS THAT NOT A NO-HITTER? The game was shortened, alright. But it still counts as an official win and loss for the teams involved. Two pitchers got a decision in the game that factors into their career stats. Every hit and out counted for the hitters. All of this is per-usual, so why does the no-hitter not count? When they shortened the double-headers, did these guys not consider the fact that a dude might not give up a hit in one? Or, even worse, not allow a single base-runner? It’s complete shit, to be perfectly honest. There’s no homer-bias because Bum is a Forever Giant, that’s just the truth. He didn’t give up a hit in the maximum amount of innings you allotted him in a game that counted in every other normal aspect. Count the no-hitter. Christ. We wonder why more people aren’t rushing to tune in, we’re denying the credit of historic performances on technicality issues we presented ourselves.

At any rate, they still trail the NBA by a fair margin in terms of viewership and overall popularity, both of whom still haven’t overcome the juggernaut that the NFL is. And if they keep trying to make the game shorter and shorter, I feel the integrity of the it as a whole will be compromised.

So, could more Super Teams be the answer to our popularity problem? I say yes, but with a few caveats.

I already articulated its impact on the NBA. Let’s get back to last weekend.

Dodgers-Padres games, now, for the rest of the season, because of the absolute show they put on for an entire weekend, will be must-watch for any and all baseball fans. Whenever those teams roll into town for smaller market clubs, especially those in the American League or outside the NL West, those fans will go to lengths to either attend those games to see them in action, or try to tune in however they can. It may not be on the same level as the Warriors or Heat in their heyday, but the same formula is being concocted. And, that’s good for baseball, and has been in the past.

The dynastic, unstoppable Yankees of the 2000s revitalized baseball’s most recognized franchises and carried baseball through a relatively down era with a team full of All-Stars and Hall of Famers. Baseball’s peak was during the golden age of Babe Ruth, again, with the Yankees on top. Other incredible teams have come and gone, as well, with the Red Sox, Athletics, Reds, and a few others creating great that usually go for about a decade.

The 2010s brought about a fair deal of parody, as seen in its World Series winners. Yours truly nabbed 3 in 5 years, with the Red Sox winning 2, and then the rest came from a few unlikely sources, which isn’t a bad thing. But again, we love the idea of parody in our games, but the numbers, and our hearts, lie within the Super Teams mounting titanic battles against one another.

It looked like the Houston Astros would be the saving grace of the decade, with plenty of young, compelling stars for the league to market for the coming years against the Dodgers.

Then it turned out they were cheating so, that got scratched.

Thankfully, the Dodgers were handed Mookie Betts, and the league solidified its Super Team despite losing all of the other one’s credibility. Only issue was, now they didn’t have anyone to oppose them. Sure, they didn’t win one for awhile, but even before Mookie, the Dodgers were that Warriors, now Kansas City Chiefs-type club in the sense that they were shoe-ins for the title before the start of each season. That team that the league’s best players find their way on, that everyone else wants to take down a few notches.

But the Warriors had the Cleveland Cavaliers (well, mostly just LeBron) to match them. Even in his old age, it looks like the Chiefs will be fixing to see Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for some years to come. The key is that one or two or three other teams that beg the question if whether or not they can dethrone the king, to make all the drama and other opinions and media buzz go.

Enter the San Diego Padres. They go out and get nearly every great name available on the trade market and sign guys like Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado over the years to combat the Dodgers.

Now you have those two Super Teams that the entire sport’s fanbase gets up to root for or against, that never misses a head-to-head matchup between the two.

But here’s where I think baseball is going to have a harder time effectively implementing the formula.

They need more than two or three Super Teams.

With nearly double the games during the regular-season, baseball either needs an excess amount of Dodgers/Padres-related drama, or just more insane teams to spread the love around during the marathon that is a baseball season to keep more people on the merry-go-round. The NBA has mastered its maximization of its regular season, although it’s easier to generate as many storylines as possible with less games, and smaller teams. Less games allows for that Warriors-Lakers matchup to mean more, and smaller teams allows for more talent to gather more easily and noticeably in one place despite the NBA having the same number of total teams as the MLB.

In other words, when a team nabs three All-Star caliber guys, you can see it right away, as basketball is 5-on-5. Having one, two, or more guys can literally decide the game for you on any given night. Guys like LeBron can will their team to victory almost by themselves. Now, a great outing from your ace could win you a game, sure. A guy like a Betts or Mike Trout could both slug your team to victory while also saving it defensively with a great timely play in the field, but with 25-man rosters and 162-game seasons, the hype of a big series could die with the full month in between in which the teams square off again.

I know I’m all over the place with this. Part of it is it’s late and I’m fading a bit. Some could also be I kind of dove into this without a lot of prior game-planning.

But I think it’s kind of indicative of how complex this issue is for baseball in its battle to regain momentum in the race against the other major sports. The NBA’s formula of the Super-Team works well with how the game of basketball functions naturally, as I’ve laid out.

Could it work for baseball? I have no idea. I don’t even know if, again, with the necessary team setup and season length, it’s even possible to use the Super Team algorithm to help baseball’s ratings.

But I did watch a great deal of Dodgers-Padres, MLB’s two most potent groups, put on an absolute cavalcade of brilliant exhibitions over the weekend.

And call me crazy, but I can’t imagine more of that not being a good thing.

I’ll cut it there before it makes even less sense than it already does. I’ll proofread before sharing tomorrow, but I think I’m leaving this crapshoot as is. All jumbled, rambly, and sweaty. Might even add more nonsense.

Falcon & Winter Soldier post coming at some point this week. Heading to Maui next week barring any catastrophes, my quarantine gut is going to be in full-swing on some Instagram photos, so stay tuned.

Cheers.