Melky and Buster, an odd couple. And is that TV money guaranteed?

Rk	Player	BA	PA	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Melky Cabrera	.346	501	2012	27	SFG	NL	113	459	84	159	25	10	11	60	36	4	63	0	1	5	8	13	5	.390	.516	.906	*79
2	Buster Posey	.336	610	2012	25	SFG	NL	148	530	78	178	39	1	24	103	69	7	96	2	0	9	19	1	1	.408	.549	.957	*23/D
3	Miguel Cabrera	.330	697	2012	29	DET	AL	161	622	109	205	40	0	44	139	66	17	98	3	0	6	28	4	1	.393	.606	.999	*5/D3
4	Andrew McCutchen	.327	673	2012	25	PIT	NL	157	593	107	194	29	6	31	96	70	13	132	5	0	5	9	20	12	.400	.553	.953	*8
5	Mike Trout	.326	639	2012	20	LAA	AL	139	559	129	182	27	8	30	83	67	4	139	6	0	7	7	49	5	.399	.564	.963	*87/9
6	Adrian Beltre	.321	654	2012	33	TEX	AL	156	604	95	194	33	2	36	102	36	8	82	5	0	9	8	1	0	.359	.561	.921	*5D

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used

Generated 4/1/2013.

Lest we forget that in 2012 Melky Cabrera had the highest batting average (BA) in the Major Baseball League (MBL).  This despite being suspended for the remainder of the season for violating MBL drug rules.  The two official leaders of the conferences, Buster Posey in the National and Miguel Cabrera (no relation to Melky) in the American, have their BA darkened by bold type in baseball-reference.com, which is complicit in this deceit.  Bold type in print is called black ink by baseball fans.  Babe Ruth had lots of black ink.  Melky Cabrera has none thanks to pressures brought by the MBL establishment and its media enablers.  Melky's agent last season, to mitigate Melky's suspension on his free agent status, had Melky issue a statement asking not be considered for the honor of leadership in BA.  It's not an honor, it's a stat.  What, you forgot how moronic it was?

So why bring this up again, on opening day for most MBL teams?  Because we need to remember just how screwed up this all is.  The MBL was created in 1994 when the two independent leagues merged under one commissioner, eliminating the league presidents, and with one group of umpires.  The two conferences regularly play games against each other, laughingly still called inter-league games.  Yes, you may call people who insist on using that phrase idiots.

Melky was MVP in the 2012 All-Star game, which incredibly decides home field advantage in the final series of the post season tournament.  In 2012 Melky's team, the San Francisco Giants, benefited from that victory, although they spared the MBL embarrassment by sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the finals and not actually exercising the advantage.

MBL commissioner Bud Selig was urged by me to vacate Giant wins in games won with Melky playing.  He did not.  I also urged that at the very least the All-Star win be vacated.  It was not.

Instead Melky was banished, to take the brunt of the punishment for his transgression while his team and conference benefited from his rule breaking.

Buster Posey, through no fault of his own, benefited individually from his Giant teammate depriving himself of recognition as conference and MBL leader in BA.  Posey was voted conference MVP.  Leading in BA could only have enhanced Posey's credentials.  Look at Miguel Cabrera winning the American Conference MVP because of his triple crown leadership (home runs, RBI, BA) despite Mike Trout clearly being the better player.

The good news is that spring training is finally, mercifully over.  The bad news is that another boring dysfunctional MBL season has begun with media nitwits celebrating the booming baseball economy because of those obscene TV deals with gazillions of dollars poring in for decades.  Gee, it's like the financial and real estate industry booms that never ended.  Oh wait, they went bust.

The MBL is not likely to receive bailout money from the federal government when the inevitable bust occurs, around 2020 by my reckoning.  What, you don't think that will happen?  Answer this one basic question:

Is that TV money guaranteed or is it dependent on ratings, i.e., how many people actually watch MBL games and, more importantly, the ads AND ultimately actually BUY the products and services being advertised?