Daily Dirt: ‘Manfred will be the next villain in the Batman movie and he’ll be a good one’

I’m really, really sick of the baseball labor mess we are enduring, but I’m still trying to stay in touch with a variety of voices concerning the situation. I tried to pick out a few of the best comments I have found in the last couple of days. Welcome to today’s three thoughts and Vol. 229 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Here are a few thoughts from people in the know about the ridiculous interruption in the MLB season we are going through, and what kind of impact it may have on the future of the sport: 

“Ownership frets about competitive balance in every labor negotiation, but it’s becoming a hard sell. In the last dozen seasons, the Missouri teams have combined to win more World Series (2) than the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Yankees (1). In that time, the Yankees and the Dodgers have combined to outspend the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals by more than $2 billion.” — Tyler Kepner, New York Times.

“Essentially, in the past 20 years, baseball has lost more than half of its World Series audience. And with an incredible number of entertainment options available, the decline of America’s former pastime is likely to continue.” — Cecil Harris, sports journalist and author.

“I say replace (Rob Manfred). He’s got to go. I’m on board with (replacing Manfred), but if that happens, he’s going to fall out of this job and land on his two feet. He will be the next villain in the Batman movie and he’ll be a good one. ” — Mike Krukow, San Francisco Giants announcer and a 14-year MLB veteran.”

When the lockout eventually ends, Major League Baseball’s owners have to fire Rob Manfred. They should do it now, but if they want to let Manfred take the arrows as the face of this dark chapter and cut ties afterward, that’s still better than keeping him. But he can’t stay on. He’s damaging the sport he’s supposed to lead. The fans hate him. The players hate him. They don’t trust him. When this lockout is over, the fences between the players and owners and between the game and its fans will need fixing. Rob Manfred is not the guy for that task.” — Matt Vatour, masslive.com.

2. People I currently have no use for:

1. Vladimir Putin: There’s no way he survives, at least politically, from the mess he is creating.

2. Rob Manfred: He may wind up being the most hated MLB commissioner in history.

3. Miley Cyrus: I know parents love their kids no matter what, but I have to think Billy Ray has to be cringing in not only what his daughter has done but what what might be next.

3. Some more great high school sports nicknames I have found:

Gold medal: Hermits. This dandy belongs to St. Augustine Prep in Richland, N.J.

Silver medal: Hillbillies. Actually, two high schools use this moniker, one in Man, W.Va., and the other in Ozark, Ark.

Bronze medal (tie): Ugly Eagles (Clayton Valley in Concord, Calif.) and Beetdiggers (Jordan, Utah, and Brush, Colo.).

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Steve is dumbfounded that two U.S. high schools have Beetdiggers as a nickname.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He is much better at his job than Rob Manfred is at his.