I'm sad to see that the most of the first two rounds of the playoffs will not be visible on "free" TV -- that is, broadcast stations that carry Fox -- for those of us who don't spend the money/can't afford cable. Really, this deal only continues the trend of making the business of being a fan of professional sports -- whether it's the NFL, the NHL, MLB, or the NBA -- the business of being wealthy. Of course, and with socioeconomic implications come racial implications as well. Is it any wonder that there is a paucity of young, black, urban (and mostly poor) kids playing the game of baseball?

wow. Didn't know Jesse Jackson read Baseball Musings.

It isn't possible to have all the Division and Championship games be on free tv. Fox can't shut down their entire broadcast division for an entire month to put baseball on. The World Series and Championship Series already eat into their fall show roll out as it is. It's certainly profitable for them but it's a double edged sword since those that tune in for House, find baseball might find another show they like in that time slot.

As I've mentioned before, I think it's all part of Bud Selig's master plan to eliminate baseball. First, put all the games that matter on too late for kids on the east coast to view. Next, don't broadcast games on Saturday afternoons for most of the season. Third, put the first two rounds of the playoffs on cable. Then you can sell even more advertising time to hair-replacement, ED and prostate treatments. Next on the list of attractive sponsors for baseball: Pampers for Men, and manufacturers of hospital beds for the home.

Does that mean Skip Caray and "the Professor" Pete Van Wieren will be broadcasting? The whole country now will know where they ate for dinner the last night, instead of just those who get Sports South.

"As I've mentioned before, I think it's all part of Bud Selig's master plan to eliminate baseball."

Yes, because so far, baseball has simply crumbled financially since Selig took over...fans just aren't going to games like they used to...

I don't really agree on moral grounds with putting the playoffs on anything but free TV...but MLB is a business. It's not like they're showing any sort of corporate irresponsibility; showing the playoffs on cable TV isn't hurting anyone. And the fact that doing so has racial implications is a MUCH bigger indictment of society as a whole then MLB. MLB's putting the games on cable is not perpetuating the cycle of poverty...no, blame for that lies on...well, lots of things, really not worth getting into, you get my point.

If professional sports released a mission statement, it would be: Make as much money as possible. Plan of action: Keep the fans who are willing to spend lots of money as happy as possible. Pretty much the same thing as any other business. To expect any league to financially handicap itself out of some sort of moral obligation to the masses is unrealistic and naive, and cannot happen in a capitalist economy...except maybe if the government nationalized baseball...and I don't see that happening.

As long as what they're doing is profitable, they won't stop. Want games back on free TV? Stop going to games and stop watching them on TV. Like I said, it sucks that things have to be this way, and if I could magically force all sports back onto free TV I would...but then again, there's a reason I'm not a business major.

Turner South was sold to Fox during the baseball season; Fox pretty quickly replaced the TBS crew with its own guys (the ones that had done one game a week on Fox Sports South). Those "down the stretch" games you mention on Turner South would have been with the Fox crew and have no bearing on the state of TBS's ability to broadcast a baseball game.

Thanks, Brian, that's good news.

MLB is following many other countries with major sporting events - they are only available on pay-TV.

Rugby is the national pasttime in New Zealand, but unless you have Sky TV with their add-on sports package, you'll never see a live rugby game in your life. The free-to-air channels (re-)play the game two hours after it starts.

I always thought that was odd, but it appears to be the way the sports world will work in the future.

The day is coming when the World Series will not air live on free-to-air television.

I think that's a shame, speaking just for myself. That's not a commentary on the way baseball operates, just a self-interested complaint.

We don't have cable in our home because of all the crap that comes along with the stuff you want. We're Tiger fans, and it seemed reasonable this year that about half of the first round was on free TV, and we listened to the rest on the radio. It would stink to have missed watching any of the Tiger/Yankeee series!

It may be that all major sports will move to 'pay' TV. My thought on that is this: when I was a kid, boxing was a major sport -- generally pretty mainstream, with a fair amount of interest from the general public. At some point, boxing became almost exclusively pay-per-view and now only the hard-core fans care.

Unbelieveable. Farewell, major league baseball.

You're not going to attract new fans if 40% of households can't see the games - including mine. I'm a major fan of MLB, but I'm not paying $600/yr. for the "joy" of having cable TV in my house.

How do you not have cable TV? Shut up, pony up for the cable and stop expecting things to be given to you for free.