Has the O's had any discussion about Garrett Anderson? I know he is another lefty, but he would be an excellent mentor to the other outfielders and could DH or be insurance if Pie doesn't work out.

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Pete's reply: Being a lifelong Angels fan, I like Garret, but I don't think he fits here.

Peter,

Did you take read that interview? I don't know what you thought about it, but it seemed to me like Jayson Stark was doing nothing more than annoying Bud Selig. Almost every answer began with, "I don't want to comment on (fill in the blank here)."

The guy is the commissioner of baseball. What does HE want to comment on? How pretty the leaves turn around WS time? Seriously, these were legitimate questions that deserved a thoughtful comment.

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Pete's reply: Yeah, but I liked the fact that Jayson put him on the spot.

Pete,

Nice piece on Brian Roberts. Hope it gets settled soon, either way, but having him be the engine will only make us or wherever he is traded better!

Hey Pete, I've got a question for you. What for system does football have as far as draft pick compensation for free agents? If the Ravens lose Bart Scott or T-Sizzle will they recieve a draft pick in return? Thanks a lot.

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Pete's reply: I have to admit, I'm not very up on that. I believe if a restricted free agent gets an offer sheet and the original team doesn't match, it gets a couple of first-round picks. In the case of unrestricted free agents, the picks are determined by a ranking of the free agents the following season and are awarded in the next year's draft. I'm hazy on this and tried to look it up without success, so if somebody knows more, jump right in. I have to confess that I don't know everything, which I'm sure has shattered some illusions.

Pete,

In all honesty it was a nothing interview. Bud, not surprisingly said nothing new, important or of any value.
In some cases you knew he wouldn't answer the question and in others he avoided the question, as he always has done.
I think most people know that to have competitive balance you knew a salary cap. Both a minimum and a maximum one.
As a long time baseball fan since I was a kid in the 60s (born in 62) my interest has greatly waned from baseball, largely due to the excessive length of the games. A normal game should be 2.5 hrs, 3 hrs should something unusual, not a regular occurrence. And an occasional 2 hr game should not be rare.
Football can get away with a 3+ hr game since it is a once a week, 16 times a yr event, not a nearly daily event. The rare times that I go to games I often find myself looking at my watch and going, "geez, its the 5th and its has taken 1.5 hrs".
Bud is forever linked to the all star game fiasco and just doesn't exude confidence and power as a leader should.
I still follow the game but it isn't with the same passion or interest anymore. I'd just as soon watch a movie or hit some golf balls.

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Pete's reply: And still, MLB total revenues were $6.5 billion last year, which is another record, and the MLB Network figures to add to that substantially. Economically, Bud is the greatest commissioner in baseball history. No one would dispute that.

He commented about how great attendance is. He must only watch Red Sox's, Yankee's and Cub's games. I've seen clips from games at Tropicana Field from late August, and there were empty seats all over the place. That team won the flippin pennant. Selig still lives in happy world where players don't take steroids, and people come to Camden Yards for the "atmosphere."

Hey Mr. Commish,
I have 2 areas of questians for you. First.
As of 2005 the median income per household in the US (includes all housholds with single and /or multiple income earners) is about $46,000. The last report I saw was that your income was $14,000,000.00 a year. That is about 304 times greater then the median income. So Commish, when was the last time you paid for your own ticket at a major league game? When was the last time you opened your wallet and bought a beer, hot dog and some peanuts? Let's be on the low side and say they cost $10. The ticket (where you sit or at least in a good box seat) is say $55. That's $65. Lets add another 15 for incidentals to round it out at $80 for the game. Now lets multiply that times 304. So would you pay $24,320 to go to that game? Or 48,640 to take your wife? How about if you are a family of 5? 5 upper reserve at Camden Yards are $100 add another $20 per person for food, souveniers and parking and you have $200 (which is probably cheap)which comes out to $60,800. for one game. Please note that that is now more than the median household income. How many games are you going to a year at that cost?

Second.
I keep hearing that TV ratings are only there if the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs or Dodgers are on the game. Please ask Ed Goren of Fox how MLB will build interest in other teams if all they hear is how the games are only good if one of the big boys is in the game.
Commish, why doesn't MLB market their players all over TV the way the NFL and NBA do? I don't mean the A-Rods and Manny's. I do mean the Nick Markakis's and the Evan Longoria's or the Roy Halladay's. Make the guy's on the smaller market teams TV stars and people will watch them. Try it you might be suprised at the results. Also I keep hearing that Fox has the right to demand only the top teams and the best nights for playoffs because of how much money they pay for the games. Here is a novel idea. Why not tell them the schedule and say pay us what it's worth.

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Pete's reply: Solid. I doubt you'll get a response from Bud, but if you did he'd tell you that ticket prices would be a lot lower if his salary cap proposal had flown in 1994. I don't really believe it would have had a major effect on tickiet prices, because it was tied to a percentage of revenue and teams are going to charge what the market would bear. As for whether he would pay $60,000 to attend a game with his family (indexed for his $14 million salary) i can only look at the new Yankee Stadium and figure that we're going to get to that point soon.

Here is a question that is actually on topic. Why doesnt Bud expand the playoff field? Every other professional sport has. Yea I know, do long of a regular season. So what, another 5 game series doesnt take that long. It is the best way to reign in the Yankees spending.

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Pete's reply: How would it rein in the Yankees spending?

Enjoyed your article on Brian. I, also agree with you that the O's need to make an offer that puts the decision right on Brian, as the will he or wont he sign, is old.

Pete, 2 quick questions for you: why are fans so down on Koji, since most haven't seen him pitch? What are your thoughts on the MLB channel? I think Al Leiter and Harold Reynolds, really add a lot and it's a nice alternative to ESPN, where it's Yanks, Sox, Mets and Cubs, all the time, but I think they have a big uphill battle with ESPN (see NFL network), even though, I can't stand the ESPN sportscasters doing imitations (bad ones) and lame jokes, every 5 seconds. Great 10 years ago, old and tired today.

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Pete's reply: I don't know that the fans are down on Koji, but it's fair to wonder what he'll do when the reports are that he throws in the low 80s. I like the MLB Network and don't think it will have an uphill battle. It's already in 50 million homes and it's pretty slick.

Pete-

"Commissioner Clueless", aka, Bud Selig, referred more than once in the interview to "cometitive balance". I have to ask, is this delusional man watching the same games as Joe Six-Pack?
He is an absolute disgrace to major league baseball. The game and all it represents will remain in limbo until he is replaced or ousted.

I just dont get how the O's set ticket prices. they have went up almost every year during our 11 year streak. during that 11 years we payed for what two half wat "Big" contracts and nw have traded both of them away before they came to an end. Which was a great move on both acounts. But anyways where do they come up with the prices. The more you lose ,the less you contend, the more you upset the "TRUE" fans, they go up. I mean look at team like Pittsburgh, You can go to all 81 of their games this year for les the $500 and even really good seat less then $1500. Those same seat at the yard would be over $5000 and alot of the other teams are doing the same thing with their prices. So I wish I understood why the PA thinks making the fans that love the team no matter how bad he has messed it up over the years pay for his mistakes. Pete any thoughts on this. I would love to hear your take.

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Pete's reply: This is an area I don't have much of an opinion about. The Orioles raised their prices a while back because they were spending more money on free agents, but they didn't lower their prices when they dropped the payroll later. I think it comes down to whatever excuse works. That said, they need to generate revenue to compete and gate receipts are a big part of that.

In the words of that great philosopher, Charles Eckman, "it's a very simple game". The agents are running the game and the players are the only ones with agents. If the owners were'nt so &*%#$ dumb they would each get their own agent to talk for them, not Selig or some lawyer that doesn't know any more about the game then me. A salary cap is the only way out of this mess.

Put another team in the New York market, in the Meadowlands.

That would solve all of this game's financial problems.

Of course, the Steinbrenners would never let it happen...

Pete,

Okay, maybe it wont limit the Yankees spending by expanding the playoff field. However, it will definitely decrease their return on investment. More playoff teams means more playoff rounds. Anything can happen in a 5 game series.