It's a lousy schedule, and an unfortunate one for the Phillies and their fans. This is a franchise that turned a significant corner by stealing the National League East title from the New York Mets. The drama of Sunday's game, Brett Myers' joyous mitt toss, the celebration that spilled spontaneously from the clubhouse back onto the field - those are the priceless shared memories that bond a city and a team, that will help turn Citizens Bank Park from a beautiful new house into a beloved, lived-in home.
And then the NL division series schedule hit like a bucket of cold water. The Phillies host Games 1 and 2 today and tomorrow, both at 3:07 p.m. After traveling Friday, the Phillies and Rockies play in Denver at 9:37 Saturday night.
Worst of all, if there is a Game 4, it wouldn't start until 10:07 p.m. Sunday. Given the times of playoff games, already lengthened by extra commercials, that means the game could end after 1:30 Monday morning.
That's too late for a lot of people, especially the young fans that baseball should be actively cultivating. Some area school districts are closed Monday for Columbus Day, but others are open. Either way, it's asking a lot for young children and even many adults to stay up that late to watch a baseball game.
So why did it happen this way? In fairness, the suits at Turner Sports and MLB's New York offices gain nothing by inconveniencing millions of postseason-starved Phillies fans. The reality of the baseball postseason schedule is that some team's fans get a lousy game time or two.
There are several factors at work: the size of the TV markets involved, the NFL schedule, and, of course, the pursuit of the almighty advertising dollar. That last one is a constant, so there's no sense dwelling on it. Television pays exorbitant sums to show these games, so television calls the shots.
