Alex Bregman is not happy with the seeming disrespect shown towards the defending World Series champs during the ALDS.
Bregman’s Houston Astros were matched up with the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS, which ended on Monday thanks to Houston’s series sweep. One issue that stood out was all three games of the series beginning early; they had start times of 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. ET. The games all started early because they were played the same day as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, who got the primetime evening slot. We heard plenty of complaints about that before the series began.
What did Bregman think about the early start times?
“Does Tiger Woods tee off at 8:00 am when he’s going to win a Masters? Does Floyd Mayweather fight the first fight of the night? No, he’s the main event, right? So the ‘Stros need to be playing primetime television, 7:00 pm. We’re looking forward to playing primetime television in the ALCS,” Bregman told MLB Network’s Heidi Watney in an interview.
We love the sales pitch from Bregman, and there is no doubt about how popular the Astros are in Houston. There is also very little doubt about how good they are. They deserve to be in primetime and have earned it by making the ALCS. But when the Yankees and Red Sox are playing a postseason series, that takes the primetime slot over everything else. That’s not disrespect; that’s just common business sense.
By Larry Brown
