Bregman said the Astros as defending World Series champs are deserving of playing in primetime GETTY IMAGES
Astros 3B Alex Bregman "sounded off on the defending champions not getting to play in primetime" after the team's three ALDS games against the Indians were all early afternoon starts, according to Jesse Yomtov of USA TODAY. Bregman said, "Does Tiger Woods tee off at 8 a.m. when he's going to win a Masters? Does Floyd Mayweather fight the first fight of the night? No, he's the main event." Bregman said the Astros "need to be playing primetime television," and added they are "looking forward to playing primetime television in the ALCS." Yomtov notes MLB "sets the game times" (USATODAY.com, 10/8). YAHOO SPORTS' Mike Oz writes while all of Bregman's comments are "true, MLB would still make the same call for the Astros to play second fiddle to the Yankees and Red Sox 100 times out of 100." It is the "biggest rivalry in the game, and one of the most famous in sports, so the decision makes complete sense" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/9). Meanwhile, MLB Network’s Robert Flores said, “It’s nothing but primetime baseball for the Astros from here on out” (“MLB Tonight,” MLB Net, 10/8).
THERE ARE OTHER TEAMS OUT THERE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jason Gay wrote he had "forgotten how obnoxiously self-absorbed" the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry can be. Gay: "Does anything matter once this American League Divisional Series wraps?" That thought process is "what happens when the Red Sox and Yankees square off for Innings that Count." Two cities that "think they invented sports, blocking out the rest of the planet and choking on the fumes of their own nostalgia." For fans that "live in another baseball town, Red Sox vs. Yankees isn’t the least bit interesting" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/8).
