If You Think Bigger They Will Come

Posted on August 12, 2022August 12, 2022 by thependulumswings staff

“If you build it, they will come!” That is the way the actual line, “If you build it, he will come!” uttered by Kevin Costner to his character in the movie Field of Dreams is often misquoted.

But, we think “they will come” is apropos for Major League Baseball. They’ve done a nice job turning an otherwise ho-hum mid-August evening into a spectacle. Fan attendance is sold out strong and the TV ratings, unknown at this point, will likely point to success in year two of this showcase.

It feels very baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. America needs way more red and white feelings to go along with the blue ones. Thanks, MLB.

But, could you do so much more with the Field of Dreams?

How? We’re glad you asked.

Did you know that an investment group bought the field (now two fields) and the surrounding acreage for $7 mil last year? They plan on turning some of it into a training facility for youth baseball and girls’ softball.

That’s nice, but not groundbreaking when breaking the ground for that purpose. And, the construction will scratch any MLB games there in 2023.

Maybe MLB should offer them $14 million and take ownership of it and even more land that surrounds it? $21 million? Why not?

How about playing the All Star Game there once? Twice? All-star games in the NFL (Pro Bowl), NBA, and MLB are stale. Take the lead.

If you keep it as is, how about dumping the Geico and all other real and virtual ads in the stadium?

Sure, money talks. But so does the sacred non-commercial look that the original field in the movie had. Take us back to our past, please.

Augusta National limits ads to roughly 4 minutes an hour on The Masters broadcast. And you won’t see a billboard/ad of any type on the hallowed grounds.

How about playing seven games in seven days with fourteen different teams? Turn it into a bucket list item. Make it a vacation destination for baseball purists in late summer. A hotel off in the distance owned by MLB, maybe? Augusta has bought any and all land adjacent to its property. Big plans will be realized soon.

Sure scarcity creates demand. But demand also creates demand.

It’s a venue and a mindset that is unique to America’s National Pastime. And, it’s past time that they got out in front of the other sports marketing-wise just once.

Doesn’t everyone yearn for one more game of catch with their dad?

Build it and he and they will come.

Ten Piece Nuggets

Posted on August 10, 2022August 10, 2022 by thependulumswings staff

Quick and easy peasy today. We’re working remotely from the deep south, Florida coast style. But, you’re hungry and we’re here to serve.

There’s “why,” but there’s “what.” “Why” might be/likely is/is/has to be in large part politically motivated. Would anyone deny that? The “what” is the purported theft of classified documents? Please.
Remember when Adam Schiff had irrefutable evidence of the Trump collusion with Russia fairytale? We’re still waiting.
“And, just like that,” as Carrie Bradshaw used to say, the country split a tad bit deeper as the deep state descended on Mar-a-Lago. Wasn’t there a better way to extract either documents or a pound of flesh?
There are growing concerns Wednesday about the safety of FBI agents, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Garland following the search of Mar-a-Lago on Monday. Judge Kavanaugh can relate.
We’d like to share what California Rep Eric Swalwell said about the dastardly Republicans encouraging violence after the raid, but pond scum deserves no attention. MSNBC disagrees. They let him rant and whine and lie straight into the camera for 10 minutes an evening ago.
Eighty-seven thousand new/additional IRS agents (greater than the capacity of the University of Oklahoma’s football stadium) are headed your way thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act which isn’t an act that will reduce inflation. We’ll get those billionaires to pay their “fair share” now. Although it should be noted that there are less than 750 billionaires in the US. Doesn’t it seem like not too long ago that Kevin Brady, Republican Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee under Trump, triumphantly tell us that the tax reform act would make millions of people eligible to file their taxes so simply that it could be mailed in on the back of a postcard?
Just for perspective, NYC Mayor Eric Adams is calling for federal help because he says around 4,000 migrants have arrived in NYC in the last three months since May. Texas averages 4,000 migrants crossing its border every single day, and so far, has sent less than 200 migrants to NYC. So much for that “sanctuary city” blabber that was popular when Trump was president.
The Los Angeles City Council voted 11-3 to extend an existing ban on homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers last evening. Protesters claimed the initiative would further isolate and negatively impact the homeless community and disrupted the meeting. We can negatively impact the schools but not the homeless. Hopefully, the protests were mostly peaceful.
The torrid pace of inflation slowed in July for the first time in months, but prices remained near the highest level in 40 years. The Labor Department said Wednesday that the consumer price index rose 8.5% in July from a year ago, below the 9.1% year-over-year surge recorded in June. Time for a Biden victory lap. The Great Reset remains expensive.
The Major League Baseball game pitting The Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds will be played tomorrow night near Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, a site popularized by the 1989 baseball film Field of Dreams. It will be a great escape to simpler times for a nation that needs simpler times. If you’d like to get lost in the corn fields we understand.

Till soon.