Why are these October games scheduled for late starts and why do they routinely take four hours? Blame Major League Baseball's lack of self esteem.

When negotiating TV contracts, MLB is usually doing it with cap in hand, on bended knee. That's why Fox is allowed to dictate these ridiculous game times, and is able to tack on 50 seconds to their between-inning commercial breaks, bringing them to two minutes, 50 seconds.

As if folks who are going to watch these games would be any less inclined to watch them if they started an hour, or even 90 minutes earlier.

It'd be nice, for once, to see MLB tell the TV networks when the games will start; do they really believe no one would be willing to pay the rights fee to start games at 7 p.m. EDT?

If such is the case, baseball's demise looms larger than we think.

- Alan Greenwood