Don't sunburn your neck

Bud Selig has proven yet again his inability to mismanage baseball's most public issues. This time, he's refusing to accept third-party drug testing. World Anti-Doping Agency president John Fahey has done everything but throw a tantrum in his efforts to get Selig to understand the importance of independent testing. Selig claims MLB's doctor will become more independent, but how is that possible when he's writing the checks?

Think of the doctor as a drug tester for a pharmaceutical company. The pharma makes its money from selling drugs, not from R&D. The longer R&D goes on, the less money the pharma makes. Researchers for big pharmas have incentive to produce findings that allow drugs to be sold; if the researchers keep finding problems with drugs, especially those with huge market potential, they could be out of a job because the pharma will cut non revenue-producing jobs before the ones that bring in the money.

MLB's doctor has personal incentive not to release positive tests, especially for superstar players that bring in the fans. If the doctor releases enough positive tests, more players get suspended and MLB loses revenue since the fans' favorite players aren't in the game. If it gets to a point that jobs must be cut, the doctor's job will be up soon since it doesn't produce revenue.

I know that would never happen and I'm taking things to the point of absurdity, but simply because this scenario is possible (if not plausible), doesn't that prove the necessity of moving the testing out from MLB's direct control? Selig has been in business too long not to understand the power of incentives. Hell, he used to sell used cars! Sales is entirely about incentives!

Because of the above and the fact this is such an obvious PR gaffe, I am hereby referring to Bud Selig as The Ostrich.

Thanks to Reverend Colinski for the pic

You have brought record numbers to the parks, Mr. Selig, but you refuse to acknowledge the problems that are staring you in the face.