Baseball playoffs again go unnoticed

It's finally here.\nAfter six months of dedication, six months of tough competition, six months of some of the closest races, greatest performances and record-breaking statistics, Major League Baseball's postseason is upon us.\nThis season has been special. The home run record was again broken. The Seattle Mariners tied the 1906 record of victories in a season with 116. \nPlayoff races lasted longer than usual, as three races went down to the last week. It's now time for the season's exciting climax that will answer questions fans have been asking for months now.\nAnyone notice?\nIf the baseball playoff's arrival snuck past you, don't think that you're alone. For years now, the marketing of the post-season has been pathetic. With the NFL underway, fans seem to fade from baseball, even in its greatest moments, and Major League Baseball does not seem to want to compete.\nWhether it is the fault of the league or the networks that broadcast the games is debatable, but the reality is that both parties can do more to increase interest.\nBroadcasters have decided that the only team worth actually showing is the New York Yankees. A quick glance at the broadcast schedule for the first round shows that the defending champions are playing every night in primetime, always on national broadcast (as opposed to cable, where the other teams are being showed).\nThe league should insist that the other teams involved must be more exposed, as the viewers lose interest in watching the same team every night. They assume that a New York victory is a foregone conclusion and that the other series are of no importance, and eventually decide even the Yankees are not worth watching.\nWith four teams currently fighting for a trip to the World Series, it is painfully obvious that FOX, this year's lone network broadcaster, cares only about one of them. Every other series goes by unnoticed, as every game is played on cable and during the daytime.\nDid anybody see Curt Schilling's two complete games against St. Louis? Does anyone realize that the Houston Astros have made the playoffs in four of the last five years, but have never made it out of the first round?\nThis kind of storyline dominates talk in the NFL and the NBA, but barely makes the baseball radar because of such poor exposure.\nIf the other teams were exposed, more drama would unfold and more viewers would return the next night. This is done quite effectively by the NBA and NBC, as weekends consist of triple-headers, so every team gets to bask in the national spotlight. \nIt might bring a decline in television ratings at first, but I believe that it is imperative for Major League Baseball to find a way to dominate a weekend afternoon on a network -- even if it means going against the beast that is the NFL.\nBaseball legends are created during the post-season. The game with the nation's greatest history is remembered by moments from the playoffs -- Kirk Gibson's famous pinch-hit home run, Bill Buckner's fatal error, even Babe Ruth's home-run point.\nBut through poor coverage, a season that has been one of the most exciting in recent history will be compromised and unfortunately forgotten.