If I Were Commissioner of Major League Baseball...

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Bud Selig takes a lot of flack.

I can't recall a commissioner of a pro sports league getting this much criticism no matter what he seems to do, but the critics, myself among them, are not without merit.

A quick rundown of his tenure:

- He owned the Milwaukee Brewers, which would seem to create a conflict of sorts as he is supposed to be an impartial overseer of the game. One of the reasons he has pushed for a salary cap is to help small-market clubs (like the Brewers) compete with the big-spenders.

- He brokered the deal that allowed every major league club to purchase the Montreal Expos, essentially making them the AAA affiliate of the rest of the league. The sale to the new owners of the Washington Nationals not withstanding, the team is still one of the worst in the majors.

- He ended an All-Star game in a tie, which is not a bad thing, as it is an exhibition, but then inexplicably linked the outcome of the All-Star game in the future to home field advantage in the World Series.

- He allowed the Players' Union to become one of the most powerful in the history of the country, effectively stopping any regulation of PED's and institution of salary control. This caused not only the ballooning of player salaries, but player heads and muscles as well.

- Hmmm, what else? Oh yeah, he's presided over the worst cheating scandal in the history of American pro sports. While every other major sporting league was implementing and enforcing a doping policy, he allowed steroids and other performance enhancers to run unchecked through every level of the game, only finally deigning to address the subject when Congress threatened to do it for him.

That being said, the game is still very profitable and successful, and shows little sign of slowing down. But I think it's been stunted to a point by Selig's reign, and here's how I'd do things differently:

1. I would not look like Skeletor. Selig's very appearance I believe is bad for the game. He looks like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons, without the cartoonish super-villain finger-steepling (at least in public). He often looks like an old, befuddled ex-used-car salesman (which he is).

2. I would institute a salary floor. Most people believe that allowing the larger market teams to spend freely is bad for the game, but I disagree. There are more Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs fans than any other team, and those teams successes are good for the game.

However, quite a few teams are spending less and less and keeping the profits from the luxury tax the top teams are playing. A salary floor in addition to the luxury tax will ensure that the tax money is going into player salaries at the lower levels, and not the owners' pocketbooks.

3. I would break the Players' Union. Not get rid of it, but break the stranglehold it has on the game. Allow a strike to occur, let the minor leaguers play for a while, and see how long the big-timers can live without their salaries.

One of the best things that ever happened to the NHL was the willingness of the league to let the game stop until the players would listen to reason. After one season of no salary and no alternative league to play in comparable to MLB, they'll come to the table and agree to my terms. Which leads me to...

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