This week spells doom for the MLB playoffs. Here’s why it happens every year.

As my eye – and patience – for Major League Baseball has drifted increasingly over the years, this week annually doubles down on my disinterest.

I mean, I’ve kind of paid attention to this year’s playoffs. I haven’t watched a full game – or probably more than hour at a time, for that matter – but I do know that there’s four teams left: the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Beginning Tuesday, however, I’ll probably quickly lose track of what’s happening on the diamond as the NBA season tips off. Hoops – in conjunction with the fact that the NFL and college football are in full force – annually is enough for me to basically ignore baseball until we get to the World Series.

Unfortunately for baseball, it’s happening even earlier this year.

Seeking more rest days for players and fewer back-to-back games, the NBA has moved its opening of the season up nearly two weeks. Usually starting around Halloween, the league will tip off Tuesday with a doubleheader (Boston at Cleveland and Houston at Golden State) on ESPN.

This week alone, there’s a doubleheader on TV every night aside from Sunday.

When you add in football – there’s one NFL game Thursday and the rest Sunday, and there’s two televised college football games Thursday, two Friday and about a million every Saturday – there isn’t a whole lot of room left for baseball.

On top of the fact that there’s better TV offerings every day of the week, baseball just doesn’t have a compelling story line this year.

Yes, last year was pretty cool. You had the Cubs ending a 108-year wait for another World Series title.

Well, now the Cubs are again in the mix and hoping to end a one-year wait for another championship. Woohoo!

Then there’s the Los Angeles Dodgers. Blah. You also have the New York Yankees. What else is new?

Then there’s Houston.

We may have something there. It indeed would be cool to see the Astros win and at least bring some positivity to a city that was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey this summer.

There’s one problem with that. I can wait until the final out and the celebration and comments thereafter to take in what a compelling moment that would be.

Everything else in between just doesn’t carry the water needed to create a dilemma in which I’d have to consider choosing baseball over basketball or football.

Let’s face it: Timing is everything. Especially in a day and age where there’s so many potential distractions, from your TV, the internet, a smartphone, etc.

Baseball in so many ways is about our history and the role it has played in it. There’s something to be said for that.

But we now exist in a world where most people live in the moment. There’s little time for nostalgia.

Especially when there’s better options.

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 6:12 PM with the headline "This week spells doom for the MLB playoffs. Here’s why it happens every year.."