Mayor Nutter unhappy about Phillies' TV time

Mayor Nutter was upset that the Phillies were not on prime-time television last night, when they kicked off their first-round playoff series against Cincinnati.

"The Philadelphia Phillies have the best record in major league baseball," Nutter said. "It seems to me they should be in prime time."

Instead, the Phillies had the 5:07 p.m. slot, while the New York Yankees faced off against Minnesota at 8:37 p.m. Nutter pointed out that the Yankees are a wild-card team and had a worse record than the Phillies, who won their division.

MLB spokesman Matt Bourne said in a statement that the schedule was set to allow fans around the country to "see the most baseball possible."

"There are a lot of factors involved and we really only have three slots to schedule games, with the Yankees vs. Twins game being the only one today not taking place in the Eastern time zone," Bourne said. "In addition, we're often asked to schedule games earlier for our younger fans. The 5:07 p.m. start time ensures that young fans will be able to watch the game in its entirety without impacting their bedtime." *

- Catherine Lucey