No joy in Mudville for Chris Dodd

It sounded like the perfect pitch for a presidential hopeful who is a lifelong Red Sox fan -- hold a contest for a playoff ticket to drum up support.

But it turned out to be a foul ball for Democrat Chris Dodd.

Major League Baseball objected to the contest, in which supporters had to register on Dodd's website and contribute at least $20.04 (marking the year of the Sox World Series win) or sign up 24 other supporters for the chance to sit next to Dodd at Game 6 of the American League championship series.

Under the contest, if the Sox won the series before Game 6, the winner was to get to go to Game 2 of the World Series with Dodd at Fenway. If the Cleveland Indians won the series before Game 6, the backup prize was a day on the campaign trail with Dodd in either Iowa or New Hampshire.

Today, the website for the contest was blank.

"It is indeed off due to MLB objection," Dodd campaign spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan said in an email statement. "The people who had participated will be offered their money back, or they can choose to stay in the running for a
day on the trail with Sen. Dodd."