Amen Sister!

Batgirl, you could not be more right.

Joe Buck, please find a different sport. Please!

Mmm...pie!

Thank Goodness you said something Bat-girl, that game was on the whole painful to listen to. Where's Bert Blyleven when you need him?

I had to turn the channel when that awful, nails on a chalkboard, make me want to throw something at my TV, talking baseball came on to explain what a changeup was. Good Lord. And the poor announcers had to play it straight. Listening to Joe Buck "throw" the broadcast over to an animated talking baseball like he was actually going to something valuable was painful. He has to die a little bit inside everytime they make him do that. Fox, if you want to impress us, have a hall of fame player show us what a changeup is. I'm sure that Jim Palmer isn't doing anything important. But a freaking animated TALKING BASEBALL!? While trying to entertain us, you're driving away the true fans, and probably have driven your poor announcers, fans themselves, to the bottle. Please, for the sake of Mr. Buck's family, STOP!

It was an embarassing moment when I realized some Fox clown producer was yelling into the microphone in Jeannie's ear: "FIND A WAY TO CUT HIM OFF." It's not like Harwell was babbling on like a senile old man--he was making a point. I understand the Taco Bell chihuahua was probably in the studio holding a gun to said producer's head with a menacing whisper of "Es tiempo de jugar el juego, clown", but where's the respect? Harwell deserves more than, literally, 8 seconds.

amr beat me to what I wanted to type.
Wow!
I couldn't agree more!

I listened to the ESPN broadcast, and they also got Ernie on the radio and they let him "call" an at bat (someone walked IIRC), but you could just tell that Dave Campbell or whomever was cringing when he let a little 'dead air' time go by between pitches.

It was beautiful. And sad at the same time.

And here I am, thinking I was the only one pissed off to the point of throwing my remote at the fox broadcast, especially when it came to the Zelasko incident.

I also heard the at-bat that Ernie did on the radio broadcast, and I think it was the best play-by-play I've heard on the radio in a few years(since about the time Dan Gladden started showing up on the Twins games).

Y. E. S.

Speak truth to power, sister.

BG, that was EXACTLY what I thought about the car. Okay, I didn't think, "BG needs a car." But I did think, "There probably isn't a person watching this game who needs a car LESS than Miggy."

Sadgoat, Joe Buck is already dead. Give up on him, and worry about saving the legions of fans who still believe in something true and pure in the game of baseball.

And for the record, the six-note (you know, da da DA da da DAAAAA") fox sports theme will never say "baseball" to me. It's the "why can't you give baseball its own song instead of borrowing the damn theme from football" theme.

The six-note Fox thing always sounds to me like the part where you sing "giddyup, giddyup, giddyup, let's go" in "Sleigh Ride."

I had to turn the game off. I just couldn't watch it.

Fantastic points, Batgirl. I'm a fan from the Detroit area, and when Jeannie cut off Harwell, my first thought was "She's not leaving the stadium alive." It would be better to slap Michael Corleone with a catcher's mitt than insult Ernie in Detroit.

Can I have pie, please? I like cherry.

I couldn't agree more, the whole thing was an aberration of the game. I had to turn it off, I was genuinely interested in seeing the game, but I couldn't handle the Fox coverage, I watched 3 innings and turned it off. I am no Joe Buck fan especially after his near heart-attack when Moss "mooned" the fans in Green Bay. The man is nothing more than one of Fox's minions, he should head to their news channel so he can suck up even more to Rupert. Thank God that Fox stuff is over until the playoffs.

*applauds BG*

To Miggy's credit... he seemed pretty embarrassed by the whole care thing. And I do think that the fan MVP voting is incredibly stupid (although I think in this instance they did get it right, although admittedly, Miggy's homerun and double plays really only garnered him the MVP because no one else did anything particularly stunning).

And, well... FOX is full of morons. I was suprised that they didn't break in so Bill O'Reilly could scream at whoever struck out. Whenever FOX postseason coverage comes on, I turn down the sound and turn up the radio (a tradition started when that f*&#in' kid stole the out ball in '96 ALCS and had it called a home run, and the FOX announcers scurried over to interview him and proclaim him the "Hero of New York". For disgusting shameful fan interference. I ask you.)

Er... where was I?

Oh, right. FOX sucks.

Right on, Batgirl! The Harwell thing really ticked me off.

So when's the pie on Puckett Place party?

God bless your America, Batgirl. Thanks for writing in.

I was sad yesterday that I was going to have to miss the all-star game. I did make it home during the 7th inning and that was enough to annoy me. Seriously, who give a car to the MVP, that seemed like maybe the wierdest thing I had ever seen. And it looked like maybe Miggy agreed.
We need batling Candace out there broadcasting!!!

Amen, Batgirl.

I'll honestly admit that I didn't really watch most of the game. I went over to a friend's house, we turned the game on, and only really watched it during Santana's and Nathan's pitching performance (listened the rest of the game, and looked up when it sounded like a good play). I guess I won't win the Name that Butt and Name that Crotch. I think I can live with that.

I dislike Joe Buck as much as the next person for broadcasting, but Tim McCarver just tops of the misery of listening to a game on Fox. One of them would be bad alone, but pair them together and you have a disaster.

A few years ago, maybe even last, when the Twins were on Fox for the game of the week on a weekend game they had Bert join Tim McCarver for the game. It wasn’t bad to listen to because Bert was able to tell us enough about the players and talk baseball that McCarver had no other choice but join in.

I do have to give credit to Fox announcers though, they are not as bad as the White Sox.

Dearest Batgirl -

It was more fun to watch the All Star Game when it didn't count - ahh - John Kruck and Randy Johnson come to my mind. Why isn't Joe Buck more like his father Jack - or why don't we have All Star Announcers - hello Vin Scully -heck Bob Ueker would have been more entertainig.

Anyway - had I know Batgirl needed a Corvette - I would have swiped one for you - for I was in Michigan last weekend - and saw an entire lot of them - and the girls I was with would have had my back when I peeled away in a nice red one for you.

Much Love
Wonder Woman

PS - as long as the game doesn't end in a tie that is to say!

Name That Crotch???
That could be kinda fun! ;-)

Really good indicator that the broadcast is asscrap: People who have no basis for comparison *still* hate it.
I got home in time to watch the last four innings with my little sister and her boyfriend, neither of whom is a baseball fan. As soon as I got there, the guy says, "Just to warn you, I might either throw up or have a seizure if they show that damn WebMD thing one more time. Seriously. All this crap between the game is making me dizzy."
And then the GM schlub sounded *so proud* to be giving Miggy the 'vette. I think I heard the collective sound of every single jaw in the stadium dropping in disbelief. Hey Chevrolet, how about donating to a frickin' charity in his name if you actually want good PR?

they give a a car to the MVP of the NHL All-Star game, too... absurd. the MVP should have so much money go to his favorite charity. or the car should go to charity.

and the All-Star game SHOULDN'T mean anything! every guy there should have a chance to play. not that I minded Podsednik not getting in the game, mind you, but every player at that game should play in the game.

I entirely missed seeing Miguel Tejada being awarded a car. I'd bet he feels the same way about not needing it. What he should do is get it pimped out with some personal Miggy Tejada touches, and then auction it off for charity.

Adam - An old roommate of mine and I used to sing exactly that years ago when we'd watch football and they played that theme. Of minor relevance is that he once composed a piece for a composition class we were taking and he had a phrase that note-for-note sounded like "dashing through the snow...". Of course I teased him about it, and he was relieved years later to find out that even professionals inadvertently quote Christmas music.

I had a long rant written, but I think you all know what it said, and Batgirl has covered the topic beautifully. So here's the boiled-down version:

FOX clearly has a marketing strategy that includes trying to suck in as many non-baseball-fans as possible, assuming that the actual fans will keep watching no matter what. I have no idea why they think that Tim McCarver "banter" will snag "I Want to be a Hilton" channel-surfers in sufficient numbers to replace people who would like to see a baseball game, but I guess that's the plan.

Sadgoatboy: What a novel idea, to have a pitcher (rather than a revolting string of computer code) explain pitching. Perhaps, the game being in Detroit, they might have found a former Detroit pitcher to do that. There might even be one who has some broadcast experience, who is revered in two basebally cities, and respected throughout fandom. Oh, wait. There might be three-year-olds watching the game with no one around to explain to them who Jack Morris is. Yeah, clearly an animated ball is the way to go.

Batgirl,

You are right on. If you ask me, the ASG should not only be a celebration of baseball, but it I also like it when that city's baseball history is focused on since so many of these teams get very little press.

As a Tiger fan, thank you for stating what needs to be said about the dissing of Ernie Harwell. I just wish NBC could buy back the rights, or that someone from FOX would read you article.

Okay, one more thing. This isn't just painful because it's the All-Star Game. I'd like it to be watchable, but what are you going do? It's ass-crap now, so we cope.

It's excruciating, really, because it serves as a mid-season reminder of the freaking debacle that FOX will make out of the post-season. Wimper.

Kaf-
Podsednik actually got in the last inning. But, I wouldn't have minded if he didn't either!

Okay -- sorry about the editorial problem in my entry. Fill in the non-sensical break in par. 2 -- I think you get my point. (I'm not sure what happened, but clearly I should hit "preview.")

The only way the All Star game would be fun is if the players tried to offend Mr. Buck's easily shaken sensibilities. When a player hits a home run, he should "pants moon" the pitcher while the rest of the team gathers around to spank him. When a pitcher gets a strike out, he should be miked so we can all hear him say, "siddown, beyotch!" Oh, and don't forget the Century 21(R) Naked Batting Practice.

Mic-

he did play? huh. well, I guess I was just so blinded by his sparkling play that I couldn't see the name on his jersey.

Kaf-
Since the AL was up by so much, they didn't need a pinch runner (except when Soriano pinch ran for somebody)...I'm sure that having a real defensive CF, instead of a bunch of pretenders might have made things a little easier for them.

And, let's all look at it this way--the AL won, therefore, the Twins will have homefield advantage in the WS (*knock on wood*)

"FOX clearly has a marketing strategy that includes trying to suck in as many non-baseball-fans as possible, assuming that the actual fans will keep watching no matter what." -hrunting

Except it's obviously not working with the non-baseball fans. Example: My sister watches "Beauty and the Geek," and "Dancing with the Stars," and she called the ASG broadcasting annoying. I think she'd rather watch "Surreal Life" than Joe Buck.

Come to think of it, I think *I'd* rather watch Surreal Life than Joe Buck!

I had the TV on but was often off in another room doing something so I would not feel like I was wasting precious moments of my life, and I was struck by how little they talked about what was going on in the field. Half the time they were droning on about something not related to the action, so I would have no idea what was actually happening in the game. Terry Francona, when you won the World Series, did that make you happy? Oh, and by the way, whoever that was pitching just struck out the guy that was batting. Now back to Terry.

Sigh... I haven't cared about the ASG since it ended in a tie. For a reminder of a moment of Twins ASG glory, click my name.

See, now aren't you all happy that "East Coast Bias" allows you to watch your Saturday games in peace? We get Buck and McCarver for most Saturday games, killing roughly 1/6th of fan enjoyment statewide.

As for the ASG, the minute they began broadcasting the game on a weekday evening at 8PM (see also, playoffs) it ceased being about baseball and began revolving around the dollar. Of course, I am sympathetic to those that want to make money, hell, I want to make some someday too -- but the two sides could strike some sort of compromise. What better way to continue fan generation then to allow the new generation of baseball fans (see, children) to WATCH THEIR IDOLS!!!

Anyway, is there anyone who thinks this is a good idea? I mean, Taco Bell made some cash, GM, and the rest of the corporate sponsors...but did the CEOs of these companies enjoy the game? Could they have made less intrusive contributions and achieved similar results?

Here's my idea (commence groaning, another half-baked idea is about to be unveiled...though Sweet Lou threatened to actually implement my Opener idea a couple of weeks back): We are already used to banner ads and such on internet browser pages, so why not implement the following:
1) reduce the size of the game by 25%, leaving room for continuous advertisements throughout the game, including a top-left box reserved for Fox's show promos, celebrity sightings, etc. You could even have a fun-facts scroll on the bottom with Miggy's favorite hot sauce sponsored by Tabasco (R) and other boring tidbits of info...
2) fire McCarver and Buck, and replace them with baseball announcers who actually call the game and discuss baseball-related topics.
3) let fans enjoy the game

Radical, I know. However, think of the possibilities. With continuous advertisements, there would be no need for "commercials" as we know them, which would actually increase baseball coverage (we could hear talk of strategy, or talk to guests, columnists, etc. between innings while watching the teams warm) while reducing total game time -- no need to warm slowly, cameras are on, let's play ball. Also, there would be less pressure to fill the so-called "dead air" time, since commercials would in effect be playing continuously. And what if you wanted to see what a changeup was? The "browser" should be like picture-in-picture, where you could switch audio to any of the commercials or information playing at any given time, laser light shows, etc. Oh, and how about being able to switch between 4 sets of announcers (home tv, home radio, and the visiting crews)? Then the popular vote (or unpopular vote, as it were) could determine which annoucners stay or go. If people choose to listen to the Japanese feed over McCarver and Buck, well, sayonara Timothy-san.

Of course, the potential is endless (especially when you consider that actual broweser technology could be implemented whereby you click on Santana and get to his bio, etc.) and not too complicated -- technology is there, people.

Well, that's only ONE way to make the game better while keeping all of the ad revenue...I am sure there are others out there...

Thought provokingly yours,
YankeeFan

YankeeFan, you're a dear, but #1 would drive me to take a bat to my television.

going with the interviews rant... I was annoyed when they were talking with one pitcher after he was done pitching and WHILE the next pitcher was on the mound. perhaps, if we'd been able to SEE him pitching, we wouldn't need to ask him about it afterward, would we? "tell us about when you struck out that guy." his walkthrough would be unnecessary if it had actually been televised.

oh, and how about Joe Nathan's first pitch? nice commercial. thank you for that.

"The six-note Fox thing always sounds to me like the part where you sing "giddyup, giddyup, giddyup, let's go" in "Sleigh Ride.""

FOX presents: a Very Wagner Xmas!

Once again, Batgirl speaks truth to power, with a perfectly calibrated profundity-to-sass ratio. There is one slight falsehood in her statement, however: she sings just fine.

OK, I wasn't paying a lot of attention either (laundry night), but I will give them credit for (as far as I know) not saying "most of you probably haven't heard of [non-Yankee/Red Sox player]" like they did constantly last year. That said, I think it was the first time I can remember turning the TV off in the middle of the game -- to read Newsweek (last year I just channel surfed).

Every other network seems to get that you can't cover different sports in the same exact way -- particularly baseball and football. Fox doesn't. I never thought I'd actually miss Costas and his end of game monologues so much.

From now on I do so solemnly swear that I will only watch NHL All-Star games.

Joe Buck is DISGUSTING!

I was particularly happy that they KEPT advertising the upcoming Boston v Yankees series.

Um. Who cares?

Yeah.

BG -
Thanks for the recap. I watched 0% of the game last night - used my time to move dirt around the backyard and pedal my bike around the lake.
I did watch some of the HR derby and looking at Darth Selig and his bad teeth made me ill - plus it was incredibly boring.
Time to get back to some real b-ball action and enjoy the 2nd half of the season.

aussie -

I didn't say FOX had a GOOD strategy, just a recognizable one. It's sort of like a Chuck E. Cheese Sports Bar.

Also, do you think we could get Joe Buck actually onto Surreal Life? That I might watch. He can room with McCarver in little bunk beds and pontificate over the antics of (say) Punky Brewster, one of the side characters from 21 Jump Street, anyone from Dancing with the Stars, and Dawg, the Bounty Hunter (although he's probably too big a name right now). I would tune in faithfully if it kept them all away from "baseball broadcasting."

Dear Redbird

'I never thought I'd actually miss Costas and his end of game monologues so much.'

Me either - as annoying as he could be - at least he kept to the baseball talk - yeah - once in awhile he went off on a tangent but he was good - he loves this game -

I actually like Al Leiter as an announcer - with the year he's having maybe he should seriously look into this - and newly aquired Bret Boone wasn't so bad either - my sister likes Tony Gwynn as an announcer -

isn't the FOX contract with MLB over soon????

Much love
Wonder Woman

You know how people are always trying to "solve baseball's problems"? Starting with its coverage would be a good idea. Word, Batgirl.

Yes on Leiter and Gwynn. I don't remember hearing Boone, B. I like the other guy that calls games with Joe Morgan on ESPN. I think it would be fun to get the local announcers at least get in on the Booth with the Fox duds, especially for the All-Star game where they really aren't partisan except to 1 or 2 players. Let the Playoffs include one announcer from each team. We could see Hawk and Bremer and Buck (together at last!) for this year's ALCS.

[Self-Promotion] I wrote this on my site:
"Fox is making me rethink my support of Republicans with its baseball coverage. Surely a Democrat network like PBS could do a better job. Ken Burns and Ernie Harwell. Sponsored by Archer-Daniels Midland and made possible by a grant from the McKnight foundation and viewers like you."

Dear Batgirl

Do you know what the saddest thing is about these announcers ? They will both be put into the hall of fame one day. Think about that.

Oh how I miss Sean McDonough on national baseball games.

Regrettably
mike

p.s. mike would like a corvette too. Silver if that would be okay.

Oh and what the h--- was up with that stupid promo, the Michael Chiklis one. I'm not sure if it was for the all-star game or for the fantastic four.

I know people are going to jump on me for this, but I miss the old Tim McCarver, when he broadcasted games for the Mets. He was intelligent about things other than baseball and he has forgotten more about baseball than most people will ever know. He was sarcastic, pointed out the failings of both teams and didn't care what management thought of him. Then he got fired from two jobs in two years and he became the sycophant we know today.

Bring back Vin Scully, or make it a rotating announcer throughout the game. All of the announcers should be the distinctive voices of teams. Harwell should be brought back, Jerry Coleman from the Padres, Bob Murphy before he passed, guys like that. Let people that have to listen to Royals broadcasters year round see what a real announcer is like. You root for the home team in your heart, but you call the game so that a fan of the opposing team is not disgusted.

I'm a butterfly.
Waiting in my cocoon until
Bob Costas returns.

Yes, I'm so indifferent to the All Star game right now. And I'm a freaking baseball nut. Fox just spoils it. Kind of like when you want to sit down and enjoy a good book, except you've chosen to do it on a jungle gym. You know the kids (read: Promo's and annoying announcers) are going to screw that up for you.

Fox even puts a dent in the drama created by the playoffs. Last year was cool, but I missed much of it because I was afraid of Fox tapping me on the should every 12 seconds in the form of 'in-game adversiting' with tie-in promotions, and of course dip**** comments from McCarver and Buck.

If Selig really wants to do something great... he'll publicly burn Costas' HBO contract and mandate that he returns to baseball with either Blyleven, Kaat, or the SF Giants color man.

Great Post, BG. You're off the heezy fer sheezy.

I'm so glad I decided to play some mindless internet poker last night, it was definitely +EV.

One last thing...

Fantasitc Four Movie = media virus

hopefully it's just one of these 24-day bugs.

Dear metsfan

I agree that the channel 9 WOR Tim McCarver did a nice job on the games back in the early 80's. He, unfortunately, seems to have had his brains eaten by zombies and no longer exists.

mike

All of McCarver's problems started when he began dying his hair with just for men 'pumpkin orange' that stops and shows his natural hair color where his glasses are. God man take off your glasses when you dye your hair! He also just plain sucks now, no matter what he used to be. Sad but oh so true, but at least he used to know what was up, unlike Joe Buck.

I have nothing to add. That was just about perfect.

McCarver=Backward chalk on a chalk board.
Buck = Nun talking while using chalk backwards on said blackboard.
Zalesko=Moron passing me notes while nun talks and uses chalk bakwards on chalkboard.
Hargrow=Really interesting guest speaker cut off by moron with stupid questions while nun looks on with a face like Ernie
Kennedy=Smarmy principle who interrupts to take moron to his office.
Fox broadcast=30 years in pergatory.

Sorry, that would be Harwell. See how distracting that moron is?

From the star tribune:
"• There were three national anthems played before the All-Star Game. In addition to "O, Canada" and "The Star-Spangled Banner,"God Save the Queen," the British anthem, was played after a moment of silence in memory of the victims of last week's bombings in London."

Funny, though--I don't think I heard "Oh, Canada" while I was watching tv. I do remember a commercial break between God Save the Queen and the star-spangled banner though. hmmm....

Well luckily I missed that baseball telling me about a slider this time. Thats one smart baseball.

My favorite Fox baseball moment was a game with the Angels a season or two ago. They had one of their shameless promotions of a song that was likely owned by a Fox affiliated record label. The song wa Shaggy "Your my Angel" (remake). The deal was they would play the song throughout a players at bat. I cant remember who the player was but i thnink it was Eckstein who proceeded to have a 17 pitch at bat. Initially the two jokers talked about the at bat and made clever references to how the song talked about Angels and how the Angels were playing, but they ran out of juice and just shut up after the 10th pitch and there was dead silence for the next 7 pitches (save for the music). I was so very happy for those 7 pitches, rooting for Ecksteing to keep fouling them off.

What I wouldn't give to have the announcers from "Major League" give the play-by-play. Now THAT would be entertaining.

gosh, play-by-play? that would be something new and different for these fox losers. that coverage really did suck.

perhaps they should open up the all star voting not just for players but for announcers too.

just so nobody gets their hopes up about the playoffs, when my sister and i had our picture taken with bert at twinsfest (too cool), we asked him if he would PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE talk to someone about doing the post-season announcing. he laughed but said regretfully that he had no say in it. rats. we figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

Batgirl,

Thanks for affirming the rudeness of the Harwell incident. We here in Detroit are outraged and disappointed - but of course we are also severely biased. It's nice to see that it wasn't just us that were cheesed off by it.

Do NOT let FOX ruin Battlebots, too!!!!!!

Dear Mr. Fer,

your instincts are correct. It was an affront to baseball, and to humanity.

Sympathetically,
BG

Best part of the ASG? McCarver not being able to fawn all over Jeter for the entire game.

Not saying Jeter wasnt' deserving, but as Jim Carey said in the movie Liar Liar, "(Buck and McCarver) have their heads so far up Jeter's ass, I don't know where (Jeter) starts and they end."

Joe Buck is like Carson Daly. If you look really, really close while they're on TV, you can actually see the strings!

That said, I missed the All-Star game this year, but wouldn't say I MISSED it (to quote Office Space) because I remembered how awful last year was.

Several hours of commercials and stupid give-aways to freakin' millionaire players. The whole all-star circus makes me, a BASEBALL fan, sick.

If Fox stopped broadcasting baseball, McCarver would just sprout up like a fungus on the next network to carry it.

I turned down the volume in the 1st inning so I wouldn't have to listen to the tools anymore. But a few things still bugged me.

One, when Ernie Harwell is onhand and the All-Star Game is in Detroit, how could they not ask him to announce the starting lineups instead of Li'l Joe? Is there a baseball fan in the world who wouldn't have wanted that?

Two, whose idea was it to do the introductions with the sparklers and steam machines? It reminded me of the Stonehenge scene in Spinal Tap. It looked like someone had this grandiose idea to copy the intros the Pistons did in the NBA Finals, but it came off all piddly and pathetic like the producers said go ahead, but only gave the crew 50 bucks to spend. Sad.

Three, when they're interviewing the managers during the game, do we really need the two-window split screen treatment? Does anyone really need to see Tony LaRussa with the headset for every second of the interview? Are they worried that we won't believe it's really him if we can only hear his voice? Does Fox think its viewers might forget who's talking if the camera cuts away to focus on the action?

Oh, well. I still enjoyed the game itself.

Batgirl - When will the MP3 of your recorder recital be available for download?

If only every baseball fan could unite. Every one pitch in a dollar to buy some air time where you have celebrities (or real people, if they're not hideous trolls) read hate clever hate mail... and remind FOX that the ad was paid for by disgruntled fans, one dollar at a time.

Of course, to reach all those people, you'd need to put it on mlb.com or on sportscenter, and that ain't happening.

Glad to see I'm not the only crotchety old guy.
Can someone explain:
1. How anyone can be rude to someone as charming as Ernie Harwell
and
2. Why baseball players need pyro and fog machines to announce their presence (they're not Goldberg or Blue Oyster Cult)
I'm just asking.

I think they should cram more commercials into the between innings. we almost missed couple of swings in the early counts. FOX really needs to generate more money so maybe they can spend some on announcers who might care about the game . great letter to FOX batgirl ! p.s How about FOX NASCAR announcer Darrel Waltrip to show up and go BOGGITY, BOGGITY, BOGGERITY!!? UGH!

"2. Why do baseball players need pyro and fog machines to announce their presence (they're not Goldberg or Blue Oyster Cult)
I'm just asking."

Goldberg! The mighty Blue Oyster Cult! If I were in a position to, I would name this post of the day.

I love BOC, and back in the day Goldberg was a hell of a lot of fun to watch when he wasn't giving Bret "The Hitman" Hart a concussion.

*digs out his "Secret Treaties" CD*

That was a very well written column that I fully agree with. Thank you!

Why does Fox choose not to air O Canada every year at the all star game?

I wrote an article in my college paper a while back about how FOX sucked at broadcasting the baseball playoffs. Remember when CBS and NBC had rights to the World Series over the last 10-15 years? Somehow, those networks made the games seem more important and more meaningful than maybe they even were. With guys like Bob Costas doing play-by-play, and even Pat O'Brien doing the pre-game stuff, baseball broadcasts were never better. FOX seems to be more interested in "how many stupid new things can we add to our broadcast" than just broadcasting the game itself. When I watch the old tapes of the '91 Series recorded straight from TV, they give me goosebumps. That opening CBS theme song ruled. Then they played that Robin Hood song at the end with the highlights that was even better. FOX's music, etc. makes a big game seem like a spring training game.

Kevin,

I'm not entirely sure that Fox remembers that Canada exists.

MK

I'm a big White Sox fan. But, I must admit, you have the best baseball blog on the planet.

Did y'all notice the players talking to each other after they walked through the smoke and between those giant sparklers? It honestly looked sometimes like they were saying "dude, I almost got sparks in my eyes" or similar. The smoke definitely seemed to bug some of them.

I'm heartened by the positive comments re McCarver's days on WOR; I remembered liking him back in the '80s, but I figured maybe that was just 'cuz I was young and in love with the Mets (they were my national league team, the Twins were always my fave). He used to be decent, now . . . not so much.

Did anyone catch the "red carpet show" before the game on FOX Sports Net? Now *that* was weird. Players in a parade on red carpet outside the stadium, being interviewed. They interviewed David Boreanaz 'cuz he's got a new FOX show coming up, too. Very odd.

The way Jeannie cut off Ernie Harwell was atrocious. We were throwing things at the TV set here.

To Glanzar...I agree. I was kinda displeased to see FSN even get a little a fancied up in the last few months. I'm half expecting the day when FOX will record the game a week in advance, and then CG the whole thing to play back later.

Oh, and the Home-Run Derby should be a chance to feature annoucers from around the league. Like when Hunter was in it...Dick or Bert should've asked to annouce during that time.

It'd be so cool. Except of course when a White Sock got up there and we had to here: "YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD!" 11 times.

BG, great work once again. I'm seriously picturing you right now wearing a cape and flying through the air defending Baseball from the evils of FOXSports peons. I'm seeing this as a scrolling video game, with Buck and McCarver as end-level bosses...

Sorry, just geeked out for a second there. Keep up the good work.

"Sigh... I haven't cared about the ASG since it ended in a tie. For a reminder of a moment of Twins ASG glory, click my name."

The day that play leaves the Top 10 is the day I lose faith in baseball.

It was legendary. Barry did what he does...but Torii did what he does just a WEE bit better.

And Ichiro standing there in the shot with a look of utter amazement is classic.

Thank G*d I hit Pause on the TIVO to load up its buffer before answering the door in the 3rd inning. Unfortunately, Fast FWD caught up to Live TV during one of McCarver's rants in the 7th inning.

P.S. Please set your sights on the train wreck that is Chris Berman. 3.5 hours of listening to his HR "calls" ? I wouldn't wish that on the Gitmo Prisoners.

On the other hand, I have never seen a more preggers person do a major sporting event. It was kinda epic.

What the hell were the initials on the field, though? I wondered if they spelled THUG LIFE.

During yesterday's discussion of the ASG, a buddy says the following:

Fox is horrible. Cutting off Harwell for some pre-canned Smoky Robinson musical montage is outrageous. Having a stat line for each player that runs at a diagonal on your screen is outrageous. The constant pimping of what surely will be a horrible Bad News Bears movie is outrageous. Consistently missing first pitches back from breaks is outrageous. Having Joe Buck say "the crowd isn't getting on Rogers too bad," as boos came down with the field mike obviously turned off, is outageous. Flashing "light shows" outside the outfield walls are outrageous. Not mentioning that Ensberg and Lopez were out of position is outrageous.

I'm sure there's more--that's just off the top of my head.

More Fox deception (we interrupt our paid programming for a little bit of baseball):

http://www.theregister.com/2005/07/13/foxsports_ruse_web/

More validation of how much Fox Sports sucks at baseball:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/allstar05/news/story?id=2107215

CMathewson - Thanks for the link to The Register. I remember seeing that and figuring it out right away what they were doing for the reason they gave; I knew the cameras wouldn't stay trained on a random banner unfurled with a website address (and mentioned on-air, no less) unless it was being paid for. I was curious what it was all about but there was no way I was giving them the traffic. Tools.

When I get a moment I'll check out your other link.

Ugh. I missed the Harwell-Zelasko incident, but I knew it was gonna be a long, excruciating night when the first three things I see are:
1. The awful, Fantastic Four/MLB promo. For God's sake, keep the ads separate from the game, please.
2. One of the buffoons announcing the NL starting lineup with "Carlos Lee" at first base, batting 4th. Uh, I love Carlos as much as the next Brewers fan, but you'd think the announcers might have some idea who the current MVP OF THE LEAGUE is.
3. Scooter the annoying ball teacher. Ugh Ugh Ugh.

Needless to say, I played internet poker, too. Only watched El Caballo's ABs.

Batgirl,
I'm a new reader, but thought so much of your essay on Bret Boone on ESPN2 that I clicked over. Wow, were you right about the Fox coverage. "" is all I can say about the fact that they continue to pollute baseball. That's why I don't watch games anymore.... just listen to the radio and follow on the computer. I get more work done that way!

Oh come on, folks. Don't rail on Scooter; he's the smartest one in the bunch!

Very, very, very glad I missed Zelasko's idiot move with Harwell. I might've had to fake moon my TV.