ESPN Baseball Tonight Diary Improved; Media vs The A's

by DCinWC on Sep 22, 2006 10:01 AM PDT

ESPN, FOX and "the media", like Sauron, have their eye towards the East.

Last night on Sportcenter they cut to BT for a mini-analysis of the two big pitcher returns, Harden and Martinez. They fact they considered including Harden in that piece is remarkable in itself. But wait...Did you see the ESPN Poll last night, Who Will Win the AL MVP (Santana, Mourneu, Jeter, and two others I forget.) Frank Thomas was NOT on the list; but he did appear in the why Santana could get it. They showed him striking out twice to JS.

Also last Saturday (as my son had "things to do.") I had to leave the game early and caught the end on TV. FOX had it on and was showing why Crede is making a case for Gold Glove at 3rd base. However they failed to show Chavez's skill when two innings earlier he made an even better play. No way anyone unseats EC and his dominance at third. Guy can barely swing for a few months and he still owns third base.

I think that is part of the A's attraction, NO LOVE.

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SF announcers were throwing Chavez under...

....the bus last night. Apparently from a story in one of Chicago newspaper.

Macha is a great manager. -Ron Washington

by pachydermOAFC on Sep 22, 2006 10:10 AM PDT reply actions

When ESPN showcases a certain pitcher,

they would always show a footage of an Athletic being struck out.

Whoever does those short videos he/she always has a knock on the A's.

Like this short-lived Liriano return, it was all over Sportscenter, their website, ESPNews etc....harping it to high heavens. On the return of an equally talented pitcher in Harden, they barely acknowledge it.

It's good at least we have AN to commune and share our thoughts about this team we root for.

by arch on Sep 22, 2006 10:12 AM PDT reply actions

Shilling did do #3000 vs the A's

so let's not get too worked up. Afterall, we won the game!

by MobiusKlein on Sep 22, 2006 10:54 AM PDT up reply actions

they showed swisher striking out....

like 5 dozen times...but barely mentioned bosox lost!

by arch on Sep 22, 2006 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions

Baseball Tonight

Karl Ravich had an interesting interview with Harden last night. I'd have to get back to my Tivo to give a good recap.

The gist of it was that he's feeling good, and though he was a little nervous going in, everything felt great yesterday.

by booya on Sep 22, 2006 10:30 AM PDT reply actions

Sauron had his eye fixed on the West

</tolkien geek>

"Oh, shut up!" -Poppy

by ArakSOT on Sep 22, 2006 10:43 AM PDT reply actions

You are correct, sir.

Have you seen this: http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.asp

I particularly like the alphabetical index and the maps.

A's 2006 record when I attend: 12-7

by peanut gallery on Sep 22, 2006 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions

I do have some

uh... familiarity with that site

"Oh, shut up!" -Poppy

by ArakSOT on Sep 22, 2006 1:22 PM PDT up reply actions

I figured someone else would catch this.

But I like the Dark Lord/heinous media analogy. Is Karl Ravich the Witch King?

Good pitching beats good hitting. And vice versa.

by TheBigO on Sep 22, 2006 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions

But the players know better ...

I was in Seattle last year when I heard an interview with Richie Sexson. He said he had never before had a an AB when he felt like he had no chance to hit the ball. Called Harden the best pitcher in baseball, "no question. Imagine playing whiffle ball with a guy throwing 100 mph."
The interview was about Felix Hernandez, and Sexson was comparing how the ball comes out of his hand to Harden. I heard it with my own ears.

by iceplant on Sep 22, 2006 10:46 AM PDT reply actions

i remember that

i also remember lackey and erstad complimenting harden when he almost had a SHO at anaheim last year. they say, the guy's a stud.

by arch on Sep 22, 2006 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions

Wasn't it Sexson

who said Harden throws "ghost pitches"?

by Philip Christy on Sep 22, 2006 1:28 PM PDT up reply actions

Yes

After he tore through the Mariners in Seattle (If I remember correctly)

by Wooka on Sep 22, 2006 7:03 PM PDT up reply actions

Crede

I hadn't seen that much of him before this last series and I was impressed. He made some great plays. I see Chavez a lot more and thus have seen him make a lot more great plays, so I think he's better. But mine isn't an objective viewpoint. Either way, I hope Eric wins it again.

A's 2006 record when I attend: 12-7

by peanut gallery on Sep 22, 2006 1:00 PM PDT reply actions

Never Trust National Media On Sports...

...or really on anything else. They always get local stories wrong, misquoting people, misunderstanding the situation, etc. This is true both on FOX, which is trashy and superficial, and ESPN, which is terminally hip and superficial. Both ESPN and FOX have learned from the Republicans---"talking points" trump the truth. It's just easier to communicate a vague, often erroneous idea than it is to communicate a nuanced, complicated reality. I realize this will piss some people off. In my view, that's just the way it is.

"It's a cookbook!"---The Twilight Zone

by Buck18 on Sep 22, 2006 1:14 PM PDT reply actions

Have to reply to myself.....

....yeah, I know the word "Republicans" makes my post into a rant....so let's just say "politicians"----and one could also say that the politicians learned "talking points" from the media, not the other way around. It's easy communication, in a shorthand kind of way---don't have to think much sending the message, don't have to think much receiving it.

"It's a cookbook!"---The Twilight Zone

by Buck18 on Sep 22, 2006 2:54 PM PDT up reply actions