Thursday, October 30, 2008

Good Idea/Bad Idea

Good Idea: getting Joe Morgan off of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.

Bad Idea: replacing him with chauvinistic idiot Rick Sutcliffe.

I'm going to really explore the studio space this time and just say: WTF? You're going to replace an arrogant, uninformed, lazy, often-wrong, more-often-with-little-interesting-to-say announcer with another one who has the added bonus of being a sexist pig and occasionally broadcasting drunk? When you have way better broadcasters, like Orel Hershiser and Tony Gwynn? Both Hershiser and Gwynn are absolute revelations. I've been watching televised baseball games for about as long as I can remember, and it had been years since I'd ever heard a broadcaster say anything meaningful or teach me anything. Yet one Sunday night, Morgan was out, and Hershiser and Gwynn joined with Miller to "replace him." That night, I learned more about baseball, both generally and that particular game than I probably had learned in over 10 years. It was just amazing, and interesting, and fun! They bring back Hershiser periodically when Morgan can't make it (usually Hall of Fame weekend, which would eliminate Gwynn, too), but the idea of even just a Hershiser/Miller combo is so.......awesome!!! And yet the rumor is Morgan's replacement would be idiot-faux-redneck-sexist-uninteresting-self-absorbed RICK SUTCLIFFE?

Getting rid of Joe Morgan - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Replacing him with (and continuing to employ) Rick Sutcliffe - BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!!!!!