Last night the Rays won their fifth series of the season with a 5-2 win over the Rangers. Yet you certainly didn’t hear Orel or Tito mention it on last night’s nationally televised broadcast, on ESPN. Why? Because the narrative was almost entirely about the Rangers and how much they’re yadayadayada. And if anything was mentioned about the Rays, it was more often negative.
…The Rangers are going for their seventh straight series victory, Josh Hamilton’s back, Derek Holland’s mustache, that Derek Holland is quite a cut-up, blah-blah, blah.
To be fair, Francona and Co. did have a few things to say about the Rays. But their nice little anecdotes about how Maddon is unconventional, or how the Rays would utilize the shift against Ian Kinsler (cough, the Rays never did utilize the shift against Kinsler) was peppered with some fairly scathing criticisms of BJ Upton’s base running and fielding, among other things.
Now I’ll admit, ESPN’s website is a great source for stats and photos, and I plunder it with little abandon. However, your (being ESPN, that is) responsibility is to
A) Call a good game
B) Be objective when you do so.
Great, we need a new stadium…no kidding. This just in: we, the fans, don’t benefit any from your advocacy on that issue. Hey ESPN, you suck! Ugh!!!
Even Justin Upton was critical of ESPN. Below is a series of tweets about ESPN’s non-objective calling of last nights nationally televised game. Enjoy.
1) Amazing that my brother has made two good baseball plays tonight and the #ESPN so called analysts have bashed him for both of them.
2) For the kids out there, when your coach gives you the safety squeeze you don’t have to bunt the ball if its not a strike.
3) And when you’re on second base with no outs your job is to tag on a fly ball and make sure you can advance to third base #ESPN.
4) Tito was a great manager and Orel was a great pitcher, I just don’t understand why they can’t call the game the way it is.