» Baseball Tonight Options

[tinasdad]

It's back.

With John Kruk, liberated from the sewage pit of "The Best Damn Sports Show Period", replacing Bobby Valentine.

[wdejesus79]

Aw, I still haven't caught Baseball Tonight. The baseball season has not started till my first showing of BT.

[Illusio]

Ditto. I have my TiVo set to record this morning's show. I didn't know how much I missed BT until I found myself futilely hunting for it last night after the Sox-O's game ended. A game isn't complete until I've had Karl Ravech and Tim Kirkjian tell me about it.

I think I might kinda miss Valentine. Not his smirking, so much, or the way he brayed his opinion sometimes instead of speaking it, or how shiny he could look under the studio lights ... okay, never mind. I won't miss him. Might as well bring on Kruk.

[cronox5]

I know I'm gonna miss Valentine. The guy is just crazy.

Slightly OT, but did anyone see the "Curses" show ESPN Classic had on last night? They did a great piece of editing where they took clips of last year's games and with the actual radio broadcasters of the Cubs and Red Sox, showed what it would be like if the Cubs and Sox both made the series.

[tvjunkie]

When did they replace Baseball Tonight with Barry Bonds Tonight?

This post has been edited by tvjunkie: Apr 21, 2004 @ 6:12 pm.

[silentbob]

Since he was batting over .500 and crushing home runs in every other at-bat. As a Dodgers fan, my hate for the Giants runs deep, but I don't have any complaints about ESPN's constant coverage of Bonds. He's far and away the greatest hitter in the last half-century, and I plan to tell my kids plenty of stories about him when they start watching baseball too.

[tinasdad]

I don't have any complaints about ESPN's constant coverage of Bonds

I do.

ESPN's nose is way too far up Barry Bonds' butt. It's amazing. It's Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry...except in real life, it's "Barry" about ten million more times. I was about ready to shoot my TV when they were televising EVERY SINGLE BARRY BONDS AT BAT when he was approaching 660 home runs, which isn't even a record.

And then there's the whole BALCO thing. Victor Conte just named Bonds, specifically, along with the Giambi brothers and others. Yet it wasn't even the lead story on "Baseball Tonight". Oh no, wouldn't want a little thing like steroids to interrupt the 24/7 Bonds worship. The current "news coverage" of the BALCO scandal strongly reminds me of 1919-20, when all the media ignored the burgeoning Black Sox scandal, because they just didn't want to deal with it.

I have an idea. Give us two thirty-minute baseball shows. One can be "Barry Bonds Tonight", and be totally dedicated to All Things Barry. The other can be "Baseball Tonight", and it can discuss what actually happened in the rest of Major League Baseball on a given day.

[Rainmaker]

Give us two thirty-minute baseball shows. One can be "Barry Bonds Tonight", and be totally dedicated to All Things Barry. The other can be "Baseball Tonight", and it can discuss what actually happened in the rest of Major League Baseball on a given day.

Word! I hate Barry Bonds more than I love my Cubbies. Why does the media feed his limitless ego by making him seem more important than he really is? I switch the station now when ESPN goes all-Barry-all-the-time.

Just to digress... The other night I was flying back from Las Vegas, and this dude walks on the plane, puts his hands up in the air, and says emphatically "Barry Bonds cousin...in the house...Barry Bonds cousin...in the house." WTF? Who really gives a rat's ass if you're Barry Stupid Bonds' cousin? Not surprisingly, there was not a single reaction from anyone on the plane.

[silentbob]

Barry Bonds, like him or hate him, is the Michael Jordan of baseball (i.e., the best player of his generation and one of the best all time). If his mere presence can sell tickets -- compare the attendance at a stadium when the Giants are in town as opposed to, say, the Mets or Brewers -- I think that certainly justifies the extra coverage he gets from ESPN. Just like Jordan was the top story when the NBA was on NBC.

24/7 Bonds worship

"Worship"? Since when? Aside from most of the folks at ESPN, I'd say the national media (print and television) still overwhelmingly dislike him.

[ersatzreality]

I don't mind seeing so much Barry Bonds stuff - it is, after all, news.

What I do mind is that empty chair with John Kruk masquerading as an analyst. Last week when he started to go on and on about Rodriguez and that bunt - give it a rest, Johnny Boy. It was nice to see Harold Reynolds and Tim Kurkjian jump on him.

[edoug]

It would of been fun to hear Kruk tonight when they were tearing Nomar apart. I think it's great that 250 million dollar players aren't above critisism.

[Colonial Philistine]

A-Rod's the one that signed the contract for $250M. Nomar doesn't make quite that much.

[wdejesus79]

What I do mind is that empty chair with John Kruk masquerading as an analyst. Last week when he started to go on and on about Rodriguez and that bunt - give it a rest, Johnny Boy. It was nice to see Harold Reynolds and Tim Kurkjian jump on him.

Eesh. If you think that's bad, you should try reading his stuff on espn.com. He knows his stuff, but just rambles and never makes a point. (Kind of like on the show!) Except it's a lot harder to read, than it is to hear.

Peter Gammons and crew just point out the glaring deficiencies just when they open their mouths.

[tinasdad]

I think that certainly justifies the extra coverage he gets from ESPN. Just like Jordan was the top story when the NBA was on NBC.

I disagree. There is more to baseball than Barry Bonds. One of the big problems that basketball has was that it was all Michael Jordan, all the time. That's why the interest in the NBA has fallen off so much since Michael retired, and that's why pinning your whole marketing strategy on one guy is so foolish. Not to mention that ESPN's Bonds fetish is, for fans of the other major league teams, incredibly irritating.

I can only imagine what it would be like if Bonds played for the Yankees. They'd probably have a little window in the corner of their screen showing Barry highlights constantly.

"Worship"? Since when? Aside from most of the folks at ESPN, I'd say the national media (print and television) still overwhelmingly dislike him.

Eye of the beholder, I guess. I see some pretty worshipful Barry Bonds coverage. And the degree to which ESPN is turning a blind eye to the BALCO case is quite mind-boggling. Wouldn't want a little thing like steroids to put a damper on the "Touch 'Em All" segment and BBTN's constant preoccupation with All Things Barry.

What I do mind is that empty chair with John Kruk masquerading as an analyst.

John Kruk is indeed pretty poor. Bobby Valentine is missed.

[edoug]

Colonial Philistine, I guess i didn't make it very clear. I know Arod is making the 250 million and I'm glad Kruk criticized him. I would have liked to hear what a blue collar type ballplayer would think of Nomar going to bars and basketball games instead of being with his teammates. Granted he's still weeks away from being able to play.

This post has been edited by edoug: Apr 30, 2004 @ 10:57 am.