It's back.

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

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

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.

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.

When did they replace Baseball Tonight with Barry Bonds Tonight?

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.

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.

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.

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.


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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.



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.



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

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.

Actually, the lack of interest in the NBA stems more from the fact that the level of play has deteriorated tremendously from the influx of underclassmen and HS graduates into the league over the past several years. The games are terrible to watch -- no one can pass or shoot anymore, which is why most teams have trouble breaking 95 points with any regularity. It also doesn't help that the average fan is horribly priced-out by the exorbitant ticket prices (even for the nosebleeds).


No one is denying that some Bonds worship is going on, but it is the clear minority within the media. As for ESPN's coverage, I'm sure once something concrete happens in the BALCO case, the story will get more attention. Most of what's been reported thus far is rumor and conjecture, from what I can tell.

The other reason why ESPN has paid less attention to BALCO? Kobe Bryant.

Baseball Tonight has 3 stories .

1. Yankee's and/or how bad A Rod is doing.
2. Barry Bonds and his non records. Tonight Barry Bonds has hit a record 121 home runs on a day that starts with a T. praise him.

or

3> What ever sports star was arrested, trailed or convicted that day.

And if they have a second left they give some scores.

As of Sunday, there have been 6 DIFFERENT "Outside the Lines" regarding BALCO. There is usually a daily BALCO update on SportsCenter (there was another last night) and basically every analyst said after Bonds hit 660 that there is a good chance of his records being tarnished due to the allegations. Keep in mind all of this has been produced without any grand jury indictment as of yet. Doesnt exactly sound like a blind eye to me.

BWAH!

That was too much.

I saw Baseball Tonight only 3 hours ago, and seriously, don't remember anything of note that they mentioned other than Rickey Henderson joining the Minors again. I did like when the anchors traded Rickey stories. To me, it showed good chemistry between the Kruk, Reynolds, and Berman.

Loved the Henderson news. Saw him against the hometown area Bridgeport Bluefish last year, going again this year.

Not missing him here. Kruk will probably be around a year and gone like so many that have rotated in and out of the studio. As long as Jack McDowell doesn't join the team I am okay.

Does anyone remember last season when Harold Reynolds was calling for the Detroit Tigers to be eliminated from baseball just because they were having a terrible season? WTF? I usually like Reynolds but come on dude.

I bet everyone in MLB for the last 20 years (including the peanut sellers) has a Rickey story. That guy's been AROUND.

I can imagine. I hate to say it, but dude is old. But so is Julio Franco. And so was Jesse Orosco.

To me, it's cool to see people bond over shared experiences. Especially over baseball.

Did anyone catch the Web gems half way awards? Pretty good showing by my Reds - especially considering that defense isn't exactly their strong suit.

Anyway, I missed the beginning and didn't hear how they were picked. Was this just arbitrary rulings by Kruk and crew or was their a process and voting?

God love him, he was about a year away from collecting Social Security.
Anyways, yeah, I liked the Rickey stories.

I watched last night to hear all the trade deadline analysis (or as much as you could possibly have with the limited analytical abilities of John Kruk and Harold Reynolds) only to discover that they were broadcasting live at Disney World with fans screaming in the background. And by fans, I mean idiots who want their faces on tv for five seconds. You could not hear a word they were saying (again, not always a bad thing in the case of Kruk and Reynolds.) I know this is a trend that began with all the morning shows, but, please, for the love of god and television: Stop it. Hey, programming geniuses at ESPN/Disney? It's a television show. This means that people watch through boxes in their living rooms. It's not A Night At The Improv. There's no need for audience participation, particularly if that participation consists only of tourists screeching in voices that cause dogs around the nation to hide under beds. Try to give a little thought to what the viewers at home are tuning in for, 'kay? It's nice that you're celebrating 25 years of ESPN but it will be considerably less nice for you if you lose viewers who still care about, you know, sports.

Exactly. And on the trade deadline. Shame. Oh well, only the Garciaparra trade was big. (Is that the right syntax? Probably not.)

[Detroitfan]What? That's absolute BS. Even if Detroit was a joke of a baseball team last year, that still doesn't mean they should be eliminated from baseball! The team has a great history, Detroit is a baseball city and they couldn't have possibly gotten any worse, so for Reynolds to say that is stupid and ignorant.

Plus, look how good they are this year! Mediocrity for everybody![/Detroitfan]

Topic: Speaking of the Tigers, how come they never get any face time on BBTN? I mean, even a webgem once in a while would make me happy. Oh wait, I forgot, no team not named the Yankees or Red Sox ever get on this show! Silly me.

I never watch this show, but did anybody see the hottie Red Sox ballgirl they had on the set last night? Apparently she made some nice catch of a foul ball recently (how recently, I don't know), and she was on the set last night with Gammons and Ravech and the Red Sox clubhouse attendant or something.

Very, very hot brunette, probably 22 years old or something.

I didn't see the show last night (was watching the Sox pull off late heroics), but I have seen that ballgirl before. She is adorable, and I love her braids. She's a pretty good athlete, too.

That was Kelly Barons, she switched jobs with Harold Reynolds last night, he was the ball attendant, did an okay job. Kelly's awesome, she made several really good plays this season.

I like the show, but the commercials they had on a year or two ago were better. You know, "Eight...and sixteen. It's a miracle."

Well, in all fairness, it's because they suck. And it's not like last year, when they were going 43-119 and reaching historic, elite levels of suckiness. Now they're 68-85 and just suck in a kind of ordinary way.

And the curse of extreme suckiness has moved on to Phoenix and the Diamondbacks. ( Although those guys still get BBTN, etc, coverage because of Randy Johnson.)

Dear ESPN,

How do you not schedule an airing of Baseball Tonight on the real opening day? Not all of us dedicate our lives to the NCAA final. Put it on ESPN2 if you have to, I want Web Gems, dammit!

P.S. Please fire Stuart Scott already.

Question to the lucky HD viewers of BBTN:

Is that new AL NL standings/game score in the background of the studio readable on the HD feed? Because if it's not its dumber than it looks already.

No.

HR's got his goatee back, I see. Krukkie, on the other hand, should take a couple of giant steps back from the gel.

eta: a day later, I see Krukkie's taken my advice. Well played.

I still miss Bobby Valentine.

Steve Phillips is all smarm.

He does act like a salesman or casino pit boss, doesn't he?

Kruk is quickly turning into the NFL countdown Mike Golic equivalent for BBTN. Both are occasionally insightful, but they are usually masters of the obvious. They also giggle and lose it on the set more often than the other analysts. I don't hate them but I don't really look forward to hearing what they have to say either.

Krukkie made me laugh the other night. At the tail end of some discussion about something, JK asserted that one didn't have to be a fine physical specimen to be a good baseball player. He then folded his hands primly on the desk and gave a deadpan look to the camera. The other guys, carrying on the discussion, took a full minute to get the joke; Kruk held his posture until they did.

That remimds me of his famous quote: "Lady, I'm not an athlete. I'm a baseball player."

Kruk is not the most incisive fellow but he has his moments. There was a show a while back where they had some segment where the commentators were basically allowed to rant. Kruk decides to call out White Sox fans. He goes on a spiel about how the Sox were off to their best start in decades, playing brilliantly, etc etc, then mentions how they're still struggling to draw 20,000 people a game. It ended with Kruk leaning into the camera and saying "People! Your team is in first place, they're playing great ball, SHOW UP!!"

Hilarious.

I think BBTN is the best show on ESPN right now. Highlights and analysis, without the smirking bullshit of a Stuart Scott or the other idiocy that's ruined shows like Sportscenter.

I think in general, ESPN's baseball coverage (including BBTN) is the best thing about the network. They really do a good job in that regard, much better than Fox, for instance.

I think the mere fact that ESPN's baseball shows aren't hosted by a shrieking harpy make them superior to FOX.

I love the fact I have yet to see Rob Dibble on the show. What a jerk!

I love the story he told about a spring training game when he was with the Phillies. The security guard at the gate wouldn't let him in. The guard thought he was a delivery man.

Has Harold Reynolds not been on lately or do I just keep missing his shows for some reason? As a female Red Sox fan, I am ashamed to admit that I have a crush on him but he's so good-looking and articulate. That doesn't mean he doesn't suffer from a severe case of Yankee beer-goggles, but I think he's one of the best things on this show, even when I completely disagree with him. He just doesn't bug like STUPID JOHN KRUK!!!!!!

I wish Rob Neyer and Jayson Stark and Tim Kurkjian were on more. Kruk and Steve Phillips are severely B-team, Phillips is wrong at least 90% of the time. Every time he talks about a possible trade I immediately check it off as something that will never happen. Larry Bowa is surprisingly insightful, even if he's not the most camera-genic. I love Peter Gammons, but at least he's on fairly regularly. Karl Ravech is way better than "other brown-haired dude" whose name I don't even know.

And yes, thank god, no Rob Dibble or Rick Sutcliffe or Jeff Brantley. Yiiiiiiiiick.

BBTN is by far my favorite program on ESPN. I wish it was on a bit earlier though, those 1:20 am Eastern shows are just not watchable for me.

I'm pretty sure he's been one of the analysts for the College World Series- and might have worked some earlier rounds of the college playoffs as well, especially now that ESPN has that new college sports station.

Maybe both. I've seen him on BBTN in the past week, but not every night. And yes, he's in the booth for the college games.