BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Brandon McCarthy and his Twitter posse pummel MLB analyst Mitch Williams after dumb comment

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Friday, July 12, 2013

Brandon McCarthy and his Twitter posse pummel MLB analyst Mitch Williams after dumb comment

“If you don’t pitch in, this is what’s gonna happen.” - Mitch Williams, during a clip of @BMcCarthy32’s injury last year.

.@WildThingMLBN I hope the clip of me nearly dying helped you make one of your asinine points. - @BMcCarthy32

“If you go to autotrader dot com this is what’s gonna happen”- Mitch Williams, talking over a clip of an 8 car pileup -@BMcCarthy32

And wouldn’t you know it? McCarthy created a meme.

Guapo Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:29 AM | 79 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: brandon mccarthy, idiocy, media, meme, mlb_network, twitter

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1. The Anthony Kennedy of BBTF (Scott) Posted: July 12, 2013 at 05:57 AM (#4491953)

Some of those tweets were pretty good. And Mitch Williams is an idiot.

2. Bote Man Posted: July 12, 2013 at 05:59 AM (#4491954)

Wouldn't this be a twice-a-day event for this posse? Mitch Williams is about the lowest hanging fruit out there.

3. Fancy Pants Handle struck out swinging Posted: July 12, 2013 at 06:22 AM (#4491958)

“If you don’t pitch in, this is what’s gonna happen.” - Mitch Williams, during a clip of @BMcCarthy32’s injury last year.

Cause hitters never hit pitches back up the middle on guys who pitch in?

4. Rancischley Leweschquens (Tim Wallach was my Hero) Posted: July 12, 2013 at 06:27 AM (#4491960)

Cause hitters never hit pitches back up the middle on guys who pitch in?

You did not know that?

5. Rob_Wood Posted: July 12, 2013 at 06:52 AM (#4491964)

Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson agree with Wild Thing. If Mitch loses the player base, who remains in his audience??

6. alkeiper Posted: July 12, 2013 at 06:55 AM (#4491966)

MLB Network's quality has really plummeted in the past year. Most of their good analysis has been replaced with inane chatter and debate shows, and now they insist on filling time with mostly terrible baseball movies.

7. Harveys Wallbangers

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:00 AM (#4491975)

dizzy dean may have been unlettered and spoke in terms not common to the audience but dizzy still made a point. he had insight.

mitch? not so much......................

8. hokieneer Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:08 AM (#4491978)

I agree with #6. But quick pitch is still the best baseball recap show, and it's not even close. Espn didn't even realize the mlb season started until july 1 and even now half of their coverage is still nfl/nba. Plus espn must create a set list of X topics that every tv/radio show must cover with predetermined opinions to argue over. Case in point, on every radio show this week there was an argument on whether puig should be an all star. Not an argument as to whom he got snubbed for, just whether he should be one given his limited playing time. All of them had the same talking points, and none of them ever listed Freeman's production in 2013 or previously or ajy other OF either. Quite nauseating to hear the exact same stupid #### on my commute to and from work.

9. Harveys Wallbangers

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:17 AM (#4491983)

hoke

it's pretty clear the espn has dumped baseball. now, espn is supposed to be responding to its viewership and if the viewership isn't asking for baseball content then my takeaway is whether I should be concerned about the lack of 'popular' interest

10. Jose is an Absurd Sultan Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:19 AM (#4491985)

MLBN has declined but I think it is still leaps and bounds better than the alternatives. At the very least they still understand that there are 30 teams. The other thing, to piggyback a bit on hokieneer's comment, is that the MLBN guys generally seem to have sincere opinions. There seems to be less of the "I'm saying what I'm supposed to say" stuff and more genuine opinion. Even when Mitch says something like this there is a sincerity to it that I admire.

11. cHiEf iMpaCt oFfiCEr JE

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:28 AM (#4491988)

McCarthy follows HeardOnMLBT (Heard on MLB Tonight) on Twitter, which was how he got alerted to Mitch's pearls of wisdom. Here is another gem that HeardOnMLBT picked up yesterday. And Harold also got cited.

EDIT:

Even when Mitch says something like this there is a sincerity to it that I admire.

Well, at least he goes against the grain sometimes, particularly when he claims that closing is easier than pitching the eighth.

12. and Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:34 AM (#4491993)

If you don't come inside, you might give up a World Series clinching home run.

13. jmurph Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:34 AM (#4491995)

ESPN intentionally showed the Pittsburgh-Oakland game the other day. Though I think the argument about only focusing on the big market teams can get a little carried away (their job is to make money, after all), I still thought that was pretty cool.

14. and Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:35 AM (#4491996)

I think MLBN is doing fine. They have a LOT of hours to fill. When they can, they fill it with pretty good discussion and lots of action. I would pay extra for it though I'm glad I don't have to. If I could trade ESPN for MLBN straight up, I would. MLBN can't survive targeting the older, more serious and analytical fan. It's too bad, but it's the way it is.

15. Harveys Wallbangers

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:41 AM (#4492000)

MLBN can't survive targeting the older, more serious and analytical fan.

true. i'm just one guy.

they need to appeal to the rest of you goofballs

16. Jose is an Absurd Sultan Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:43 AM (#4492001)

If I could trade ESPN for MLBN straight up, I would.

I've told the story before but early this year I was reviewing my cable options and one of the things I discovered is that if I could give up ESPN it would have virtually zero impact on my viewing at all. The only thing I watch on ESPN is the occassional soccer game and since they've lost the EPL rights it's just US WC Qualifiers at this point and I could go to a bar for those 4-5 games.

17. cHiEf iMpaCt oFfiCEr JE

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:48 AM (#4492003)

ESPN intentionally showed the Pittsburgh-Oakland game the other day.

Well, sort of. The Worldwide Leader in Football-at-the-expense-of-all-other-sports-with-the-occasional-exception-of-the-NBA had thought it was re-airing the Immaculate Reception Game.

18. and Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:51 AM (#4492006)

ESPN can air whatever they want. Their booth commentators (hard to call any of the PBP men) will only talk about: steroids, Jeter, Yanks/Sox and steroids. At least when they aren't pimping NFL and NBA shows.

19. cHiEf iMpaCt oFfiCEr JE

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 08:54 AM (#4492009)

If I could trade ESPN for MLBN straight up, I would.

Agreed, although Baseball Tonight is less unwatchable than in years past, thanks in part to Boog Sciambi hosting some of the shows and occasional guest appearances by Jonah Keri and Keith Law. (Does anyone know if Szymborski has been on the show?)

20. OsunaSakata Posted: July 12, 2013 at 09:10 AM (#4492018)

I like the Sunday noon Baseball Tonight with Kurkjian, Olney and Stark.

In the off-season, MLBN should show more winter league games. Heck, create their own league to create their own original content.

My friends and I also think it would be great to create an all-time league with the OOTP or Diamond Mind Engine and with the graphic engine of MLB2K in the off-season. Show a game of the night and have highlights just like it was a real game. Have the MLBN ex-players be the managers. "Here comes manager Harold Reynolds to take out Dizzy Dean."

21. Misirlou cut his hair and moved to Rome Posted: July 12, 2013 at 09:22 AM (#4492024)

My friends and I also think it would be great to create an all-time league with the OOTP or Diamond Mind Engine and with the graphic engine of MLB2K in the off-season. Show a game of the night and have highlights just like it was a real game. Have the MLBN ex-players be the managers. "Here comes manager Harold Reynolds to take out Dizzy Dean."

That's awesome. I'd watch that.

22. Jose is an Absurd Sultan Posted: July 12, 2013 at 09:23 AM (#4492026)

In the off-season, MLBN should show more winter league games. Heck, create their own league to create their own original content.

They've shown the Australian World Series (or whatever they call it) the last couple of years. That was a lot of fun and while the logistics might be tricky it seems like there would be more than enough winter league action in the Caribbean to put some games on regularly.

My friends and I also think it would be great to create an all-time league with the OOTP or Diamond Mind Engine and with the graphic engine of MLB2K in the off-season. Show a game of the night and have highlights just like it was a real game. Have the MLBN ex-players be the managers. "Here comes manager Harold Reynolds to take out Dizzy Dean."

I think this would be painful. This sounds straight out of the ESPN playbook. I think it works better as a series of blog posts than on TV.

23. hokieneer Posted: July 12, 2013 at 09:27 AM (#4492027)

I've told the story before but early this year I was reviewing my cable options and one of the things I discovered is that if I could give up ESPN it would have virtually zero impact on my viewing at all.

Well they do have the market cornered on college sports, so I couldn't do that. But I'm sure I would be just fine not seeing MNF or the occasional regular season NBA game. I have all but stopped watching Sportscenter, which used to be my go to show when nothing else was on.

24. hokieneer Posted: July 12, 2013 at 09:38 AM (#4492033)

hoke

it's pretty clear the espn has dumped baseball. now, espn is supposed to be responding to its viewership and if the viewership isn't asking for baseball content then my takeaway is whether I should be concerned about the lack of 'popular' interest

Yeah. I'm not sure if espn is dictating this change, or responding to signals; but either way all I did was just adjusted by baseball media outlets and habits. Apparently it's a better business decision to cover NFL training camps 24/7 starting August 1 instead of the division/wc races.

25. Flynn Posted: July 12, 2013 at 09:48 AM (#4492045)

t's pretty clear the espn has dumped baseball. now, espn is supposed to be responding to its viewership and if the viewership isn't asking for baseball content then my takeaway is whether I should be concerned about the lack of 'popular' interest

NBA games pull a 1.2 on ESPN while MLB games pull a 0.8. Considering ESPN's NBA deal sees them showing a lot more marquee games than ESPN's MLB deal, I think it's just ESPN trying to set the agenda.

If you didn't know anything about sports but watched ESPN you'd think the NBA was the most popular sport in America, or if not very close to the NFL. The reality is the NBA is closer to hockey in popularity than baseball, much less the NFL.

26. Der-K's enjoying the new boygenius album. Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:02 AM (#4492060)

If you didn't know anything about sports but watched ESPN you'd think the NBA was the most popular sport in America, or if not very close to the NFL.

I don't think this is remotely true.

27. Harveys Wallbangers

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:11 AM (#4492070)

der

speaking only for myself I used to listen to mike and mike when I was in the barn early puttering around.

don't anymore. it's been nonstop basketball chatter for months.

28. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:13 AM (#4492073)

ESPN is terrible. MLB was ok but this new kick they have of "debating" topics is painful and condescending. Having Eric Byrnes scream out OPS+ numbers at me just hurts my ears and brain. (And I mean 'scream' literally. Someone decaffeinate the man's coffee).

29. DA Baracus Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:19 AM (#4492078)

I don't think this is remotely true.

It is. ESPN day time programming is basically just debate shows about the NFL and NBA. First Take is on for four hours.

30. and Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:26 AM (#4492086)

I don't think this is remotely true.

It is. ESPN day time programming is basically just debate shows about the NFL and NBA. First Take is on for four hours.

I believe Der K was saying it isn't remotely true that NBA isn't very popular. I'd say NFL is a clear number one with the NBA and MLB being fairly close to each other. The NBA does a much better job marketing itself into the general culture.

31. DA Baracus Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:30 AM (#4492091)

I believe Der K was saying it isn't remotely true that NBA isn't very popular.

But that wasn't the claim being made. The claim was that "if you didn't know anything about sports but watched ESPN you'd think the NBA was the most popular sport in America, or if not very close to the NFL." And since ESPN has amped up the NFL and NBA centered debate formats to many of it's shows, Flynn's comment more than holds water.

32. and Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:39 AM (#4492098)

Flynn ended his post with this:

The reality is the NBA is closer to hockey in popularity than baseball, much less the NFL.

I don't think that is true. I read Der K as responding to this sentence.

33. DA Baracus Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:42 AM (#4492103)

I don't think that is true. I read Der K as responding to this sentence.

That's not the sentence he quoted.

34. Tom Nawrocki Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:51 AM (#4492117)

If I could trade ESPN for MLBN straight up, I would.

I have both channels at home, and I probably watch MLBN about five times as much as ESPN.

35. Tom Nawrocki Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:53 AM (#4492119)

In the off-season, MLBN should show more winter league games. Heck, create their own league to create their own original content.

They must already have a library of thousands of games they could show at practically no expense. There's nothing I'd rather watch on a cold February afternoon than a Cubs-Padres game from 1973.

36. jmurph Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:55 AM (#4492121)

Let me second Der K. As an NBA fan, this ESPN obsession with the NBA is news to me. Yes, they're clearly over-saturated with Lakers and Heat stories, no question. But nothing compares to their NFL coverage, certainly not their NBA coverage. I think the NBA and MLB coverage is roughly similar (though their NBA guys are generally better, I think). They don't have a nightly or near-nightly NBA show, for instance, like they do with Baseball Tonight. They also generally only have games on Friday nights during the NBA season, and then probably half or so of the Wednesdays (depending on the college schedule). Similar to their Monday/Wednesday/Sunday MLB telecasts, overall.

Also, to the larger point, I think ESPN is doing just fine without all of our free business advice.

37. tfbg9 Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:56 AM (#4492122)

For a guy who was about the least unorthodox pitcher imaginable, in every way, Mitch sure is a square peg in a square hole when it comes to analysis, right?

He's a constant, unswerving champion of baseball traditions.

38. Der-K's enjoying the new boygenius album. Posted: July 12, 2013 at 11:02 AM (#4492129)

Oh, sorry - forgot about this.

What I meant was better argued by jmurph in 36. NFL gets far more attention than the NBA does on ESPN - nothing else is all that close.

The reality is the NBA is closer to hockey in popularity than baseball, much less the NFL.

I don't think this is true either, though it's (naively) more arguable and probably "feels" very differently depending on where you live. In any case, I'd want to see numbers here.

39. McCoy Posted: July 12, 2013 at 11:11 AM (#4492137)

Based on website usage the rankings in America go:

Football
Baseball
Basketball
Hockey
Soccer

The Harris Poll had 34% of the respondents saying the NFL was their favorite, 16% saying MLB was their favorite, and 7% saying the NBA was their favorite with racing and college football between MLB and the NBA. NHL was at 5%.

Gallup asked which is your favorite sport to watch and baseball and basketball were at 14% and 12% respectively but it was broken out by level of the sport. Hockey was at 3%.

40. and Posted: July 12, 2013 at 11:13 AM (#4492140)

Based on website usage the rankings in America go:

Football
Baseball
Basketball
Hockey
Soccer

Does this correct for the OTP threads?

41. and Posted: July 12, 2013 at 11:14 AM (#4492143)

And my mistake on Der K's post and meaning. I think they seem amazingly heavy on NBA stuff. Given that the NBA isn't ongoing. But I'm not an NBA fan in anyway, so all the NFL and NBA stuff runs together for me as "stuff I'm not all that interested in".

42. DA Baracus Posted: July 12, 2013 at 11:40 AM (#4492169)

Also, to the larger point, I think ESPN is doing just fine without all of our free business advice.

Not lately:

ESPN averaged 1.3 million viewers in primetime during Q2, down 32% from the same period last year and the lowest primetime audience for the net in at least seven years. ESPN was no doubt hurt by a sharp drop for its NBA Playoff coverage. The net’s 17 postseason telecasts averaged 4.0 million viewers, down 36% from 6.2 million viewers last year.

43. Astro Logical Sign Stealer Posted: July 12, 2013 at 11:50 AM (#4492179)

I've lived in the NYC area, the Southeast, and Arizona, and been a moderate to strong sports fan theoughout that time. In none of those places was the NBA noticeably more popular than hockey. College hoops, of course, is another story.

44. Harveys Wallbangers

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:00 PM (#4492188)

espn just got done laying off several hundred people as well.

45. Szym Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:02 PM (#4492190)

Does anyone know if Szymborski has been on the show?

I have not been. I have practiced in Bristol in front of a camera, but they haven't used me on TV yet. I get the impression that I'm most likely to first pop up on one of the shows more centered around arguments.

It may sound weird, but my favorite part of the campus is the helmet room. It's off the College GameDay set and stores all those helmets they display. And they're all kept very shiny! Dunno why, but I thought that was incredibly cool.

46. The Polish Sausage Racer Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:05 PM (#4492194)

Granted it's been a while since I watched ESPN (with MLB Channel, why bother?) but it seemed to me that as far as they were concerned if it wasn't the Yankees-Red Sox, it may as well not exist. Their myopia is their downfall as far as I'm concerned.

47. and Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:07 PM (#4492200)

I have not been. I have practiced in Bristol in front of a camera, but they haven't used me on TV yet. I get the impression that I'm most likely to first pop up on one of the shows more centered around arguments.

Well, duh. ;)

It may sound weird, but my favorite part of the campus is the helmet room. It's off the College GameDay set and stores all those helmets they display. And they're all kept very shiny! Dunno why, but I thought that was incredibly cool.

That does sound cool. They should do a Norwegian type show where they just put a roving webcam in that room and broadcast what it sees.

48. Randomly Fluctuating Defensive Metric Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:07 PM (#4492202)

ESPN takes itself and sports way too seriously at this point. The irony is that SportsCenter was a cultural force for the opposite reasons. I still watch the network, but this is my main complaint.

49. jmurph Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:10 PM (#4492210)

espn just got done laying off several hundred people as well.

Amid rising revenue.

50. The Buddy Biancalana Hit Counter Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:11 PM (#4492212)

ESPN takes itself and sports way too seriously at this point.

For several hours, five days a week they broadcast a show consisting of Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith talking past each other. That's possibly the least serious thing conceived by man.

51. DA Baracus Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:17 PM (#4492224)

For several hours, five days a week they broadcast a show consisting of Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith talking past each other. That's possibly the least serious thing conceived by man.

First Take drives the bus. Studio shows have devolved into debate formats because of the success of Bayless and Smith. #EmbraceDebate

52. The Buddy Biancalana Hit Counter Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:38 PM (#4492262)

First Take drives the bus. Studio shows have devolved into debate formats because of the success of Bayless and Smith. #EmbraceDebate

Yeah, and none of it is the least bit serious. If there was a station that took sports seriously, I'd probably watch it a lot.

53. Infinite Yost (Voxter)

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:39 PM (#4492263)

That's possibly the least serious thing conceived by man.

Dragons ####### cars.

Checkmate.

54. thetailor (Brian) Posted: July 12, 2013 at 12:40 PM (#4492264)

Really neat that his "posse" (three random twitter followers) went and "pummeled" Williams (made a couple barely funny jokes).

55. Bote Man Posted: July 12, 2013 at 01:03 PM (#4492308)

ESPN is pioneering the "sports reality show" format.

Just Googled this gem about "the cesspool that is the sports news echo chamber". Worth a read for a chuckle or a groan.

56. and Posted: July 12, 2013 at 01:26 PM (#4492347)

ESPN is pioneering the "sports reality show" format.

Just Googled this gem about "the cesspool that is the sports news echo chamber". Worth a read for a chuckle or a groan.

If it worked for serious news, it must work for sports, right?

57. Der-K's enjoying the new boygenius album. Posted: July 12, 2013 at 01:40 PM (#4492363)

I've lived in the NYC area, the Southeast, and Arizona, and been a moderate to strong sports fan theoughout that time. In none of those places was the NBA noticeably more popular than hockey
Conversely, I've never lived anywhere where hockey was as popular as the NBA. Currently live in the Triangle, which is a special case given how popular college basketball is - but it's also an area where the NHL is the only pro game in town and nobody cares about the nearest pro squads.

58. Pat Rapper's Delight (as quoted on MLB Network) Posted: July 12, 2013 at 02:22 PM (#4492414)

Can we please quit talking about which sport is most popular and which ESPN talking head is more annoying in order to get back to the matter at hand: how much of an idiot Mitch Williams is and why is he on MLBN's payroll?

Thank you.

59. Bote Man Posted: July 12, 2013 at 02:51 PM (#4492457)

OK. When he's making his pronouncements Mitch Williams comes off sounding like a redneck who talks big, but really has no good idea of what he's saying. Back in high school I hung around with some guys like that who I met chatting on the C.B. radio (yes, that long ago!) and realized that it wasn't my crowd. Mitch would fit right in with them, however.

60. Walks Clog Up the Bases Posted: July 12, 2013 at 02:54 PM (#4492464)

I feel weird defending Williams, since he does lean toward the stubborn "traditional" way of looking at the game. Still, he's kind of funny on MLB Tonight; really self-deprecating at times ("Hitting the ball is easy; I had no trouble finding bats when I pitched."), and got some interesting insights into the on-the-field aspects of the game. And I've noticed that for an old-timer, he is a little more open to some of the sabermetrics stuff than many of his contemporaries.

As for MLBN, I have it on pretty much all the time from 6 p.m. until Quick Pitch comes on at 1 a.m. They do a great job of keeping you apprised of what's happening in all the games, including live look-ins during potentially key moments. Their lead anchors such as Greg Amsinger, Matt Vasgersian, and Paul Severino are quite good, mixing humor with an obvious knowledge for the game, all while being able to not let the other two former-player spots on MLB Tonight get too far off course.

I guess my only complaints about the network is some of the former players they have behind the desk. I can barely understand what Joey Cora is saying half of the time. Darryl Hamilton seems a bit too salty. Billy Ripken is a buffoon.

Oh, and MLB Now brings out the worst in both Brian Kenny and Harold Reynolds.

But the good outweighs the bad. It's an all-baseball network, people! We had to be content with an hour of Baseball Tonight for our around-the-league baseball coverage for years and years. Now, we've got hours and hours dedicated to the same subject, and at a much higher level of quality.

61. Rusty Priske Posted: July 12, 2013 at 02:58 PM (#4492471)

I would say aorund these parts (Ottawa, ON, Canada) obviously Hockey is #1 (unfortunately...) then... probably Soccer, Basketball... Baseball/Football in a toss-up....

62. Infinite Yost (Voxter)

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 02:59 PM (#4492475)

In none of those places was the NBA noticeably more popular than hockey

I've lived in the PNW, Los Angeles, SFO, New York, Washington DC, and Minneapolis. In all of these places other than MPLS, the NBA is markedly more popular than hockey. If you lived in New York and thought hockey was as popular as the Knicks, you weren't paying any damned attention.

EDIT: But baseball &/or football were way more popular than either in all places, even MPLS. They love their Twins and Vikings in that town, and being abandoned by the North Stars really damaged a lot of NHL allegiances in the Twin Cities. UMN hockey is a pretty big ####### deal, though.

63. Nasty Nate Posted: July 12, 2013 at 03:09 PM (#4492492)

That's possibly the least serious thing conceived by man.

Are you familiar with the game Polish Horseshoes?

64. Bote Man Posted: July 12, 2013 at 03:11 PM (#4492497)

I ditched $100/month DirecTV back in January and don't miss that horrendous bill, but I would gladly pay a reasonable sum to get only MLB Network if such an offering existed. Alas, what the customer wants is not on the RADAR screen of TV suits.

65. Hombre Brotani

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 03:34 PM (#4492529)

First Take drives the bus. Studio shows have devolved into debate formats because of the success of Bayless and Smith. #EmbraceDebate

I would say that the studio chatter shows have devolved thanks to the success of Kornheiser and Wilbon on PTI. Unfortunately, whereas PTI is knowingly unserious and the two hosts have a lot of fun with themselves and each other, heads like Bayless and Smith take themselves extremely seriously. Their shows are terrible because they believe they can convince you they're right BY SAYING THINGS AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE.

66. DA Baracus Posted: July 12, 2013 at 03:46 PM (#4492544)

PTI was around for years and didn't have the same impact. ESPN didn't "Embrace Debate" until First Take starting non-stop arguing about Tebow and LeBron, the ratings increased and the producer behind that was promoted to a VP position.

67. Infinite Yost (Voxter)

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 04:20 PM (#4492585)

For an alternate perspective, I've always hated PTI and have never heard of First Take.

68. Astro Logical Sign Stealer Posted: July 12, 2013 at 05:38 PM (#4492680)

I've lived in the PNW, Los Angeles, SFO, New York, Washington DC, and Minneapolis. In all of these places other than MPLS, the NBA is markedly more popular than hockey. If you lived in New York and thought hockey was as popular as the Knicks, you weren't paying any damned attention.

Sez you. The NY-Philly area supports 4 NHL teams, and I knew a bunch of Penguins fans in middle school. Winter sports talk was way more hockey than hoops. In those early days of fantasy sports, when everyone had to do it themselves, the kids I knew made their own fantasy hockey leagues before they made fantasy basketball ones. WFAN radio was at least as much hockey talk as basketball talk. I'm talking 1980s, so maybe it's different now, but the NHL was at least as big a deal as the NBA in north-central Jersey.

69. Greg Franklin Posted: July 12, 2013 at 05:46 PM (#4492689)

Regarding MLB vs NBA, ESPN is deploying an on-site reporting crew to Las Vegas to cover NBA Summer League action. AA wonders why the WWL is so interested in covering Grade C+ NBA prospects in the middle of July while baseball is still going on.

Of course it is because MLB does not have the right demographics. Any excuse to talk LeBron, Kobe, Melo, more LeBron, more Kobe, and NBA free agency is felt to produce a better bottom line than baseball, even in summer.

70. cardsfanboy

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 06:04 PM (#4492702)

Granted it's been a while since I watched ESPN (with MLB Channel, why bother?) but it seemed to me that as far as they were concerned if it wasn't the Yankees-Red Sox, it may as well not exist. Their myopia is their downfall as far as I'm concerned.

And people have been saying that for years.

71. Bote Man Posted: July 12, 2013 at 06:23 PM (#4492727)

Clearly, Jack Donaghy is in charge of ESPN talk and microwave programming.

72. Curse of the Andino Posted: July 12, 2013 at 06:31 PM (#4492733)

I've lived in the PNW, Los Angeles, SFO, New York, Washington DC, and Minneapolis. In all of these places other than MPLS, the NBA is markedly more popular than hockey. If you lived in New York and thought hockey was as popular as the Knicks, you weren't paying any damned attention.

DC, nah. Bullets haven't been good since they were stolen from Baltimore decades ago. Caps have a die-hard fanbase; also big crowds at the bars when they played.

73. OsunaSakata Posted: July 12, 2013 at 06:49 PM (#4492755)

The Bullets were Champions five years after they left Baltimore.

The sports discourse doesn't seem that different from the political discourse.

74. Hombre Brotani

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 07:00 PM (#4492762)

PTI was around for years and didn't have the same impact. ESPN didn't "Embrace Debate" until First Take starting non-stop arguing about Tebow and LeBron, the ratings increased and the producer behind that was promoted to a VP position.

PTI didn't have the same negative impact. It's success spawned "Around the Horn," and then etc., etc., etc. When Woody Paige and Bob Ryan start trying to be Loud Kornheiser and that gets ratings, it just goes on from there. Those shows were awful long before Tebow-mania.

75. Starring RMc as Bradley Scotchman Posted: July 12, 2013 at 07:19 PM (#4492774)

I think MLBN is doing fine. They have a LOT of hours to fill.

Then fill it with baseball, for cryin' out loud!

76. Bruce Markusen Posted: July 12, 2013 at 09:08 PM (#4492855)

I like the MLB Network show far better than Baseball Tonight. For one, the MLB guys have a sense of humor (particularly Plesac) and clearly enjoy the game and have fun with it. Second, the ability to do the live look-ins is a great advantage, giving MLB the chance to broadcast some great moments live.

Amsinger, in particular, is a great host who sets up his analysts very well.

77. Infinite Yost (Voxter)

Posted: July 12, 2013 at 10:00 PM (#4492894)

Sez you. The NY-Philly area supports 4 NHL teams, and I knew a bunch of Penguins fans in middle school. Winter sports talk was way more hockey than hoops. In those early days of fantasy sports, when everyone had to do it themselves, the kids I knew made their own fantasy hockey leagues before they made fantasy basketball ones. WFAN radio was at least as much hockey talk as basketball talk. I'm talking 1980s, so maybe it's different now, but the NHL was at least as big a deal as the NBA in north-central Jersey.

So, your evidence that the NHL is more popular than the NBA in New York is that 30 years ago people somewhere else were more into hockey? Okay.

78. Fancy Pants Handle struck out swinging Posted: July 12, 2013 at 11:25 PM (#4492945)

Dragons ####### cars.

Checkmate.

Rule 34.

And people who are into dragons ####### cars porn, take it extremely seriously.

79. Ron J Posted: July 13, 2013 at 12:09 AM (#4492963)

#61 At least Bob McCown (and company) is an option. Generally OK, and McCown (or his producers) seem genuinely curious about a wide variety of things. He's had Andrew Zimbalist on, brings in lawyers to talk about any legal issues that happen to be around.

Stephen Brunt is generally very good. (though about the only predictable "I'm not listening" pissing matches are between Brunt and McCown on soccer) Other semi-regulars vary in quality but there's generally real discussion. Some of it pretty banal to be sure.

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Friday, July 12, 2013

Brandon McCarthy and his Twitter posse pummel MLB analyst Mitch Williams after dumb comment

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