Thoughts about media types who don't have their own threads

nattysez

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Sep 30, 2010
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The Indianapolis Star has suspended sports columnist Gregg Doyel after he went viral for an embarrassing interaction with Caitlin Clark at a press conference.

Doyel is suspended for two weeks, longtime Indianapolis sportswriter Bob Kravitz reported.

As additional punishment, Doyel will not go to Clark’s rookie games this season but will instead cover them for opinion stories by watching them on TV.
https://nypost.com/2024/05/07/sports/gregg-doyel-suspended-banned-from-fever-games-for-caitlin-clark-exchange/
 

Granite Sox

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A little schadenfreude for Kravitz, as Doyel replaced him after Kravitz departed the Indy Star a while back. Doyel has been a provocateur in Indy since Day 1. I know Kravitz has some residual baggage around here due to his DeflateGate bleating, but he actually wasn‘t a bad columnist. Doyel, on the other hand, is a more ham-fisted Shaughnessy. The Clark interaction was super gross.
 

The Gray Eagle

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I subscribe to the Glob's email newsletter 108 Stitches that highlights each day's Sox coverage. Today's newsletter opens like this:

If you celebrated Mother’s Day by taking mom to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox play the Washington Nationals, you owe her another gift. Or an apology.
On a cold and windy day, the Sox managed only one hit in 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position but managed to beat the Nationals, 3-2, in a game lacking any trace of elegance.
Washington aided the cause of the home team by running into five outs on the bases, the last one to end the game when Jacob Young was thrown out by Connor Wong trying to steal second.
That is the lead to the report on yesterday's game. That just seems so sour and bitter and weird.
That should be the lead to a game where the Sox lose like 6-0 and make a couple errors. But they won a close game! It was the other team being dumb and bad for once and the Red Sox taking advantage of it.

That lead (I don't care that reporters tell everyone it should be spelled "lede" that is dumb and I am not doing it) was so incongruous that this time I had to click on the article to see what was up with the rest of it. (I regret doing that and giving Abraham what he wants but this is the first click I've given him in a long time, and I won't be doing it again.)
Next paragraph:
To further torture the crowd of 29,250, Nationals manager Dave Martinez challenged the call on a play that wasn’t really that close.
As the Sox players wandered around the field and others spilled out of the dugout, the call was upheld and finally everyone could go home.
“An ugly one, but I’ll take it,” Sox manager Alex Cora said.
Torture? It was annoying to have to wait through the challenge but those are the rules (and any team would challenge the last play because why not? And it wasn't our team wasting people's time like that.) "Finally everyone could go home."

And then the last play:
Wong bounced the throw but Ceddanne Rafaela was able to get the tag down.
Sounds like a bad throw, but then doesn't that mean it was a good play by Rafaela to get the tag down? No, he "was able" to do it. That's all.
Actually Jansen is terrible at holding runners and the pinch runner got a great jump and Wong had to pop up incredibly quickly and absolutely gun the ball down there to have any chance, and Rafaela had to make a really good catch on the bounce and really quickly slap the tag down to get the runner out. By the way this rookie Rafaela played both CF and SS in this game and is really exciting to watch, and the Red Sox ended the game with a great, exciting defensive play. But the more important thing is that finally everyone could go home, away from the ballgame that was so tortuous that the fans deserve apologies for having to endure it.

The team actually has a wining record despite tons of serious injuries and are doing better than most expected, so it's not like this game was a lone bright spot in a sea of losing. The game was close and had loads of weird plays, and the Red Sox opened and closed the game by nailing base-stealers (which may have never happened before in the history of baseball?) The game ended with Wong gunning down a pinch runner, the potential tying run, trying to steal. Wong actually gunned down 3 runners trying to advance and handled a weird rundown perfectly. You might think that would be noteworthy, but it's not because that just means the other team is dumb (which they were, Robles especially) so there should be no enjoyment of it. Instead you should apologize for taking someone to this game. Because it lacked any trace of "elegance" and the other team made some stupid plays that we capitalized on. The bad hitting with RISP is more notable than the good defense or the pitching that only allowed 2 runs, which only scored because Rafaela just missed robbing a HR with a tremendous effort.

Sure the Nats were in pure Natstown mode, but why is that so bad that you should apologize to your mother for taking her to the game? Personally I find it fun when the other team makes stupid mistakes and we take advantage of them and win. And yesterday wasn't THAT cold and windy, especially compared to a lot of the April games, and it was pretty sunny out. It's New England in May, what do you expect? Most games this year have been played in worse conditions.

More importantly, our promising young pitcher Bello was back, he pitched well, it was close, we won, lots of wacky stuff happened (like when Rafaela came so close to making the catch of the year and flew over the fence into the bullpen)-- it actually seems like one of the best games of the year to have been at Fenway for so far.

I usually never click on Abraham's stuff because he strikes me as an obnoxious spewer of performative grievance, and reading that in 108 Stitches made me very glad that I don't read him. So it's not surprising that his take on yesterday's weird, close and pretty fun game was so bitter.

But it did make me wonder who actually enjoys reading something like that? I get why this guy writes something like that (to follow in the longstanding Fellowship of the Miserable tradition of being whiny and negative and faux angry to get attention for himself) but why would anyone want to read it? Do people enjoy reading baseball writers who go on and on about how hard and unpleasant it is for them to have cover baseball games and how the games stink, and anyone dumb enough to go to a ballgame that the Sox win by 1 run deserves an apology?

I guess if you are angry about the Red Sox, it confirms your anger so maybe you enjoy reading it. But does it matter that his spin was like not at all accurate? That's the part I don't get. I get being upset with the offseason, and definitely get that when the team is bad the truth should be told. But when the game being written about is actually not bad, and kind of fun and interesting, shouldn't that truth be told as well? Probably just me, but I prefer reporting that's based on reality, rather than constant pushing of a bitter narrative no matter what actually happens.

At least I learned something from this-- that Abraham is even worse than I remembered, and to make sure to never give him a click again.
 

nattysez

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I have the Sports Emmys streaming on my laptop. Pedro is presenting the Emmy for play by play. Mike Breen is the winner. Pedro is looking in the crowd for Breen, obviously having no clue who he is
They might take it back after Breen's performance tonight. He was awful.
 

soxhop411

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soxhop411

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Red(s)HawksFan

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View: https://twitter.com/tonymassarotti/status/1798159529294590333?s=46


sure thing Tony. And if bobby turned into superman and flew high into the sky to catch that home run ball he would want to have him piss tested for steroids.

my neighbors dog has better sports takes than you
I assume he's making a comment on the route that Dalbec took, which is utterly irrelevant since the ball was uncatchable even with a "perfect route." No one puts Dalbec (or any infielder) in the outfield with the expectation that he'll immediately look like prime Willie Mays out there. He's going to look uncomfortable on occasion. He's going to take odd routes to balls. Dunking on that is like dunking on Mazz for going bald. Unnecessary.
 

soxhop411

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I assume he's making a comment on the route that Dalbec took, which is utterly irrelevant since the ball was uncatchable even with a "perfect route." No one puts Dalbec (or any infielder) in the outfield with the expectation that he'll immediately look like prime Willie Mays out there. He's going to look uncomfortable on occasion. He's going to take odd routes to balls. Dunking on that is like dunking on Mazz for going bald. Unnecessary.
What Mazz expects an Outfielder to do when a ball is hit to him
View: https://twitter.com/LiamFennessy_/status/1798192342295625759
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I assume he's making a comment on the route that Dalbec took, which is utterly irrelevant since the ball was uncatchable even with a "perfect route." No one puts Dalbec (or any infielder) in the outfield with the expectation that he'll immediately look like prime Willie Mays out there. He's going to look uncomfortable on occasion. He's going to take odd routes to balls. Dunking on that is like dunking on Mazz for going bald. Unnecessary.
I don't like defending Mazz, but I think that's what you wrote is what he's (poorly) trying to say. I think he's commenting on the situation as a whole. He tweeted, "To be clear this isn't a reflection on Bobby Dalbec" which means he's absolving Dalbec of his route and more laying the blame at either the feet of the Sox front office, Cora for not putting a true outfielder in RF last night or the Sox' bad injury luck.
 

joe dokes

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I don't like defending Mazz, but I think that's what you wrote is what he's (poorly) trying to say. I think he's commenting on the situation as a whole. He tweeted, "To be clear this isn't a reflection on Bobby Dalbec" which means he's absolving Dalbec of his route and more laying the blame at either the feet of the Sox front office, Cora for not putting a true outfielder in RF last night or the Sox' bad injury luck.
So we can dial back the criticism from "he's an asshole" to "he's a very poor communicator. Good thing that's not important to his job."
 

The Napkin

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right here
didn't Mazz spend approximately 25 years downplaying outfield defense and it was overrated as a skill and frankly didn't really matter other than to the nerds and anyone could do it - especially as it applied to one Jackie Bradley Jr?
 

Hal Waffid

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Nov 14, 2023
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I don't like defending Mazz, but I think that's what you wrote is what he's (poorly) trying to say. I think he's commenting on the situation as a whole. He tweeted, "To be clear this isn't a reflection on Bobby Dalbec" which means he's absolving Dalbec of his route and more laying the blame at either the feet of the Sox front office, Cora for not putting a true outfielder in RF last night or the Sox' bad injury luck.
I think it's just the reflexive negativity that people here are taking issue with. If Massarotti were more like baseball Zach Lowe (long histories of both commending good tactics and strategies to go along with the criticizing the bad ones) then the people here would probably acknowledge the possibility that the Red Sox could find a better backup fielder if the front office had constructed a better roster.
 

Havlicheck

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Jan 31, 2014
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On a slightly different topic, is there a worse show on sports talk radio than Saturday morning with Dan Lifshats and Kendra Middleton ?
 

thebtskink

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Jul 15, 2005
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On a slightly different topic, is there a worse show on sports talk radio than Saturday morning with Dan Lifshats and Kendra Middleton ?
Within 98.5 weekends, Mark Dondero is worse.

Dude has the voice, demeanor, and takes you'd expect from a 2am overnight show syndicated from Fox Sports Radio.
 

joe dokes

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Speier with a great lookback:

Fifty years ago, on June 14, 1974, Luis Tiant and Nolan Ryan engaged in a pitchers’ duel unlike any that has taken place since or will ever occur again.

Ryan, the Angels’ imposing righthander, logged 13 innings in which he struck out 19 and walked 10 while unleashing an astounding 235 pitches. Tiant, the Red Sox’ workhorse, outlasted his counterpart, going the distance but absorbing a crushing loss when the Angels scored with one out in the 15th inning for a 4-3 win.


Recalling the epic Luis Tiant-Nolan Ryan pitchers’ duel of 1974 (bostonglobe.com)
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Chuck says he's retiring from television. I've always found him entertaining if not insightful.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40354302/charles-barkley-says-next-season-final-one-tv
Not a surprise. He doesn't need the gig and I genuinely believe he does it because he enjoys the people he works with rather than because he can't live without talking about the NBA on TV. I imagine the only thing that would get him to go to another network would be bringing over the Inside the NBA crew entirely (like all the same producers and techs as well as EJ, Shaq, Kenny, etc) and still doing it in Atlanta. No way that was going to happen.
 

Montana Fan

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Hmm, Chuck’s retiring at a time when 3 companies that he doesn’t currently work for are going all in on the NBA. He might as well have included an addendum that said, “unless someone makes me an offer I can’t refuse”. And thus begins the bidding war.
 

sezwho

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Hmm, Chuck’s retiring at a time when 3 companies that he doesn’t currently work for are going all in on the NBA. He might as well have included an addendum that said, “unless someone makes me an offer I can’t refuse”. And thus begins the bidding war.
Agreed. Even if I take a less cynical position and assume he’s feeling done right now…once those zeros add up and he’s out of the spotlight I think he won’t be able to resist.
 

Kliq

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Hmm, Chuck’s retiring at a time when 3 companies that he doesn’t currently work for are going all in on the NBA. He might as well have included an addendum that said, “unless someone makes me an offer I can’t refuse”. And thus begins the bidding war.
Yes. Chuck is a Mutoh-level worker in this regard.
 

Billy Jo Robidoux

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Leroy Irvin and Cerrone Battle are excellent, and deserve to be promoted into the regular rotation. They are always entertaining. I have never been bored listening to them talk about anything.
 

JohnnyTheBone

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Leroy Irvin and Cerrone Battle are excellent, and deserve to be promoted into the regular rotation. They are always entertaining. I have never been bored listening to them talk about anything.
Co-signed. Love those guys. I would take them over those trolling dickheads in the afternoon, every day of the week.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Leroy Irvin and Cerrone Battle are excellent, and deserve to be promoted into the regular rotation. They are always entertaining. I have never been bored listening to them talk about anything.
I said it a couple weeks ago in the T&H thread, but I love Leroy & Cerrone, such a great weekend show. Such a great listen on a Saturday morning. I don't know where they'd fit into a regular weekday show, but love it.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I said it a couple weeks ago in the T&H thread, but I love Leroy & Cerrone, such a great weekend show. Such a great listen on a Saturday morning. I don't know where they'd fit into a regular weekday show, but love it.
They’d be great in the midday slot. Or maybe in the mornings.

I do like these guys a lot though. They’re a great weekend listen.
 

Ed Hillel

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Dec 12, 2007
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Skip had his last show with FS1 today. Obviously there's a lot of negativity around him, but I always enjoyed his schtick, fully understanding what it was. He also seemed to put in more work than anyone else and the guy's passion for sports is probably unmatched. Fwiw, Undisputed with Shannon was the greatest show of its kind (for better or worse) to date.

Mazel Tov imo.
 

Big Papa Smurph

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Didn't know where else to put this, but I figured some would like it.

Melissa Ludtke did an interview with Ben Lindbergh on Effectively Wild (her interview starts at about one hour and twenty minutes). Ludtke was a reporter who sued MLB in 1978, for the right to access locker-rooms as a female journalist. I'm on the younger side and had no idea about this, and I really enjoyed listening to her tell her story. She also just wrote a book about it that I'm now going to read - Locker Room Talk: A Woman's Struggle to Get Inside.