Accurate assessment.

 

However, adding Olney won't solve the problem as he too has a perpetual hard on for the Yankees/Mets, but that can be expected from a former NY Times author.

 

I like Jayson Stark, but generally find him too controversial to replace Gammons...he either says the no brainer stuff or contributes something so far out of left-field that you double take (for reference, see him placing Jeter on the "underrated" list).

 

My ideal team right now would be Ravech, Olney and Destrade

These Baseball tonight talks always get me. Specifically how the perception of ESPN personalities varies so much, especially Harold Reynolds. I personally hate the guy and the common perception from most Mets fans is very much the same. He was annoying, he rarely said anything worthwhile, and I got the feeling he doesn't like big market teams a whole lot. Maybe it's from being stuck in Seattle most of his career.

 

As for the complaints about the coverage, you have to realize ESPN is in the business to make money. And quite frankly, no one cares when they placate to small market teams. Sponsors want ratings and by showcasing the New York and Boston teams they get the two biggest audiences in baseball.

As for the complaints about the coverage, you have to realize ESPN is in the business to make money. And quite frankly, no one cares when they placate to small market teams. Sponsors want ratings and by showcasing the New York and Boston teams they get the two biggest audiences in baseball.

 

there's ratings, and then there's yankees/red sox takeover. i sometimes think that these people believe that nothing worth of talking about occurs outside of the northeast (northeast elitism?) and it turned me off because the majority of the show was pretty much just those two. if you cater to just those two teams, then watch their ratings drop when nobody watches, and they will have to start covering other teams.

ESPN is a northeast company, not surprising that they have a Northeast bias.

 

 

Fox is west coast based, not surprising they have a West coast bias.

 

 

However, I just think ESPN takes their bias to a level above and beyond everything else.

These Baseball tonight talks always get me. Specifically how the perception of ESPN personalities varies so much, especially Harold Reynolds. I personally hate the guy and the common perception from most Mets fans is very much the same. He was annoying, he rarely said anything worthwhile, and I got the feeling he doesn't like big market teams a whole lot. Maybe it's from being stuck in Seattle most of his career.

 

As for the complaints about the coverage, you have to realize ESPN is in the business to make money. And quite frankly, no one cares when they placate to small market teams. Sponsors want ratings and by showcasing the New York and Boston teams they get the two biggest audiences in baseball.

 

LA is a huge market and the Dodgers don't get equal treatment.

 

Network's allowed to do what it wants to do, but it's not as black and white as you put it.

both la teams are in first place (angels and dodgers) and they get squat in coverage. some have said espn is just nesn's national outlet with the role of being the yankees/red sox watch dog. ever notice that the second someone goes to the team, their coverage increases, but the second they go elsewhere, they drop them like a hot potato? it's like sometimes, those two only matter.

 

i think them being in the al helps them too, as the al is the power league with homers.

LA is not a baseball city, their fanbase is comprised of mostly casual fans who leave during the 7th inning of games.

IMO Kruk is way worse than Phillips. Kruk messes up everything he says. One example (of course a marlins bias on my part) was when he said the Marlins traded away Adrian Gonzalez during one of our firesales. Which is wholly inaccurate considering we traded him for Urbina the year we won the WS. Sure its a small thing, but on a show like baseball tonight, you need to get things like that right.

Kruk isn't a guy you would expect to actually research what he says, but you'd think someone there would get facts right before saying something factually incorrect on the show.

Furcal Chick has some great points. ESPN is obsessed with the Yankees / Redsox rivalry. As a longtime Yankee fan I am getting sick of the coverage. It is one thing when they are neck and neck for the division, but they are not even close. Another thing that is getting ridiculous is the Roger Clemens coverage. Overall, he is one of the most disliked players in MLB, but they are constantly ramming his return to the Majors down our throats. They should just give him an hour reality show every week and be done with it. In NE Florida, there should be a good following of Braves, Marlins, and Rays fans based on location. There aren't however. This place is overrun by Yankees / Redsox fans who have no connection to either place, just decided to take sides in a media hyped rivalry.

I'd be alot more forgiving of the amount Yankee coverage if they were a relevent team but they are awful and going nowhere fast.

Furcal Chick has some great points. ESPN is obsessed with the Yankees / Redsox rivalry. As a longtime Yankee fan I am getting sick of the coverage. It is one thing when they are neck and neck for the division, but they are not even close. Another thing that is getting ridiculous is the Roger Clemens coverage. Overall, he is one of the most disliked players in MLB, but they are constantly ramming his return to the Majors down our throats. They should just give him an hour reality show every week and be done with it. In NE Florida, there should be a good following of Braves, Marlins, and Rays fans based on location. There aren't however. This place is overrun by Yankees / Redsox fans who have no connection to either place, just decided to take sides in a media hyped rivalry.

 

and we see what happens when the yankees and red sox don't get into the lcs. low ratings because of lack of exposure of the other teams during the season. this is a big fault to the media, because all they give you is those two, and when they don't, the hype backfires and nobody cares, as they don't know who's playing, as epsn has taught them that their baseball fandom comes down to wether you like the yankees or red sox. personally, i hate both of them, and i'm done with this rivalry. i don't want to follow last place losers like the yankees are now...would you want a half hour show dedicated to the nationals every night?

 

and clemens is also sleazy, and the coverage he gets is just disgusting. if he went to texas, he would be getting zip coverage, as they only care about those two teams pretty much now. hopefully after this season, they will learn their lesson and start turning things around to giving more balanced coverage to all the teams. doubt it though, they will probably continue catering to the yankee and red sox markets only, and be the nesn show.

Following Clemens pitch-by-pitch last night in a AAA start was ridiculous(although I will say the two guys calling the MiLB game were better than alot of MLB broadcast duos I have heard).

Is BBTN still on the air? It has really gotten that bad. I haven't watched an episode since Day 1 of the season.

LA is not a baseball city, their fanbase is comprised of mostly casual fans who leave during the 7th inning of games.

 

Oh please.

 

First it was about ratings, now it's about placating fanbases.

 

I'll tell you what, thank God you're here to set the record straight, because I would have sworn LA loved the Dodgers, but I guess 3 million + fans 6 straight years, on pace for a 7th and ten of the last 11 years just isn't enough support to justify attention from ESPN.

LA is not a baseball city, their fanbase is comprised of mostly casual fans who leave during the 7th inning of games.

 

Oh please.

 

First it was about ratings, now it's about placating fanbases.

 

I'll tell you what, thank God you're here to set the record straight, because I would have sworn LA loved the Dodgers, but I guess 3 million + fans 6 straight years, on pace for a 7th and ten of the last 11 years just isn't enough support to justify attention from ESPN.

I've been to LA too many times and they love baseball there. The perception that its not a baseball city is bogus. LA is a great sports town. On the other hand, San Diego is one of the worst sports towns.

Accurate assessment.

 

My ideal team right now would be Ravech, Olney and Destrade

Good call Swifty, Destrade is excellent. I'd say rotate between Olney-Stark-Neyer for one of the spots. Certainly Gammonds for as much as he can.

 

I agree with the article totally though. It's difficult to sit through a show anymore, & I used to watch it religiously.

 

Same thing with Sportscenter for that matter. Ah, for the good old days of Dan & Keith....

I've been to LA too many times and they love baseball there. The perception that its not a baseball city is bogus. LA is a great sports town. On the other hand, San Diego is one of the worst sports towns.

I think LA and Oakland have a bad rep because of the 3rd inning arrivals and 7th inning exodus more than their ticket sales. Traffic is a bitc# and that's how they deal.

 

The last time we sat at the Coliseum [A's-Yanks], we moved from our seats way up in plaza infield down to the front row of fieldbox 124 in the 6th inning. After the game, we had a picnic and threw a ball around for a while THEN left about 1 1/2 hours after the game. Traffic was still a little heavy but not terrible.

I've been to LA too many times and they love baseball there. The perception that its not a baseball city is bogus. LA is a great sports town. On the other hand, San Diego is one of the worst sports towns.

 

sd has only recently gotten success in their sports teams, it's a decent sports town at least, but many there would rather play than watch. the bad sports rep was partly due to losing teams for years, bad ownership, etc. but it's getting better.

 

and the angels (who just swept the yankees) make la a great sports town, so it's not just the dodgers. they are breaking attendance records as well. la has two teams in first, and nothing in coverage by espn.

Furcal Chick has some great points. ESPN is obsessed with the Yankees / Redsox rivalry. As a longtime Yankee fan I am getting sick of the coverage. It is one thing when they are neck and neck for the division, but they are not even close. Another thing that is getting ridiculous is the Roger Clemens coverage. Overall, he is one of the most disliked players in MLB, but they are constantly ramming his return to the Majors down our throats. They should just give him an hour reality show every week and be done with it. In NE Florida, there should be a good following of Braves, Marlins, and Rays fans based on location. There aren't however. This place is overrun by Yankees / Redsox fans who have no connection to either place, just decided to take sides in a media hyped rivalry.

 

and we see what happens when the yankees and red sox don't get into the lcs. low ratings because of lack of exposure of the other teams during the season. this is a big fault to the media, because all they give you is those two, and when they don't, the hype backfires and nobody cares, as they don't know who's playing, as epsn has taught them that their baseball fandom comes down to wether you like the yankees or red sox. personally, i hate both of them, and i'm done with this rivalry. i don't want to follow last place losers like the yankees are now...would you want a half hour show dedicated to the nationals every night?

 

and clemens is also sleazy, and the coverage he gets is just disgusting. if he went to texas, he would be getting zip coverage, as they only care about those two teams pretty much now. hopefully after this season, they will learn their lesson and start turning things around to giving more balanced coverage to all the teams. doubt it though, they will probably continue catering to the yankee and red sox markets only, and be the nesn show.

 

Last week I made a trip to NY and took in one of the Yankees / Mets games at Shea. The Mets are in first place, yet they get hardly any media coverage in NY! It took me 20 years of living in Florida to finally get why Met fans are so bitter toward the Yankees. In some ways it may be jealousy of the Yankees 26 WS Championships, but it is more than just the Yankees success. It is media coverage that the Yankees get even when in last place and the Mets in first. The sad thing, the Mets fans there truly love the game more than the Yankee fans do. You can see with the split crowd how the Mets fans know a lot more about their team as a whole than the many Yankee bandwagoners do.

Furcal Chick has some great points. ESPN is obsessed with the Yankees / Redsox rivalry. As a longtime Yankee fan I am getting sick of the coverage. It is one thing when they are neck and neck for the division, but they are not even close. Another thing that is getting ridiculous is the Roger Clemens coverage. Overall, he is one of the most disliked players in MLB, but they are constantly ramming his return to the Majors down our throats. They should just give him an hour reality show every week and be done with it. In NE Florida, there should be a good following of Braves, Marlins, and Rays fans based on location. There aren't however. This place is overrun by Yankees / Redsox fans who have no connection to either place, just decided to take sides in a media hyped rivalry.

 

and we see what happens when the yankees and red sox don't get into the lcs. low ratings because of lack of exposure of the other teams during the season. this is a big fault to the media, because all they give you is those two, and when they don't, the hype backfires and nobody cares, as they don't know who's playing, as epsn has taught them that their baseball fandom comes down to wether you like the yankees or red sox. personally, i hate both of them, and i'm done with this rivalry. i don't want to follow last place losers like the yankees are now...would you want a half hour show dedicated to the nationals every night?

 

and clemens is also sleazy, and the coverage he gets is just disgusting. if he went to texas, he would be getting zip coverage, as they only care about those two teams pretty much now. hopefully after this season, they will learn their lesson and start turning things around to giving more balanced coverage to all the teams. doubt it though, they will probably continue catering to the yankee and red sox markets only, and be the nesn show.

 

Last week I made a trip to NY and took in one of the Yankees / Mets games at Shea. The Mets are in first place, yet they get hardly any media coverage in NY! It took me 20 years of living in Florida to finally get why Met fans are so bitter toward the Yankees. In some ways it may be jealousy of the Yankees 26 WS Championships, but it is more than just the Yankees success. It is media coverage that the Yankees get even when in last place and the Mets in first. The sad thing, the Mets fans there truly love the game more than the Yankee fans do. You can see with the split crowd how the Mets fans know a lot more about their team as a whole than the many Yankee bandwagoners do.

 

I live in New York and the Mets get plenty of attention, but right now, the Yankees collapse is a bigger story than the Mets surge.

 

There are more Yankee fans in New York, devoted fans on both sides, but it's a Yankee town.

 

Yankees get bandwagoners all year, Mets fans just in October.

 

For reference here is a 100% true story from last season in the NLCS between my friend who works for the Mets, and a "Mets" fan.

 

My friend is wearing a Mets hat and is stopped by a person he knows.

 

"So, how'd the game go last night?"

 

"We lost."

 

"Oh, but we still didn't get eliminated, right?"

 

"No."

 

"Cool, we play tonight, right?"

 

"Yeah, at Shea."

 

"That means we're home?"

 

So, just think about what you're saying next time you're fast to praise the Mets for being bandwagon free.

LA is not a baseball city, their fanbase is comprised of mostly casual fans who leave during the 7th inning of games.

 

ya go look at the vid from last season where the dodgers were down 4 in the bottom of the ninth and hit 4 jacks in a row then the walkoff by nomar in the 10th....look at the stands its very full. fans stayed in till the bottom of the ninth even though there team was down 4 against trevor hoffman no less....and they got rewarded

"Cool, we play tonight, right?"

 

"Yeah, at Shea."

 

"That means we're home?"

:lol :lol :lol

 

In general, the Yankees probably have more bandwagon fans, though, so the point is taken.

Furcal Chick has some great points. ESPN is obsessed with the Yankees / Redsox rivalry. As a longtime Yankee fan I am getting sick of the coverage. It is one thing when they are neck and neck for the division, but they are not even close. Another thing that is getting ridiculous is the Roger Clemens coverage. Overall, he is one of the most disliked players in MLB, but they are constantly ramming his return to the Majors down our throats. They should just give him an hour reality show every week and be done with it. In NE Florida, there should be a good following of Braves, Marlins, and Rays fans based on location. There aren't however. This place is overrun by Yankees / Redsox fans who have no connection to either place, just decided to take sides in a media hyped rivalry.

 

and we see what happens when the yankees and red sox don't get into the lcs. low ratings because of lack of exposure of the other teams during the season. this is a big fault to the media, because all they give you is those two, and when they don't, the hype backfires and nobody cares, as they don't know who's playing, as epsn has taught them that their baseball fandom comes down to wether you like the yankees or red sox. personally, i hate both of them, and i'm done with this rivalry. i don't want to follow last place losers like the yankees are now...would you want a half hour show dedicated to the nationals every night?

 

and clemens is also sleazy, and the coverage he gets is just disgusting. if he went to texas, he would be getting zip coverage, as they only care about those two teams pretty much now. hopefully after this season, they will learn their lesson and start turning things around to giving more balanced coverage to all the teams. doubt it though, they will probably continue catering to the yankee and red sox markets only, and be the nesn show.

 

Last week I made a trip to NY and took in one of the Yankees / Mets games at Shea. The Mets are in first place, yet they get hardly any media coverage in NY! It took me 20 years of living in Florida to finally get why Met fans are so bitter toward the Yankees. In some ways it may be jealousy of the Yankees 26 WS Championships, but it is more than just the Yankees success. It is media coverage that the Yankees get even when in last place and the Mets in first. The sad thing, the Mets fans there truly love the game more than the Yankee fans do. You can see with the split crowd how the Mets fans know a lot more about their team as a whole than the many Yankee bandwagoners do.

 

I live in New York and the Mets get plenty of attention, but right now, the Yankees collapse is a bigger story than the Mets surge.

 

There are more Yankee fans in New York, devoted fans on both sides, but it's a Yankee town.

 

Yankees get bandwagoners all year, Mets fans just in October.

 

For reference here is a 100% true story from last season in the NLCS between my friend who works for the Mets, and a "Mets" fan.

 

My friend is wearing a Mets hat and is stopped by a person he knows.

 

"So, how'd the game go last night?"

 

"We lost."

 

"Oh, but we still didn't get eliminated, right?"

 

"No."

 

"Cool, we play tonight, right?"

 

"Yeah, at Shea."

 

"That means we're home?"

 

So, just think about what you're saying next time you're fast to praise the Mets for being bandwagon free.

 

Some good points, I agree with the October thing. I did live up there back in '86 when the Mets were churning a huge bandwagon. I caught a lot of heat for being a Yankee fan back in the day.

LA is not a baseball city, their fanbase is comprised of mostly casual fans who leave during the 7th inning of games.

 

Oh please.

 

First it was about ratings, now it's about placating fanbases.

 

I'll tell you what, thank God you're here to set the record straight, because I would have sworn LA loved the Dodgers, but I guess 3 million + fans 6 straight years, on pace for a 7th and ten of the last 11 years just isn't enough support to justify attention from ESPN.

 

I didn't say they didn't have fans, I'm saying their fans aren't the kind that are going to tune into BBTN every night. Fact is, the Lakers are the big pro team in LA, do you see stars like Jack Nicholson getting box seats for a Dodgers game? And their attendance is irrelevant, I didn't say they didn't draw, I said their fans aren't really into baseball as much as the eastern teams.

 

There are 4 big baseball markets, with 6 teams -- New York, Boston, Chicago, and St Louis. Everything else just doesn't compete. That is why they stuff those teams down your throat -- they don't care about the little guys when they can grab the big markets.