Michael Kay and John Sterling, leave it in your pants when you're on the air.

The BBQ Pit
1

I hate the Yankees. I really do.

But Michael Kay, play-by-play guy for the Yankees, really needs to remove his dick from Jeter’s ass when calling a game. I don’t really have a problem with home team announcers, whatever the team, until they begin to include themselves as part of the team. “We” did not make that play, “he” did. “We” aren’t winning, “they” are.

Agreed, Jeter’s catch in the 12th was a fine play, and I sincerely hope he’s not injured severely. But it was not the greatest play ever. And it was certainly not “unselfish” as you kept calling it in between on-air orgasms. It was extremely selfish, in that it’s July 1, not October 1, you have a 7.5 game lead on your division rival, and the ball was foul! Dangerously foul, as you found out.

And you should have heard John Sterling and Charlie Steiner get all frothy on the radio earlier in the game when A-Rod had his “triple play”. Steiner uncharacteristicly lost his composure, and Sterling kept asking someone to explain “how this is not a triple play!” (To recap this play, there are no outs and bases loaded in Boston’s half of the inning. Hard shot sown third base line which A-Rod backhands beautifully. He drags his knee or foot accross the bag [force out, 1 down], throws a strike to the plate to get the runner going home [2 outs], then gets the throw back from Posada to tag out the runner at third [which was meaningless, since he was already out on the force]. Fortunately the umpires kept this in mind and called it correctly from the get-go. A-Rod, Jeter, Torre, Steiner, Sterling, et al are going bonkers claiming it’s a triple play).* It took several minutes after the argument ended for someone to apparently hand Steiner a note explaining what just happened, because he didn’t seem to believe it as he was explaining it. Sterling just took a slug of whiskey and mumbled “we shoulda had a triple play”.

For equal time, I pit Nomar. You big fucking pussy. Your team needs this game desperately in an attempt to right the ship, and you just sit it out? Exciting things happen and you don’t even leave your seat? In this one instance, the Yankee broadcasters had you pegged. You showed abolutely no leadership or concern for your team. None. You were an embarassment. Stay in the fucking clubhouse next time and enjoy Anaheim next year, asshole. No-mah = no mas, apparently.

*Any further rebroadcast, reproduction, or other use of the pictures and accounts of this game without the express written consent of Major League Baseball is prohibited.

2

First of all, the ball was NOT dangerously foul. Unlike Pokey, who actually did have to go into the stands to make the catch, Jeter caught the ball at the edge of the warning track and then continued running full speed and jumped into the stands.

It was pure showboating.

3

Dissemination without express written consent.

Lots of local broadcast teams do that garbage, though. I have to watch Cubs and White Sox games on WGN all the time because I loathe the Braves and there’s really no real local team to watch. Those announcers do the same we/us stuff. Calling players by their first names is another great one. Makes me feel like I’m watching a youth soccer game with the moms on the sideline. “A great play by Sammy! Good job, Alex!”

I don’t get why Jeter didn’t just, you know, stop running. He was ten feet away from the rail when he caught the ball, and made no effort to stop, which on preview I see Neurotik noticed too.

4

The ball was fair, I just checked the video again, you can get to it from this article

Jeter had a full step in fair territory after catching the ball with outstretched arm. I’d say the ball would have been at least a foot or two fair. Problem with Yankee Stadium is that in this area, the stands are about 5 feet from the foul line, so at full tilt, he goes crashing into the seats.

This is what I like about Jeter, he treats every game like it’s really important, and lays it on the line. That’s a rarity in sports today.

On preview, watch the video again… you think this guy is equipped with a drag chute or something? He had exactly 2 steps to go from running full speed to a complete stop, and the first step was just after stretching out to catch the ball.

5

Though it’s very difficult to get American League games here, I just can’t watch the White Sox. Those announcers are just despicable. It only takes about two innings before I want to put a brick through my TV set.

Cheesesteak, I’m of two minds about that. Is it better for Jeter to be infected with Pete Reiser syndrome and get hurt in a fairly meaningless mid-season game, or is it better for him to let the ball go and be playing in more games?

6

I watched it again.

He’s stretched out, but he’s stretched out vertically - he caught the ball practically straight over his head. And then he takes three more steps after catching the ball.

If you can catch the ball straight over your head, you should be able to slow down enough in three steps to not have to jump into the stands.

7

TYM, that’s an arguable point, I don’t know for sure which way is better, but while he’s healthy, it’s nice to watch someone who doesn’t dog it. I know fans and media cringe if a guy says “yeah, I probably could have caught it, but I didn’t want to run into the wall.”

Neurotik, we’ll have to just agree to disagree on this, I don’t personally see how he could have stopped. However, if this was really just for show then Jeter’s gotta be carrying around a mighty big set of brass ones.

8

Heh, that’s what the maintenance crew has to do in the announcers booth. :rolleyes:

9

from the linked article…
They’re doing the magic number already?!? :mad:

10

Well, i dislike the Yankees as much as anyone (except a Red Sox fan), but it didn’t really look to me like Jeter dived into the stands on purpose. He was going full tilt when he caught the ball. While he did catch the ball “over his head,” his arm was extended at 45 degree to the ground, which is the angle at which it attains its greatest “reach” in a situation like that. Anyway, the position of his arm is less important than the speed he was going when he caught the ball.

I couldn’t believe, though, how fucking hopeless those commentators were in believing that the play at third was a triple play. Heads-up guys: if there are only two runners involved in a ground ball play like that, then it is, by definition, a double play. As the second commentator finally realized, you can only get each batter out once.

And finally, i have to agree with those who hate the White Sox commentators. It’s the job of fans to root for their teams; it’s the job of commentators to call an informative and, in my opinion, measured game. If you haven’t heard the White Sox commentators, you can get an idea of their style by going to this mlb.com page. Scroll down to the CWS @ MIN game, and watch the “Plays of the Game” video.

11

Oh, this was so very not meanlingless, TYM. You see, as far as the Yankees are concerned, there are two goals in life that matter. The World Series, and beating the hell out of the Red Sox. In fact, most people consider last year’s lost World Series a minor thing, compared to beating the Red Sox the way they did.

And then the Red Sox took their loss out of the game, calling for salary caps and other measures more or less aimed directly at the Yankees. I’m not saying they might not be good things, I’m saying that the reason they were called for had nothing to do with what was good for the game and all about hurting the Yankees.

And you have to remember that Jeter and the Sox, expecially, have a history, if I’m remembering right. And he’s the captain of the team. That leap was as much leadership as anything else. He has to give a hundred and ten percent on every pitch in this game, especially.

So. From a mechanical, statistical point… was it necessary? Mmm. The Yanks could have lost it.

From a psychological point? Yes. Stomp the Sox into the ground. Make their egos bleed. Give them the inferiority complex they deserve. After all, they’re a darn good team, and probably the nastiest opponents the Yankees will ever face. Next time… they might win.

And you know, the world would end, then.

12

I know what you mean. My cable company just started carrying WGN, and it only took one game for me to despise the White Sox announcers.

Here we have it good: Vin Scully and Ross Porter are two of the most balanced announcers I have ever heard. They praise the opponents as much as they do the Dodgers. It is never “we.”

About the only time they even come close to losing it is when the the rest of us **do ** lose it: When Eric Gagne comes striding in from the bullpen to close. Game Over.

13

:Sigh:

Can people discussing sports, especially on an intelligent message board like this, at least concede that it is, in fact, impossible for a person to give more than 100 percent?

I know that sport in general is rife with stupid cliches, and that each sport also has its own set of stupid terms, but the whole “110%” thing drives me batshit.

Carry on.

14

Aren’t the two the same thing?

15

That’s why I’m of two minds. I agree entirely that it’s important for ballplayers to give 100% as much as is humanly possible, and especially so for the team captain. But let’s say an important player attempts a play like that, makes the play, his team wins, and he puts himself on the DL for a month. Let’s further say that due to the loss of his talents, his team goes 13-13 for the month instead of 18-8. Is that one game, that one play really worth the five game swing?

16

I’m sorry. I had to say it. I just had to. First time I’ve ever had a good reason to use that cliche.

And I’d say getting hurt over a catch is clearly more than a hundred percent. It’s like military power. Full power is a hundred percent on a throttle, but for short periods, you can crank it to 110 percent of rated power. Can’t do it for long or your engine’ll blow.

17

TYM: Depends on the game. Depends on the game. Yankees-Sox? Yes. As I said, last year, the Yankees lost the Series because they worked too hard to beat the Sox. And it was worth it. To the fans and to the players and to the staff. It’s not about hatred, from this side, it’s… it’s part of the bigger game. About the history and pagentry of Baseball. Truthfully, I can’t think of a rivalry like it… feel free to chime in.

So, against the… I don’t know. A’s, maybe he wouldn’t have made the dive.

Against the Sox? Some things, a man has to do.

18

Can we pit the Yankee announcers on the YES network on general principle, as well? I’m sure they’re great guys and all, but just based on sound of voice and general quality while on the air, doesn’t anyone think that these guys are just plain below average as far as MLB TV announcers go? I can think of a dozen teams off the top of my head that have better announcers - and these are the YANKEES, for goodness sake. Can’t they afford someone who doesn’t annoy the hell out of me whenever I tune in to watch them lose?

-K.