FoxSports Double Standard

[Kathy in Cambridge]

I have not been able to stomach Joe Buck and Tim McCarver during the series. I have muted the TV and listened to WEEI because these guys are so flagrant in their Yankee ass-licking.

Not to stir the pot, but has anyone else noticed this?

Here are some good letters from the Boston Globe today:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2003/10/15/the_old_brawl_game/

"FOR YEARS I have wondered why Roger Clemens has gotten a free pass from Major League Baseball to do whatever he wants. Even when he announced in advance that he would throw at San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds, then did it, there were no consequences. Saturday we found out that the Fox network has a double standard, too.

If Pedro Martinez throws a pitch that comes near Karim Garcia's head, then it must have been deliberate. If Clemens throws a pitch that comes too close to Manny's head, it must have been an accident and Manny "overreacted." If one of the Red Sox coaches had come out of the dugout, run all the way across the field, and tried to punch Roger Clemens, wouldn't he have been ejected?

The Fox commentators informed us that it was perfectly understandable for Don Zimmer to assault Pedro, because he feels strongly about beanballs after his own experience with one early in his career. (This doesn't explain why Zimmer doesn't mind sharing a uniform with Clemens, who is infamous for throwing at batters. Does the name Mike Piazza, who actually was hit in the head by Clemens, mean anything to him?)

There's nothing I can do to persuade the umpires or Fox to use the same standards for everyone. What I can and will do, however, is watch the rest of the postseason games with the sound off."

snip

"I HAD THE misfortune to watch that horrid Yankees-Red Sox game on Saturday, and even though I am from the Big Apple, here is my perspective:

Pedro Martinez threw a pitch at Karim Garcia. Big deal! He hit him in the back. How about when Roger Clemens hits people in the head? How about when Clemens threw a broken bat at Mike Piazza in the World Series in 2000? Yankees Manager Joe Torre and bench coach Don Zimmer said nothing then. But if a Yankee gets hit by a pitch, it's an international crisis.

Zimmer charged Martinez, who was standing off by himself. Zimmer was the aggressor and threw a punch. Martinez pushed Zimmer aside. Martinez was defending himself. All this stuff about Zimmer being 72 is right. He should act his age.

Manny Ramirez overreacted to a high pitch, but he was probably trying to get Clemens thrown out of the game, which is pretty smart. And what about Garcia's reckless slide on the double play ball? Real cheap, but he is a Yankee, so I guess that's OK."

[joeybee12]

1. Absolutely right!

I think this is one of those instances where people take Satan's team's side, but then when they cool off and look at facts, they see what actually happened.

Kind of like the Clarence Thomas hearings,. The Nazis pulled out all the stops to make him look like the victim, and it worked in the short term--getting that intellectual midget on the Supreme Court. However, most people now realize what scum he is, and that he did do it.

[LoneStarLiberal]

5. Yankees and Bush

I don't mean this to be directed at the Yankee team nor at their fans, only at the media's treatment of them.

The national sports media licks the Yankees' asses the same way that the national news media licks the Bush administration's ass.

That's a damn good point about Clemens and Zimmer that the original poster made. I can only imagine how hard Zimmer's dealing with the injury when he got beaned was, but to use that as an excuse when he doesn't go apoplectically screaming after Roger Clemens every time he has knocked someone down while in a Yankee uniform is to play the old dear Republican line that the rules apply to you, not to us.

Reminds me of a quote from John Connolly, then Nixon's Secretary of Treasury, on the dollar as a financial instrument: "The dollar is our currency but it is your problem."

[mac56]

2. I noticed that too.

Told my wife that it's obvious that Fox Sports is as fair and balanced as Fox News is.

[Braden]

3. check out your inbox

I sent you something a friend of mine wrote on the subject. McCarver is the biggest Yankee Ball Washer out there.

Buck is OK, left at OK. Good voice.

[HuckleB]

4. Maybe.

But I don't think they're bright enough to take sides.

As for Ramirez, he was clearly terrified at the plate. He had no oxygen in his brain whatsoever. He was bailing so fast, even after the incident, that there's no way he had enough mindpower to be thinking about trying to get Clemens tossed.

On to game six. The side-shows have grown old, in my opinion. But, OK, if it's fun for you, have at it. I won't piss on the party any longer.

Here's to a game seven in the ALCS!

Go Cubs!

[underpants]

6. Oh no doubt. I have been saying that for the last week

In Game 4 it wasn't a hit off the wall no and it wasn't Millah (the Sox all look alike to me) running from first to third oh no it WAS Matsui with an ICREDIBLE play to keep the run from scoring (not really the guy rounding second took two studder steps).

Anything that is near the plate, if thrown by Yankees, should have been a strike or surely was if that was what was called. The Sox either get the silent treatment of an "Oh I guess it was...."

The most blaring example was in '98 I think. Oakland vs. NY. The Jeter play. Oh they were about to say he was the greatest person they had ever met and I think Buck was about to offer to at least try to have Jeter's lovechild when........they showed one replay from above the third base line OH GLORY THAT WE MAY BE HERE TO WITNESS THIS....another replay from centerfield CAN THEIR BE ANY GREATER?... and then the replay from down the first base line........dead silence at least 30 seconds of dead silence in the booth


My wife and I were painting our bedroom and We had both just gotten down from our respective dressers to see that it was quite clear that Jeremy Giambi was safe. Cut to shots of everyone congratulating Jeter and themselves, cut to shots of Yankee fans going bizerk, cut to Jeter, (no shots of the A's bench or the argument of the call) cut to commercial.

Hey look at this OFFICIAL MLB website on division series...look the Yankess are celebrating their 1996 Division series win I guess they haven't played any since then.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/history/postseason/mlb_ds.jsp

[Braden]

7. from a friend of mine. His Fox Superlatives notes

After Monday night's game where Trot Nixon jacked one off the wall and all Tim McCarver can say is "What a terrific play by Matsui" stuck in my head, I decided to chart out the superlatives laid out by the fox staff during this game.

I laid down the following rules.

-facts don't count (Mueller is batting champion is a fact) -Boone comments don't count, mostly irrelevant anyways -marginal compliments don't count (nice play, good play, etc.)
- Criticisims about players don't count (though this would drive the number through the roof with Mccarver and Manny/Pedro etc.)

I started counting with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning (listened to most on the radio). I think that the play by both teams was equal (confirmed by Braden) throughout the rest of the game.


Yankees Breakdown

McCarver
Terrific- Bernie Williams
Terrific- Derek Jeter
Dominating- Marino Rivera
Hitters Befuddled- Marion Rivera
MVP in April- Soriano

Joe Buck
Sparkling play- Soriano
Sensational - Derek Jeter
Very Difficult Play made easy- Derek Jeter


Red Sox Breakdown
McCarver
Fine at bat- David Ortiz (fine is marginal, but I gave him the benefit of
the doubt. Tracy's comment: Its as if a producer told him he HAD to say
something nice about the sox)

Buck
Strong and Solid batting order (Team)

Todd Walker jacks one off Mariano and has been a torrid hitter- Fox comment Nothing
Red Sox bullpen has been outstanding, three earned runs, only one run surrendered - low era- Fox Comments Nothing

My friend Scot is an analytical guy and this is his take. He grew tired of listening to McCarver. I go to most home games so dont have to listen to that goof too often.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

8. Thank God for Jerry Remy/Sean?/Don Orsillo

Sox are usually on Fox on Saturdays-if it's a home game I'm there and don't have to suffer throught the Fox idiots.

Our local announcers are so much more knowledgeable than the Fox team. I think I amy email them and suggest they hire Jerry Remy.

[Braden]

9. indeed

I always run into Remy on Van Ness St. He gets out of the park faster than most fans. The minute the post game is over he hauls ass to the Parking lot.

[BigMcLargehuge]

10. WEEI is the sound of the Sox!!!

I can't get it so well at home, but I get it just fine in the McLargehugemobile! Though, RationalRose, have you noticed they are MUCH MORE RESERVED in this series than the one with the A's?

I wonder if someone is pumping the booth full of sleepy gas.

[MaineDem]

14. I haven't listened to the Fox announcers yet

It's Jerry and Joe on our local EEI affiliate for me. The pregame is terrific and the post game is good. The game itself is superlative.

[Cheviot]

11. Reminds me a lot of Notre Dame football

NBC has exclusive rights to Notre Dame football. Several individuals who work at NBC and their affiliates have polling votes. So..ever wonder why Notre Dame, which absolutely sucks this year, managed to garner an early-season top 12 rating? This happens year after year. Last year, ND proved out to be a paper tiger, yet they moved all the way to #6. And do you remember in 2000 when ND was what? 6-5? And they were awarded a BCS bowl over teams like 11-1 and 7th-ranked Virginia Tech. Oregon state proceeded to blow ND in the Fiesta contest something like 41-7.
So to your point....It is in the interests of these national announcers to promote national teams. It is a whole lot like society. The rich get richer. Reminds me again of college football's haves and have-nots. The top 15 teams 20 years ago are more or less the same as they are now and will be 15 years hence. Here's a great example of the old-boys' club in action.....Miami and Florida played this year. Miami won and BOTH teams moved up in the polls. Amazing. Let an overachieving, but second-tier team like Northern Illinois get beat. They would sink like a rock in the polls. Again. The rich get richer. The poor get screwed. Happens in society. Happens in sports. Something needs to change.

[leftofthedial]

12. Damn Yankees!

No justice. Oh wait, he's a color commentator now.

the Yank-me's are the baseball equivalent of Bush's crooked corporate cronies.

Blah!

Go Rockies! We don't even have a "curse" to help explain why the Rockies suck so thoroughly.

[zls44]

13. Buck HATES the Yankees, you fools...

Game 2 of the ALDS, you would have never known that the Yankees won more games than anyone in the American League, talking about how if they lost it was all over.

Ditto thier constant yammering on and on about how old the Yankees rotation is, ignoring how well they have, for the MOOSE-tpart pitched.

Clemens getting a free pass? FOR WHAT?!?!?! WHAT DID HE DO SATURDAY? Manny embarassed your team with his horrid acting, as if he's gonna get thrown out of his last game at Fenway. The first problem with Red Sox fans is thier biggest problem=DELUSIONAL.

As for McCarver...when is he gonna bust out the "I caught Bob Gibson" line? He used to be a Yankees color man, so you could mention that, but he was very-anti-Yankee when with Fox5...what happened to him?

As for Bret Boone...I'm waiting for him to do the following:

Buck: Soriano with the error. Brett, what do you think about that play.
Boone: S*it, I'd be all over that.

[Braden]

16. manny Wasn't the only one who Embarrassed himself on saturday.

he overreacted as did a certain someone else.

I agree Buck doesn't like the Yankees. More than anything McCarver hates the Red Sox. Which again is why whenever I can I go the games with the national crews.


Buck: Soriano with the Error, Brett, What do you think about that.

BB: huh?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

17. Speaking of delusional and whiny

All I see is bitching in the NY papers and by the NYY fans when their superstars aren't living up to their multi-million dollar contracts.

Clemens threw as close to Manny's head as he could get without getting ejected (the pitchers had been warned).

Yes, all of us Red Sox fans are delusional and whiny :eyes:

Give us credit for loyalty-unlike the Yankee fair-weather fan, we don't abandon our team when they underperform.

[ArkDem]

15. Not to change the subject but

how many of you think Pedro Martinez will sign with the Yankees when his contract expires?

[Braden]

18. I do

[SiobhanClancy]

20. I wouldn't be surprised,either

This would,of course,result in an immediate rehabilitation of Pedro's reputation in the NY press(and in the minds of most NY fans);)

[MaineDem]

23. Manny for sure

I think they both have a year left.

I'm not sure about Pedro. I think the owners are trying hard to keep him. I guess nothing will surprise me.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

24. Manny is from NYC

He loves playing at Yankee Stadium. I think both wouldn't mind a WS ring...

[donotpassgo]

19. "The Media is very desirous that the Red Sox do well.

There is a little hope invested in Boston, and they got a lot of credit for their performance that they didn't deserve. Pedro carried this team."

When the Sox are playing golf next week, can we FINALLY stop hearing the fans bitch?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

21. The HITTING carried the team this year

As well as a surprisingly good bullpen.

[Braden]

22. what credit didn't they deserve?

Did the Yankees win game 6, I heard it started at 4?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

25. I've already hit the mute button

Can't stand McCarver.

:puke: