Despite rumors, Joe Morgan is apparently not being taken off ESPN's Sunday Night baseball telecasts. According to this USA Today article, Morgan and Jon Miller are getting a third booth partner -- Steve Phillips.
I fail to see how this improves their broadcast. According to the article:
In baseball, ESPN's MLB deal includes its Baseball Tonight having rights to show highlights from games still in progress — a right MLB has granted to its own channel. After responding to the MLB Network with moves like beefing up its MLB winter-meetings coverage, ESPN is likely to keep shaking up coverage beyond adding Phillips to its Sunday games. One possibility: having MLB studio shows air year-round.
"No question ESPN is taking the MLB Network seriously," Phillips says. "But competition is always good."
So far, they haven't convinced me they're doing anything to really improve their on-air product. It's also interesting that I found this info via USA Today's website; there's nothing at ESPN.com about this at all.
Also via USA Today, we learn that at last week's owners meetings, new procedures for tiebreaker games were instituted:
MLB also adopted the recommendation made by general managers in November that coin tosses no longer determine home-field advantage in a tiebreaker game for a playoff berth. The Chicago White Sox won a flip last year and beat the Minnesota Twins 1-0 for the American League Central.
The tiebreaker now will be decided by performance-based criteria beginning with head-to-head records, intra-division records and records the last half of the season in intra-league games.
The article also says that MLB formalized the proposal made after last year's World Series game 5, that all postseason games will be played in their entirety. Smart moves on both parts. Now if they could only do that best record thing for World Series home field...
0 recs | 48 comments
Dear ESPN,
The Turdburger you serve with your Sunday Night Baseball telecasts cannot be made more enjoyable by simply adding fresher turds.
Thank you,
SWL
santoswoodenlegs - January 21, 2009
Clearly
you haven’t seen the South Park episode about turd sandwiches and a giant douche.
Dan
dtpollitt - January 21, 2009
Expelliarmus!
drewishdrewid - January 22, 2009
Can we
give someone intelligent the Polyjuice potion then, if just for Cubs games? Please
chrisw95 - January 22, 2009
Goody, Steve Phillips can talk even more about how he drafted David Wright and Jose Reyes
Chanman25 - January 21, 2009
Tiebreaker
Well, it’s good to see MLB get something right. That third tiebreaker of record in intraleague games in the second half of the season is as good as any after the first two tiebreakers. That coin flip business was silly. The Cubs would have had home field against the Giants in the 1998 wildcard playoff with the head-to-head tiebreaker. Of course, the Cubs had the good fortune of winning a coin flip to have the game at Wrigley Field.
memphiscub - January 21, 2009
Umm... Al?
How would the head-to-head record thing work? Most years, I’d expect the two WS teams to have not played each other at all, since they’re in different leagues. Unless you’re also proposing to have overall record be a determining factor.
false cognate - January 21, 2009
This isn't for determining home-field for the WS...
that’s what the ALL STAR GAME is for!
This is just to help sort out the rare event that a playoff game needs to be played to determine a divisional or WC winner. I think.
santoswoodenlegs - January 21, 2009
Overall Interleague Head-to-Head Play (AL v. NL)
I’ve heard of that as a way to determine home field advantage in the World Series.
memphiscub - January 21, 2009
Sorry...
… I meant best overall record for the WS.
Al Yellon - January 21, 2009
I'll fix the post.
Al Yellon - January 21, 2009
Here comes a self-serving whine
You poo-poohed my ASG post in April, when I suggested we all vote for the worst A.L. players because of the ridiculous rule. Glad to see you’ve come around.
In 2009, we vote for scrubs! Let’s turn this farce into a farce!
Shanghai Badger - January 21, 2009
I am in
Cubbie-Tim - January 22, 2009
Need to
post the players to vote for, so we all vote the same, instead of voting against each other so to speak. or we could just vote the Royals alone
Cubbie-Tim - January 22, 2009
Will do.
I’ll post a proposed list sometime in late April.
Shanghai Badger - January 22, 2009
I can see...
how adding Steve Phillips to the booth is an improvement. There’s 50% more guys calling the game. That has to mean at least a 20% reduction in time JOE-I’M-THE-GREATEST-EVER-MORGAN is blathering.
blackhawk24 - January 21, 2009
Add MORE announcers, then!
Heck, have one for every inning! Morgan might never get a word in edgewise!
Al Yellon - January 21, 2009
Sorry blackhawk...
but I’m going to totally disagree here…Phillips’ inane “insights” about what’s “really going on inside these player’s heads” are going to only spark more chances for Morgan to waste 3 minutes talking about how unbelievably heroic and fantastic he was in those very same situations.
santoswoodenlegs - January 21, 2009
Yes, in theory...
However, there’s a finite number of minutes and seconds for a game. The time anyone else spent talking means Joe is not.
I agree with your assessment on Phillips, however since he’s not the conceded asshole Joe Morgan is, I’ll take anyone else I can get in the booth.
But now to think of it, I’ll just turn down the TV audio and sync ’GN 720 to the video.
blackhawk24 - January 21, 2009
Joe Morgan is
about the worst excuse for an announcer. I will generally change the chanel to watch the other guys feed on DTV if Len and Bob are not available.
Just wondering if espn has really learned??
Going from one rambling idiot to having TWO rambliing idiots is just way too much for me.
chrisw95 - January 21, 2009
ESPN has far and away the worst baseball coverage
why don’t you just put Buster Olney in the booth so we can listen to his insufferable rants of how incredible the red sox/yankees are
SamuraiMike50 - January 21, 2009
GREAT INVENTION--- REMOTE CONTROL.....
To change the chnl when I see JOE MORGAN and JON MILLER on ….Can’t ESPN do better than this duo ??? THings won’t change with STEVE PHILLIPS either….
cubs north - January 21, 2009
The volume button works better
Unfortunately there usually isn’t another baseball option on Sunday night.
rlpete - January 21, 2009
I disagree.
I nominate:
—Combustion engine
and
—Surround sound home theatre systems
as better inventions.
dtpollitt - January 21, 2009
or the bikini
santoswoodenlegs - January 21, 2009
ESPN hopes...
… that Phillips ineptitude will help distract the audience from Morgan’s incompetence.
Ross - January 21, 2009
that won't distract me
from hitting myself in the head during Sunday Night Baseball
SamuraiMike50 - January 21, 2009
Just hit the mute button.
Al Yellon - January 22, 2009
Hey guys
I’m new here. Looks like a pretty cool website for Cubs fans. As for this Steve Phillips addition to SNB, I think it is good. I’ve always liked Phillips and I think he has a valued and respected opinion around the league.
CUBSfaninYANKEEcountry - January 21, 2009
Um....
santoswoodenlegs - January 21, 2009
Don't listen to SWL.
He’s about to be banned for “Insufficient BCB Points”. He hasn’t had a positive BCB Points balance for years.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB! Best site for Cubs info anywhere.
Dan
dtpollitt - January 21, 2009
There will be a reckoning between us Mr. Pollitt....a RECKONING!
santoswoodenlegs - January 21, 2009
that's a fantastic
pleather tie you have there…
drewishdrewid - January 22, 2009
Steve Phillips is a blowhard!
All he ever talks about, it would seem, is what he would do with such and such team if he were the GM.
You notice how all the owners are bullying past each other in an attempt to make him THEIR GM! I swear, the guy thinks he is the only one who knows anything about baseball.
He and Morgan deserve each other. I wonder how long it will take Miller to explode!
Tekboy - January 21, 2009
Agree
I do agree with you, Phillips does tend to ramble.
CUBSfaninYANKEEcountry - January 21, 2009
On ESPN Radio...
They said Phillips would be the on-field reporter, NOT in the booth. Which is sort of verified by the article mentioning Gammons no longer being a part of the SNB broadcasts. But we’ll see.
bison - January 22, 2009
Then they really haven't changed anything, just rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Al Yellon - January 22, 2009
True
but IMO, Gammons was the only one who had a real clue about what he was speaking.
SO, with the revelation, will I be able to get the WGN radio broadcasts via the internet??
chrisw95 - January 22, 2009
Only if you pay for MLB Audio.
Al Yellon - January 22, 2009
Ugh
I think I just need to move to Chicago and bear the winters. Seems a moot point to pay for the DTV package, and still be forced to listen to the espn crew.
chrisw95 - January 22, 2009
That would be for a maximum of five Sundays a year.
Al Yellon - January 22, 2009
For the record, the Titanic floated until it hit the iceberg. This crew is underwater
before launch.
N Oakley - January 22, 2009
I don't know how good of a tv personality he'd be...
but I wish they’d have people like Rob Neyer in the booth. Or someone of similar baseball acumen. Though that would interrupt the flow of Red Sox Nation Celebration programming coming out of Bristol…
I actually like Jon Miller (though he’s better on radio). And I do have to say that while I am loathe to hear Joe Morgan on the tv, I do kind of feel sorry for him in the sense that it seems pretty clear that everyone save his mother hates his soul. He may have earned it, but it’s still kind of sad. Also, while it may be some sort of masochistic gene of mine, I’m so used to hearing him that it’s almost comforting to hear his arrogent blather. Like the inanities put forth by Tim McCarver, it’s a clear reminder that it’s baseball season. And it’s hard to be upset about that…
CubsWin!Oregon - January 22, 2009
Everyone?
I’m sure the Devil would love to claim his soul. Must be pretty tasty.
northernsails - January 22, 2009
I don't watch baseball when Morgan and Miller are in the booth
unless the Cubs are playing. I have the greatest respect for Morgan’s accomplishments on the field but as a broadcaster, and I use that term extremely loosely, he is very incompetent. I think he just sits there and makes stats up to fit what ever he’s talking about.
Jettero2112 - January 22, 2009
With Morgan its hard enough to watch a full game
Phillips is god awful too, I’d take MLB Network over ESPN anyday
CubsBall2202 - January 22, 2009
Great, that means
more Banks Blvd. comments. :-(
sue369 - January 22, 2009
and the nets were put in for Ernie too!
Don’t forget that nugget of Jackassery from Mr. Morgan.
VegasCubFan - January 22, 2009
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