Well this little schedule looks familiar doesn't it? I'm sorry to say it Baseball fans but you're stuck with the Red Sox and New York and Chicago teams for just about the rest of the Summer. ESPN is even going the whole month of July with either a New York team or Boston on Sunday Night Baseball! Well you do get to see the stellar Rockies take on the Mets on July 13th. So you've got that going for you.....which is nice.

I'm sure Joe Buck will be extra prepared this weekend, so enjoy the games.....

Saturday:

Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees- Joe Buck & Tim McCarver (Fox, 3:55pm, 78%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals- Kenny Albert & Eric Karros (FOX, 3:55pm, 22%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Tulsa

Sunday:

Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals- Chip Caray & Buck Martinez (TBS, 1pm)

Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees- Jon Miller & Joe Morgan (ESPN, 8pm)
________________

No AA Friday folks but I'll be here sporadically throughout the weekend and moreso if someone gets hit in the nuts. Enjoy your 4th people. Cheers!

I'm borderline furious this morning and not just because I have to mention Colin Cowherd. Joe Buck was on ESPN Radio this morning, and you can't make this stuff up, said he doesn't enjoy Baseball anymore and chooses to watch the Bachlorette over nightly Sports telecasts during the week.

The talk began with Cowherd complaining about Sports during the week and how the average Sports fan doesn't pay attention. He then brought Joe Buck on for the following conversation....

I'm just at a loss for words. FOX's national voice for Baseball openly admitted to not enjoying the game he covers, cramming for weekend matchups, thinking that the games are too long and that the game just isn't the same. Unbelievable. You're getting paid millions of dollars for watching a game three hours. Cry me a river! What's even worse than that was the fact that he was on for another 4 or 5 minutes talking about a Cubs-Red Sox World Series. Are you kidding me?!

Without going off my rocker I just want to point out that this is the reason why everyone is upset with a lot of broadcasters in Sports. You have the coolest damn job in the World in Sports Fans eyes, and while you're supposed to be serving as the voice of the fans, you act like you're above the game. This is the main reason why Joe Buck and his kind are probably the worst thing for Sports. Buck wants to be a Hollywood star and doesn't have time for the Sport that brought him to the dance. Well his father brought him to the dance in the family station wagon, but Baseball is ultimately who he's partying with. You get my point.

I completely understand the average American not watching Baseball during the week. You have kids, your job is demanding and you're just tired as hell. I get it and that's what the internet is for. But for a daily Sports talk show host and the voice of the World Series to bash Sports this way is just wrong and shows how much the game suffers when you continue to put them on air. It's your g'damn job to know what you're talking about. It's people like this that give the whole profession a bad name and make those who do their homework and bust their ass look bad by association.

There's always a disparity in the way I cover announcers on the site. One of the main things I say during radio and online interviews is that there's a HUGE difference between an announcer who makes a ton mistakes and one who makes mistakes while putting himself above the game. I'll take John Madden's insane ramblings any day because you know in the end he loves the Sport of Football and he's just crazed at the moment and can't put his thoughts together.

Joe Buck is the worst of the worst in my book and if he doesn't want to call Baseball anymore there are a million of people that would jump at the chance. Hurry up and give him a talk show FOX so I can completely tune him out.

The White Sox and Cubs were tied in the 7th inning today when FOX decided to go to a quick shot of Kerry Wood. Well Wood had a message for the viewing audience....

I don't think there has ever been a more perfectly timed shot of an MLB player in the history of television. Good work FOX and a great job by you Thom Brennaman playing it off.

Kerry Wood Salutes You (Hugging Harold Reynolds)

He's baaaaaack! We all knew it was too good to be true folks. Joe Buck is back with his good pal Tim McCarver and they're calling a Yankees game. Kill me now. Also, I know it's tough to work out schedules with other networks ahead of time, but could we get a little variety? Good lord...it's New York and Chicago all the time these days.

Saturday:

Chicago Cubs at Chicago White Sox- Thom Brennaman & Mark Grace (Fox, 3:55pm, 58%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Austin, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tulsa

New York Yankees at New York Mets- Joe Buck & Tim McCarver (FOX, 3:55pm, 42%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Dallas, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Miami, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Sunday:

New York Yankees at New York Mets- Chip Caray & Ron Darling (TBS, 1pm)
Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs- Jon Miller & Joe Morgan (ESPN, 8pm)

Everyone who likes the Red Sox raise your hand! Okay you can keep reading. Everyone else....just click away. It's all Cards and Sawx this weekend. Here's your schedule....

Saturday:

St. Louis Cardinals at Boston Red Sox- Thom Brennaman, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal (Fox, 3:55pm, 88%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Cleveland Indians at Los Angeles Dodgers- Matt Vasgersian & Eric Karros (FOX, 3:55pm, 11%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Los Angeles, San Diego

Sunday:

St. Louis Cardinals at Boston Red Sox- Chip Caray & Buck Martinez (TBS, 1pm)
Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs- Jon Miller & Joe Morgan (ESPN, 8pm)

It's a Remdawg weekend folks! Jerry Remy will be joining Brennamania for interleague play this weekend and once again we're blessed with no Buck and McCarver. We do have to deal with a lot of Red Sox games, but I'll take that deal any day. Here's the schedule....

Saturday:

Boston Red Sox at Cincinnati Reds- Thom Brennaman & Jerry Remy (FOX, 3:55pm, 56%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Denver, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Louisville, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals- Kenny Albert & Mark Grace (FOX, 3:55pm, 26%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Tulsa

Los Angeles Dodgers at Detroit Tigers- Dick Stockton, Eric Karros & Ken Rosenthal (FOX, 3:55pm, 17%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego

Sunday:

Boston Red Sox at Cincinnati Reds- Chip Caray & Buck Martinez (TBS, 1pm)
Atlanta Braves at Anaheim Angels- Jon Miller & Joe Morgan (ESPN, 8pm)

Fox Baseball Regional Schedule: Saturday June 14 (HD Sports Guide)

One of the phrases in the booth that announcers need to learn in the booth is a very simple one that doesn't have anything to do with the game itself. According to Phil Mushnick of the NY Post it's "I'm Sorry", and I couldn't agree more. Mushnick shares an example with the biggest culprit when it comes to breaking this rule....

Home plate ump Tim Welke made an emphatic "safe" sign to indicate that Ethier was not yet out, that the ball was alive. Schneider picked it up and tagged Ethier, who'd started toward first. Welke signaled "out." Baseball 101. End of story.

Except on FOX, where Joe Buck, a career baseball play-by-player who has demonstrated shocking weakness on baseball rules, made a fantasy-filled mess of it.

With a knowing chuckle, Buck stated that Welke had at first got it wrong, then changed his call to make it right. Welke, Buck claimed, "put his hands out to signal foul tip." (No he didn't, that's signaled with a hand-on-hand brushing motion.) But by starting to run to first, Buck continued, Ethier let Welke know that he'd actually swung and missed. That, Buck affirmatively concluded, was why Welke called Ethier out.

Huh?

Tim McCarver, without actually telling Buck that he might have been the only one watching who didn't understand what had just happened, then straightened it out for all of us - a clarification politely designed to get only Buck straightened out. Ethier, McCarver explained, swung and missed but was not out until he was tagged by Schneider.

Buck didn't say another word about it. It was as if he'd never said anything to the contrary in the first place, and that either way, we wouldn't know any better.

I don't know if production people are afraid to tell some of the egos in the booth that they're wrong or announcers just don't want to admit it, but trust me it goes a long way. Part of the reason people can't stand Buck is because of his "I'm better than you attitude". At one point in his career he was great at identifying with the fans, but he lost it somewhere along the way. If you mess up a name or a rule, don't try to blame it on someone else....just say you screwed up. Unless it's something like the batter being out after bunting foul with two strikes, I and everyone else aren't even going to pay attention.

Also, when someone like Tim McCarver has to explain a rule to you it might be time to re-evaluate your knowledge of the game. Just sayin'.

In The Wrong (NY Post)

Our extended break of no Buck and McCarver is over, but to tell you the truth I was kinda starting to miss them. My weekends just weren't the same without McCarver's nonsense and Buck's smugness. Here's the rest of the schedule....

Saturday

Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets- Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal (FOX, 3:55pm, 65%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Fort Myers, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds- Thom Brennaman & Leo Mazzone (FOX, 3:55pm, 22%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Greensboro, Greenville, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond

Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners- Kenny Albert & Eric Karros (FOX, 3:55pm, 12%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle

Sunday

Florida Marlins vs Philadelphia Philies- Chip Caray & Buck Martinez (TBS, 1pm)
LA Dodgers vs New York Mets- Jon Miller & Joe Morgan (ESPN, 8pm)

Old school Baseball heads look immediately to Moneyball as the reason for Baseball becoming run by nerds, but the entire game is going through a nerdy over-haul. Well according to FOX Sports the movement isn't slowing down now....

Earlier this month in San Francisco, Sportvision Inc., the sports-entertainment technology company that helped develop the system, hosted a Pitch f/x "summit." By the end, the stats wonks, engineers and nine team representatives in attendance could barely contain themselves.

Nearly everyone at the conference believed such advancements in measuring fundamentals could finally bring a "why" to the "what" of box scores and stat sheets. The same technology will spread to hitting and fielding, they say, and could be applied to other sports.

"Instead of saying, 'There's a hard smash to third base' we could say, 'That ball was hit 106 mph and the third baseman had a third of a second to react.' " says Peter Jensen, a statistician and summit attendee who has written for the Hardball Times, a baseball analysis site. "That adds some context that's been lacking so far."

Not everyone is infatuated with this technology — a fact that became clear during Pitch f/x's debut on 2006 postseason telecasts on FOX. After its cameras clocked pitches from Detroit's Joel Zumaya at the unheard-of speed of 103 mph, some fans assumed it was broken. Sportvision says the system was measuring the ball's speed at the release point rather than in mid-flight, as radar guns do.

I think more information is a good thing just so long as that a**hole "Slider" "Scooter" isn't passing it on to us. However, there is a point where enough has to be enough. If you want to use it as a scout that's fine, but as a viewer I could care less about reaction times.

Baseball's nerd machine (FOX Sports)

Here's you MLB Announcing Schedule for the weekend and ONCE AGAIN no Buck and McCarver! I'm not sure what's going on, but keep it up FOX. Also, a Curt Menafee sighting.....that's special.

Saturday

Arizona Diamondbacks at Atlanta Braves- Daron Sutton & Mark Grace (FOX, 3:55pm, 48%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Houston, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington

Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox- Curt Menefee & Jose Mota (FOX, 3:55pm, 27%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle

New York Mets at Colorado RockiesDick Stockton, Eric Karros & Ken Rosenthal (FOX, 3:55pm, 24%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Denver, Hartford, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Providence, Salt Lake City, West Palm Beach

Sunday

New York Yankees vs Seattle Mariners- Chip Caray & Ron Darling (TBS, 1pm)
LA Angels vs Chicago White Sox- Jon Miller & Joe Morgan (ESPN, 8pm)

(FOX schedule via HD Sports Guide)

Here's you MLB Announcing Schedule for the weekend and I really have just one question. When did ex-MLBer and Indians announcer Rick Manning begin working for FOX? Also, another weekend without Joe Buck. What did we do to deserve such a gift?

Saturday

Milwaukee Brewers vs Boston Red Sox- Kenny Albert, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal (FOX, 3:55pm, 72%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Los Angeles Angels- Thom Brennaman & Rick Manning (FOX, 3:55pm, 20%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Alburquerque, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle

Cleveland Indians vs Cincinnati Reds- Dick Stockton & Eric Karros (FOX, 3:55pm, 7%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Detroit, Louisville

Sunday

Milwaukee Brewers vs Boston Red Sox- Chip Caray & Ron Darling (TBS, 1pm)
New York Mets vs New York Yankees- Jon Miller & Joe Morgan (ESPN, 8pm)

(FOX schedule via HD Sports Guide)

Here's your MLB announcing schedule for the weekend and it looks to be a good one. Why? No Buck or McCarver! I'm not sure why FOX decided to use a St. Louis play by player and a Brewers analyst for the Cards-Brewers game, but that's who you get if you're in the Midwest. Interesting idea for a day.

Here's the rest of the sched....

Saturday:

New York Yankees at Detroit- Dick Stockton, Eric Karros (FOX, 3:55pm, 54%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Arizona Diamondbacks at Chicago Cubs- Kenny Albert & Mark Grace (FOX, 3:55pm, 37%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Louisville, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco

St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers- Dan McLaughlin & Bill Schroeder (FOX, 3:55pm, 8%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Kansas City, Memphis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Tulsa

Sunday:

NY Yankees at Detroit (TBS, 1pm)- Chip Caray and Ron Darling

Boston at Minnesota (ESPN, 8pm)- Jon Miller and Joe Morgan

This is a weird clip, and it's not because it doesn't have sound. Watch the score up top during this video as it changes from 3-0 to 6-0, lists a homerun, and then goes back. Then watch what happens on the next pitch....

Oooooh woooooo oooooh! Creepy huh? There are a lot of explanations but I'm guessing there was a bit of a delay that FOX was working with, and an over eager worker in the truck through up the homer before he was supposed to.

(Thanks to SA for the vid)

How is this for random. The Boston Globe is reporting that the U.S. Marshals Services in Boston and more specifically head Yvonne Bonner (stop it) is under investigation by the Justice Department for overstepped her authority in assigning deputies as private drivers for FOX's Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

During both home games, on Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, two deputy marshals allegedly watched the Red Sox defeat the Colorado Rockies from the broadcast booth with McCarver and Buck, as well as Joseph Band, a lawyer who works for the US Marshals Service in Washington and occasionally does work for the Fox network, the officials said.

Bonner allegedly instructed the deputy marshals to use their unmarked cruisers to drive Band and the broadcasters to and from the park as a favor to Band, a longtime Justice Department employee, the officials said. Band is also listed as a member of the Washington Redskins' statistics crew.

Investigators are looking into whether the deputy marshals activated their blue lights to cut through traffic as the sellout crowd jammed the streets around the ballpark. The deputy marshals allegedly flashed their badges to gain entrance to the park, according to those familiar with the probe.

Hahahaha. At least Buck and McCarver were cool enough to let them hang around for the game. I'm imagining FOX freaking out because it was taking too long for Buck's hair gel to set, so they decided to get a police escort because he was running late.

Obviously none of this is Buck or McCarver's fault, but this wouldn't happen to anyone else. Too funny.

Marshal faces World Series investigation (Boston Globe)

It's going to be a midwestern-y type of weekend as you will more than likely get a double shot of the Cubs and Cardinals with games on FOX and ESPN. Most of the country will get their first look nationally at the Major League leading Diamondbacks with at least one televised game on TBS Sunday Baseball (also on Saturday FOX regionally). Here are the games.....

Saturday

Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals- Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal- 65% (FOX, Saturday 3:55pm)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Detroit, Greensboro, Greenville, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa

New York Mets vs Arizona Diamondbacks- Kenny Albert & Mark Grace- 22% (FOX, Saturday 3:55pm)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Buffalo, Denver, Fort Myers, Hartford, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, West Palm Beach

Baltimore Orioles at Los Angeles Angels- Dick Stockton & Jose Mota- 12% (FOX, Saturday 3:55pm)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington

Sunday

New York Mets vs Arizona Diamondbacks- Chip Caray & Jim Kaat (TBS, Sunday 1pm)

Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals- Jon Miller & Joe Morgan (ESPN, Sunday 8pm)

Who's ready for two days of Yankees Baseball!?!?! Just about the whole country gets the Yanks-Indians game Saturday on FOX and it's the featured game the next day on TBS. We also get another Tigers game for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, but at least they're scoring runs now.

Here's the schedule.....

Saturday:

New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians (FOX, 3:55pm)- Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal (86%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Denver, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Los Angeles Angels at Detroit Tigers (FOX, 3:55pm)- Thom Brennaman & Jose Mota (9%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Detroit, Los Angeles

Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres (FOX, 3:55pm)- Matt Vasgersian & Mark Grace (4%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Phoenix, San Diego

Sunday:

New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians (TBS, 1pm)- Chip Caray and Buck Martinez

LA Angels at Detroit Tigers (ESPN, 8pm)- Jon Miller & Joe Morgan

(Thanks to MS for the FOX markets)

You know it's bad when a show like Family Guy busts on you and now a Pop Culture site like Best Week Ever takes you on as well. Here is Tim McCarver from this past weekend comparing Philadelphia Phillies coach Charlie Manuel to Civil War Generals....

ICYMI: Tim McCarver is F-ing Insane

I don't even know what to say to that. "Think about how underestimated the Southern Generals were"?!?!?! What in the hell does that even mean? I'm so confused right now and my head hurts.

Tim McCarver Compares Phillies Manager To Confederate Civil War Generals, Deepens Our Understanding Of Baseball (Best Week Ever)

(posted by One More Dying Quail)


Your starting pitchers for today's regional FOX games:

Jake Westbrook (Cleveland) vs. Nick Blackburn (Minnesota)
Chad Billingsley (Los Angeles Dodgers) vs. Chuck James (Atlanta)
Oliver Perez (New York Mets) vs. Jamie Moyer (Philadelphia)

As noted in the previous post, most of the country, about 47%, will have the Dodgers-Braves game. I'm one of the lucky 32% that gets to see Mets-Phillies (presumably - my son has already changed the channel once. Apparently, he really wants to watch the Spanish channel today. On mute) - I wonder if today will be the day Jamie Moyer finally crumbles into dust and blows away on a gentle breeze.

I'll be here and there all afternoon, so add anything good in the comments (from any of the three games) and I'll update when possible.

Mazzone: "(Blackburn) has to stay aggressive. You don't want to pitch prevent defense." - anonymous

Mazzone is absolutely right. You always want to stay with the 4-3 when you have a lead.

I wish I was getting the Mets game. Eric Karros is possibly the blandest color guy I've ever listened to. - Signal to Noise

If Eric Karros is more bland than Leo Mazzone, then that's an accomplishment. - Rick James Bible Owner

Continuing the Chipper Jones love fest in the Cle-Min game for some reason, the topic of ball players having candy bars came up:

Vasgersian: "Did you have any candy bar players besides Aaron?"
Mazzone: "All we had was 'Chicks Dig The Long Ball.'"
Vasgersian: "Chipper should have had a candy bar."
Mazzone: "Chipper's going into the Hall of Fame. He'll take that over a candy bar." - anonymous

I know this is an MLB thread, but Breen, Jackson, and Van Gundy are on fire today with Suns-Spurs.

Van Gundy: "If I'm Popovich, I'd rip Oberto's head off in film study tomorrow for that. You know Shaq hesitates at the line. A lane violation! That's basic preparation!"
Breen: "Rip his head off?"
Van Gundy: "Well, not literally, just in the film room."
Jackson: "I've been there, he would actually do it." - Signal to Noise

The NBA! Where Amazing* Happens!

*The category of "Amazing" has been expanded to include premeditated decapitation.

(posted by One More Dying Quail)

Reader JET emailed today to ask a very important question: Who are the commentators for todays Indians-Twins game on FOX as well as Mets-Phillies and Dodgers-Braves?

Fortunately, HD Sports Guide has the answers:

Game 1: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves (47%)
Commentators: Dick Stockton & Eric Karros
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Greensboro, Greenville, Houston, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Tulsa

Game 2: New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies (32%)
Commentators: Kenny Albert, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal
MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Fort Myers, Hartford, Indianapolis, Miami, Milwaukee, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Game 3: Cleveland Indians vs Minnesota Twins (20%)
Commentators: Matt Vasgersian & Leo Mazzone
MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Detroit, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Seattle

The thing that stands out? No Joe Buck-Tim McCarver magic. Instead, we get Kenny Albert and McCarver, with a dash of Ken Rosenthal.

I had never visited HD Sports Guide before yesterday, but this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Back with the Open Thread in a bit.

(posted by One More Dying Quail)

I'm pretty sure AA didn't do this already, but in order to prepare myself for the coming months, I decided to do a team-by-team breakdown of this season's nationally televised MLB games. As expected, the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox top the list:

Team	TBS	FOX	ESPN	Total
New York Mets	1	10	3	14
New York Yankees	3	9	2	14
Boston Red Sox	2	8	3	13
Los Angeles Angels		9	3	12
Atlanta Braves	1	10	1	12
Detroit Tigers	1	8	2	11
Chicago Cubs	1	8	1	10
Los Angeles Dodgers	1	9		10
Philadelphia Phillies	1	8	1	10
Cleveland Indians	1	8		9
St. Louis Cardinals		8	1	9
Seattle Mariners	1	6		7
Arizona Diamondbacks	1	6		7
Chicago White Sox		4	2	6
San Diego Padres		6		6
Colorado Rockies		4	1	5
Minnesota Twins		4	1	5
Milwaukee Brewers	1	3		4
Cincinnati Reds		3		3
San Francisco Giants		2		2
Toronto Blue Jays	1			1
Washington Nationals			1	1
Baltimore Orioles		1		1
Tampa Bay Rays				0
Houston Astros				0
Kansas City Royals				0
Florida Marlins				0
Texas Rangers				0
Oakland Athletics				0
Pittsburgh Pirates				0

The only station that has released a full schedule thus far is FOX (with the exception of the final two weeks of the season, which are TBD). The last game listed for TBS is May 25; for ESPN, the last known game is July 20 (June 1-July 6 are TBD). FOX's schedule also includes a number of regional games, which accounts for the large number of games.

Seven teams are not currently scheduled to appear on national television at all in 2008. Most are unsurprising, but I have to say that the absence of at least one Tampa Bay game is a bit shocking. The Rays are this year's "It" team, full of youth and vim and vigor, a fact that I thought might have appealed to the television people.

Two notes regarding the weekend:

1) Like last weekend, we'll be throwing up two open threads and seeing if they stick - one on Saturday for FOX (Dodgers vs. Braves, Indians vs. Twins, or Mets vs. Phillies) and one on Sunday night for ESPN (Mets vs. Phillies). Put on your commenting shoes and stop by.

2) My email address is onemoredyingquail@gmail.com. Please do send along any tips, hate mail, or money to that address.