Reasons why Baseball is BETTER without ESPN

I've ranted several times over the past couple of years about my continuing lack of willingness to subject myself to professional insult by watching MLB on ESPN anymore.

I've tweeted my Coonditional Boycott of MLB on ESPN a few times this season, and realized that I never formally announced it on this blog, so I'm doing so now.

As of the close of Opening Month, I am NOT watching baseball on ESPN anymore. There you go.

OK, I already goofed and watched Rangers @ Twins a week or so ago, but for the most part I will *NOT* go there, period.

I don't need to list the reasons why, but here are a few of them:

• MLB Network has proved, since day one, that "everybody else" (especially ESPN) is completely out of touch with today's game - I don't need to present the evidence, but watch "MLB Tonight" and then "Baseball Tonight" and anybody can tell the difference.


• ESPN analysts are screwy, period...starting with Joe Morgan, fill in the rest of the names, and end with Joe Morgan. He's so screwy he counts TWICE for this exercise.


• As Baseball Enthusiasts, we should be concerned with a 'general sporing guild' that considers other sports (such as SOCCER) as equally important to baseball. Now that 'specialists' are here (MLB Network), then to heck with the rest of the bozos that treat NCAA Lacrosse the same as Major League Baseball. How can you enjoy Mexican food from McDonald's?!?


• MLB Gameday/At Bat and/or MLB.TV allows us to not have to say "YES" to crappy ESPN broadcasts; we can watch/listen/ENJOY the games we choose to and not be stuck with ESPN's 'preferred matchups' on particular days of the week.

So, since I have begun to willfully not consider ESPN broadcasts, here is what I have noted:

• Even better than 'turning the sound down,' baseball games on the radio are GREAT. Renew your admiration for your local broadcast team by hearing the game from their perspective and visualizing the action from their calls. With At Bat you can even see highlights.


• Watch or listen anytime without clogging up the DVR. Everything gets archived, no matter what you have going on you can still enjoy any game end-to-end, anywhere you can place your PC.


• When MLB Network does a simulcast, you get the local TV broadcast team for one of the teams *or* the fantastic MLB Network analysts...either way, light years ahead of the ESPN superdorks.


• ESPN's 'network crush' with the Yankees is no longer a part of my life.


• I am not missing the 'tiny' revised ESPN info box, give me the band at the top back...or better yet, why bother, I'm done with you ESPN!!


• Baseball is way better without dorks like this:

The guy on the right, OK, he's history. The guy in the middle, hey...give it up. The guy on the left, kiss my butt. He really threw his pencil into his mouth the other night; I was NOT watching but I heard he named Carlos Marmol the 'player of the game' instead of Ted Lilly (no-no going into 8 plus against the White Sox on 6/13/10). Joe Morgan, you are so darn worthless. I hoped that with his new job in the front office of the Reds, he would vanish from this venue but he hasn't and he's as much of a moron now than he has ever been.

Number One Reason Baseball is BETTER without ESPN, I have a choice and I don't have to choose an idiot like Joe Morgan to call games I watch. Turning down the sound and turning on the radio isn't good enough, just seeing his blank stare bereft of reason and abundant with egomania is not a good reason any of us should subject ourselves to this abuse.

/rant over!