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A great article by Joe Poz dissecting what's so horrible about Tim McCarver (and most sports-casters in general nowadays) that should be required reading. I'll entice you with a snippet -
...all postseason I've been hearing Michael Young hosannas. Great player. Classy player. Fantastic player. Leader. Role model. Hero. Even this would be OK if Michael Young was having a great postseason. But at last check he was hitting .207 in the postseason. I don't get it.
Meanwhile, there actually IS an underrated guy on the Texas team that the announcers could be celebrating - Ian Kinsler. He has been an excellent defensive second baseman, and over his career he gets on base more than Young, he hits with more power than Young, he's a much better base-stealer than Young, he's a better base runner than Young. Kinsler too takes big advantage of his home ballpark, but he's a better player than Michael Young and, as is the case for truly underrated players, nobody in the television booth seems to know it.
The reason for this, I regret to admit, is batting average. Michael Young has a career .300 average, Kinsler is way down there at .275. And that is that...
- Lance Berkman called Albert Pujols a better hitter than Babe Ruth. C'mon, Lance, you're a smart guy, right?
- Not surprising but good to know: the Yankees scouted NPB (Nippon Pro Baseball), and specifically Yu Darvish, all season long.
- Seedlings to Stars profiled Yankee prospect and "Killer B" Andrew Brackman.
- Check out a neat new Sports Dictionary of New York.