SF Giants beat writer blasts ESPN coverage

Giants beat writer Henry Schulman notes in a blog entry that ESPN basically clowned Giants catcher Bengie Molina in a game against the Marlins last week, showing slow-motion highlights of him trudging around third, trying (and failing, of course) to score from third on a ball that bounced off the tarp and into left field (he was going to third on a bunt or infield grounder).
Schulman's beef with ESPN's Boston/NY-centric coverage is probably legit, although I think he goes a bit too far saying they should show more respect for Molina. He's entitled to his opinion, but although I didn't see the clip, Schulman's description sounds hilarious, and not really mean-spirited.
My problem with the post is the implication that ESPN's partnership with MLB in some way obligates ESPN to cover stuff like this differently than if they weren't business partners. The way I see it, you're either independent, or you're not.


ESPN's inexcusable disrespect of Molina

I took a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to New York this morning, so I got to watch ESPN's morning "SportsCenter" at 10 o'clock. "SportsCenter" used to be a must-watch but now is more of a self-parody, with its New York/Boston view of the world and star idolatry (Favre, LeBron, Terrell, etc...). But I watch it because part of my job is staying informed.

Frankly, it's getting harder for me to understand why anybody in the Bay Area ever would watch an episode of "SportsCenter" anymore. Anyone watching this morning probably retched.

When the Giants finished their sweep of Florida on Thursday night, they achieved the best record in the National League at 17-10. It took ESPN 40 minutes to show the Giants' highlight, and here is what it consisted of:

A mocking, slow-motion video of Bengie Molina, set to the "Chariots of Fire" theme, showing him try and fail to score on a throw by pitcher Ricky Nolasco that sailed over third base.

You, as a Giants fan, have a right to think what you will of Molina's speed, and maybe you threw your hands up in frustration when he couldn't score on a play that results in a run 99.5 percent of the time. That said, for a network that considers itself the worldwide leader, that is a partner of Major League Baseball, such a showing was inexcusable.

The media don't have to like certain players. They can criticize players, but to show that kind of disrespect to a player such as Molina, who has been a Major League catcher for more than 12 seasons, who owns a World Series ring, who shepherds what might be the best starting rotation in baseball, is beyond belief.

Next time I'm on JetBlue, I'll just watch the Cartoon Network.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/detail?blogid=22&entry_id=63076#ixzz0nlcJjH98






http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/detail?blogid=22&entry_id=63076

 

That reads very much like a message board posting from #1GiantsFanboi. Kind of embarrassing. And I'm with you, the clip sounds funny.

God forbid they not show proper reverence for the night the Giants "achieved the best record in the National League at 17-10."

 

Can;t say I disagree with his analysis of ESPN's view of the world...

 

ESPN tends to do this way too much when doing game highlights. I don't want to see stupid crap surrounding a game, like a one minue of a squirrel running on a warning track, or something like that. I want to see what actually happened in the game to make the final score what it was.

 

Thats weird. Last newspaper I worked at, we received that exact same letter from a parent mad about his kid's middle school team coverage.

 

Saw the clip.
It was teh funny.

Molina's a paid pro. Well-paid, I'd add. I think he'll be OK with a few folks sharing a chuckle at his expense.

 

Yeah, it does read a little fanboy-ish.

Exhibit A for the idea that when you don't really have anything newsworthy/compelling to say, don't blog.

 

Inexcusable? Puh-leeze.

 

Uh, Molina was once challenged to a race by a humor columnist, whose build was significantly worse than Molina's.

http://fromthedugout.freedomblogging.com/2009/06/15/welcome-back-plodder/26719/

 

That's what I was thinking. Very JV.

 

Say what you want about the tone of his post, but Schulman is right about ESPN. That's why when it comes to baseball season, I watch MLB Network, which shows highlights of all the teams, not just the Yankees and Red Sox.

 

"SportsCenter" used to be a must-watch but now is more of a self-parody, with its New York/Boston view of the world and star idolatry (Favre, LeBron, Terrell, etc...)."

None of those three play in New York or Boston. Just sayin'.