10.04.2005
One Break to Cut
It’s Day One of the playoffs, and the Yankees are out to a 4-0 lead against the Angels in the designated night game on Fox. In the top of the fourth Derek Jeter bats with two outs and the bases empty against Bartolo Colon. He falls behind 0-2, then slowly starts working his way back to a full count, fouling off some tough pitches and giving the announcers plenty of time.
A graphic comes up illustrating Jeter’s postseason success: 38 multi-hit games, reaching base in 99 of 114 total games, and 135 hits, tops all-time. As we come back to the ongoing at-bat Buck says (this may not be verbatim), “It's stats like that and reciting them that leads Ben Affleck, the Red Sox fan, to believe that you and I are in love with Derek Jeter. But we’re just showing you what the guy’s done.”
Fair point. I would counter that the stats their producers chose were arbitrary. Specifically, they favored career-based numbers, which is a lot less interesting when you realize that a guy who plays on eight consecutive playoff teams is going to rack up some counting stats. Just check out this page and scroll down to see all the appearances he's had in postseason. For a glimpse of perspective, the person who held many of these cumulative playoff records prior to Jeter was David Justice, a merely decent player who had the good fortune to play on a long string of consecutive playoff teams.
But Jeter has obviously had some success in the postseason, and anyway I digress. Later in the inning, when Buck gives an uncalled-for sermon on the feats of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb -- we can almost hear Fox executives drooling over the cross-promotion of an NFC star -- McCarver gets even more gratuitous: "I obviously don't know Donovan McNabb, but he appears to be a first-class individual in every way." To which Buck replies, "You would love him. [pause] You wouldn't love him like you love Jeter...." This gets laughs all around.
Setting aside their facade of supposed impartiality, I for one am heartened by their willingness to address the critics. Buck and McCarver may disagree with us, they may even make snide and sarcastic comments to get their point across, but at least we know that it's in their heads, this specter of a Jeter-loving stigma, and they saw fit to respond. That's called a dialogue, ladies and gentlemen, and that's the first step towards that elusive goal we call progress.
I know it may sound like a little thing, but it is most definitely a thing, and sometimes a little thing like the ability to acknowledge criticism is all it takes to separate Buck and McCarver from the likes of The Abominable Joe Morgan. Everyone bashes Buck, McCarver, and the rest of their announcing brethren, but at least one drop of perspective might be in order here.
A graphic comes up illustrating Jeter’s postseason success: 38 multi-hit games, reaching base in 99 of 114 total games, and 135 hits, tops all-time. As we come back to the ongoing at-bat Buck says (this may not be verbatim), “It's stats like that and reciting them that leads Ben Affleck, the Red Sox fan, to believe that you and I are in love with Derek Jeter. But we’re just showing you what the guy’s done.”
Fair point. I would counter that the stats their producers chose were arbitrary. Specifically, they favored career-based numbers, which is a lot less interesting when you realize that a guy who plays on eight consecutive playoff teams is going to rack up some counting stats. Just check out this page and scroll down to see all the appearances he's had in postseason. For a glimpse of perspective, the person who held many of these cumulative playoff records prior to Jeter was David Justice, a merely decent player who had the good fortune to play on a long string of consecutive playoff teams.
But Jeter has obviously had some success in the postseason, and anyway I digress. Later in the inning, when Buck gives an uncalled-for sermon on the feats of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb -- we can almost hear Fox executives drooling over the cross-promotion of an NFC star -- McCarver gets even more gratuitous: "I obviously don't know Donovan McNabb, but he appears to be a first-class individual in every way." To which Buck replies, "You would love him. [pause] You wouldn't love him like you love Jeter...." This gets laughs all around.
Setting aside their facade of supposed impartiality, I for one am heartened by their willingness to address the critics. Buck and McCarver may disagree with us, they may even make snide and sarcastic comments to get their point across, but at least we know that it's in their heads, this specter of a Jeter-loving stigma, and they saw fit to respond. That's called a dialogue, ladies and gentlemen, and that's the first step towards that elusive goal we call progress.
I know it may sound like a little thing, but it is most definitely a thing, and sometimes a little thing like the ability to acknowledge criticism is all it takes to separate Buck and McCarver from the likes of The Abominable Joe Morgan. Everyone bashes Buck, McCarver, and the rest of their announcing brethren, but at least one drop of perspective might be in order here.
