FIRE JOE MORGAN: JoeChat, Sports Emmy Edition

FIRE JOE MORGAN

Where Bad Sports Journalism Came To Die

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Tuesday, May 02, 2006

 

JoeChat, Sports Emmy Edition

Joe Morgan: Sorry for the delay, I'm traveling back form the Sports Emmy Awards and I've got about about 15 minutes so let's roll!

Ken Tremendous: I sure hope you didn’t win another Sports Emmy, Joe. Because that would be ridiculous. I am going to go ahead and assume you did not win another Sports Emmy. I am going to put my faith in the logic and reason of the Sports Emmy voters, and pray that you did not win another Sports Emmy. What’s that? You totally won another Sports Emmy? Fantastic. Great work, everyone.

Scott: (Boston, MA): How long will the Red Sox let Clement and DiNardo lose games until they consider putting Papelbon in a starting role, or would they bring up someone from AAA to start before moving Papelbon?

Joe Morgan: I always said that a good starter is better than a good closer. He'll give you more innings and production and you need to get the the closer with the lead, anyway. I would get him in the rotation.


KT: A good player who plays 225 innings is better than a good player who plays 75 innings. Congratulations on your Sports Emmy. Also, Papelbon has like a .5 WHIP and zero runs in 15 IP, and is 10-10 in saves…and since the Sox’ starting pitching has been pretty good, the Sox would be crazy to start Papelbon right now, I think. Next year, maybe, but right now? If it ain’t broke…

Hogcard (St. Louis, Mo.): Joe: Being that Albert Pujols is now entering into his prime, how do you think he compares with some of the other greats (Mays, Musial, Gwynn...) at the same stage of their careers?

Joe Morgan: It's hard to compare eras because of differences in pitching, parks and balls.


KT: Ah, but that’s where you are wrong, Multiple-Sports-Emmy-Winning-Analyst Joe Morgan!!! There are machine-generated statistics that do just that!!! Aren’t machines amazing?

But I see the best hitter in the game when I look at Pujols in terms of average –

He’s second to Helton. A computer told me that!

--power –-

Just for fun, I’m going to assume you mean Adjusted OPS+, even though you don’t. He’s second, behind Bonds.

-- run production.

RsBI? A stupid stat. I refuse to give you the active leaders.

But numbers are easier to come by today.

Yes, but OPS+ is adjusted for that, dummy.

I won my second MVP with 110 RBI and that wouldn't be top-10 today.

Oh, did you win two MVPs? I have never ever ever heard you mention that ever in history ever.

Steve Dallas, TX: Joe, with the Rangers 6-run 7th inning on Sunday in front of you and Jon, will they be able to be around for September and possibly October?

Joe Morgan: I can only go by what Showalter told me, and that is that if they get everyone healthy they will have a good team. He thinks they can hang in and that some -- including myself -- overrated the A's in the West. It seems Oakland might not be the best and Texas should hang in if they stay healthy.


KT: Why in holy hell would you base a prediction for a team on what the manager says, instead of what you see with your own eyes (plus what a computer might tell you)? The guy even points out that you called the freaking game the other night, Joe. This is a low point even for you. Seriously. “I can only go by what Showalter told me?”

1999 Ken Tremendous: Hey Joe, should I buy Qwest stock?

1999 Joe Morgan: Well, I can only go by what Joe Nacchio tells me, and he says everything is awesome.

1999 Ken Tremendous: But the stock is plummeting, and these charts show some serious accounting issues.

1999 Joe Morgan: Well, Joe Nacchio has run the company for a long time, and he seems to think we may have overrated GE.

1999 Ken Tremendous: You’re fired as my financial advisor.

1999 Joe Morgan: Fair enough.

Brian (Indy): HEY JOE! Are you suprised with the REDS start, and do you think they can keep it up?

Joe Morgan: I am surprised because of the Griffey injuries. If he had been in there it would be different.


KT: What does that mean? When? Now? What?

Arroyo is 5-0 but won't go 20-0, but if they get Griffey back and stay healthy they'll stay in the race, but I still think St. Louis is the class of the division.

KT: That’s like five "buts" in one sentence. Also, why do you think Griffey is the key to this team? This team has so many people who are more important than Ken Griffey. You are living in 1995, and it’s not charming.

David (Grand Rapids, MI): Can the Tigers keep up the hot streak all season long and make a run either at the wild card or central divison title.

Joe Morgan: I've only seen highlights so far.


KT: That makes sense. The Tigers are the biggest story in baseball right now, along with the Reds, so it makes sense that an Emmy-Award-Winning-ESPN-Flagship-A-Team Analyst would not have watched even one of their games.

They have some good players but I'm still surprised because I thought it would take Jim Leyland a little longer to settle in and start to turn things around. But they are defnitely better than I thought they would be.

KT: Yes. Their success is definitely due to Jim Leyland settling in. Not their four great young pitchers or HR onslaught. It’s Jim Leyland “settling in.”

Ryan (Fargo): Joe, what's going on with the Twins pitching staff? I keep waiting for them to turn it around, but that last series in Detroit was embarrassing. Not that I'm asking for it, but can you see a shakeup in the dugout (manager or otherwise) anytime soon? Thanks!

Joe Morgan: If they keep playing like they did in Detroit there will have to be some shakeups. They've played well at times and are not a bad club so there must be something wrong there. I just haven't seen them enough to put my finger on it yet.


KT: Twice in two questions, Emmy Award Winning Sports Analyst begs off a question about baseball because he has not watched enough baseball.

Joe Morgan: I'm sorry to have to cut things short, but travel difficulties have moved my schedule around. Thanks for the questions and I look forward to spending a lot more time with you all next week!

KT: Thanks, Joe. Congrats on your Emmy! I love that no one took his heavily-dropped hint from his intro and asked him whether he won a Sports Emmy.

(By the way, he won another Sports Emmy.)

Labels: ,


posted by Anonymous  # 6:44 PM
Comments:
I edited the post to change Papelbon's save total from 11-11 to the correct 10-10, after some monsters FJM has created e-mailed me within seconds of posting the incorrect total to rub my nose in the error w/r/t the title of my last post about Rick Sutcliffe. God bless you all.
 
I have now further edited the post to change the word "contradictions" to the word "buts," after one particularly feisty reader laid into me about that (admittedly sloppy writing on my part) and my statement that Ken Griffey Jr. was not the key to the 2006 Reds. Which I stand by. Reasonable people can disagree, especially when said feisty reader busts out Griffey's 2005 team-leading VORP and his 2006 BP projections as examples of his value. (A worthy adversary, this one. But I stand by the comments.)
 
In the interest of illustrating that not all FJM editors agree on everything, I just want to say that I'm actually siding with JM on the Papelbon issue. I think he should start and Foulke should be closing.

"If it ain't broke"? Really Ken? I hate to say it, but that sounds more Morgan than Tremendous.

I also think that of all Morgan's foibles, the fact that he lives in 1995 is his most charming.

So, agree to disagree, I guess.
 
Again, I do think reasonable people can disagree on that. Obviously, Joe has a point when he says that a good pitcher should pitch as many innings as possible. And long-term, I am definitely in favor of Papelbon starting, especially in light of other closer options in the minors (Hansen esp., though there is talk of him starting as well). However. Given what this team went through with Foulke last year, and given that Clement's early-season stats are marred by one bad inning and one other bad start, and given that healthy Schilling/Beckett/Wake/Clement is way better than anything they had last year when they won 95 games, and given that Papelbon is throwing so well in the relief ace role...right now I think he may be best served as the closer. It's really a win-win for them, since he did well as a starter in limited IP last year.

Anyway. I think sometimes, and I know I'll get slammed for this, there can be value in the "ain't broke" philosophy. Assuming what ain't broke is something that is adding tangible value to the team's performance, like Papelbon being lights-out, and not something that simply gives the illusion of helping a team but actually hurts it, like having Podsednik lead off for the ChiSox.

(Because in that scenario, your team will be screwed to the tune of a World Series championship. But you know what I mean.)
 
Damn it all to hell, I had to edit this post again. I wrote that Pujols was second to Ichiro in BA among actives, even though I linked the damn page and he's actually second to Helton.

Say...What if I told you all that these errors on my part were actually intentional, and were meant as a...fact-checking exercise for our readership? And that you all did very well in pointing them out to me? So...congratulations!
 
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