ESPN Coverage (2012)

[JMW IV]

Were we on ESPN yesterday, or are we on tonight?

Wanna know if i missed it. I dont get to see the Nats on TV often. Only when they play the pirates or reds.

[Smithian]

Tonight and Sunday

[Kevrock]

Front page of ESPN fantasy.

[wpa2629]

....

I do think sustaining a .280 batting average while being on pace for 26 walks and 139 strikeouts is next to impossible, so keep those expectations more in check. But I also thought that last season with Desmond's teammate , who managed to hit .303 and smack 31 home runs despite 36 walks and 126 strikeouts. Morse's numbers were not only historically unprecedented, but they come pretty close to matching Desmond's pace. Maybe it's a Nationals thing. Still, Desmond entered 2012 as a .262 hitter. I'm not expecting him to top that, but he doesn't need to if he keeps hitting for power. Hardy hit .269 with 30 home runs last year, and a terrible walk-strikeout rate. Desmond sure looks like the NL version of Hardy, but with stolen bases.



LOL

Love it

[geneticlyperfct]

Gotta be a first for DC sports especially the Nats: SportsCenter breakdown

MOST-COVERED TEAMS BY SPORT
Boston Celtics (NBA): 30 minutes (9.2%)
New York Rangers (NHL): 21 (6.4%)
Washington Nationals (MLB): 15.5 (4.8%)
New Orleans Saints (NFL): 3.5 (1.1%)

http://deadspin.com/5912321/bristolmetrics-stephen-a-smith-is-slowly-retaking-espn

[HalfSmokes]

Gotta be a first for DC sports especially the Nats: SportsCenter breakdown

MOST-COVERED TEAMS BY SPORT
Boston Celtics (NBA): 30 minutes (9.2%)
New York Rangers (NHL): 21 (6.4%)
Washington Nationals (MLB): 15.5 (4.8%)
New Orleans Saints (NFL): 3.5 (1.1%)

http://deadspin.com/5912321/bristolmetrics-stephen-a-smith-is-slowly-retaking-espn

we beat bounty-gate and the playoffs?

[sportsfan882]

The Nationals are on ESPN2 on Wednesday night. They’re on ESPN Sunday night. Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg ensure that they’re a regular topic on ESPN radio. And being in first place ensures that they’re discussed at length during the highlight shows.

All of which led to the above moment from Baseball Tonight this week, which several readers referred me to.

“We’re all Nats all the time,” John Kruk noted in the segment, seen above, thanks to ESPN’s PR folks.

“We are the Nat Network right now,” Karl Ravech agreed.

“We should be. They’re very good,” Mark Mulder said.

“N stands for Nats,” Ravech concluded.

These are things that have never before been said about the Nationals.

[Skinz72]

Comments here that ESPN sucks.  I don't like all their coverage all the time, but they do have the best on the business working for them.  The people have to have the following skills: extreme sports knowledge, good journalism/reporting skills, TV friendly, chatty, personable/personality, attractive or "unique" (ala Kruk).  nearly all the other sports networks have mirrored the ESPN model, in fact I would offer that no sports network doesn't have an ESPN vet on their crew. 

My question is.... what "in-the-wide-wide-world-of-sports" would the anti-ESPN look like?  With so many current and former ESPN people in the industry, it would hard to avoid.

[HalfSmokes]

Comments here that ESPN sucks.  I don't like all their coverage all the time, but they do have the best on the business working for them.  The people have to have the following skills: extreme sports knowledge, good journalism/reporting skills, TV friendly, chatty, personable/personality, attractive or "unique" (ala Kruk).  nearly all the other sports networks have mirrored the ESPN model, in fact I would offer that no sports network doesn't have an ESPN vet on their crew. 

My question is.... what "in-the-wide-wide-world-of-sports" would the anti-ESPN look like?  With so many current and former ESPN people in the industry, it would hard to avoid.

their 'journalism' is far from the best- they have topics that are off limits because of their business associations and they more often than not parrot whatever league's talking points, as far as knowledge goes, get back to me when they have commentators that understand advanced metrics and are comfortable using them

[sportsfan882]

Do we really have to play at 1 PM Monday in Miami after playing an 8 PM game on ESPN the night before? crappy

[spidernat]

It's a flight of less than 2 hours. Stop being a hoe.

[hammondsnats]

Do we really have to play at 1 PM Monday in Miami after playing an 8 PM game on ESPN the night before? crappy

haha you're in the mood for making excuses today.

first it's national TV and now it's schedule. 

[mach1ne]

It's a flight of less than 2 hours. Stop being a hoe.

I was expecting you to say the Lerners saved money on the flight by making it a day game.

[Lintyfresh85]

That goes without saying.

[RyanZimsKazoo]

PTI was talking about Harper/Hamels today. They don't think Hamels will hit Harper again tonight, but Tony believes he might go real inside on him.

[HalfSmokes]

If they hit him again after the first pointless shot, I want Davey to empty the bullpen getting guys ejected bouncing balls off of their batter's heads

[spit]

If they hit him again after the first pointless shot, I want Davey to empty the bullpen getting guys ejected bouncing balls off of their batter's heads

this

[spidernat]

I was expecting you to say the Lerners saved money on the flight by making it a day game.

 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Re: ESPN Coverage (2012)
« Reply #384: Yesterday at 04:03:23 PM »Quote Do we really have to play at 1 PM Monday in Miami after playing an 8 PM game on ESPN the night before? crappy

You whiny little . . .  Red Sox have been having to do this for years, and they get no sympathy when they whine about all the Sunday ESPN broadcasts before travel.  Heck, last year they had to go to the west coast a couple of times after national night games.  Get used to it.  Folks in KC will start calling the Nats the next evil empire soon.

[HerndonNat]

but they do have the best on the business working for them

Except for you know...John Kruk.

[PC]

From Jayson Stark:

• Another reason to be on the lookout for rumors connecting the Nationals to any and all potentially available center fielders is that the Bryce Harper center-field experiment hasn't gone so well. Harper has started fewer games in center (six) than he's started at either of the other two outfield spots. And one scout who spoke with the Nationals brass says the club has already concluded that Harper isn't going to be The Answer in center -- "even short-term."

 Based on what, six games?   And why the hell would "Nationals brass" be saying something like this to some scout outside the organization??? 

[Squab]

From Jayson Stark:

 Based on what, six games?   And why the hell would "Nationals brass" be saying something like this to some scout outside the organization??? 

I think this is pure

[Nathan]

Except for you know...John Kruk.

This reminded me of the episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force with John Kruk

[PC]

From Buster Olney:

Trout has potential to be MLB's best

There is a longtime evaluator who has gotten a chance to see Mike Trout in person a handful of times since the Angels recalled the outfielder to the big leagues this season.

The evaluator is not prone to hyperbole or overstatement, and he isn't someone who rushes to judgment.

His feelings about Trout's ability are strong. "If he's not the best player in the game by the end of this season," said the evaluator, "he will be by the end of next season."

On the day that Trout was summoned to the big leagues, the Angels were 6-14. Since then, they are 16-11, and Trout has thrived, at age 20. "He excels at everything he does," said the evaluator.

Trout has 11 extra-base hits in his first 25 games and a .500 slugging percentage. He's averaged 4.28 pitches per plate appearance; the only member of the Angels with more, the evaluator noted, is Albert Pujols, who has a decade more in the big leagues. He has six stolen bases. "He may be the fastest player in the game," said the evaluator. "There isn't anything on a baseball field that he doesn't do well. He's special."

Jerry Dipoto, the Angels' first-year general manager, has been greatly impressed by what he's seen from Trout's at-bats -- but also in his response to when he doesn't get a hit. "I think he's been remarkably good," Dipoto said. "For a 20-year-old, he just doesn't let a bad at-bat carry over. He doesn't let it pile up. ... I can't recall anyone at that age who has that ability.

"He's one of the reasons" the Angels have turned it around, Dipoto said. "He's created some stability at the top of the lineup."

Trout's mindset is that a perfect at-bat, Dipoto said, is an at-bat when he's scored a run. He's got 17 so far.

In 73 days, Trout will celebrate his 21st birthday.

Trout went 0-for-5 on Friday, but the Angels rallied to win; Pujols blasted another homer, as Mike DiGiovanna writes.

Trout could hit anywhere in the top five spots in the Angels' lineup, says Mike Scioscia.

[PC]

The evaluator is not prone to hyperbole or overstatement, and he isn't someone who rushes to judgment.

I'm not prone to hyperbole or overstatement either but...

MIKE TROUT IS UNFIT TO CARRY BRYCE HARPER'S SWEATY TEENAGE JOCK!