I recently decided to add the "Sports Entertainment Package" to my cable subscription plan from Comcast on a six-month trial basis. Aside from a three-day cable "outage" I experienced last week, I feel like it's been a pretty good investment.
I'm really glad that I get the MLB Network now. Unlike ESPN, the analysts on MLB Network actually spend time on their highlight shows talking about teams other than the Yankees and Red Sox. I feel like I'm getting a broader view of what is going on around the league. Whenever I tune into Baseball Tonight, it seems like they are trying to figure out what's wrong with the Red Sox and what's wrong with "Little Papi."
(Editor's Note: "Big Papi" is no longer a fitting nickname for David Ortiz, because he's batting .146).
MLB Network is starting out the year with a promotion called "30 clubs in 30 days." At some point in April, every team in the league has had or will have a game featured on the network. Today before work, I watched a good chunk of a matinee between the Royals and the Blue Jays. It was a nice pitching matchup between KC's Zack Greinke and Toronto's Shaun Marcum. The Royals won 4-3 in 10 innings on a solo home run by Alex Gordon (pictured).
Tomorrow afternoon, MLB Network will be featuring a game between the Twins and the Indians. I'll probably watch some of that before I come to work. ESPN may find this hard to believe, but as a White Sox fan, I would rather watch the Twins and Indians than their beloved Yankees and Red Sox. In fact, I enjoyed watching the Royals and Blue Jays today.
Would ESPN even think to televise such games? I figure not. This summer, I think I'll be watching MLB Network instead of ESPN for my national baseball coverage.
Since we are talking about the Twins and Indians, I want to ask Jason and ChisoxGirl a question. How in the world did the White Sox go out and lose to a minor-league team?
This is a serious question that I was thinking about while I was watching the Twins game last night (yes, ChisoxGirl, I watched seven innings of the game at work last night, and I will watch this afternoon before I go to work and then watch the Hawks/Predators tonight).
The Indians look like a team that is a mess. That team can't hit, field or pitch. They play hard to their credit, but they're not that good. I figure the White Sox should be good enough to beat the Indians at least. That to me is a mystery.
Yes, the sports entertainment package is a great investment. I rather watch all the highlights on the league networks than say ESPN. The NFL Network, MLB Network, NBATV and the NHL Network do a commendable job with their respective coverage. You won't be disappointed.
The MLB Network has been great all around, and it's getting better every year. It's a must for a baseball fan.
Since we are talking about the Twins and Indians, I want to ask Jason and ChisoxGirl a question. How in the world did the White Sox go out and lose to a minor-league team in the Indians?
This is a serious question that I was thinking about while I was watching the Twins game last night (yes, ChisoxGirl, I watched seven innings of the game at work last night, and I will watch this afternoon before I go to work and then watch the Hawks/Predators tonight).
The Indians look like a team that is a mess. That team can't hit, field or pitch. They play hard to their credit, but they're not that good. I figure the White Sox should be good enough to beat the Indians at least. That to me is a mystery.
Yes, the sports entertainment package is a great investment. I rather watch all the highlights on the league networks than say ESPN. The NFL Network, MLB Network, NBATV and the NHL Network do a commendable job with their respective coverage. You won't be disappointed.
The MLB Network has been great all around, and it's getting better every year. It's a must for a baseball fan.
I would say the Indians won because they scored more runs than the White Sox did.
I'm going to have to agree with Jason on this one, Timberwolf.
The White Sox lost because they are mislead.
Looking at the WSI threads, it sounds like everyone is not happy with Ozzie, Kenny, and anyone really.
I am surprised Greg Walker is still the hitting coach. I don't think it's his fault, but when you see three years of lousy hitting, someone has to be held accountable whether it's fair ot not.
Walker should be fired. Fedex227 said it best. When its been the same problems since 2007, and its been about a 90% roster turnover since then and its the same problem. What variable is still there? The answer is Greg Walker.
whitesox901:
That's true -- since 2007 the entire roster has turned over except for Konerko and Pierzynski. All the players that have been brought in have the same "issues" that we saw from players who have since moved on. The situational hitting is abysmal. They can't get a man in from third base with less than two out. They are all suckers for sliders down and away. They can't hit anybody who has a halfway decent changeup. They never adjust and hit to the opposite field. They can't hit in cold weather. They can't hit in domes. They can't hit against pitchers they haven't faced before. They absolutely blow with RISP. They all slump at the same time, and the slumps continue for months, not weeks.
The mental approach to hitting has been broken in the Sox clubhouse for a long, long time. The players all have long faces. They mope around the field. There is no joy at all. It is still a game, ya know? You'd never know it watching these guys.
Might be time for some changes.
Its a shame really. I was reading the post game thread over at WSI. If what Frank said is true and the players don't think they're any good and they've given up, then there is a serious issues that need to be addressed. The Sox need a guy in the club house to insert some excitement, live and positivity, a Nick Swisher type if you will. Even if it just some guy that is going to be on the bench most of the time.
Ehh ... I don't like Swisher. He did as much moping as anybody as a member of the White Sox, because he had the worst year of his career in Chicago. He was so bad that Ozzie benched him in favor of Dewayne Wise for the playoffs and nobody complained about it.
I'm not sure what the answer is, but I do know that Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen are paid a lot of money to find some solutions. If they don't, it's on them.