ON THE DL

A Derby Snoozer That Needs Fixing, Matt Sebek Talks Pujols & St. Louis And Pat Buchanan is Crazy Like a Fox

Derby aftermath. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

We talked yesterday about how much we loved the Derby. Well, we were wrong. It was a terribly boring three hours of television. On the show today we discuss some of the ways to make the Derby more entertaining. They include:

• Limiting batters to just five outs, not ten per round

• Not allowing players to take so many pitches

•Limiting the total number of pitches a player can face (10 outs, but only 20 pitches)

• Giving different point totals for different areas of the stadium

•Giving the players steroids (we kid)

We also talk about the terrible mistake by MLB to virtually pre-empt their own event to run a sponsored contest where a fan could win a car. It was a terrible idea that was terribly executed and set the tone for a terrible night.

We discuss ESPN’s telecast and the anger and hatred thrown at Chris Berman on Twitter during the event. And we wonder if Joe Morgan has ever said anything that you can’t find by doing a simple Google search. To be fair, some of his old stories are fantastic, but when Morgan talks about any of the current players, he’s basically just reading off the stat

sheet or stating the obvious (The guy who wins this is going to have to hit the most home runs). It confounds us how he hasn’t gotten any better, and how ESPN still puts him in such high-profile settings.

Another ESPN thing that confounds us...Ball Track. The worst idea in the history of televised sports technology? It just might be. ESPN should have abandoned the idea midway through the event when it was evident the tracker wasn’t doing what they intended it to do. The squiggly lines looked like a seven-year old was tracing the ball with a telestrator. And when the ball went high enough to have the camera angle blocked by the overhanging upper deck, the system went haywire, thinking balls were home runs when they weren’t even close.

As I said on Twitter last night (and many others did as well), the glowing hockey puck mocks you ESPN, for thinking that was a good idea.

More Baseball:

Our friend Matt Sebek from Joe Sports Fan joins the show to talk about his hometown -- St. Louis. We give Sebek a chance to plug the city and tell us what people who are visiting the Gateway to the West are in store for this All-Star week.

We also talk about Albert Pujols and wonder if he’s possibly still under-rated with all the adulation thrown his way this year. Pujols seems to deserve it, and Sebek and I discuss what he means to that city, and this week, the game of baseball.

We also talk about St. Louis as a sports town. People know how great a baseball town it is, but I wonder how Sebek feels about a town that seems bandwagon at best for the football and hockey squads.

And yes, Matt gets ample time to plug the goings on at JSF. Check out their coverage this week.

Political Safari:

If you thought the Home Run Derby was boring, try watching a Supreme Court Judge Confirmation Hearing. ZZZZZZZZZ. Nick wanted to talk about Pat Buchanan and how he suggested that Todd Palin take Levi Johnston, the ex-fiance of Palin’s daughter, down to the creek and drown him.

Yes, twice yesterday Pat Buchanan suggested the husband of Sarah Palin kill their daughter’s ex for saying negative things about Palin in the news. And

he gave specific details as to how he wants the murder committed.

Crazy like a fox.

We also talk about Palin as an op-ed writer for the Washington Post (we’re colleagues!) and how I wrote something for the post today actually defending Michael Vick and calling some of the people involved in PETA “crazy.”

Hopefully tonight’s game will be more exciting than the Derby.