On any given afternoon or evening of ESPN’s baseball coverage, there’s a 95% chance the Worldwide Leader is showing and/or chatting about the Yankees or Red Sox or Mets (and for comedic effect, the Cubs), with the other 5% possibly devoted to MLB’s 26 other clubs - unless there’s breaking footage of A-Rod using a Soloflex during his rehab.
And you baseball viewers out there are undoubtedly thinking, “Yeah, tell us something we don’t know”. Well, now you have company in complaining about ESPN’s over-saturation of all things Yanks, Sawx & Mets - San Diego Padres pitcher Heath Bell.
RUMORS AND RANTS caught a blurb in the SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE about Bell bemoaning the fact that ESPN doesn’t seem to realize there are other MLB teams besides the ones in New York and Boston:
“I saw John Kruk on ‘Baseball Tonight,’ and he said, ‘They’re playing real well, but I don’t believe in them,’ ” Bell said before Monday’s game. “And I saw ESPN’s promo for tonight’s game. They mention the Mets are opening Citi Field, they mentioned the starting time, but nowhere did they mention the Padres. That gave me the (expletive).”
(I wonder what expletive the U-T is trying to hide. Willies? Creeps? Runs?)
“I truly believe ESPN only cares about promoting the Red Sox and Yankees and Mets – and nobody else.”
And Heath would know - he used to play for the Mets. So are baseball viewers doomed to an existence of Bristol-based bombastity? Luckily, Bell knows there’s a better option:
“That’s why I like the MLB Network, because they promote everybody. I’m really turned off by ESPN and ‘Baseball Tonight.’ When Jake Peavy threw 8 1/3 innings on Saturday, they showed one pitch in the third inning and that was it. It’s all about the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets.”
Well, there’s only one way to solve Peavy’s problem - trade him to the Red Sox, Yankees or Mets. And he’ll get all the exposure he needs.
12:20 pm on April 14th, 2009
This guy is a douche….did he not notice that he is playing on ESPN…in primetime….twice in 3 days? I saw this and was like WHY DO WE NEED ANOTHER PADS/METS GAME?…then I was like…I wonder what the Red Sox and Yanks ate for breakfast.
12:46 pm on April 14th, 2009
I think he makes a pretty good point
1:13 pm on April 14th, 2009
The sny guys were killing this fatboy on air last night.
1:19 pm on April 14th, 2009
Only reason he was on espn is because he was facing mets you idiot. You will rarely see anyone besides mets, periodsox, or yanks on national tv. Just like like night after the mets lost to the padres on opening day, Erin Andrews interviews David wright before anyone else? Why he lost!!
2:49 pm on April 14th, 2009
God Bless you Heath Bell!
And everyone knows that the "great rivarly" between da Shax and the Yanks was started by ESPN. Simple.
10:49 pm on April 14th, 2009
Sounds like sour grapes. Boo hoo. I got traded. If Bell was any good at all he wouldn't be pitching for the Padres. What about the Cubs they are the most overated franchise in history. I get sick and tired of hearing about the cubs. If other teams want attention be a winner, look at the Rays.
11:19 pm on April 14th, 2009
Remember the last time the Padres won a world series?
Neither do I.
2:30 am on April 15th, 2009
What??ESPN started the Red Sox/Yanks rivalry?? I guess then that Chris Berman traded Babe Ruth, and Bucky Dent was announcing the game for ESPN, but came down from the booth to hit the HR in 1978.
Seriously, it might be that Vince Doria ran the Boston Globe sports for a decade, but now runs ESPN. People complain that baseball is boring and puts them to sleep, but Sawx-Yanks never does.
8:30 am on April 15th, 2009
It's the difference between playing for a team that is dedicated to winning at all costs (Yanks, Sox, Mets) and playing for a team like San Diego that is dedicated to being profitable while still losing. I live in San Diego and I go to maybe one game a year due to the fact that the product is BORING! If he wants respect, go to a team that works hard to get it.
11:03 am on April 15th, 2009
ESPN is the National Enquirer of sports. Friggin clown shoes.
12:16 pm on April 15th, 2009
ESPN is a waste of time. They are filled with east coast bias. It's not just baseball. I have noticed I don't even watch Sportcenter or go to espn.com very much anymore, because there are better places to get my sports. This site is one of them. I was taken to places that do a better job because I got bored with ESPN's coverage of the same stories/teams and their puff pieces (WWE). Heath Bell makes a good point. I know you Sox & Yankee fans hate to admit it, but he does. This is the way it has been, and it's the way it always will be. That's why I don't waste much time with ESPN anymore.
2:58 pm on April 15th, 2009
Why does this shock anyone? It's been like this since the beginning of time.. It's just Heath Bell that has the balls to say in print what we've all known for years
4:34 pm on April 15th, 2009
When is the last time you got
informationanything from ESPN? The only reason to watch is if they have a game.4:58 pm on June 8th, 2009
I no longer watch ESPN due to it’s East Coast bias, but also it’s football bias. I understand it is the most popular sport in the country, but do we really need a half hour in July to watch and hear John Clayton talk about the color and smell of Brett Favre and T.O.’s sh!t??