Friday, October 19, 2007

Want proof that the media has an east coast bias? Exhibit A: The Joe Torre coverage

Call me an old curmudgeon, but I find the furor over Joe Torre's firing/resignation/rejection/whatever, absolutely over the top ridiculous. It's the media's 24/7 news cycle at it's worst.

20 years ago, this would not have been the lead story in any sort of media. 10 years ago, ditto. It would have been a few paragraph long wire story on page 2 of the sports section. But In 2007? The Joe Torre presser is being broadcast coast-to-coast. It's become a national nightmare! What will happen to poor Joe?

Yet the MSM wonders why there is such a backlash in the "Flyover states" about an east coast bias?

Any other big league manager is fired/resigns/whatever, it's a 30 spot on Sportscenter. Well, if it's KC or Pittsburgh, it's probably 15 seconds...

If anyone at the worldwide leader is reading, the rest of the nation (Save for possibly Boston, as they have that symbiotic love/hate relationship with NYC), doesn't care that the Yankees gave Joe Torre the bum's rush out the door. Seriously, we don't! Not one whit.

In fact, I can tell you right now what will happen to Joe Torre, without having to watch all the manufactured drama on the 4 letter network.

Torre will chill all winter, spending some of the millions upon millions he made as Steinbrenner's punching bag. He'll get a few exploratory calls from teams looking for a manger, and will announce that he's taking at least a year off.

In the spring, he'll take a TV gig as an analyst at one of the networks, probably at the 4 letter. He'll do better than Dusty Baker, which isn't saying much, as a anyone with a pulse, and a few synapses firing, could make more sense than Dusty. (By the way, the nation owes the Cincinnati Reds a big thank you for hiring Baker, so we won't have to listen to him babble on about walks clogging the base paths on Baseball Tonight) Torre will get good reviews for his TV work, as his years of dealing with the pack of howler monkeys that is the NYC media will have him well prepared.

A losing team desperate for a name manager will come calling for Torre midway through the 2008 season. He will turn them down, waiting to hear from a team ready to win immediately. He will get that call a year from now, and accept the job, getting a big money, 5 year contract.

He will have a disappointing 2009 season, as he will no longer have a roster with a $250 million dollar payroll. Torre's team might make the playoffs once or twice, but never winning big. He'll ed up getting canned during year 5.

Joe Torre's firing will then merit a 30 second long spot on Sportscenter...

2 comments:

  1. Al, absolutely right. The East Coast bias is nearly as bad, but not quite, as the 25 hour a day Denver Bronco coverage in the Mountain Time Zone. But, I'm truly sick of hearing about Duke Joseph of Torre and the Crazy Emporer.

    By the way, if you're looking to kill some time and do a live-blog, may I suggest Live Blogging Tim McCarver's inanities? That is if you can keep from throwing something at the tube or puking while listening to the ever officious and seldom correct Mr. McCarver.

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  2. It's making me puke, too. Can hardly wait for the game tomorrow night in Boston. But they'll still blah, blah, blah about ......I can't even stand to say his name.

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