Everyone loves to hate McCarver
Mike Berardino, Sentinel ColumnistTHE ORLANDO SENTINEL
The stakes grow bigger, the games move slower and there's much more air time to fill.
Maybe that explains why Tim McCarver, once considered among the best baseball analysts ever, has talked his way into resentment through the years.
Nor does it help that on the Fox-TV's national telecasts he often takes pains to, as Denzel Washington's character liked to say in Philadelphia, explain things to viewers as though they were 5 years old.
Hence, the Web site ShutupTimMcCarver.com.
The site encourages visitors to send out links calling McCarver an "awful announcer" with a goal of making that the most common combination for a Google search. The man behind the site is Thomas Baiter, a 32-year-old advertising supervisor for a New York cable network. It all began during the 2004 American League playoffs after Baiter and his friends heard "one too many McCarverisms."
"I mentioned to a friend how it would be pretty funny to dedicate a Web site to skewering this guy," Baiter wrote via e-mail. "I figured we couldn't be the only people in American yelling at their TVs after some of the things he said."
Baiter, who has never heard from McCarver or any of his representatives, also sponsors McCarver's page on baseball-reference.com and, with the playoffs in full swing, reports that "traffic is really climbing again."
The highlight of Baiter's site is a lengthy list of so-called "dumb things" McCarver has said on the air through the years. Most were sent in by frustrated viewers. A sampling:
"With [Vladimir] Guerrero, it's not so much a strike zone as a strike area."
"The reason we call that pitch up and in is because the arms are attached to the shoulder."
"[Jason] Giambi walks too much. He's always clogging up the bases with all that walking."
"I think Tim Wakefield would even say tonight that Tim Wakefield got to Tim Wakefield tonight."
"If the double play is a pitcher's best friend, what is a fielder's choice? An acquaintance."
"One thing about ground balls. They don't go out of the ball park."
Baiter says he grew up listening to McCarver on Mets broadcasts and enjoyed his work then but has been put off by McCarver's devolution to a "suck-up and a generalist." In trying to be clever, sometimes you can become a master of the obvious.
Even someone with as much to say -- maybe too much -- as McCarver.
Leiter moves
The Yankees might ask Al Leiter to return next year in his new role as a situational lefty, but the ex-Marlin says he's still leaning toward retirement. Some took it as a hint when he exited Yankee Stadium for the last time wearing a cap from the 2004 Republican National Convention. There has even been speculation about a possible run for the New Jersey senate or even the governor's mansion. Hey, actors, wrestlers -- why not a loquacious pitcher?
Solid choice
A.J. Burnett might have finished on poor terms with Jack McKeon, but former Marlins manager Jeff Torborg remains a big believer in the free-agent pitcher. "I really like him," said Torborg, back doing some broadcast work for Fox TV. "He'll give you everything he's got. He's a different kind of guy, the kind you'll see out on a motorcycle with his nipple rings and all that. But he's really a good boy. I don't know where A.J. is going to go, but I do know one thing: Whoever gets him is getting one heck of a pitcher."
Next phase
Ex-Marlins infielder Andy Fox has retired and taken a rookie-level managing job with the Rangers. Fox and ex-Marlins teammate Mike Mordecai, who just finished his first year managing the Jamestown Jammers, could vie for big-league spots sooner than you think.
Nice try
Phillies General Manager Ed Wade took the hit, which comes with the territory when you miss the playoffs in all eight of your seasons. But Wade was a capable administrator who did a solid job in a dysfunctional situation. Look for Philly guy Gerry Hunsicker, the former Astros GM, to get a long look as Wade's replacement.
Torborg and his wife, Suzie, recently welcomed another grandchild, Sierra Rae Torborg, born to former Marlins strength and conditioning coach Dale Torborg and his wife, Christie. Dale, now a minor-league strength coach with the White Sox, plans to rejoin the club if it makes the World Series. With the Dodgers managerial job open among others, Jeff Torborg said: "Nothing is percolating, but we certainly would listen if somebody called. Once you've got the bug, you always feel that way. We're happy doing what we're doing, though. It's like semi-retirement." The couple travel extensively, visiting Germany last year and the Netherlands and several Scandinavian countries last spring.
The Pirates' streak of 13 straight losing seasons is the longest active mark in North American professional sports. But just as Ned Yost helped end a similar skid in Milwaukee, new Pirates Manager Jim Tracy will return the Pirates to the north side of .500. It just might take another year or two after 12 Pirates made their big-league debuts in 2005.
A's assistant GM David Forst turned down a chance to interview for the GM job in Arizona. Tigers assistant Al Avila, formerly of the Marlins, will interview along with White Sox assistant David Wilder and former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette. The ability to work closely with Diamondbacks President Jeff Moorad will be crucial. Speculation remains that Padres GM Kevin Towers could jump to Arizona, leaving the San Diego job open for either Padres special assistant Grady Fuson or maybe even Forst. Both share Oakland roots with Padres President Sandy Alderson.
Best wishes to Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller, recovering from surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm. If Miller steps aside, there has been speculation newly promoted Orioles Manager Sam Perlozzo would pursue Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone, his close friend. But there's no way the Braves will let Mazzone go.
While most teams don't mind, the Angels have a policy of not letting their coaches interview for managing jobs elsewhere during the playoffs. Some have wondered whether this hasn't cost bench coach Joe Maddon and/or pitching coach Bud Black shots at running their own teams as most clubs like to fill such vacancies before the World Series. "If [other teams] think enough of the people we've got, they're going to give them the time and the opportunity," Angels GM Bill Stoneman said.
A Final Thought: Umpire Doug Eddings should have been suspended for his poor judgment in Game 2 of the ALCS.