Dear Joe Morgan,

The best team ESPN has is the one with Gary Thorne and Steve Stone, but they are the #3 broadcast team.

I can't believe I'm the first to see this:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/othersports/story/25535BCEA9E3EDF48625731F000D77D9?OpenDocument

What tall tale will commentator Joe Morgan offer Sunday night during ESPN's baseball telecast? Morgan will be hard-pressed to top the whopper he told during last week's Cards-Philadelphia telecast.

Morgan recounted how he played a role in the history of each club by beating the Phillies with a run-scoring hit during their legendary collapse in September 1964. The game, Morgan said, was his major-league debut. Nice story, but none of it is true. Houston did not play the Phillies during their 10-game losing streak in September. Morgan did not have an RBI in 1964. Morgan debuted in 1963.

Out of all the things Morgan's spit out to actually get play, this is the stupidest. Yeah, he got it wrong, but it's more a matter of old Joe being confused (instead of old Joe being misinformed, stubborn, & flat-out wrong).

so you think he's getting senile? or is just a self-important dick?

He could be both!

Over the years, I've read of plenty Old Ballplayer tales proven wrong by research. Them getting stuff wrong, esp after over 60, is the usual course of things.

God this guy is a dipshit.

Morgan tonight as Luis Castillo caught a pop up that he nearly misjudged due to the wind:

"Now, see, that's what happens when you don't play in the National League. You don't come to Wrigley, you don't know how to handle the wind. He's been playing in Minnesota, where there's no wind in the dome. You gotta learn how to play in this league, and that only comes with experience"

Luis Castillo played for the Marlins from 1996-2005.

I think it's spreading to Jon Miller. Unless The Other JM has always been an ESPN Talking Point pusher, & I just never noticed. But, yeah, STFU about the "OMG he might be the last 300-game winner ever," when the last THREE 300-game winners pitched their entire careers in the 5-man rotation that's supposedly going to prevent pitchers from winning 300.

Also plz the both of you STFU about "OMG Cy Young pitched a bazillion complete games, woe is baseball that Real Men like Bob Gibson aren't around to chuck 170+ pitches a game at the greatest athletes this sport has ever seen."

dude clemens & maddux each pitcher over 100 CGs, which will likely not be replicated anytime with any pitcher over then next 20 years barring a major shift in philosophy.

the real crime was committed when he said that athletes nowadays have strength training & are conditioned year-round & thats why 'pitchers these days pitch longer into games than ever before, i mean they may not pitch as many games as they used to, but they pitch more innings', i mean holy fuck did anyone else hear that??? jesus.

The Castillo bit is gold.

haha - more!!

Joe said last night that 300 wins is harder than 3000 hits cuz besides pitching well "your team has to be good." OMG!!! What happened to Knowing How to Win?!?

Pitchers throw more PITCHES in a similar number of innings now, that's true.

Joe Morgan: I think the Yankees are like three or four other teams, but can they stay consistent. They've played sub-.500 teams the last couple of weeks. They won 11 of 12 one time and then lost 9 of 10. They have a chance of winning, but it doesn't mean they're going to win. Giambi, if he can come back and hit, that left handed bat can help. They can get better if he can come back and produce.

Last night, choosing Rollins over Howard as the player of the game. "I like to go with the infielder."

"OPS to me doesn't tell you what the guy does for the team. It just tells me that he could, you know, the guy can get on base and he hits for some power."

Yeah, Joe was really liking the Angels, going so far as to claim that their type of line-up will be the future of baseball, because people are hitting less homers this year compared to last.

He'd improve 150% if he could just stop repeating himself 10 times when he's making A Point.

I'm glad I was out.

Joe sez "A catcher's job is to catch" (ie, he's more impressed w/ Victor Martinez throwing out 30% of runners than his .503 slugging). Yeah Joe, Mike Piazza's unmatchable receiving skills are what're putting him in Cooperstown.

"A third baseman's job is to, to, to third-base. This is a league where you've got to do all the little things well."

"Now I want to show you something about that collision between Hinske and Posada. Posada gets into an awkward place. See here, he gets the ball, Hinske's coming for the plate, and Posada is IN FRONT of the plate." Scribbles a dot on the screen, behind Posada. "Look, THERE'S the PLATE! Now most catchers will, will, they'll give you a little piece of the plate. To slide for. But there's nowhere for Hinske to go."

Did he really praise Ellsbury for missing the cutoff man?

"Bizarrely, this goalie is in an awkward position to prevent the puck from getting past him -- you see, he is IN FRONT of the net."

haha i actually don't hate this guy. mccarver on the other hand.. (does he have a thread?)

he praised ellsbury for quickly getting to the ball and preventing minky (?) from scoring--which seemed somewhat unlikely anyway--and then i think he praised giambi for heads-up baserunning while not mentioning the missed cutoff man.

Joe's NL MVP:

Sept 16: Prince Fielder
Sept 23: Jimmy Rollins (he "led" the Phillies while their actual MVP was disabled)
Sept 30: who will he settle on besides David Wright?

"I think you have to consider that David Wright is not actually an infielder. He plays a corner position."

ok, did he say that?

No, but he probably will.

Andrei (NY, NY): HI Joe, Always love watching you on Sunday Night Baseball. I was wondering what your thoughts were on momentum heading into the postseason? Is it that important?

Joe Morgan: (11:16 AM ET ) I've always thought it meant a lot, heading into the postseason, but last year, the Cardinals got in on the last day. Detroit played poorly down the stretch as well, and yet both of them made it to the World Series. Maybe the game has changed enough so that momentum doesn't mean as much as it did before.

Joe, we get it: IT DEPENDS!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

D. Malphabet (Bronx, NYC): Should the Yanks play Giambi at first base, or stick with a better defender for the playoffs?

Joe Morgan: (11:25 AM ET ) It depends on who you're playing. If they end up playing Cleveland, where Carmona and Sabathia will start, runs will be at a premium, so you wouldn't put Giambi there. If you'll play a team like the Angels, then I think you have to try to score runs, because the Angels pitching staff won't shut you down.

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Mike(NY): Do you think the Mets should bring back Moises Alou or go with the kids in the outfield?

Joe Morgan: (11:27 AM ET ) Moises Alou can hit. He's always been a great hitter. It'll depend on what they end up with pitching-wise. If they can get good pitching, you need to go with defense out there. If not, you need offense. He's the most consistent hitter on that ballclub. It all depends on the team makeup.

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Brian Cashman (Bronx, NY): Should Joba relieve or start next year?

Joe Morgan: (11:28 AM ET ) That depends on who they have back. Mussina is under contract, but is Roger Clemens coming back? I think eventually Chamberlain should be a starter. It will depend on a lot of other circumstances whether he is or not.

Ross, Chicago: Is Jim Thome done? Any trade value?

Joe Morgan: (10:37 AM ET ) I never like to think of players as being done. Only the player will know. They said Frank Thomas was done in Toronto and he is doing well in Oakland. We've poured dirt on guys who have come back to play well before, and only Jim Thome knows whether he's finished or not.

Haha I hope Frank tears Joe's little head off his little shoulders.

Joe was giving Snake Plissken props last night. See, there really is not-much to John Carpenter!

Charlie Manuel manages PEOPLE, not replicants

he also lets players play, apparently

the Hank Aaron quote was good, though! that's the kind of stuff he should focus on.

why was Miller calling Jordan Schaefer "Logan"?

they have Phillips to do the heavy lifting with the facts and numbers now

they must not win many home games

ADJUSTMEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNTTTTTTTTSSSSS

"I don't know about zone ratings and all that"

^^ my fucking dude

He's heard of ZR! Baby steps.

'i played for some managers who should have been fired' lol

Joe Morgan on SAMPLE SIZES. He knows what they are but understands nothing! Great ESPN chat from him this week, btw, literally every answer was totally batshit. Worth a read.

Dan (New York)

Joe, given the missed call in the no hitter, I was very surprised to see that something like 75% of current players dont want any instant replay in baseball. Whats your take?
Joe Morgan
(11:27 AM)

First of all, it wasn't a scientific survey. It was just 50 guys taken from each league. There are 750 players. I think it was something like 13% of the players were polled. There wasn't big enough sampling.

I really enjoyed not having Joe Morgan and Jon Miller on ESPN last night. Orel and Bobby Valentine were a good duo and just poured on alot of interesting commentary to the ins and outs of last nights pretty great game..

More hall of fame events, please.

regular crew of Jon, Orel & Bobby V wd be OK with me. Joe, yr grandkids want you to tuck them in on Sunday nights.

Orel and Bobby Valentine were a good duo and just poured on alot of interesting commentary to the ins and outs of last nights pretty great game..

Funny how they both blurted "Bo Jackson!" when asked about the fastest RH hitter out of the box.

HERM EDWARDS SAYS WIN THE GAME

I had to listen to most of the postseason games on the radio while commuting home from work, so I had the "pleasure" of hearing Joe Morgan broadcasting from the World Series. It seems like something's wrong with the guy, he'll latch on to one phrase or idea and repeat it ad nauseum. Last night it was "Tim Lincecum is really on top of his game" (literally three times within about 60 seconds at the top of the 3rd inning), and the idea that Lincecum was doing a better job of starting batters off with the fastball than he did in his last game (repeated this trenchant observation about four times through the first four innings, with almost the exact same wording each time)

repeating a few thoughts constantly is the go-to "color analyst" style

Judging from the couple of Sunday games I watched this year, he really is losing it.

I heard him say that about Tim Lincecum when I was driving to the bar. It was weird.

Apparently, Joe Morgan AND Jon Miller both not coming back next year. Probably Dan Schulman and Orel Hershiser replacing.

world series festivities + no cameras = BOOZE

hthttp://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/espn-breaks-up-sunday-night-baseball-team/

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/espn-breaks-up-sunday-night-baseball-team/

first andrew shirvell, now this! what a historic day in firings!

praise bob

BRING ON MATT VASDEFERENSVIRGINSURGEON

morgan won't be missed obv, but miller is wonderful to listen to and i'll miss him

He still does Giants radio and TV if you really miss him...

i like him, but i won't miss his inflection

say it ain't so, Clueless Joe.

Would like to see Sciambi get the play by play job. While I'm throwing out wishes, make it Sciambi/Simpson or Sciambi/Smoltz.

20 fucking years.

i'm a big jon miller fan too. the guy's clearly smart. anyone without his ineffable calm and equilibrium would have gone mad years ago.

i too will be missing Miller's "Bell....TRAY"

"TWO!"

"Shulman will likely be joined by former pitcher Orel Hershiser, who joined the Sunday Night booth last season, and perhaps Bobby Valentine, if teams keep passing him over for managing gigs"

http://imgur.com/cmE8b.jpg

What is ESPN's parting line on the firings?

I don't find Morgan particularly that offensive (nb: I only catch him in small doses).

i'd take those two over buck and mccarver any day of the week but yeah, it was time

like, morgan's an idiot but basically harmless. buck and mccarver actually come very very close to killing my interest in the world series. yeah, i could mute it but i love the sound of the crowd. you'd think in this crazy digital multicasting world there would at least be the option to hear only the ambient stadium feed, a la that ill-fated pro bowl back in the 80s

it wasn't a pro bowl, it was a regular season game -- Jets vs Dolphins

won't at all miss Miller's studious, pained, precise enunciation of Latin American players' surnames

^meh, lighten up.

Hershiser & esp Valentine a vast improvement over Number 8.

miller is a fucking bore i will never understand the love he gets

Man, you can't post 80% of the stomach-acid you spray on this board and then tell other people to lighten up. xp

I can if they're criticizing correct Spanish pronunciations

also Wm, you should see the posts I type out and don't submit

I like Miller a lot but I also dig Shulman so I ain't trippin'.

Yeah, Shulman is great. RIP Joe Morgan.

Behind the mic, Joe Morgan is better than Bobby Valentine imho. Joe Morgan is better than most of the people on this thread. This is one of those things where next year people are gonna be like "come back Joe, please?!?!?!"

I will not be one of those people.

I am definitely not looking forward to Valentine in the booth, though.

ludicrous, Armond SS

I will not be one of those people.

+1

Yeah, Shulman is great.

canadian conspiracy imo

"I never thought I'd see anything like this," Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan told USA TODAY Sports in a telephone interview from Los Angeles on Tuesday. "But I've seen it coming."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2013/04/09/mlb-african-americans-in-baseball-jackie-robinson-42/2069119/