A Critique On Local Media

by Erik Hahmann on Jun 10, 2009 10:30 AM EDT Comment 43 comments

Willy Aybar CAN play third base.. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

We've never really critiuqued the local media on this site. For some reason I'm in a different mood today.

Recently in his 2 Cents Worth column, Tom Jones gives us "3 Things we learned about the Rays over the weekend." I'll start with number 1.

1. Willy Aybar can't play third base.

Well that's just not true at all. Yes, Aybar made a key late inning error while filling in for Evan Longoria in the loss to the Yankees on Sunday, and did have two errors in two games, but does that really mean he can't play the position? No, no it does not. Jones seems to want to judge Aybar on those two games alone and totally forget about last season. In 2008 Willy Aybar started 40 games at third base, mostly while Longoria was injured, and posted a UZR of 2.4 and a UZR/150 of 8.1. This season Aybar has only started 9 games at third and has a UZR of -0.1 and a UZR/150 of 0.7. If you look back at his career numbers, his UZR has improved each season since 2005. He's never going to be Evan Longoria with the glove, but please don't say he can't field the position based on an overreaction to one game.

2. The Rays still need a closer.

RJ has been a champion of the Rays Dont Need A "Closer" movement all season, with examples here, here, and here to name a few. And it's true, the Rays do not need a closer to be successful. Elite closers are very hard to come by and the Rays are not able to go out and spend the money necessary to acquire one, nor should they. The bullpen does need to improve, and before the end of the season you should see some changes made, but a closer wouldn't magically fix the problems.

3. David Price is ready to pitch at this level.

This one is fine.

I don't mean to rip Tom Jones, but when you say reactionary things like "Willy Aybar can't play third base" when statistics clearly prove otherwise it's hard to let that go. And we wonder why a lot of our fanbase isn't as educated as they could be.

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It's also embarassing considering how much the local media praised Willy last year.

by Suttree on Jun 10, 2009 10:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

They couldve also spelled "Willy" right. It's not "Willie."

www.draysbay.com

by Tommy Rancel on Jun 10, 2009 10:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Last time I started ragging on Gary Shelton, the editor told me to get the fuck out of his house.

by Suttree on Jun 10, 2009 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The mass media is terrible in every aspect.

I take more umbrage in their dealings with international events, business, economics, etc, then I do with sports. Expecting reasoned analysis is just setting yourself up for disappointment. It is easier for them to say (and the general population to understand) that the Rays need a “closer”. When the point is really the Rays need a reliever to consistently perform well in high leverage situtations.

Your last line is an interesting debate, as to whether it is the media’s fault people are so dumb – because of the quality of information they provide, or the people’s fault – for continuing to ask for and consume poor quality information.

by Mulva on Jun 10, 2009 10:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Tough to know what's better unless you're living in your mother's basement.

But, seriously, if you don’t have access to a computer, or aren’t internet-savvy, how are you supposed to learn more about baseball 10 years ago?

by Suttree on Jun 10, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not everyone likes sports for the same reasons.

To many the appeal is the story. The narrative is what get people excited for the team. When it comes to the narrative in baseball, few compare to the mass media. The narrative doesn’t do it for me, so I turn to less traditional sources. Most people, though, don’t have the desire for the nitty-gritty and prefer to have their information provideed in the classic model.

by rglass44 on Jun 10, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You can tell a story while using baseball analysis from beyond the 1950s.

by R.J. Anderson on Jun 10, 2009 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

True

But most of their readers don’t know many stats that were created beyond the 1950s, and they either can’t or won’t explain the stats in each article.

by nolesblogger on Jun 10, 2009 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They can't explain them in each piece.

But this hasn’t stopped sportswriters from inventing new metrics over the years that they readily used.

And most of them weren’t that good.

by R.J. Anderson on Jun 10, 2009 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think if they started using better stats that most readers would start to catch on.

But for now, I only use newspapers and such to find the score if I missed it the night before or something and I don’t have internet access.

by nolesblogger on Jun 10, 2009 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

PLK's idol, Tom Jones.

Tools Whore

by Tyler on Jun 10, 2009 11:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It's not unusual to suck at any time...

RD over and out.

by ReasonableDoubt on Jun 10, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wait, we never critique the local media around here?

and don’t apologize for ragging on Tom Jones. He’s fucking awful.

Until Next Time,
The Sports Chief

by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jun 10, 2009 12:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I said we don't normally.

by Erik Hahmann on Jun 10, 2009 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Speaking of the SPORTSMEDIA, check this dumb shit out (more page views for Tampabay.com, CHECK IT OUT!)

http://www.tampabay.com/video/?bctid=25332681001&p=1906868822

He’s bitching about selling ad space on jerseys… in a video segment sponsored by Brighthouse Sports Network… that I had to close 2 pop-up ads to view.

Until Next Time,
The Sports Chief

by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jun 10, 2009 12:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What's even more funny than Shelton's rant....

is the fact that his paper, The St. Pete Times, is dependent on ads to bring in revenue to pay employees. In a weird, odd, way, Shelton is slapping the hand which feeds him. And based on the size of those chins, that’s a lot of money.

I don’t read the Times anymore and can’t wait for the local paper to follow other dailies and go out of business. It’s an awful paper.

by GatorSphere on Jun 10, 2009 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I dunno. The Times isn't bad.

Aside from Kansas City, baseball coverage generally sucks in newspapers.

by Suttree on Jun 10, 2009 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

STL Post Dispatch is baller as fuck

Until Next Time,
The Sports Chief

by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jun 10, 2009 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Times is one of the best papers in the state.

To celebrate the death of journalism is a strange thing.

by rglass44 on Jun 10, 2009 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Easily one of the 5 best papers in the state.

Businesses that fail because of their own arrogance should fail. I’m gleeful when they do. I’m Ling MAO at GM and Chrysler

Until Next Time,
The Sports Chief

by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jun 10, 2009 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Word.

Let them rot.

by Suttree on Jun 10, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Top 2 paper in the Tampa Bay Area!

Until Next Time,
The Sports Chief

by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jun 10, 2009 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's far superior to the crap they call the Tribune.

by rglass44 on Jun 10, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is true, but the Tribune's sports section has been horseshit for several years.

"Where we all wait in earnest with pudding in hand for the Upton comet to sail through the roofed skies, so that we may meet Him."

by kericr on Jun 10, 2009 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Lancaster is good.

by R.J. Anderson on Jun 10, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't mean the reporters, I mean what they select to report.

"Where we all wait in earnest with pudding in hand for the Upton comet to sail through the roofed skies, so that we may meet Him."

by kericr on Jun 10, 2009 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't read the sports section of any paper.

I mean real journalism.

by rglass44 on Jun 10, 2009 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Paul Tash's account found!

Until Next Time,
The Sports Chief

by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jun 10, 2009 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The whole death of journalism things is overrated.

Just because the newspaper format MIGHT die doesn’t mean the end of the journalism. Newspapers are no more reliable format than the internet, books, magazines, or pamphlets.

by Suttree on Jun 10, 2009 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not true.

Their ability to pull resources, gain inside knowledge, etc. is something most blogs/papmphlets/etc. could never touch. Who does Deep Throat go to today? Does he just plaster it on the internet? The fact that their business model is failing does not mean that newspapers failing is a good thing. If they had changed their model to a non-profit approach they would likely still be alive.

by rglass44 on Jun 10, 2009 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

that should be "pool resources."

by rglass44 on Jun 10, 2009 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There is nothing the physical medium of newspaper can do that can't be replicated.

by Suttree on Jun 10, 2009 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Times as a whole is a great newspaper.

by Erik Hahmann on Jun 10, 2009 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

local broadcast sports media is pathetic

Why Bobby Fenton can’t seem to land a regular gig, I do not understand.

by zeng8r on Jun 10, 2009 4:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This

by Erik Hahmann on Jun 10, 2009 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's because he's not a cheap whore, a blithering loudmouth, or black.

"Where we all wait in earnest with pudding in hand for the Upton comet to sail through the roofed skies, so that we may meet Him."

by kericr on Jun 10, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Rays' 620 game announcers are quite good

Other radio personalities (Herrera, Duemig, whoever those Ron & Ian guys are) are quite lame. I’ve basically decided I won’t ever listen to those idiots again. The color radio commentators in Atlanta (where I just moved from) were quite good in comparison. Staats is a really boring TV announcer with nothing to bring to the table, but Kennedy is okay. Brian Anderson is even better. If you compare the TV announcers with Joe Simpson and Don Sutton in Atlanta, Rays TV looks quite poor.

by Zach Attack on Jun 10, 2009 7:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't get me started here

Looks like most did a good job.

Rich Herrera should be dismissed ASAP. Something very, very odd about him. He is with the team, and even after being widely criticized, he doesn’t get it. He simply doesn’t connect with fans.

As far as 620 goes, it works overall since they got the signal power. But other than that, its a marriage made in hell. Why the heck Fernandez and Silverman not explore the fact that they don’t get a fair shake from 620 is beyond me.

Put Tampa Bay back on our road uniforms!!

by joedobr on Jun 10, 2009 9:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs