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| Exhibit A: This Man is an Idiot |
For those who want a little background, here's what has pushed me over the edge. In a recent Mariners-Angels game, Carlos Peguero came up to bat. After swinging at a terrible pitch that was very close to bouncing, Peguero benefited from an uncredited fielding error by Mark Trumbo to add a double to his stat line. This, of course, led to Sims commending Peguero as the "McCovey or Stargell" of the Seattle Mariners.
Just think about that for a second. Sims compared Peguero, with his .230 avg and 32% K rate, to two of the greatest hitters ever to play baseball not once, but every single time Peguero was shown for the rest of the game. For comparison's sake, let's look at their rookies years.
McCovey: 219 PAs, .429 OBP, 1.085 OPS, Rookie of the Year
Stargell: 328 PAs, .290 OBP, .717 OPS, 28 extra base hits
Peguero: 94 PAs, 27 Ks, .287 OBP
If you want, remove the names and think about that comparison for a second. Doesn't quite add up, does it? For fun, let's look at the career totals of those two Hall of Famers.
McCovey: 521 HRs, .889 OPS, 1555 RBIs
Stargell: 475 HRs, .889 OPS (weird), 1540 RBIs
Does anyone, even the most avid Mariners fan, really expect Peguero to even come into shouting distance (or, more appropriately, whiffing distance) of these two men? Peguero has only ever posted an OPS greater than these men's career average twice: in Rookie ball and in full season A ball. The man strikes out over 31% of the time in his career, and that's with only a hundred Major League at-bats under his belt. Sure, he is a rookie, but he has shown absolutely nothing proving him to be any better than Glenallen Hill in the long run.
To sum it all up, Dave Sims is an idiot. I've long hated Boston fans in all sports because of their ridiculous homerisms and their terrible exaggerations of their players' abilities. Sims is making Seattle look that bad by saying things like this. Everybody understands that a home announcer is going to think a runner is safe on every close play, or that so-and-so outfielder deserves a Gold Glove. What is inexcusable is when that announcer starts thinking everyone to put on their team's uniform is God's gift to hitting. No, Dave Sims, Chone Figgins' bloop single isn't the start of a hot streak. No, Michael Saunders' .168 avg isn't "a rough patch." There is a time and place for rooting for your favorite team at all costs: that place is not in the professional realm of announcing.
Regardless of Dave Sims' complete misunderstanding of baseball's fundamentals (you shouldn't say a ball was belted if the third baseman can catch it) and idiotic ramblings when he should be commentating (that only worked for Harry Caray), his blatant and stupid homer attitude is failure enough as to push for his removal. Do you really want any person who happens to catch a Mariners broadcast to think that that man represents Seattle?
I have a lot to say about this post. First things first I agree completely with you that Dave Sims is a genius... check that... idiot.
ReplyDeleteNext I think it should be noted that Carlos Peguero actually lines up pretty well with Willie Stargell's rookie numbers that you show. I wouldnt suggest using that as your defense for why they aren't the same thing. If you look at wRC+ (which I love to compare people with) Peguero is at 102 through his first 102 PA. Wille Stargell had a 104 in his first year. Very comparable offensive production. That might even be worth a whole post about. Anyways, dropping HoF reference for a raw unproven rookie is definitely hyperbolous, but not entirely wrong in the small sample size Stargell case.
While Dave Sim's was praising Peguero, he had a guest in the booth with him who was equally impressed. Ken Griffey Jr had dropped by to chat with the guys about the team. The Kid was just as enamored with Peguero as Sims. He was praising everything about the M's left fielder. He even praised his plate discipline. In what was a perfect twist of irony, on the very next pitch Peguero swung wildly at a clear ball and struck out. It made me wonder if Griffey had actually watched him play before.
Finally, not everyone think Dave Sims is a complete idiot. Not only did the Mariners give him their lead TV play by play role, but the UFL made him their number one go to announcer and Westwood One (one of the biggest sports radio companies in the country) made him their lead play by play guy for Sunday Night Football. Obviously his hats have some kind of spell that forces these companies to think he is good at what he does.
Griffey isn't paid to be a good announcer, and as such I'll give him a pass for being so ridiculously nice to a member of the organization he works for. Sims, on the other hand, is paid to sounds smart, and nothing makes you look stupider than comparing rookies who are not looked upon well by the greater baseball community to some of the best players ever. Of course, Sims compared Mike Carp to Ted Williams just yesterday, and frequently spouts idiotic calls on supposive "close" plays (I don't believe he thinks Ichiro has ever been caught stealing legitimately). Sure, Sims isn't WAY off on all his tidbits, but he makes so many little mistakes EVERY TIME that it's unbelievable. Also, his hat is stupid.
ReplyDeleteWell its 2017 and hes still in the fucking booth. And hes still saying stupid dumb shit non sense. He still knows nothig about the sport. He still gets corrected by veteran ball players commentating along side his moronic ass. And hes still wearing that fucking hat!!!!!!!!!!! The fact that hes still employed and still blabbering nonsensically over mariners games says a lot about the franchise. And im the biggest M's fan on this planet. We need mike blowers and dan DA BONE in the booth. I like those two. It would make sitting through a M's game a lot more tolerable. And btw, it's definitely not because hes black, for the longest time i thought he was an old white dude 😂😂😂
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ReplyDeleteIt's 2022 and these comments still reign true. The guys a fuckin idiot. If you wanna blow ohtani I suggest waiting until he gets paid first
ReplyDeleteWell, it's 2022 and he's still in the fucking booth. I've been stuck living in the fucking miserable South since A-Fraud was still a Mariner, but that means that, until this season, I was completely unaware of the dumpster fire situation in Seattle. I mean, no, not that dumpster fire. Okay, so THIS OTHER dumpster fire. Thank you, MLBTV, but haha, I can bring up the RADIO BROADCAST on another tab. Rick Rizzs is the jizz compared to nitwit Derp S1mps.
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