The video is here in case you missed the most action out of anyone associated with the Nationals today not named Stephen Strasburg.
Take a minute to watch it if you haven't already. Or watch it again.
The vote in this house is 3-0, Ray. Unanimous decision. Not really close. He made the better points (see NatsInsider for a link to Mark's CSN story where Jose Guillen basically says what Ray said). He also handled himself with a ton more class. Two tons more class. Maybe three.
Is anyone surprised by that?
I'll admit to my bias. While I have nothing against Rob personally (he's been very gracious the two times we met), I've made it clear his cheerleading over Bob's calls drives me nuts. Plus, there's a certain arrogance to some of his analysis that I can't quite pinpoint but I know it is there. I like listening to Ray a lot more.
At one point, I was sure I saw Rob give a dismissive look while Ray was talking and look at Bob with something close to a smirk. That's when I called in the family to make sure I wasn't seeing that because I wanted to see that. We hit the back button on the DVR and watched again.
Nope. Disrespectful, my wife called it. She thought she saw a bit of an eye-roll in there. I couldn't tell for sure. Smug was another word she used. "He seemed like he thought he was above him," she said, "like he thought he knew more and he couldn't be bothered with what Ray thought. Hence the eye roll."
Hmmm. I ought to let her take over this blog.
You can disagree all you want. A little debate can be a lot of fun. But there's no need to be so dismissive, to basically come off like an ass. We know Rob Dibble played pro ball. You can't get out of the first inning without hearing about it. Ray Knight played a little ball, too, and played it pretty well. Rob often jokes about his lack of hitting ability. He was, after all, a pitcher. Ray knows hitting. I think he knows quite a bit more about what a hitter is thinking up there.
If Ray the hitter in his prime saw Rob the pitcher in his prime give that look or eye roll, hoo-wee. We coulda had us a fist fight.
Bernadina was safe, by the way. Family vote went 3-0 on that, too. I won't quote my wife on her reaction to the call other than to say "blind" was the first word. My ears still hurt from the second. I think everyone agrees on that play, except for the guy who actually counts.
Too bad. Jee-SUS was JEE-SUS once more. I think another thing we can all agree on after four starts - he's pretty good.
6 comments:
I watched that live and thought it was funny. But after watching it again. Wow. It's beyond funny. It's priceless. Dibble couldn't have come off as more of a jackass if he tried.
The title of the video is perfect too.
Ohhh, I got a hit in the World Series...
Ohhh, I got MVP of the playoffs...
Ohhhhhhh, so impressive fellas. Go away!
Knight > Dibble, but they both suck. Between Dibble's everyday debachery and Knight's fascination with adding "y" to the end of everyone's name (i.e. Matty Capps), it makes me physically ill.
Like you, I couldn't quite pinpoint his arrogance, but my wife pointed it out: Every story has to come back to him. Like the MVP comment in this clip. And this is throughout the game, every little pitch, running miscue, and bat swing initiates a conversation that ultimately ends with "when I was . . ." Well, when he was playing, he lost control and couldn't pitch for crap at the end of his career, either. Hmmm, we don't hear much about that. In fact, at one point he painted himself as a savior in the Marlins org, because he was the teaching veteran, despite never pitching in a single game. At least when Ray offers managerial advice and commentary has the humility to admit he sucked as a manager.
The shame is that we once had one of the wittiest and still informative color guys around--Tom Paciorek--yet had to can him to make room for that dull stiff Sutton. Paciorek played the game too, but had the same type of priceless, self-deprecating wit that made Bob Uecker a Hall of Fame broadcaster.
I still don't watch the broadcasts as much I did in 2006, or if I do I do so with the sound down while I fiddle with my laptop computer or whatever. Carpenter and Dibbble add very little appeal tothe televised games.
An even higher level of discussion is going on about this here:
http://cheezburger.com/View/3673673472
http://cheezburger.com/View/3676795648
http://cheezburger.com/View/3673940736
Higher level?!?! I'm hurt. You mean more extensive I hope. The intellect here is about as high as it gets (or something like that).
I'm not a huge fan of Rob but I think Bob is probably one of the best in the business. However, after listening to other broadcasters through the MLB channel and DirecTV's Extra Innings, I find that, together, they are some of the best around. Just my two cents.
Dave P.
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