Thank You, Keith Olbermann

Everyone knows that as of late, I have been rather critical of Countdown, but today all I have to say is thank goodness for Keith Olbermann and his MLBlog. Thank you, thank you, thank you. For saying what needed to be said about the overhyped comeback of a certain undeserving, cheating jackass named Manny Ramirez.

For those that were not watching the game or have not heard by now, during the 1st inning of the Mets-Phillies game which was broadcast exclusively on Fox, they actually cutaway from that game and went to a split screen and put on the Dodgers-Padres game when Manny Ramirez was at bat. Worse yet, they made that game the larger window and they put the audio from that game. Oh yeah, the Phillies game was still going on at the time! And then to make things worse, when Ramirez launched a homerun in the 1st inning, Fox cutaway completely from the Mets-Phils game to a full-screen of the Dodgers game to show Manny Ramirez rounding the bases like the complete doofus that he is. And it's not like I was out of market either! I was watching on Fox 29, the Fox station for the city of Philadelphia! I think you get the picture of how angry all of us were watching the Phils last night! And to make matters even worse, they went to the split-screen for Manny's other 2 at-bats, of which I laughed hysterically when they resulted in a ground out and fielders choice.

Fox clearly had a hard on for Ramirez, and forget for a sentence that the reason he was out of the game for 50-games was for testing positive for a steroid masking agent, this was not even Ramirez's 1st game back! It was his second! What the fuck, Fox? What the fuck?

I will end my rant here and let Keith Olbermann write the rest of the post, because he put my anger in words better than I can ever try. Via his MLBlog.

[Lou Gehrig] has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and it will be months more of pain, and confusion, and fear, and denial, and dread, before he has even heard the phrase. And then the world will close in on him: in March, 1939, he will stagger through spring training. In May he will take himself out of the lineup. Weeks later he will be at the Mayo Clinic. In July he will be honored at Yankee Stadium and initially be asked not to speak to the heartbroken crowd, for fear that just the sound of his words, his acknowledgment of what is so terribly wrong, will reduce 60,000 people to tears. By the following spring, working for the underprivileged and troubled youth of New York City, he will pose, smiling, at an office desk. Only later will it be revealed that the pencil he holds had to be placed there, and his fist closed around it, by somebody else's hand. Barely two years after the diagnosis, exactly 16 years after his legendary streak began, it will all end.

And yet in the Bronx 70 years ago today, Lou Gehrig composed himself in such a manner, with a strength that eclipsed even what he showed on the ballfields of the '20s and '30s, that he could give one final measure of himself with such honesty, with such courage, with such a simple and direct connection to the human condition, that it is quoted, somewhere, every day.

And when those who have followed him in the game he loves, honor him, and this country, and themselves, by having those words read in every ballpark in the major leagues on this 4th of July, they emphasize all that is good and brave, despite the unbeatable odds and ultimate "bad break" we all face eventually, about the game, about the nation, about life itself.

But first, let's take you out to San Diego where Manny Ramirez is just back from a 50-game suspension. For cheating. For cutting corners. For breaking rules. For lying. For deception. For letting down his teammates. For contributing to suspicions against every honest player. For raising a giant middle finger to sportsmanship. For abusing the fans. For risking that for which Lou Gehrig would've given anything - his own health.

Ramirez, of course, homered today in his first at bat. And some people cheered. As if he were just back from an injury, or a death in the family. As if he were a hero. As if he were an honest man. As if he were somehow worthy of sharing the meaningfulness of this day with Lou Gehrig.

Credit to Fox's Tim McCarver - who has never gotten enough of it for this one quality he has shown, often at such great risk to his own security and even employment - for his honesty in pointing out the inappropriateness of the reaction to Ramirez's return. He is not making a comeback. He is out on parole and it will be years - if ever - before many of us will believe he did not do something illegal, improper, or immoral, this morning.

And shame on the broadcasters who decided to treat Ramirez's return as if it were something to be trumpeted, rather than what it is - something to be ashamed of. This trumpeting is barely about Manny Ramirez - this applies to McGwire and Bonds and Palmeiro and Rodriguez and all the rest, caught or admitted.

This is Lou Gehrig's day. The rest of the juicers may come back and play tomorrow and there will not be boycotts. The Dodgers will probably go to the World Series, carried in part by a great flaming fraud like Ramirez. And judging by the brainless response of fans who would cheer anybody if they hit the ball 425 feet for their team, and boo anybody if they hit the ball 425 feet for their opponents, there will not even be significant repercussions.

But today, there should have been. Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez and the others of the PED era did not belong in baseball today, and that they did not show the requisite awareness of their own shame, only makes it worse. Lord, send us a 'roider who has the presence of mind to say: "On this day I do my penance; I don't yet belong on the field even with just the memory of this man, I hope you'll forgive me and I can again earn your trust."

Thank you, Keith Olbermann. Thank you.

It disgusts me (The Baseball Nerd)