04/23/24
March 02, 2010
Peter Pascarelli gets the Trotsky treatment: Two weeks ago, Peter Pascarelli, as one of the hosts of ESPN's podcast Baseball Today, made a throwaway comment about how pigeons might improve the appearance of the recently unveiled statue of Bud Selig at Miller Park. The next day an unscheduled episode of the podcast was released that consisted entirely of Pascarelli making an epic mea culpa to Selig and praising his career as baseball's commissioner. Last week's scheduled episode of Baseball Today did not include Pascarelli and the other host and producer made no mention of the previous week's events or of their missing co-host.
posted by ursus_comiter to baseball at 08:35 AM - 13 comments
ESPN sucks. If the network is willing to fire somebody over a remark that tame, it puts a muzzle on everybody else in their baseball coverage.
Here's the entire comment:
Peter Pascarelli: "I think the big story of the week that we're overlooking is that the Brewer's are going to put up a statue of Bud Selig at Miller Park."ESPN: The worldwide leader in kissing up.
Eric Karabell: "What do you think of that?"
PP: "I think that's just great. It's a good target for pigeons all over Wisconsin."
posted by rcade at 08:43 AM on March 02, 2010
Didn't Scott van Pelt have to the same thing last year?
posted by NoMich at 08:45 AM on March 02, 2010
Yes, and it was about Bud Selig in that case as well.
posted by yerfatma at 09:02 AM on March 02, 2010
ESPN and MLB are in bed together so any disparaging comments made about the MLB or Bud Selig is going to draw the ire of management from the mothership. Just ask Scott Van Pelt.
posted by BornIcon at 09:37 AM on March 02, 2010
More evidence of why I don't miss ESPN one fucking bit.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:19 AM on March 02, 2010
Not just their baseball coverage, rcade. The only ESPN Podcast I listen to is NBA Today (which, oddly, comes out thrice a week), and I'm sure shit like this will put a subconscious mental filter in how I hear it.
You'd think ESPN would want their podcasts to be entertaining. Apparently not.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:44 AM on March 02, 2010
You'd think ESPN would want their podcasts to be entertaining.
Very true. I like the Tony Kornheiser show along with the B.S. Report with Bill Simmons but ESPN has made it difficult for me to listen to these shows knowing that these people cannot say what's truly on their minds. They rather have all their shows be like the Mike & Mike show (which is ok) but it's not everyone's cup of tea.
posted by BornIcon at 12:00 PM on March 02, 2010
Imagine how much kissing up they would have done if they'd have had the Olympics.
posted by jjzucal at 03:35 PM on March 02, 2010
Owls flying o'er the park
Crap on statues in the dark.
If Sherman's horse can take it,
Why can't Bud?
posted by Howard_T at 03:45 PM on March 02, 2010
Maybe they can put a statue up in Montreal and invite the pigeons.
posted by owlhouse at 03:47 PM on March 02, 2010
If they put a statue up in Montreal, the pigeons would have to stand at the back of a very long line before they got a chance to shit on Bud.
posted by Ufez Jones at 03:54 PM on March 02, 2010
Wow, glad I don't work at ESPN, I wouldn't last a week.
For Selig and/or ESPN to be that lacking in a sense of humor is baffling. All statues are targets for pigeons, so to say a statue in Milwaukee is a great target for pigeons all over Wisconsin is really just stating the obvious.
It's such a non-story if ESPN lets it go, instead, now they've allienated many of their listeners.
posted by dviking at 04:45 PM on March 02, 2010
More here, including a quote from the special apology podcast:
"I wanted to clean up something I said on Thursday, which was not said in the right way, for which I apologize concerning the commissioner of baseball, Bud Selig I made a throwaway line about the stateue that is being put up in his honor at Miller Park in Milwaukee you know how I am I'm not exactly the glibest person at times, sometimes my sense of humor is clumsy, and this was as clumsy as it gets. And for that, I really apologize both to Bud Selig and everybody at ESPN to have something like this happen is not good on my part. It is completely my fault, no one else is responsible for it."