Mushnick's surface take on instant replay

By Rick Morris

The New York Post's Phil Mushnick is someone with whom I both frequently agree and disagree. He is always outspoken, but is generally someone whose opinion you can respect even when you think he's wrong because he isn't lazy about backing up a take like a Mike Lupica or Mitch Albom might frequently be.

But I can't at all agree with his reasoning about why instant replay in baseball would be bad. Now, I haven't joined the replay bandwagon yet, but my mind is open on the subject. However, to reject it because of misguided fear that ballclubs could play hanky-panky with the content for replays as Mushnick suggests is ill-conceived.

I don't doubt for a moment that there are many owners who would try to use their TV trucks as an extension of the managerial staff (*cough* STEINBRENNER *cough*). "Sorry Mr. Umpire, we don't have a replay of whether that ball was a home run or not." Unfortunately for Mushnick's theory though, the vast majority of games are televised by both teams. If you're going to use replay, deploy it in the overwhelming number of games where each team has a broadcast team at its disposal. Games that are nationally televised by neutral networks would be exempt from this rule.

That wasn't even a difficult problem to solve.

C'mon, Phil, you're better than this.

How to talk like a blind homer

By Rick Morris

Are you sick of sounding like an intelligent sports fan with well-reasoned, intelligent takes? Do you want to simply repeat and regurgitate the ga-ga from your team, which demonstrably cares way more about saving money than winning a World Series? Well, then we've got the website for you. You can learn every infantile, suck-up-to-the-front-office, know-nothing propagandistic talking point necessary to become a Useful Idiot Par Excellence for the Front Office, such as:

^ "When we don't win championships, the real reason lies with that big ol' meanie Jim Thome, who admittedly left five full seasons ago. But he's just out to get paid. Players chase the last dollar out of Cleveland all the time. I bet that never happens in other cities. Man, our poor unlucky front office just can't catch a break!"

^ "Even if C.C. Sabathia leaves, it's still nothing but blue skies and palomino ponies! We're set up from here until the end of time with athletes even George Steinbrenner would saw off his left nard to have on his team! The only unfortunate thing about C.C. leaving would be those mean fans somehow blaming Larry Dolan for not signing him and Mark Shapiro for letting the situation fester to that point. The nerve of those peons! The Tribe front office is right, these uneducated ingrates don't know how good they've got it!"

^ "The Tribe will sign C.C. Past history regarding franchise players and the Dolan ownership is completely irrelevant! Those who try to learn from history are delusional and can't see what Our Great Benevolent Ownership is doing for us in the glorious struggle against the Infidels of the Central Division!"

^ "Offseason upgrades? Those are for mere mortals! We don't need no stinking offseason upgrades! I can't believe that these uneducated fans are impressed with the acquisition of Miguel Cabera. How many World Series titles has he won? Really? Ok, scratch that last point."

^ "The Indians' mediocre farm system of present is NOT the result of poor drafting! It's a combination, circumstances, bad luck, a lunar eclipse and a curse placed on the minor leaguers by that evil Jim Thome!"