One wag here in my hometown said that ESPN should stand for "Every Sox Perspective Necessary" or "Every Single Pinstripe Notion".

Apparently, the boys in Bristol don't realize several things, none of which involve my beloved Indians:

1) In case ESPN hasn't noticed (and judging by the attention they've given it, they haven't), we've got a barnburner of a race in the AL Central for the wildcard. The White Sox and Twins met each other at the Metrodome this past weekend, with the Twinkies taking two out of three. There is a one-game gap between the Twins and the Chisox right now.

2) The race in the AL West...will it be Oakland or LA/Anaheim?

3) The entire National League. It's just like ESPN to ignore a whole other league. They can do stories on how the New York Mets seem to be the class of the NL, or the Dodgers' incredible run recently, or the terrific wildcard race, with eight teams within 5 games of the wildcard. There was also a Dodgers-Giants series in San Francisco this weekend...the Dodgers swept, and might be taking total control of the NL West at this point.

But nooooo...instead we get the story of the two teams on either side of Bristol.

Sometimes I hate the so-called "Worldwide Leader".

Mike

I swear there's a boatload of people on this board who watch ESPN just so they can come here and bitch about it. If you don't like it, don't watch.

I don't dispute that there's a Red Sox/Yankees bias, but everything you mentioned in your post, they have covered EXTENSIVELY every single night on Baseball Tonight. Just last night they did a 10-minute analysis of the NL wildcard chase, which has a bunch of (inferior) teams in the hunt. Are people really supposed to care that the Arizona Diamondbacks are 62-63 and 3 games back in the wild card race?

The wild card race is huge in the AL, with the two Central teams battling behind Detroit for the WC spot. But you know what else happened over the weekend? The Yankees, who have been trailing the Red Sox for the entire season, swept an unheard of 5-game series in Fenway Park, the first time that has happened in 50+ years. In doing so, the Yanks may have won the division, and blown apart the Red Sox wild card hopes, which were very much alive before that series. Their rivalry and their games have a big impact on the rest of the league, since those two teams are in the playoffs every year.

If you are really looking for the coverage you mention in your post, watch Baseball Tonight, and all the stuff you say they don't cover, they really do. If they lead off the highlights with the Yankees or Red Sox, wait five minutes. They'll show the game you're looking for. ESPN knows where their bread is buttered, and you can't fault them for that. Trust me, my rooting interest lies in the AL Central, and I haven't felt cheated at all by their coverage this season. They widely acknowledge it is the best division in baseball.

I'm sure the 5 Diamondbacks fans care.

Seriously, your points are well-taken. I will give "Baseball Tonight" a chance. I'm just so sick and tired of hearing Bosox this and Yankees that. And it's not because of the Indians.

Exhibit A: The Florida Marlins.

The Marlins are having a remarkable year. Even at 58-66, 6 1/2 out of the wildcard in the NL. This was a team that was supposed to lose 110 games, and I'm surprised they haven't been a bigger story. Joe Girardi, in his first year, has done an amazing job as manager. This team could win the wildcard next year, and the NL East the year after that. The Marlins will be that good...again.

Mike

A related and interesting story could be about the Yankees' managerial tree with Randolph and Girardi succeeding (and Mazilli faltering last year). Makes one wonder if Mattingly would ever take a job with another team or if that's just out of the question and he's happy where he is (or if he might ever succeed a departing Joe Torre someday).

NEWS FLASH!

All MLB teams are nothing but a farm team for the Yanks and Sox.....

Time for the FU smilie. You might want to put the Mets up there too.

Donnie Baseball already said that he won't take any other managerial jobs in MLB and that he wants to stay with the Yankees for life.

I really hope that he is Torre's successor. They have a new stadium being built that will be completed for the 09' season, and I think Mattingly will be the manager of the Yankees by then.

Louisiana Lightning has shown that he is just as good a pitching coach as Mel Stottlemyer, and he may be lauded as one of the up-and-coming Yankees coaches that get coaching consideration elsewhere.