Monday’s Hot Clicks: This Is Why Everyone Hates ESPN’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’

How is this supposed to help us understand the game better?

ESPN

How is this supposed to help us understand the game better?

If there’s one thing that Yankees and Red Sox fans can agree on it’s that ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast stinks. It’s total mess of a show, hell-bent on showing you everything but the game. 

It can all be summed up pretty nicely by this clip from last night’s game, featuring some kind of animation that I guess is supposed to show me what makes Xander Bogaerts a good hitter. 

(Click here if you can’t see the video.)

Is that... good? Do other hitters not turn into helicopters when they see an inside fastball? At least show me the psychedelic swing path of a guy who doesn’t hit as well as Bogaerts, otherwise this animation just makes me think somebody slipped something into my drink.

When done correctly, this could be a really great feature for a broadcast. Jessica Mendoza certainly knows a lot about swinging a bat and her insight could help viewers understand what makes a guy like Bogaerts so dangerous. One of the best things a broadcast can do is help viewers understand the minutiae of a sport by explaining things clearly and concisely, like Tony Romo does during a football game. 

The other thing that makes this nonsense so awful is that it came in the bottom of the ninth inning. Bogaerts had just singled off of Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman. The broadcasters should have been building the tension of the moment by harping on Chapman’s recent struggles and showing fans in the stands. Instead we got to see something the director dreamed up after taking mushrooms on Saturday night. 

Trevor Bauer is such a baby

Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer took the loss in Cleveland’s game Sunday afternoon against the Royals, and he did not handle it in stride. 

Bauer, who loves to present himself as the smartest guy in baseball, sure did a pretty dumb thing when manager Terry Francona came out to yank him. 

After giving up a go-ahead, 2-run single, Trevor Bauer chucked the ball... over the centerfield wall 😳

(via @FSKansasCity) pic.twitter.com/s3LNn7kLzf

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 28, 2019

Tito had the only appropriate reaction. 

"What the f--- is wrong with you?" pic.twitter.com/rb98gY6Sk5

— Grant (@GrantMN3) July 28, 2019

Bauer, to his credit, did apologize after the game. 

Trevor Bauer opened with an apology before taking any questions after throwing a ball over the center-field wall out of frustration in today’s game: pic.twitter.com/FUMxILdGmd

— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) July 28, 2019

The best of SI

After making a big splash by landing Marcus Stroman, the Mets would be stupid to get rid of Noah Syndergaard. ... Seven quarterback battles to watch as college teams open fall camp. ... AJ Green hurt his ankle and a crappy field at a college stadium may be to blame. 

Around the sports world

Barack Obama’s high school hoops jersey is up for auction. (He wore No. 23 before Michael Jordan.) ... Jeremy Lin got very emotional when talking about his difficult free-agency. ... Bruce Arians doesn’t want you to get all bummed out if he dies before a game. 

Play of the Year candidate

J.P. Crawford with the UNREAL snag and throw 😮

(via @Mariners) pic.twitter.com/rwv0fuHulU

— SI MLB (@si_mlb) July 27, 2019

Andrew McCutchen oozes swag

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cut4 (@mlbcut4)

She made that look easy

Ah, a very natural pose

.@Victor__Robles watching a beautiful wedding take place at Nationals Park pic.twitter.com/adNAy1dnzQ

— Alex Chappell (@AlexChappell) July 27, 2019

David Tyree has nothing on this

Worst game of the year confirmed #PS4sharehttps://t.co/S4CU31kvzQ pic.twitter.com/uctzW5Deka

— - (@opmszn) July 28, 2019

Sportswriters love nothing more than free food

Read the room, dude

The Tour de France went through the Louvre

Up and over!

I hope he was popping wheelies on the sideline

How are you supposed to eat that?

So a buddy of mine ordered the outrageous burger at bc place from r/CFL

NBA player Mike Scott crashed a random wedding

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chris Mellis (@cm_3_)

Messi-esque

.@SpecialOlympics athlete Caden Benson scores a great free kick for FC Dallas' Special Olympics Unified Team 👏

(via @FCDallas)pic.twitter.com/DvLM5fNNHF

— ESPN (@espn) July 28, 2019

Not sports

A 16-year-old kid won $3 million for winning the Fortnite world championship. ... Danny McBride said Kanye West wants him to play him in a biopic. ... An asteroid capable of destroying a city barely missed earth this weekend and scientists had no idea it was coming. 

A literal plague, very cool

The world before camera phones

Hook ’em

He cracked the case

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.