Unlike many baseball fans I've never had much of a problem with Tim McCarver in the broadcast booth; I find him to be more like a necessary evil than anything else. (Joe Morgan is another matter altogether.) But a recent pronouncement from McCarver reminded me of the Mets' botched firing of manager Willie Randolph a few seasons ago. In other words, a widely supported conclusion was handled badly and ended up biting the protagonist in the ass.
During Fox Sports' broadcast of the Saturday, July 17th, Yankees vs Rays game at Yankee Stadium, McCarver decried the absence of any tribute to former Yankee manager Joe Torre at the Yankees home park. Now, regardless of how one may feel regarding the Yankees' handling of Torre's departure, the fact remains that he led the Bronx Bombers to 12 consecutive post-season appearances, including 4 World Series championships, 6 pennants, and 10 division titles. So, yes, it's a no-brainer to suggest that Torre be acknowledged in the palace that is the new Yankee Stadium, and shame on the Yankees for failing to do so.
But for McCarver to compare this Yankee faux pas to mid 20th century German and Soviet generals being airbrushed out of their respective histories for not achieving whatever victory was expected of them, is not only grounds for invoking Godwin's Law, but an incredibly inappropriate and ill-timed statement mere days after the death of Yankees owner, and acknowledged hard-ass George M. Steinbrenner. Jesus, man, do you not think before you spew such nonsense? Good grief.
