Harold Reynolds

by vagabond on Jul 25, 2006 10:40 AM EDT

I just saw on ESPN insider (from a New York Post article) that Harold Reynolds was fired from Baseball Tonight and is no longer welcome in Bristol. No reason was given. Has anybody heard anything about him ruffling feathers with the big shots or any other reason he was fired? I thought he would have been a part of that team for the next 8 years as they re-newed their contract with MLB.

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Yeah, weird

I wouldn't go so far as to say I like Reynolds, but he was certainly the best of the ex-players on BBTN--Kruk? Brantley? Awful.

My impression is there was an incident (or incidents), though who knows what, not a matter of them being unhappy with his performance.

I understand that he was a little loose with the women, though that in itself would be neither suprising nor grounds for firing from what I understand about ESPN. Besides, they kept Irvin around after the pipe incident.

He must have done something pretty bad, I think.

by Eric in Madison on Jul 25, 2006 11:29 AM EDT reply actions

Ya...

I tend to agree that it's something on the side with women (sexual harassment maybe?). I'm sure we'll know in the next day or two.

by djskilbr on Jul 25, 2006 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions

While we don't know squat yet

There's every reason to believe it's "off-camera", given they canned him in the middle of the season.

If you're just unhappy with a guy's performance on the air, you let him go after the season.

by BD57 on Jul 25, 2006 10:13 PM EDT reply actions

Hm

This is interesting. Something like sexual harrasment is certainly possible. It could be anything, really.

We may not ever be told specifically, but it may be possible to read it from what (little) other ESPN guys say about it, aka, if they slip in little spots indicating they still are with Renyolds, or if they too no longer welcome him.

At any rate, I hae pretty much stopeed watching ESPN for anythign mroe than seing what has happened. their anchors arre the best in the biz bar none, but their in game commentators are terrible and their analysts are worse. Renyolds included.

"Baseball is great because you can't take a knee or kill the clock. You have to put the ball over the plate and give the other guy his damn chance." C Stengel

by AdamOnFirst on Jul 26, 2006 1:10 AM EDT reply actions

Sexual Harassment

According to this MSNBC article, the New York Post is reporting that Reynolds was fired for sexual harassment - he says he gave a woman a hug that was misinterpreted.

by BeefMaster on Jul 26, 2006 10:19 AM EDT reply actions

ESPN's fall

Does anyone realize that ESPN.com is a 5 MB dowload evry time you come to the site and has no original content that is not protected by a subscription-based sign in? At this point, it provides no value. I am surprsied anyone ever goes there anymore.

As for BBTN, it's a joke. Reynolds was part of that, but since Peter Gammons is gone, about the only value it provides is highlights, which are scant for all small and midmarket teams. The editors gear the whole thing to market demographics and don't know a thing about relevance. And the commentary sucks. I would be surprised if they have much viewership anymore anyway.

Remember when ESPN was any good? Now there's SportsCenter, poker, darts and the WNBA. Whoo hoo?

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on Jul 26, 2006 11:45 AM EDT reply actions

That's actually just not true

..and has no original content that is not protected by a subscription-based sign in

I don't know what your beef with espn is exactly, but that's just not true. Try again.

Now there's SportsCenter, poker, darts and the WNBA.

You conveniently left off their MLB coverage, NBA coverage, and NFL coverage. There's also the College World Series, which I quite enjoy.

ESPN's not perfect, but come on, you don't need to bend the facts like this to make your point.

by ubelmann on Jul 26, 2006 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Overstatement

Obviously, ESPN has a lot of value. I was using overstatement. Mostly, I am POed that much of the ESPN.com MLB site that i used to enjoy (Neyer, Stark and Gammons mostly) is unavaiable for free. The free content is mostly taken from wire services. And I'm also POed that they broadcast so much poker and darts and so little real sports like baseball and hockey.

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on Jul 26, 2006 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Cmath...

My cable bill (with internet) is something like $160 a month. I have no problem paying $7 for what ESPN Insider gives me.

by djskilbr on Jul 26, 2006 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow

That's my total utility bill, including water, electricity, Internet (DSL), and digital TV. I guess I get more value from this site, Seth's and Gleeman's than I ever did from ESPN when it was free. I'd rather have a six pack of Summit for my $7 a month.

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on Jul 26, 2006 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Poker

I must say, I find poker excellent mid day filler television. If you can't really sit down and watch a whole game of something, poker is great for the time you have. Plus, you kind of learn a bit about how to play by wtching the pros.

And it isn't like they can have baseball on all the time. htere are only so many games played...

I like ESPN's programming, just not the analysts. That's why I'd never pay for EPN insider. A few f those guys, like Neyer, write good stuff, but many of them put out tons of fluff that is often inaccurate.

"Baseball is great because you can't take a knee or kill the clock. You have to put the ball over the plate and give the other guy his damn chance." C Stengel

by AdamOnFirst on Jul 26, 2006 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Looks like we were right...

crazy.

And ESPN.com is awesome CMath. Just get insider for the 7 bucks a month. You get like 5 free mags a month as part of the subscription.

BBT is still a good show DESPITE its analysts.

by djskilbr on Jul 26, 2006 1:06 PM EDT reply actions

Sort of

The subscription would only be worht it because fo the free magazine subscriptions, not because ESPN is actually good, and BBTN is only good for highlights, like cmath said. But even if you watch it for that you have to sit through 5 minutes f Yankees highlights, then 5-10 more of disecting the latest Ar-Rod news and breaking down every damn at bat from teh Yankee game. Then, every game is a totally new start for the Yankees. if the play well it's like, "oh, they are finally doing what they should, the rest of baseball is screwed", and if the play poorly and lose, "the yankees are continuing to underachieve. Is Joe Torre's job in trouble?".

Mixed in are hugely erroneous statements by all the so called analysts and a healhth dose of red sox and mets. I don't need to waste my time watching it for sixty minutes when i can get more accurate info from the official box scores. the only time I watch it is in the morning when I'm getting ready for the day, because there is a tv on the wall in the bathroom at my house.

"Baseball is great because you can't take a knee or kill the clock. You have to put the ball over the plate and give the other guy his damn chance." C Stengel

by AdamOnFirst on Jul 26, 2006 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Insider

I don't think it's that bad a deal. The trade rumors aren't always that great, but I enjoy the Insider info from guys like Rob Neyer and Buster Olney. They at least seem somewhat interested in what teams outside of New York and Boston are doing. Hell, Neyer is actually a pretty big supporter of the Twins and has had them as his WS pick the last couple years.

by vagabond on Jul 26, 2006 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep...

Neyer is one of my favorites. Olney/Caple also give love. And then you have Gammons (we hope again--prayers are with him) as well who is great obviously. I also like the BA content with Callis/Sickels. And then the fantasy sports content is good too. And Simmons is an absolutely hysterical writer. There's still a lot to like about the site. Just scroll by the Yanks/Sox stuff; that's what I do.

by djskilbr on Jul 26, 2006 1:56 PM EDT reply actions