Shouldn't you have to, like, you know, know something to do commentary?

Once upon a time, there was Monday Night Baseball. And the Saturday afternoon game of the week. And those were good things, because all games weren't televised. You followed your team through the newspaper articles, and then when you saw them, you'd get the national broadcasters. Now, if you're a Red Sox fan in New England, every game's available to you, and covered by broadcasters that do all of the games, follow the team, travel with the team, know the team. And occasionally they get taken off for national broadcasters who don't know the team. Like Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on ESPN, or Joe Buck and Tim McCarver on FOX. Well, yesterday was one of the FOX games, and Joe Buck made one of the stupidest pieces of commentary ever. I actually stopped and rewound to make sure I'd heard correctly.

Joe Buck: "Youkilis may end up some day like Hillenbrand. Somebody that had a ton of hitting potential, couldn't wedge his way into the lineup, they move him, don't get much for him - Byung Hyun Kim, who's with Colorado now - And then Hillenbrand is a guy that the Red Sox, and a lot of other teams, would line up to try to get."

1. There have probably not been two more dis-similar hitters come through the Red Sox farm system in the last 10 years. Youkilis, with spectacular plate discipline, the "Greek God of Walks", and Swing-away Shea Hillenbrand.



2. As opposed to being someone who couldn't "wedge his way into the lineup," Hillenbrand was playing every day before he was traded, keeping the superior Bill Mueller and David Ortiz in irregular roles.



3. They didn't "not get much" for him. They got an outstanding relief pitcher, who was still young, still inexpensive, and already had a tremendous Major League track record. He came in and completely stabilized a position of need, and was a big part of the 2003 Red Sox play-off push. Meanwhile, the offense improved with the subtraction of Hillenbrand, because both Mueller and Ortiz were better. So it was a great trade for the Red Sox.



4. There is no way on God's Green Earth that the Red Sox are going to "line up to try to get" Shea Hillenbrand, a player that would fill no holes for them, who's approach to the game is the opposite of everything that they want to do, and who went on the radio calling the GM derogatory names when he left.

Other than that, though, it was a pretty incisive piece of commentary...