A dead horse was beaten

I just got finished watching the FOX Saturday Game Of The Week with the Mets vs. the Tigers. This was my first chance to hear former Dodger 1B Eric Karros do analysis. I came away less than impressed.

Close followers of the Tigers know that the bullpen has been having its struggles. The pitching staff as a whole has not been as effective, mostly due to injury. And fans like me are well too aware about blowing a bullpen out when starters cannot make it to the seventh inning.

In the course of one inning of play, did Karros have to make mention of Tiger starter Jeremy Bonderman not making it too far into the seventh FIVE times?

This honestly is not a rant about announcer bias. Detroit has had its share in recent years, but I would think with a magical season like 2006 behind them, they would at least garner a little respect. Why did Karros have to constantly harp on the point of the starters getting a little further into the game? I am so well aware of it. Watchers of FOX this afternoon are now a little too aware of it.

Take away the injuries to Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney, and take away Todd Jones' recent ineffectiveness. Place their bullpen on a par with 2006's. Would Karros be saying those things? He'd be saying it was good for Bonderman to get as far as he did, and now look out below, here come the bad guys. Even if Zumaya didn't throw 100 MPH bullets or Rodney didn't have that devastating changeup... the point about Bonderman may have been mentioned once.

Instead, we hear it all through the seventh and eighth innings. Wasn't there any other action going on in the field?

Blatant biasness is one thing... second-guessing what a manager is forced to do (sometimes beyond his control) comes a very close second.

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Okay okay, so Roger Clemens is a success his first time out (6 IP, 7K), and look out, the Yankees have won five straight. One man does not a starting rotation make. We will judge the results over the long haul, not over just one start.

And how long is the Alex Rodriguez curse going to haunt Texas? They have been playing some ugly baseball lately. Three starters with an ERA over six? Their farm system must be barren and devoid of prospects who might lower the team ERA a bit. And star 1B Mark Texiera has made no bones about leaving after the season.

Sloppy results, bad P.R. It's an acid mixture down in Arlington.