Cano Grounded to Second (In Case You Were Curious)

Fox Ruins Baseball. For about the 65,832nd time.

They did their version of the "Heidi" game on Saturday, at the very end of the Red Sox-Yankees game from Fenway. As many of you know, there was a very long rain delay in Boston. As Alex Rodriguez was about to step to the plate in the eighth inning with two on and two out in a 4-3 game, the heavens opened up and the game was held up for nearly two and one-half hours. This put Fox in a quandry, as their coverage of a NASCAR race was to begin at 8 PM. (Don't ask me what race, as I have no idea what NASCAR is all about.)

Fox had a pregame for it, and the race was set to commence at 8:53 PM, as Fox graphics showed the audience. The game finally got going again just after 8:30 PM. It was moving along fast, and it appeared the game might end before the race would start. With two outs and none on in the ninth, Robinson Cano fouled off a number of Jonathan Papelbon pitches, and the count was at 3 and 2.

And suddenly, we saw a NASCAR race beginning with the game gone. At that point, a graphic came on the screen telling the audience to move over to FX, which is Fox's cable outlet. I was at Professor Thom's, and the bar crowd went ape, screaming for the change over to FX and yelling some colorful language about NASCAR. It took some precious seconds for the TV to be changed over to FX, and when we arrived at it, the graphic was on the screen saying the Red Sox had won. And we had no idea how the game ended!

I pulled out my cell and checked on my ESPN MVP service and found out that Cano had grounded out to Dustin Pedroia to give the Sox the win.

The bar, which included some Yankee fans to go along with the Red Sox throng, were furious at Fox's butchery of the final of a game that many had waited through a long rain delay to see the finish. It is absolutely inexcusable that they gave the audience no warning whatsoever (I was in a crowded bar and heard nothing, but I later read Joe Buck told the audience about the switch coming) that they were moving the game to FX. And they did it right in the middle of an at-bat! Fox has done nothing but ruin baseball coverage since MLB gave them the over-the-air rights. (And my friend Chris told me today that Fox had the exclusive to Saturday's Cardinals-Giants game, but since they did not send a broadcast crew to cover it, no one in St. Louis or San Francisco could see it. They didn't have the decency to turn it over to the local broadcasters. Absolutely appalling.)

Someone at Fox should lose their job over their goofup on Saturday. But we'll still have to live with their godawful broadcasts every Saturday anyway.

Oh yes, Manny Ramirez hit a moonshot and drove in three runs, Josh Beckett won his first game of the year, Jonathan Papelbon proved why he's the best closer in the game, and David Ortiz is still lost at the plate, as the Red Sox won 4-3 at Fenway.