Steve Lyons

Yesterday I stepped out to watch some football and as it turned out some baseball. I went over to the local American Legion where the bottle beers are still less than $2 ($1.95) and ice cold. I took a seat at the bar next to Dave (a cop who I went to high school with) and as luck would have it the TV closest to us was on the just starting Tigers / A's game. Tom Brennerman came on and was soon joined by Lou Pinella. Dave immediately started ripping Pinella for being a marble mouthed joke of an announcer. I had to agree because it always seemed to me like Pinella is slurring his words like he's just had a couple of pops.

Then Brennerman and Pinella were joined by a third guy and the guy on my right immediately asked "Who's that?" I watch a lot of baseball and I had no idea. I thought it strange that Fox would trot out a new guy in the middle of the playoffs but I didn't let the thought linger - instead I turned my attention to the Ohio State game because I had Ohio State giving 14.5 points (oooh rah!).

This morning things became clear about that third guy in the Fox broadcast booth. That third guy was Jose Mota who is to the Angels what Jerry Remy is to the Red Sox. Mota was there because Psycho Steve Lyons had been fired.

If you read the link - its seems what Lyons said was basically innocent enough which leads me to believe that Fox was just fed up with his act. This move smells of an excuse to get rid of Lyons and probably opens the door for Al Leiter to step into the broadcast booth as the number 2 baseball color commentator for Fox next year (behind the piece of crap Tim McCarver).

I dislike Lyons as an announcer but I dislike using uber PC tactics as a weapon to fire someone even more. Fox hired Lyons because he was unpredictable and he gets fired for proving them right? When Lyons was hired it could have easily been predicted that it would not end well. I don't think anyone could have predicted the weasel way Fox chose to end the relationship though.