I said I was gonna take a few days off from baseball talk with the All Star Game and festivities.

Enter Stephen A. Smith, ESPN’s resident windbag. On Monday, Smith said:

‘But when you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube or to the ballpark to actually watch you, I don’t think it helps that the number one face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying.”

Smith’s comments were just uncessary. Baseball is trying to grow the game globally, and then you, a face of media giant say this? Now, Smith has apologized, but so what, it was clearly to cover himself. After all, he no problem making the comments hours before, so the apology is jusr damage control.

If I were interviewing Smith, I’d ask him about Ichiro. Did he feel the same way when Ichiro burst on the scene in 2001 and helped carry baseball for a number of years? Oh that’s right, he didn’t First Take to scream about Ichiro or even Dice-K.

The apology is and was bullshit, Window dressing shamlessly masked as sincere. Smith’s comments alienated people, and the process hurt his network and his brand. You don’t think Fox is gonna take every subtle jab at ESPN tonight and really enjoy doing so?

It’s mind-blogging to me in 2021, after last year’s elections and social justice movements, that this sort of inexcusable nonsense can still occur.

We should be focusing on a young phenom who hits for power and pitches. How cool is that? Instead, we’re left to once again having to reconcile and contend with a man’s ignorance. How sad is that?

Back tomorrow with the usual blog.