Maybe I'm Racist, 'Cause I Don't Get It

You, like me, were probably surprised (and probably elated) to not hear Steve Lyons in the Fox broadcast booth during this afternoon's A's/Tigers American League Championship Series Game 4. Here's why "Psycho" didn't work today.

Here's the relevant part:
In the second inning of Friday's game between Detroit and Oakland, Piniella talked about the success light-hitting A's infielder Marco Scutaro had in the first round of the playoffs. Piniella said that slugger Frank Thomas and Eric Chavez needed to contribute, comparing Scutaro's production to finding a "wallet on Friday" and hoping it happened again the next week.

Later, Piniella said the A's needed Thomas to get "en fuego" - hot in Spanish - because he was currently "frio" - or cold. After Brennaman praised Piniella for being bilingual, Lyons spoke up.

Lyons said that Piniella was "hablaing Espanol" - butchering the conjugation for the word "to speak" - and added, "I still can't find my wallet."

"I don't understand him, and I don't want to sit too close to him now," Lyons continued.

Fox executives told Lyons after the game he had been fired.

Fox hasn't said, and I'm not exactly certain where the offense lies. I certainly don't think Lyons was saying that Hispanics steal wallets. If it's the "hablaing Espanol" part, well, that sounds silly, but hardly racist. Do they think Lyons doesn't want to sit next to a Hispanic man? I dunno.

I guess it's possible that Pinella was pissed off and complained to somebody, but I doubt Lou has the power to get somebody fired. Really, I barely understand what the hell Lyons was talking about anyway. His dialogue doesn't make any sense, but the vibe I get is a lunkhead joshing around.

I should be clear--Steve Lyons is a terrible baseball announcer and fully deserves to be fired, but because he's bad at his job. It's also important to note that he has been reprimanded before by Fox for comments he once made about Jewish player Shawn Green.

What's really important is that we won't have to listen to Lyons' idiocy and lack of baseball knowledge on Fox telecasts anymore. And for that, I say, thank you, Fox.

While we're on the subject, who the hell is Ken Rosenthal? He's barely more polished than the Boom Goes the Dynamite Guy. I never heard of Rosenthal before these playoffs, and I hope I never hear about him again.

Oh, and Tim McCarver sucks. But you knew that already.