Why I don't hate the HR derby

Here's why I don't hate the home-run derby as much as most baseball writers:

It's on cable TV.

Modern-day cable.

Are we really going to start enforcing old-school standards on modern cable?

Have you seen what becomes a hit on modern cable TV?

Duck Dynasty: A show about inbred southerners who make duck calls. (It's actually pretty funny in small doses, but Shakespeare it ain't.)

Cooking shows: Get one angry chef and a bunch of lowlife wannabe chefs and have 'em cook stuff. Brilliant!

By these standards, the home-run derby IS Shakespeare.

Chris Berman is an embarrassment to himself and his profession, but the home-run derby is mediocre cable TV stretched out long enough to fill prime time. It's not awful. It's just not as good as ESPN and MLB want it to be.

It's like the NBA all-star game. There's no defense, but it can be interesting if the right personalities are involved.

The Josh Hamilton-Justin Morneau duel was fascinating theater. Seeing Yeonis Cespedes win the Derby on the same day that the San Francisco Chronicle published a wonderful story about his and his family's struggles to make it to America was heartening. Seeing Bryce Harper hit homers off his father's nasty cutter gave us insights into what made Harper such a prodigy.

It ain't Mad Men or Breaking Bad, but even those brilliant shows offer a few bad episodes.

-------------------------------

I'll be on 1500ESPN at noon with Judd & Dubay. Planning a couple of name guests for Sunday Sports Talk, 10-noon on Sunday on 1500ESPN, following the Ron Gardenhire Show at 9:30. (We will take a lot of calls this week if you'd like to ask the manager anything.)