Bob Costas Needs To Step Down From MLB Playoff Broadcasts Immediately

I saw this last night and almost fell out of my helicopter to my death. Bottom-8, two outs in a 3-run playoff game at Yankee Stadium with a man formerly known as Mike Stanton at the dish. Bob is telling viewers about his .475 regular season slug and 27 homers and how there's a chance things could get interesting. 

Bubic then lays an inner cut sinker that misses the barrell just fractionally enough to get a routine double play on one of baseball's worst runners. Clearly a huge moment in the baseball game that experts measured as the 2nd most important to overall win probability of all non-scoring plays. 

That's a fuckin mouthful

But it's true. The only more important non-scoring play last night was Austin Wells double play in the bottom of the 5th:

So now that we've established - huge moment that's objectively measured as one of the biggest of the nights. In a game at baseball's ultimate cathedral that could make it 1-1 or 2-0 in the proverbial battle of David vs. Goliath. 

And without exaggeration 99 out of 100 casual non-Yankee sports fans are cheering for the Royals 

That too is an absolute fuckin mouthful

But it's true. Unless you're a gabagoo Yankee fan, you're almost certainly cheering for the Kansas City Royals. And even if you truly don't give a fuck, we can all agree playoffs are better when we get a winner-take-all game. You have to be so innately obtuse and prolifically detached to see this ALDS any other way.  

And yet one of the great voices of my entire life refuses to capture the moment for the crowd. I understand Bobby grew up in Long Island but does that really mean he can play the sad card for us in the bottom of the 8th? 

I seriously thought so much more of Costas before these playoffs started. The guy who guts out Russian pink eye on a janky teleprompter and once saved a dying man from death. 

That's the Bob Costas I know and have come to love an appreciate, but I don't think I can keep supporting his overwhelming disdain for the up-and-coming Kansas City Royals. Not when you've got a fully rested Seth Lugo and all the momentum in the world coming back to Kansas City. 

So here's my pitch to Manfred and the rest of baseball. Get some decent fucking broadcasters can throw a little juice into the microphone when the time is right. That's all we're asking. You don't need to invent an Artificial Intelligence program that sounds like the playcalling from Mike Piazza baseball on N64

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^^^UNDERRATED GAME^^^

Point is we deserve and expect better from a Yankee playoff game. If that means Bob Costas has to bring some energy to the opposing team then so be it. And if that's impossible, then give Bob Costas a different assignment or put him in MLB Network studio or maybe just not all. Whatever the decision, please be decent enough to throw a little bit of respect on the Kansas City Royals for holding the Yankees to 1-run. I don't think that's too much to ask from one of the best broadcasters in broadcasting history. 

With that said, I hope you guys are watching this series. I think it goes 5 games with maximum late-inning drama. 

Other notes (for right now)

- Kauffman should be insane tomorrow night. The Royals haven't been home in a long time and the Chiefs are undefeated

- These are the best playoffs I can remember since the 2016 Cubs won the World Series and even that might be a stretch. We have 4 series tied at 1-1 a piece and I'm nearly positive that (almost) never happens. 

- This is an ongoing examination but I think the changes to the game have improved late-inning drama. The pitch clock really speeds up the big moments and I like how rapid fire it comes towards the end. So much that I'm willing to attribute a modest correlation between the changes and the volume of late-inning drama. There's enough data there to orchestrate a study that proves my point more thoroughly. For now I just want to emphasize that Rob Manfred did the right thing changing the game. 

Now please do another right thing and give Bob Costas a pep talk. Everybody deserves better. 

PS - I hold no grudges - ever - but this one's pretty close