Reynolds' Rap

When is a hug not a hug? When it's harassment, apparently. One bad hug, and now the best baseball analyst on television has gotten the hook. As one of ESPN's top stick-and-ball guns, Harold Reynolds wore his knowledge lightly. He stood out on ESPN, because he wasn't one of those blustery contrarian blowhards that the network seems to breed just to annoy me - if I cared enough about football, it would be insufferable. But Reynolds wasn't one of them, he was one of us - a fan and a student of the game that consistently pointed out something in a defensive play, a pitch sequence, a graceful swing, that you wouldn't have noticed on your own - even if (like me) you are slowly mortgaging your waking hours by endlessly watching baseball games, as well as pre-game coverage and after-game locker room interviews.

ESPN would be foolish to dump Reynolds, especially now that Peter Gammon's professional future is uncertain after his brain aneurysm. Who they got left - Kruk? NO!!!!! Anything but that.

So let's hope that the hug was some misunderstanding, and that Reynolds had forgotten about that bobblehead doll in his pocket or something.

Say it ain't so Harold!