Worst of the Postseason so Far

There has been a lot of bad this postseason. I put a poll up on the right so we can vote on what was worst, but let's review all the bad:

Closers - I know Mariano Rivera is considered in a class by himself...but every other closer this postseason has a blown save (I count Madson as the Phillies' closer in the first round). Every single one. Even Rivera hasn't been infallible letting an inherited runner score in the ALDS and looking somewhat human throughout. Maybe it's all that spit.

Announcing - I don't know which group is worst. Chip Caray (#fisted), Ron Darling (tax issues), and Craig Sager (awful suits) for TBS. Joe Buck (who must have tattooed a Halo on his ass for this series), Tim McCarver (who is confirmed senile), and Ken Rosenthal (great online but ill-suited for sideline reporting) for FOX. ESPN Radio is running out the awful crew of John Miller (and his lovely Hispanic name pronunciations), Joe Morgan (fire him already, please), and Steve Phillips (and his troubles exposed today). And on local radio we have John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WCBS. Tim McCarver let us know that Gary Matthews, Jr. is the son of Gary Matthews, Sr. Awful Announcing, indeed.

Broadcasting - TBS can't come back from commercial in time for the pitch. FOX can't put up the pitch trax correctly. I know TBS has a contract with baseball, but why do they get to broadcast the most important games of the postseason when they don't have any broadcasting experience? Would it kill either network to put a local guy on the broadcast? Can we get Vin Scully to do the Dodgers? Also, MLB caves to the networks when it comes to broadcasts. There are WAY too many off days. If the Yankees had a game rained out in the ALCS, it would have had to be rescheduled with FOX's football broadcasting in mind. The World Series should be in Game 5 by now, not the LCS. There is no reason why we should have a World Series that can't end before November 2nd. None.

Umpiring - I must have missed that memo where MLB went to replacement umps like the NBA. Must have missed this memo. Screw instant replay, just get new umpires! I believe Tim McClelland also declared Florida for George W Bush in 2000...while looking at the outfield. I don't even think I need to explain this one if you've seen any of the playoffs so far.

Baserunning - These are supposed to be "fundamentally sound" teams in the postseason. Yeah, um, about that... It wasn't just the Twins in the first round (though they really ran themselves out of that series). Bobby Abreu and Jorge Posada showed how not to run the bases so far in the ALCS. Even Captain Jetes got picked off on a mediocre move yesterday.

Commercials - Black Taco! The Black Eyed Pees hocking DirectTV. Former SNL personalities playing with the MyTouch. Whoopie Goldberg and Phil Jackson playing with the MyTouch (well if you want to sing out, sing out...and if you want to free, be free!). Black Taco! The George Lopez Show vs. The Wanda Sykes Show. Avocados. Quitting smoking. Ninja Assasin. Blackberry. Some movie about vampires with John C. Reilly (?!). Black Jack Taco with pepperjack sauce!

Errors - The Angels have been awful this series, especially in the first two games. The final play of Game 2 was a walk-off on an error. In the second game of the ALCS, Robinson Cano had two errors and Derek Jeter had one. Chase Utley looks like he has a case of the yips. Matt Holliday will always remember dropping the ball against the Dodgers that effectively ended that series. The mental errors have been huge also. Jorge Posada forgot how many outs there are. Numerous guys are getting picked off. 0-2 pitches are being left over the plate. People are throwing to the wrong base, overrunning the base, trying to advance to third on a ball in front of them. Managers are making errors as well. Joe Girardi may have managed himself out of a game and all the other managers have had at least one decision that leaves you scratching your head.

MLB - All of the above reflects poorly on them. The two small market teams in the playoffs (Rockies and Twins) got eliminated in the first round. They had a total of one game 4 so they lost out on a ton of revenue dollars. They could possibly have two LCS series that end in 5. Bud Selig is asked about instant replay after every game. The Commish can't be too happy right now.

Mets Fans - Carlos Gomez played in a playoff game before Johan Santana. Randy Wolf, the guy they didn't want to sign and instead went after Oliver Perez, is a trusted starter for the Dodgers. The Yankees and the Phillies may face each other in the World Series. The Yankees are their cross-town rivals. The Phillies are their division rivals. Pedro Martinez is pitching well for the Phillies. Ron Darling is broadcasting the Phillies games and gushing over the Phillies players. Jimmy Rollins is getting game winning hits. David Wright can no longer be considered the best third baseman in New York by any means. And Steve Phillips' name being dragged through the mud means that people will of course bring up his awful tenure with the Mets. And it came out today that while the Mets were saying all year that they couldn't spend any money because of Bernie Madoff, that they actually made money off of Madoff! Don't worry, they'll go back to losing on the last day of the season in 2010!

So who is having the worst postseason so far? Put you answer in the comments below and vote over on the right.