ESPN PULLS OUT THEIR BIGGEST WEAPON--Goose Gossage

Listed on ESPN.com's web page right now, top left corner--What a shock.

• "Insider Chat" with Goose Gossage....

Gossage is the most vociferous, enraged, irrational media magnet on 1 subject--BASHING MARIANO RIVERA FOR NO REASON. (Unless he's had a sudden change of heart...).

• In spite of his long and well documented losing record in the National League, ESPN has made a priority of elevating Trevor Hoffman to the HALL OF FAME using 2 themes: viewing the total save stat in regular season without considering other relevant data; and discounting post season performances as just something that obscures the regular season total save stat and about which one should feel sorry for their guy.

On June 1st, 2007 ESPN published a poll lauding Hoffman. Here's an example of the logic they used to sell their case (in case anyone is curious):

• ""There's no question Trevor Hoffman gets my Hall of Fame vote. I covered the Yankees for eight years and got to see Mariano Rivera on a regular basis.
• Unfortunately for Hoffman and other relievers of his era, they are compared to Rivera's body of work in the playoffs. There's no denying Rivera's greatness, but had the Yankees had Hoffman instead, I believe they would have been just as successful.'' -- John Delcos, The Journal News (New York)"

John Delcos quote from ESPN.com, "Hoffman Deserves a Plaque in Cooperstown," Crasnick: Surveying Hoffman's Hall of Fame Case," 6/1/07

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