Around 6 AM on Wednesday morning, Fox Sports host Ben Maller blasted his Fox colleagues for their assertion that the Los Angeles Dodgers had momentum after their Game 2 NLCS loss to the Atlanta Braves. He specifically went after David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, and Frank Thomas.
“I don’t normally watch postgame shows but this time I did,” Maller said. “I watched Big Papi, A-Rod and Frank Thomas all giggling like school girls because they said the Dodgers have momentum after scoring some runs in garbage time. NO! The Dodgers don’t have momentum. The Dodgers don’t have anything but an “L” because they didn’t score more runs than the other team. They don’t get a gold star or an extra-large juice box. This is not Little League.”
Approximately 12 hours later, the Dodger offense made Maller eat his words and vindicated the FS1 panel by scoring a playoff record 11 runs in the first inning and cruised to a 15-3 Los Angeles victory.
Before the Dodger bats destroyed his arguments, Maller also said that the idea of momentum is largely an invention of the media.
“I’ll admit momentum makes good sportscaster jargon,” Maller said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t actually exist. It doesn’t exist for the Dodgers or the Atlanta Braves. Momentum is just an abstract idea that you can mold however you want, to fit to tell the story you are looking to tell. It is an after the fact explanation.”
Despite the Dodgers’ historic win, Maller continued to downplay the idea of momentum on his broadcast Thursday morning.
“The Dodgers have won one game,” Maller said. “They avoided being put on life support for a few hours. That’s all. They are still not out of the woods yet, but at least now they don’t have to worry about getting mauled by a Grizzly Bear (getting swept). They are still lost and their compass is broken though.”
Maller adds the reason the Braves lost Game Three was the poor performance of Braves’ starter Kyle Wright, who lasted only 2/3 of an inning.
“I know a lot of you, after what I said yesterday, were like, ‘hey Maller, it was the Dodgers’ momentum’. No it wasn’t. The reason the Braves lost the game was because Kyle Wright sucked. He pooped the bed and needs his diaper changed. It had nothing to do with momentum. The Braves scored a couple runs in the ninth inning last night. Does that mean they have momentum going into Game Four? No.”
Maller then criticized A-Rod once again.
“I think I was one of only four people to watch the postgame show,” Maller said. “With bravado and swagger. A-Rod says that the winner of Game 4 will win the NLCS. I disagree. The Braves still have the advantage even if it’s tied after four games. They have two ace pitchers in the hole. The Dodgers are likely to run at least one guy out there the rest of the way that will blow up.”