TV host known for click bait and stirring the pot went too far this time
Bayless says Ginobili was Better than Dream
Feb 19, 2019, 8:06 am
Photo by Tim DeFrisco/ALLSPORT/Getty Images
By now most fans of sports talk shows on radio and TV can figure out that Skip Bayless is all about stirring the pot for the sake of clicks, retweets, and shares. I have found myself caught in the middle of one of his ludicrous takes and responding to him on social media as if he would actually have data and back up to validate his ridiculous opinion.
It's all fun and games until he involves your favorite team or the best players in your franchise's history and then it becomes personal. Yesterday he went a bit too far for most Rockets fans and fans of NBA basketball in general when he said Manu Ginobili was a better player than Hakeem Olajuwon. There is fodder and playful banter, and then there is blasphemy and blatant disrespect. This comparison blows right by the first option and firms plants itself smack dab in the middle of the latter. You can't compare apples to oranges and you can't compare the Dream to Ginobili.
About the only way you can make a case for the Spurs legend over Olajuwon is to count rings and NBA championships. Hakeem has the two titles that he won in the back-to-back seasons of 1993-94 and 1994-95 with the Rockets, while Ginobili has four rings all with San Antonio. Aside from this catagory, the rest of the comparrison is so heavily weighted in Olajuwon's favor it's not even funny and for Rockets fans it's downright insulting.
I mean Ginobli was a fantastic international player winnig a gold medal for his home country of Argentina as well as a Euroleague championship. When you add his four NBA titles he is one of only two players in the history of the game to have won those three prestigious championships in a career. He played 16 years in the NBA and made the playoffs in 15 of those 16 seasons. He was the NBA 6th man of the Year in 2008, All-Rookie 1st team in 2002-03 and a 2 time All-Star. He averaged 13 points per game, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists over his NBA career and Basketball Reference gives him a 20% chance to be ellected to the Hall of Fame for his total body of work. Whether or not he makes the Hall is not the issue, the fact that Bayless decided to make the outlandish comparrison to Hakeem and the nerve to say he was better is what is so offensive to so many. It's a compliment to Manu but a slap in the face to Olajuwon.
Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 21.8 points per game in his storied career along with 11 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 3 blocks and 1.7 steals over an 18 year career. He was a 12 time all-star that played in the postseason 15 times, was a two time defensive player of the year, two time Finals MVP, one time NBA Most valuable player, six time all-NBA first team, five time all defensive first team and all- rookie first team in 1984-85.
There is hardly a conversation about the best and most athletic and comlete centers ever to play the game that doesn't include Olajuwon. He is the all-time leader in blocked shots in NBA history and the only player ever to win the MVP, Defensive player of the year and Finals MVP in the same season. When he retired he was in the top 10 all-time in scoring, rebounding, steals and blocks. He is the greatest player in the history of the Houston Rockets and his No. 34 has been retired by the team.
To top it all off he appeared in back-to-back Final 4's with the University of Houston and was named to the NBA's top 50 players of all-time. If you want to compare "the Dream" to other players in NBA history, you start with names like Jabbar, Chamberlin and Russell, not Ginobli. The numbers don't lie and neither do the awards and accolades. This is one debte Bayless needs to skip just to save face and attempt to salvage a shred of credibility. Dream on Skip, dream on!
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.