What Happened to Our Favorite Sports Talk Show?

We've been listening to The Jim Rome Show pretty much every day since 1995. And the fact is that lately it has changed significantly for the worse. Always a polarizing figure, Rome has veered toward a bland, edgeless broadcast that borders on the unlistenable schlock available on pretty much every other sports talk show. The interactivity between host and listener that was originally a hallmark of the Jungle is essentially gone and the host's strong viewpoints have been toned way down.

The one noticeable change is the abrupt departure of long time producer Travis Rodgers. Rodgers, who crafted much of the show's largely scripted content, left the show with conspicuously little fanfare awhile back and the show is clearly the worse for it. Rodgers has recently resurfaced on Twitter, and even more recently with a new blog.

Don't get us wrong, Rome is a unique and formidable talent. His imprint on the sports media landscape is undeniable, but he is perhaps a victim of his own success. Were he lesser known would he be more willing to play fast and loose with his opinions, as well as allow his callers and e-mailers a bit more creative leeway? Whatever the issue for Rome, the bottom line is that his once funny and entertaining show is currently neither.

You're Dumb if You Don't Hate Manny

We told you so.

Jayson (with a Y) Stark wants you to know how dumb you are for not having his opinion. He even invited some professorial type dudes to try to figure out why we're all so dumb.

We're just a bunch of dumb dummies.

How Very Brian Sabean of You

Thankfully Brian Sabean is around to keep Ned from going all Brian Sabean and making deals like this. Yeah it's short on years, but Renteria is short on effort and ability. While he was a beast back in the day, that was back in the day.

For what it's worth Keith Law likes this deal and seems to think it shows a new side of Brian Sabean. Seems like the same guy that gave all that money to Omar Vizquel.

Meet the new boss, same as the...you get it.

Keith Law Ranks the Top Free Agents

We can only see the top ten as we don't subscribe, but three of the top six are Dodgers. We don't have to tell you who (whom?).

I wonder if the Dodgers are seriously trying to resign any of these dudes? Is it just a forgone conclusion that Derek Lowe hates LA? Granted, his house was on the market before the end of the season. Has the flame dimmed on his torrid romance with a former Dodger beat reporter? East coast, west coast? Something tells us that D. Lowe is going to sign with whomever offers the most scratch. Just a guess.

There seems to be quite market for Rafael Furcal which doesn't bode well for Los Doyers. We love Raffy, but between the *cringe* back surgery and the possibility of other dummies err GMs driving the market upwards of five years, it's probably time to say so long.

The market for our boy Manny seems a little less clear. We still think the final deal will be in the four year range. Which would likely mean two good years and two less than good years. This guy is a generational talent. Truly the best around. And like every other player in the history of the game, he is going to sign with the team that makes the biggest offer. As much as he sucks, Ned is playing this right so far. Let's see who offers what before going all Kevin Malone and getting fleeced (fleeced?).

A couple things we'd like to see. Can we kick the tires on Teixeira as a third baseman? The guy's a beast, but we don't see the Cabal of Ineptitude hearing any such noise.

And what about that giant Adam Dunn? We don't know about stats like VORP or OPS (probably bad examples cuz it looks like Dunn totally kills it at both of those.) But we do know about home runs and not getting out and Dunn totally does those good. Plus he's only 28. Seriously, we looked it up and he's only 28. No really, he only looks old. Apparently he sucks at fielding which we think we're supposed to care about, but when a guy is guaranteed to hit a home run every third game we can't get too bummed that he moves like a statue. Plus Foot-Long Dodger Blog has like the best solution ever. Adam Dunn plays left field with Juan Pierre in his pocket! That way when a ball gets hit to left field (how often does that happen anyway?) Little Juan can jump out of his back (hip?) pocket and go catch it. Best. Idea. Ever.