Where do they find these guys?

Does anyone else find Tim Kurkjian's commentary lacking? I was going to let his stats on Albert Pujols slide until I heard him talking about the White Sox - Cubs incident today. But, let's start with the Pujols piece. Kurkjian tries to validate Pujols' greatness by stating that his achievements in six categories are unprecedented (I think it was six, although it might be seven). The problem is, four of the categories are batting average, hits, extra base hits and total bases. I think the other two (or three) are runs scored, RBI's and home runs (maybe not home runs). If you get a lot of AB's and hit for a high average, you are going to get a lot of hits. And, power hitters who hit for a high average are going to get a lot of extra base hits, between the HR's and the doubles, but that one isn't tied as closely to other categories. However, if you get a lot of hits and extra base hits, you are going to have a lot of total bases. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to f! igure that one out. Runs batted in and runs scored are linked, at least to some extent, to the performance of your teammates. Pujols isn't exceptionally fast and doesn't steal a ton of bases. He's been aided by a star-studded lineup. Now, I agree that Pujols is a really good young player. If he continues to improve and stay healthy, he'll probably challenge Hank Aaron or Barry Bonds (or A-Rod) for the all-time HR mark down the road and might win as many MVP's as the aforementioned Bonds. He's either 1A or 1B (the other being Rodriguez) in the game today. No one needs a list of obscure, highly-related stats as evidence of Pujol's productivity. What about on-base percentage, on-base + slugging percentage, average with runners in scoring position, etc?

Moving on to Michael Barrett clocking A.J. Pierzynski, Kurkjian said Barrett was 99.9% at fault (and deserved a suspension of 5-10 games), but that Pierzynski was culpable as well because he was moving toward ! Barrett. Originally, I didn't know why Pierzynski was headed toward t he Cubs' dugout. It turns out that he was going to retrieve his helmet. In the replay, you can see that he is going to get his helmet, and trying to avoid Barrett without taking an absurdly indirect route. Pierzynski has every right to go get his helmet. Barrett isn't the king of the field and he's 100% at fault. He started the brawl. He grabbed Pierzynski around the waist, he yelled at him, and he took a swing at him. Kurkjian thinks 5-10 games? Are you kidding me? Russ Springer got 4 for throwing at Barry Bonds. Barrett deserves at least 20 games, if not 30, 40, or 50. A player once got 30 games for hitting his own manager (according to an ESPN list I saw) and another player got 30 games for pushing an umpire. I know umpires are sacred in the eyes of MLB brass, but punching a player on the other team without provocation should not be tolerated. Kurkjian's suggested suspension length amounts to nothing more than a slap on the wrist, and insinuating that Pierzyn! ski was at fault at all is equally as egregious ... and, no, I'm not the president of the A.J. Pierzynski fan club or anything like that.

Does anyone out there actually enjoy Kurkjian's commentary? I'd be interested to hear.