Let It Be

It appears that in an effort to help Steve Bartman live a normal life, ESPN will graciously thrust him back into the spotlight that he never wanted. According to ESPN they have commissioned a one hour documentary by Alex Gibney that will attempt to answer the question "can Steve Bartman forgive Chicago?" Allow me to be the first to say, what a bunch of crap. The question should be, can Steve Bartman forgive the media? It was the media that made sure his face was captured on camera, it was the media that followed him out of Wrigley Field that night, and it's the media that continues to write story after story about the man.

Derrek Lee was asked about the documentary and he pretty much nailed it right on the head:

Lee, who was part of the Marlins' rally, said Bartman already has been absolved by most knowledgeable fans, and a documentary would make things worse for him.

"They should probably let it go," Lee said. "It's a non-issue. It didn't change the game, no matter what anyone says. He did what any fan would've done, and there were five other people trying to do the same thing. He just happened to get his hand on it. At the time, we saw Moises [Alou] get upset, but it's a play that happens quite a bit. "It's not like it was some crazy, random thing. It happened. Now let it go."

The documentary is a series in ESPN's "30 for 30" where they will make 30 different documentaries by 30 different filmmakers. The project is the brainchild of Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy. I think if Simmons is looking for a subject that is documentary worthy, he may want to take a second look at the 2004 Red Sox World Series with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Perhaps he can even do a documentary on the Red Sox security staff and why a league investigation on the matter is "confidential." Seems a little strange that a league that is supposedly cracking down on steroids wouldn't even release their findings when it comes to a couple of security guards.

I digress. Hopefully this gets even fewer viewers when this airs than "Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith" used to get.