For anyone who wondered just what sacrifices that legitimate journalists like Jeremy Schaap and Buster Olney have to suckle from ESPN's cash teat, look no further than this morning's "SportsCenter." In it, baseball analyst Steve Phillips answers mock questions in a mock press conference, pretending to be Boston's general manager. This is bad enough, dumb, pointless, harmless. But then, the people "asking" the "questions" to Phillips ... they're real ESPN journalists! Including Olney and Schaap, who both, after asking scripted questions to a co-worker, have considerable "I hate myself and want to die" looks on their faces.

If you missed this today, just catch the 7 p.m. "SportsCenter" tonight. They're going to do it again. Fake questions, fake answers, fake GM. At least they're not even pretending anymore.

Steve Phillips Archive [ESPN]

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