Kevin Slaten has gone too far (again)

(For those of you with the good fortune not to know who Kevin Slaten is, I am sorry that I have to introduce him here.) Kevin Slaten hosts the evening drivetime talk show, The Bottom Line, on KFNS AM in St. Louis. Kevin is "best known for not being shy about offering up his opinions." This is KFNS's way of saying he is universally regarded as an asshole. I used to listen to his show when he actually had co-hosts (he's birned through 3 in the past 2 years, that I know of), and I personally find the man sickening. He berates callers and fights with guests and basically stirs up trouble with anyone who doesn't call him "King" or who doesn't want to be on his shitty program.

Skip to Thursday went Cardinals Pitching Coach Dave Duncan was unwittingly a guest on Slaten's show. The Post Dispatch has details of the entire incident here, but here is the gist of it: in an off-air conversation with a producer, Duncan turns down an opportunity to be on Slaten's show; Slaten then called Duncan while on the air and did not inform Duncan that they were on the air ("Could we grab you for a couple minutes to talk a little bit about the (Anthony) Reyes decision?"); Duncan then said he did not want to be on Slaten's show (again), because Slaten is a "nasty man" and Duncan doesn't like him; Slaten then bickers with Duncan, even stating that Duncan is committing slander (he wasn't), until letting it slip to Duncan that he is on the air, at which point Duncan gets furious and gets off the line. Duncan has since stated that he is pondering legal recourse.

I do not practice law in Missouri, so I won't pretend to know the potential causes of action in play here, but I am quite confident that Slaten has none and Duncan has at least one (in many states it is illegal to tape conversations with informing the party being recorded). As stated in the Post Dispatch, the normal procedure for interviewing an individual on the radio is to get them on the line with a producer before the host begins the conversation. After Duncan hung up, Slaten went on one of his typical rants: "He's either a liar or he's the dumbest man on the face of the earth. He either lied when he said he didn't come on, or he's so stupid he doesn't know he was on. ... Does this give you an insight what's going on with this organization? Do you need any more?''

I am completely on Duncan's side in this matter, and I think, as I have for a long time, that Slaten should be taken off the radio. Kevin Slaten is not Colin Cowherd or Jim Rome or Charles Barkley, his irrationality is not even remotely thought-provoking and his awful temper is disgusting. If you don't believe me and this incident detailed in the Post Dispatch doesn't convince you, just google Slaten and see what comes up. Here's an overview: fight with Steve Savard, fight with every sports organization in town worth discussing, getting thrown out of an indoor soccer game that he was calling for using intolerable language and punching a player, and the cherry on top: he was convicted of felony assault in 1993, and in another incident that year, was arrested after allegedly hitting his wife in a suburban St. Louis bar. Swell dude, right?

UPDATE: Slaten has been fired! In his usual fashion, he handled it with class (or he claimed that the Cardinals were behind the move and KFNS is spineless).

Let it begin.

Since the Red Sox-A's series in Japan was a total joke, these still qualify as my preseason predictions:

AL West:
- Seattle (I doubt it will take many more than 90 wins to take this divison and I think the Mariners have the best staff and the best closer to do it)
- Angels (just too many injuries already - I also don't think Torii Hunter will make much of an impact)
- Athletics (if they still had Danny Haren I'd of picked them to win the division)
- Rangers (their only starter I can name without looking it up is Kevin Millwood and their closer is someone named "C.J.")

AL Central:
- Detroit (everyone focuses on the Cabrera acquisition, but Renteria is no joke either; I think this team will win the most games in baseball if they stay healthy)
- Indians (they'd win any other division)
- White Sox (should improve over lat year, but only just barely)
- Twins (their rotation: Livan Hernandez (R), Scott Baker (R), Kevin Slowey (R), Boof Bonser (R), Nick Blackburn (R) - their offense has improved, I think, but their starters are going to give up runs aplenty, right?)
- Royals (so sad)

AL East:
- Yankees (good lineup, good enough pitching, end of analysis - I hate talking about these f'ers almost as much as I hate talking about ...)
- Red Sox (... these f'ers)
- Blue Jays (if Halladay and Burnett stay healthy, this team could conceivably compete for their division, but that's a big if)
- (Devil) Rays
- Orioles (since I am stuck here, I will watch them, but this is a rebuilding year and I doubt they'll win 70)

NL West:
- D-Backs (this is a vote for Webb and Haren, more than anything)
- Padres (a vote for Peavy and Young, diminished by their crummy lineup)
- Rockies (why'd I put the NL representative in the World Series 3rd? Just don't believe in their staff)
- Dodgers (I don't believe in their lineup or their staff)
- Giants (crap)

NL Central (I will discuss it a lot during the season, let this suffice for now):
- Cubs (good lineup and good enough pitching ... ugh)
- Cardinals (this is admittedly optimistic - but I think we're gong to score plenty of runs
- Brewers (their youth movement continues, but I am not big on their rotation and
- Reds (blah)
- Pittsburgh (the Royals of the NL)

NL East:
- Braves (I just believe in this organization (and in Mark Teixeira spending an entire season with the club))
- Phillies (good lineup and, I think, more pitching than the Mets)
- Mets (good lineup, but one pitcher does not a pitching staff make)
- Marlins (crap)
- Nationals (turds)

The Mets or the Phillies will win the NL Wild Card, I think, and the Indians (or the Tigers if they don't win the division) will win the AL Wild Card. Tigers beat the Cubs in the World Series. I HATE that the Cards won't get it done this year, but they just don't have the horses. I think if Carpenter and Mulder were healthy we could compete for the penant, but that's just not the case.