Ranting about Announcers

[Guest Edgy DC]

As that RBI Baseball thingie seems to demonstrate, Scully comes off as a pro thorugh that inning.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Lou Piniella is banal, and he sounds as if he's drunk.

[Elster88]

Agreed.

[Elster88]

Taken from the SNY thread.

Oh my god.

I will never EVER complain about the memory of Fran Healy again.

Click this link, then click on one of the links next to "Piazza's mammoth shot" in the Multimedia section (as time goes on you may have to click on "More multimedia" to find "Piazza's mammoth shot"). And listen to the call. The fake Italian just kind of puts the cherry on top doesn't it? (For another thread...it still amazes me that in this PC-crazed world no one ever makes a fuss about people pretending to speak Italian by mocking the language.)

They make Michael Kay sound good and make Chris Russo sound like a HOF broadcaster.

_________________________


And of course, it's good to see that Mikey can still hit a ball 600 feet.

BTW, Piazza = .256/.329/.466//.795. Not terrible for a 37 year old catcher. He could play for my team. Well, if my catcher wasn't the best hitting catcher in baseball this year.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Piniella and Al Albert talk about cahnfidence more than Fran ever did.

I'd much rather see Fran on the Fox broadcasts than these bozos. They can't even pronounce Ramon Castro's name properly.

[Elster88]

I was wondering that myself. But maybe they are right? Isn't the letter a pronounced "ah"? If so, they are saying it right I think.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

If that was the pronunciation, wouldn't our announcers have figured that out by his second season with the team?

[Elster88]

I dunno. It did take Keith two months to figure out our regular catcher's last name.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Oops - it's Kenny Albert broadcasting with Lou.

My apologies to Al.

[Gwreck]

ESPN's Wednesday Night Game must be in a rain delay or something because they cut to bonus coverage of Oakland at Cleveland, and they're using the local cable feed. They turn down the volume, but not all the way, so you can hear the local broadcasters slightly in the background.

They then proceed to have Karl Ravech try to do play-by-play, with John Kruk and Harold Reynolds attempting color commentary.

Very quickly it is revealed that none of them -- especially Kruk and Reynolds -- are particulary informed about either of these teams.

Kruk and Reynolds then go off a tangent talking about Kruk's run at the batting title in 1993 and Harold reminds us that he lost to Gary Sheffield, who "wound up winning the triple crown that year."

Really, Harold? The triple crown? I can understand getting the batting title wrong maybe, but were you serious?

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm pretty sure Shef won the Preakness and the Belmont that year. I need to check on the Kentucky Derby.

Those Piazza clips were funny, the audio ones also. He's looking like he's carrying a few more pounds maybe.

[Elster88]

Harold Reynolds is a moron.



Just so ya know.

[stevejrogers]

Elster88 wrote: Harold Reynolds is a moron. Just so ya know.

Same guy that still thought the Mets version of a gold watch for Bob Murphy's retirement was a slap in the face of Jackie Robinson because it still APPEARED that the Mets were retiring #42 in Murph's honor, so yes he does deserve a YOUR A MORON!

[Frayed Knot]

ESPN was sked to do the NYY/Bost game tonight.
That one was obviously (for anyone here) rained out so that's why they're going to "bonus coverage". What I suspect happened is that they have no espn announcers at any of those games and may only have the rights to broadcast parts of those 'extra' games and not have the rights to those local announcers. Hence their studio guys [Ravech/Kruk/Reynolds] are in Conneticut voicing over the imported video while the real ones - the ones who actually could tell you something about the game - are faded into the background.
Right now they're showing Cinn/StL - with the Cards getting beat for about the 4th or 5th straight time.

[Elster88]

SteveJRogers wrote: YOUR A MORON!

*sigh*

[MFS62]

ScarletKnight41 wrote: If that was the pronunciation, wouldn't our announcers have figured that out by his second season with the team?

Not necessarily.
Hall of Fame broadcaster Curt Gowdy pronounced the name of the Cubs' shortstop Lee Elia as Lee "Eli" for as long as Elia was playing. By the time Elia became a manager, Gowdy was no longer broadcasting, so there was no telling how long it would have continued.

And long-time early NY radio sportscaster Stan Lomax seemed like he never tried to learn to pronounce Latino names correctly. He referrred to pitcher Camilio Pascual as "KAM-uh-lo PAS-kul" for years.

Later

[metirish]

While watching YES has anyone heard the brutal call on a Giambi home run by Bobby Murcer, I believe it was from last season and every now and then YES will play the clip as a promo, it goes someting like this....

" you look up and it's GONE"...maybe it's the way he says it but you really have to hear it to appreciate just how awful a call it is.

[Centerfield]

I don't know about his play-by-play, but Murcer is one of the few Yankee announcers I can stand. When he does color, he usually comes up with something interesting to say. He also, in my opinion, isn't blinded by incredible pro-Yankee bias like his partner Kay. No example really comes to mind, but if you listen enough, at some point, Kay will use a superlative to describe something Yankee, and Murcer will calmly point out just how wrong Kay is.

In fact, I think I read something a while back that Murcer's frankness may lead to his time getting cut in Yankee broadcasts.

[stevejrogers]

Elster88 wrote: ="SteveJRogers"]YOUR A MORON! *sigh*

Oops.

Note to self, use the preview post function a little more often!

[soupcan]

="Centerfield"]I don't know about his play-by-play, but Murcer is one of the few Yankee announcers I can stand. When he does color, he usually comes up with something interesting to say. He also, in my opinion, isn't blinded by incredible pro-Yankee bias like his partner Kay. No example really comes to mind, but if you listen enough, at some point, Kay will use a superlative to describe something Yankee, and Murcer will calmly point out just how wrong Kay is. In fact, I think I read something a while back that Murcer's frankness may lead to his time getting cut in Yankee broadcasts.

We (or maybe just me) take for granted how lucky we are as Mets fans to have such a good crew doing the radio and TV.

I can't stand Kay and Sterling. Maybe because they are the Yankee guys but I truly think that their shtick and hyperbole just gets in the way of the game. Similar to Healy except Healy being an ex-player at least had experience (and of course 'confidence' to draw from). These guys are really just annoying.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Darling ocasionally makes some rather empty comments, but I think he's earnest and don't mind him all that much after an initial period of "This is gonna suck."

[soupcan]

I'll take empty coments over rah-rah and 'signature calls' every time.

[metirish]

I like the SNY team of announcers, just hope that I never see them wearing rally caps again,and Howie is a more than capable replacement for Gary.

[Elster88]

="soupcan"] ="Centerfield"]I don't know about his play-by-play, but Murcer is one of the few Yankee announcers I can stand. When he does color, he usually comes up with something interesting to say. He also, in my opinion, isn't blinded by incredible pro-Yankee bias like his partner Kay. No example really comes to mind, but if you listen enough, at some point, Kay will use a superlative to describe something Yankee, and Murcer will calmly point out just how wrong Kay is. In fact, I think I read something a while back that Murcer's frankness may lead to his time getting cut in Yankee broadcasts. We (or maybe just me) take for granted how lucky we are as Mets fans to have such a good crew doing the radio and TV. I can't stand Kay and Sterling. Maybe because they are the Yankee guys but I truly think that their shtick and hyperbole just gets in the way of the game. Similar to Healy except Healy being an ex-player at least had experience (and of course 'confidence' to draw from). These guys are really just annoying.

I can't imagine listening to Susan for five minutes, let alone a game. It's like nails-on-a-chalkboard times 1,000.

Sterling isn't really originally a Yankee guy though is he? For me the problem is that his vaudeville show is fine for a couple games, but then I'm just sick of it. I figure I'd just be frustrated and begging for a regular baseball broadcast within a week.

[Frayed Knot]

"Sterling isn't really originally a Yankee guy though is he? "

Nah, he's been around since forever.
He was in Atlanta for a decade or so: Braves plus Hawks basketball. Hell, he may have even done Atlanta Flames hockey for all I know.
He also did Islander radio in their early days. In fact; Yankees Win, Yankees Win!' has the same cadence as, 'Islander Goal, Islander Goal' did back in the day.

I also used to hear him doing a sports talk radio show (back before dedicated sports stations) on WMCA. He used to play the very ascerbic, 'Get off the phone, you dont' know what you're talking about!!' type of guy.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

OMG - my grandfather used to call into those shows constantly.

[MFS62]

You can like Sterling or hate him, depending on whether or not you root for the team he's announcing for.
I liked him when he did the Nets games when they were in the ABA.
In fact, he was the one who originally coined the phrase "Downtown" for a three point shot. Marv Albert stole that phrase and made it famous.
Didn't remember that he did Islander games, too.

Another announcer for an ABA team was Bob Costas, who did the games for the Spirit of St. Louis.

Later

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I kinda like Sterling. (ducks)

[metirish]

I tell you what I liked last season, when Wladman joined Cohen in the Mets radio booth and Rose went with Sterling for a few innings of fun during the Subway series.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You can't have women in the announcing booth!