Goodbye Tom McCarthy

[bmfc1]

Hey Tom, you don't leave NY for Philadelphia... if you are lucky enough to get a job in NY, you stay as long as you can instead of going to a second-tier city.

I don't think G-FAFIF is upset. I just hope that Ed Coleman doesn't get the job. He's OK as a fill-in but not good enough for full-time work in NY. In Philly, yes but not NY.

[Centerfield]

Good. I couldn't stand the guy.

[nymr83]

i'll reserve judgment until i see who replaces him, he wasn't terrible but neither was he good.

[Valadius]

I really think he was hired because he sounds a lot like Gary Cohen.

[G-Fafif]

Gl@v!ne, Mota and now McCarthy all gone in just over a week.

Maybe 2008 won't be so bad after all.

True, it could always be worse (or, as bmfc suggests, barely any better if it's Eddie C), but unless the Mets rehire Lorn Brown, probably not.

[Gwreck]

Best possible move would be getting Gary off TV and back to radio where he was far, far better (which I guess is the polite way of saying that he's gotten progressively worse since the move to TV).

[metirish]

I rearly heard McCarthy and only did when I might tune into the post game on the radio, so I won't miss him.

[seawolf17]

I didn't think there was anything wrong with McCarthy; he was okay. No great shakes, but he was replacing something of a legend.

[Guest Kid Carsey]

I'm not much of a Mets radio guy but certainly heard enough of him to draw
the conclusion that he was ok -- certainly not someone I 'd applaud moving on
because I can't think of anything he did or didn't do to warrant wanting him out.

If anything, I'll find it more annoying having to get used to another voice. At
least this guy sounded like Gary as far as vocal chord thing went.

I'd be interested to know what the big beef with him was to lump him in with
the likes of Mota.

[Guest Iubitul]

Basically, the worst thing about McCarthy is that he wasn't Gary, which is hardly his fault.

[Frayed Knot]

Fran Healy's departure from Met-land (which made it safe to watch TV with the sound on again) greatly curtailed my semi-forced volume of NYM radio listening so maybe I'm not the best guy to judge, but I never quite understood the venom directed at McCarthy.
Yeah, he was kind of vanilla but I never found him annoying. So I guess I'm kind of indifferent to his leaving. Not particularly gonna miss him, but aren't going to be planning any parties either.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm sure McCarthy meant well. He just didn't call the games as I wanted him to. I was always wondering where the runners were, or who had the ball, before he got around to informing me. Frustrating to listen to.

Who's coming in his place? Do we know yet, and can it be me?

[bmfc1]

Adam Rubin, in today's New York [u:18ef91603b]Daily News[/u:18ef91603b], has the following:

Possible replacements include Devil Rays broadcaster Andy Freed, Braves/ESPN announcer Jon Sciambi, the Phillies' Scott Graham and Triple-A Pawtucket broadcaster Dan Hoard.

Sciambi's good but I'm not familiar with the others. Anybody?

Here's an article on Hoard: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/03/31/pawtucket_proving_to_be_pipeline_for_broadcasters/

[metirish]

How good can a guy doing D-Ray games be, jeez.Also from the Rubin article, some good reasons to go back to Philly.

]McCarthy, who got a five-year contract and a sizeable raise, did the pregame and postgame shows and radio play-by-play in Philly before joining the Mets. His new role includes three innings per game on TV, subbing for Kalas. McCarthy, a New Jersey native, also calls St. Joseph's basketball games in Philly. McCarthy was approached two weeks ago by Phillies CEO Dave Montgomery. "I've always wanted the opportunity to do television, and now I know I have it. That was too much to pass up," McCarthy said.

[Guest themetfairy]

Here's an article on Andy Freed

I recall Freed back from his Trenton Thunder days. If memory serves, he's a decent announcer and a nice guy.

[seawolf17]

I think the Mets should go out and get Joe Castellano. Joe was the voice of the Red Wings while I worked for WHAM/WHTK in Rochester in the late 90's; he was a joy to listen to, and has had a pretty good run of success since then. According to Wikipedia, he works for XM now, doing the MLB late night weekday show. I'd love to hear Joe again; he was a great guy and a very good pbp man.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I vote no on Scott Graham. I vote yes on JC Lunchbucket.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I support the Bucket also. But how about Ron Swoboda?

We've already had the Shamsky half of the platoon.

[Frayed Knot]

bmfc1 wrote: Jon Sciambi's good but I'm not familiar with the others.

I think he was considered bck when McCarthy was hired.
I don't remember whether he pulled out of was simply not chosen.

[Centerfield]

I think JCL wrapped it up nicely, but for me, McCarthy's refusal to account for the runners was maddening. If it's 1st and 2nd one out, tell me if the runner from second scores, but also tell me if the runner on first made it to third or not. I found I was constantly wondering about that.

[Farmer Ted]

Lunchbucket gets my vote.

Memories of Tom McCarthy? I got none.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Me neither. I haven't been much of a radio-listener the last couple of years. Before I got Extra Innings I'd sometimes listen on my kitchen radio, but not all that often. Now I only listen when I'm in the car, and I'm rarely in the car for more than a few minutes when the Mets are playing.

I therefore have no opinion at all about Tom McCarthy. In fact, I didn't even recognize the name when I saw the thread title.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Fran Healy on TV was the last reason to listen to the radio.

No offense, Ed Coleman.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

McCarthy's lack of winning World Series calls was a complete disgrace. I'm glad he's gone.

[Guest Edgy DC]

It seems to me he lived his life like a candle in the wind.

[bmfc1]

Neil Best mentions Andy Freed:

http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/watchdog/blog/2007/12/tampas_andy_freed_in_mix_for_m.html#comments

[MFS62]

There's a guy named Poe who broadcast for the Jacksonville team this past year. He had interviewed for the Mets job before, and made the short list. He has also been considered for the Marlins' open post.

This past year he won the broadcaster of the year award in his AA league.
(Southern Association?), so that just adds to his resume.

And he as already been in contact again with the Mets for this opening.
If he gets it, I'll tell you my source.
Later

[Frayed Knot]

MFS62 wrote: There's a guy named Poe who broadcast for the Jacksonville team this past year ... and has already been in contact again with the Mets for this opening. If he gets it, I'll tell you my source.

And if he doesn't will you speak of it 'nevermore'?

[MFS62]

Yes.
But I'm rootin' for him.
He promised me tickets if he gets the job.

Later

[seawolf17]

See, the way it works is that either he promises everyone in the Pool tickets, or we call Fred & Jeff and tell him that Poe has been running around impersonating John Maine.