Lewin 2012 and WFAN (split from Hagin 2012?)

[Ceetar]

bmfc1 wrote: Ceetar wrote: We hear this every time the contract is up, hopefully not, signal sucks. From what I've read, ESPN-NY is going to add an FM signal to help fix the problem with their AM signal.

interesting. (google reveals this article about it http://sportsrantz.com/media/tag/espn-new-york-1050/) Although that article seems to be basing it largely on the "Mets suck, why wouldn't WFAN want to upgrade to the Yankees?"

That actually seems like a bad idea business-wise to me. ESPN Radio getting an FM/wider signal AND a baseball team would drastically cut the ratings differential between the two.

The signal is pretty bad on 1050. I don't really have a problem, but I do occasionally get static here and there. I've heard reports about 1050 sucking even in places in Manhattan and I remember it going in and out at times driving around in Nassau County. Of less import, you can get 660 way earlier driving towards NY back from say an away game, and much clearer. So there are pockets of places that are probably still in the "black out" zone for Mets games that don't really get 1050 well. I have no idea how some of the FM signals come in (I can get 94.7 when I'm flipping through, but I never stay on it to speak to that) or how far away. Can you get 94.7 as far away as say Miller Place, NY? Trenton, NJ?

[Gwreck]

Ceetar wrote: It's not like they're going to jettison Howie if they switch is it? Why is Lewin different?

If the Mets' radio contract with WFAN is up at the end of 2012, it's likely that's when Howie's current contract expires as well.

[Ceetar]

Gwreck wrote: Ceetar wrote: It's not like they're going to jettison Howie if they switch is it? Why is Lewin different? If the Mets' radio contract with WFAN is up at the end of 2012, it's likely that's when Howie's current contract expires as well.

This is a much more serious issue than the signal.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Peh. Howie will do the job. The signal is a big deal!

[Frayed Knot]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Peh. Howie will do the job. The signal is a big deal!

Staying away from anything to do with ESPN is important as well.
And, yeah, I realize it's just the local affiliate and not the mother-ship of corporate ESPN HQ.
But still, the more layers of removal the better.

[metsmarathon]

the 1050 signal is so bad, in my old apartment in parsippany, i'd often get stronger signal from the ottawa(?) station that shares the same frequency. that's fucking bullshit.

[Ceetar]

metsmarathon wrote: the 1050 signal is so bad, in my old apartment in parsippany, i'd often get stronger signal from the ottawa(?) station that shares the same frequency. that's fucking bullshit.

You could get that ottawa signal at night on Long Island sometimes too. for some reason the signals travel better at night, and if you're in a good spot.. Another place 1050 doesn't come in well is right around exit 19-20 on the Southern State Parkway. There's a broadcast tower there or something that seems to interfere. I worked in a cemetery nearby one winter.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

1050 also suxx on the Williamsburg Bridge. Total no-go from my pov.

[G-Fafif]

Long ago when the Mets were on WHN 1050 (and WFAN 1050, for that matter), you could pick up that frequency with little problem in NY area or up and down the east coast. I once listened to a Mets game on 1050 driving through the Carolinas. But 1050 in its current guise is unreliable.

[Edgy MD]

Now I'm kinda down with the idea that we missed an opportunity not signing Eric Hillman. He's like a B-team Keith Hernandez the way he walks on the rim of the volcano.

OK, D-team, but still.

[TransMonk]

Josh Lewin and wife Dana on the left.



And the rest of the fam...Coby and Kelsey.

[Benjamin Grimm]

First strike against him: He apparently borrowed Roger Clemens' baby names book.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

khrist.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: First strike against him: He apparently borrowed Roger Clemens' baby names book.

And Don Knott's '70s eveningwear.

[Edgy MD]

Oh, dear!

[Edgy MD]

Actually, it may be Knotts' forerunner who had the suit taken right off his back.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

[stands, applauds]

[Edgy MD]

Dad, is that you?

[metirish]

Possibly your best work yet......bravo

[ashie62]

A face made for radio..

[bmfc1]

Could we please take the Josh Lewin portion of this thread and start a new one solely about Lewin?

Yes we can! Thank you.

Edited February 10, 2012 by Guest

[HahnSolo]

Is that Lewin's wife on the left? If so, it's a coin flip between her and Mrs. Roper.

[G-Fafif]

From the official release:

�It�s exciting to be part of the Mets� broadcast team with Howie Rose, who is one of the best in the business,� Lewin said. �It�s a thrill to be able to come back to my roots in New York and call games for the team I rooted for as a kid on the pre-eminent sports talk radio station in the country.�

Mets fan growing up? Howie-like (genuine) or Leiter-like (when the MFYs or Phillies weren't on)?

[Ceetar]

apparently he's a hockey guy too. Should make Howie happy.

[Edgy MD]

G-Fafif wrote: From the official release: �It�s exciting to be part of the Mets� broadcast team with Howie Rose, who is one of the best in the business,� Lewin said. �It�s a thrill to be able to come back to my roots in New York and call games for the team I rooted for as a kid on the pre-eminent sports talk radio station in the country.� Mets fan growing up? Howie-like (genuine) or Leiter-like (when the MFYs or Phillies weren't on)?

It's an open question, but that comment about WFAN gives me pause.

[Edgy MD]

G-Fafif wrote: From the official release: �It�s exciting to be part of the Mets� broadcast team with Howie Rose, who is one of the best in the business,� Lewin said. �It�s a thrill to be able to come back to my roots in New York and call games for the team I rooted for as a kid on the pre-eminent sports talk radio station in the country.� Mets fan growing up? Howie-like (genuine) or Leiter-like (when the MFYs or Phillies weren't on)?

It's an open question, but that comment about WFAN gives me pause.

[Frayed Knot]

According to Wikipedia (so you know it's true) Lewin was born in Rochester, grew up outside of Boston, went to college in Illinois, and got his big break doing hockey in Detroit - so it'll be interesting how he explains his NYM fandom.
Not that I think it matters really, I just think he'd be better off NOT trying to claim it unless it actually is true.

It's an open question, but that comment about WFAN gives me pause.

Hey, FAN was not only the first but is Masterpiece Theatre compared to most sports talk radio.

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: According to Wikipedia (so you know it's true) Lewin was born in Rochester, grew up outside of Boston, went to college in Illinois, and got his big break doing hockey in Detroit - so it'll be interesting how he explains his NYM fandom. Not that I think it matters really, I just think he'd be better off NOT trying to claim it unless it actually is true. It's an open question, but that comment about WFAN gives me pause. Hey, FAN was not only the first but is Masterpiece Theatre compared to most sports talk radio.

Not unreasonable for his parents to be Mets fans in Rochester I guess, if he started doing minor league games at 16 (Orioles affiliate) it implies he was back in Rochester prior to '86. Seems like he'd have ended up a Red Sox fan (or Orioles) but maybe not.

[G-Fafif]

Josh confirms to Neil Best for those who didn't already know: Mets fan all the way.

It is an emotion earned the hard way, as a youngster in Rochester who in 1978 favored the last-place Mets over the two-time World Series champion Yankees . "For whatever reason, the Mets seemed to resonate more," said Lewin, the team's new radio voice opposite Howie Rose . "Reggie [ Jackson ] was hitting three home runs and all that, but I was a Willie Montanez guy. And I loved Nino Espinosa's hair. "There was something about the Mets and the underdog-ness. They were the Jan Brady to the Yankees' Marcia. I always was a Jan guy when I got a little older." Not that there haven't been good times during Lewin's fandom. Game 6 of the 1986 World Series fell on his 18th birthday. But understanding Mets fans' commitment even in lean times could come in handy in 2012, what with the team widely expected to be mediocre at best. Lewin cautioned against assuming anything. He recalled a similar situation in 2004, when he was the play-by-play man for the Texas Rangers , who had slashed payroll, including that of shortstop Alex Rodriguez . Those Rangers improved from 71 victories in 2003 to 89 and finished third, three games behind the AL West lead. "There were zero expectations that year, everyone crying about the payroll and kind of negative," Lewin said. "I'm not going to make any wacky predictions, but I've seen this movie before and it came really, really close to a happy ending . . . At the risk of being Pollyanna, I don't think it will be terrible." Lewin's status as a lifelong Mets fan and an East Coast native is a key point. His predecessor, Wayne Hagin, whose contract was not renewed after four seasons, generally was well-liked and respected. But he never struck a chord with Mets fans in his first career job east of the Mississippi River . Even as Lewin made stops with the Orioles, Cubs, Tigers and Rangers, he kept a close eye on the Mets. After parting ways with the Rangers following the 2010 season, he would have been content to spend two or three years doing his sports talk show in Dallas, calling national baseball games for Fox and working in the San Diego Chargers ' radio booth. Then the Mets gig came along. "Not to blow smoke, but it's the FAN and it's the Mets," he said. "How often does this job open?" Lewin said he was looking forward to returning to radio baseball after nine years on TV for the Rangers. He would not go into detail about the end of his term with the team, describing it as a "very amicable mutual parting of ways." But he hinted his style of "informing and entertaining and telling a lot of stories" no longer was a fit. That should not be a problem in the Mets' radio booth, where Rose is adept at mixing kibitzing with play-by-play. Lewin said he feels as if he knows Rose well from listening to him since WFAN's early years, when he was "tooling around in my little Honda , interning for the Rochester Red Wings" listening to Pete Franklin, Steve Somers and Bob Murphy . After growing up listening to Murphy, he said, the thought that "Wow, that's kind of the job that I have" was too good to pass up. Lewin, 43, will give up his job with Fox but keep the one with the Chargers by saving his days off for NFL Sundays. What if the Mets make the playoffs? "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Guest

[metirish]

Liking this fella more and more.