On the air

[G-Fafif]

Mets-Marlins on 710 this afternoon.

[Ceetar]

G-Fafif wrote: Mets-Marlins on 710 this afternoon.

The A-team too. Josh and Howie.

[G-Fafif]

And coming up soon, the first on-air appearance of Seth Everett.

Tell me a Monday afternoon Mets-Marlins Spring Training game isn't fraught with significance.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I wanna fire the station ID voice-over guy already.

Lannan walking the whole park and getting hit hard.

[Edgy MD]

Cool!!

...oh, wait, he's one of ours now.

[Ceetar]

G-Fafif wrote: And coming up soon, the first on-air appearance of Seth Everett. Tell me a Monday afternoon Mets-Marlins Spring Training game isn't fraught with significance.

Seems like an okay guy so far. Curious how the fan/Twitter interaction for post/pre games will go.

[Lefty Specialist]

G-Fafif wrote: This weekend, John Franco takes his turn, in Las Vegas.

Franco was unlistenable, if that's a word. Just dreadful. A lot of his sentences started with, "I always used to do this....". His analysis was, "He's throwing pretty hard". The man should be nowhere near the business end of a microphone.

Josh soldiered on, but I'm betting he wished he could have canceled any Islander game that resulted in him being trapped in a booth with Franco for three and a half hours.

[G-Fafif]

Tonight's announcing partner-at-large is Scott Graham, teaming with Howie. He's the NFL Films voice of record, following in the Philadelphia-borrowed tradition of John Facenda and Harry Kalas.

The pipes on this guy! As smooth as Doug Flynn on the 4-6-3. But kind of distracting at the same time, like, "What's the NFL Films guy doing talking about Juan Lagares?"

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

He did Phillies games for years. Confessed to being orange-and-blue the whole time tonight.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Lannan & Germen pitching themselves out of the bullpen. Wonder if the Mets will move for Randy Wolf? Also a lefty veteran starter.

Gee threw a no hitter until these bums came along.

[Edgy MD]

That Wolf story was a heckuva yarn, huh? Still, I bet he takes a long look for starting opportunities before taking a bullpen job.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

He'll get a shot with us if he wants one.

[G-Fafif]

WOR adding "The Sports Zone," hosted by Pete McCarthy before and after Mets games -- preceding and following Seth Everett, apparently, to create a Mets or at least sports cushion around their baseball property. It will air 6-9 on non-game nights. McCarthy was with mlb.com.

[Ceetar]

G-Fafif wrote: WOR adding "The Sports Zone," hosted by Pete McCarthy before and after Mets games -- preceding and following Seth Everett, apparently, to create a Mets or at least sports cushion around their baseball property. It will air 6-9 on non-game nights. McCarthy was with mlb.com.

I'm planning to leave for games by 5:15, what do I get then?

[MFS62]

Tim Byrdack did the game on radio tonight.
Not a bad voice.
He used "we" when talking about the Mets, but if this is his first broadcasting gig, I'd rate him a solid B-/C+.

Later

[G-Fafif]

Byrdak still a Met at heart, which isn't the worst thing to be. He sounds like with practice he could be a decent analyst. That's what Spring Training (even the last of it) is for.

Of the five auditions I heard, C.J. Nitkowski and Scott Graham impressed me most. Wonder if Graham was lurking in Clear Channel's thoughts as they dragged their feet in announcing the return of their dynamic duo of Rose and Lewin. Nitkowski came off as not just a player but a person. Even John Franco flashed the potential to be a tolerable homer, though the rough edges would take some sanding. Byrdak once did shtick with GKR in the middle of a ST broadcast, pretending to announce, so he was comfortable. I'm not the least bit in love with Steve Phillips' approach but he was smooth (or so the ladies say).

I could deal with any of these guys who isn't Phillips on those dozen or so dates when Howie or Josh isn't around and not cry HAGIN!

[Edgy MD]

I like the idea of ex-jockos on a rotation, slipping into and out of both the radio and TV booths from time to time.

[MFS62]

G-Fafif wrote: Byrdak still a Met at heart, which isn't the worst thing to be. He sounds like with practice he could be a decent analyst. That's what Spring Training (even the last of it) is for. Of the five auditions I heard, C.J. Nitkowski and Scott Graham impressed me most. I could deal with any of these guys who isn't Phillips on those dozen or so dates when Howie or Josh isn't around and not cry HAGIN!

Heard CJ on one of the WFAN shows. He was just signed by FOXSports as a baseball anylist (Not sure if it is in studio or in the booth). Knows his stuff, good voice, good sense of humor. He said the biggest problem facing Japanese players coming here is the travel across (three) time zones. He said they don't do that in Japan, and it will take them time to adjust. Never heard that before - good point, from someone who played in Japan.

Later

[Zvon]

Ewwww. Does not pass the opening day test down here. All fuzz, a word here or there. Bummer.

[G-Fafif]

Midnight WOR airs "Mets Rewind," repeating that day's broadcast. Hell, if SNY can do it, why not the new radio flagship for New York Mets baseball?

[Guest d'Kong76]

Why is 'Brazilian Booty Butt' on SNY and not Mets Rewind or
just not the whole game. Hell, re-play the game three times on
a Saturday.

Do these paid advertising shows really pay that much money
for the time slot to cover the expense of pissing off the fans?

And before it becomes the Wilpon's are cheap or poor, some
of the other stations do it too. Looked to see if Knicks in 60
was on Larry King whoring for OmegaXL fish oil pills on MSG.

[Ceetar]

are there a lot of people looking to watch the replay? especially given the proliferation of DVR? mlb.com/at-bat has most of the key plays.

[Guest d'Kong76]

I would think more would watch Mets Rewind than a
paid advertising show. Call me a dinosaur but I don't want to
get everything online. I'm on the computer too much as it is
both socially and economically and would rather watch the
show or the last 4 innings on a television while I sip my joe.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Ok, meant Mets Fast Forward.
Fell asleep last night, didn't record while snoring
on the couch.

Still don't get the paid advertising slots. Even the big
networks do it. I can't see how the sellers can make money
nor the networks on these cheesy time slots.

Didn't Larry King make enough money in broadcasting without
hawking fish oil pills. Sorry, I'll stop.

[Edgy MD]

Lewin closes out a preseason NFL broadcast taking an anti-Jewish crack right on the chin.

"Love ya, too, Buddy."

[Lefty Specialist]

Ouch. Wonder what that booth sounded like once they went to commercial. Josh handled it like a pro, though.

[Edgy MD]

What a pregnant beat that was.

"Somebody dropped a penny between Josh and his (oh-my-God-I'm-never-going-to-land-this-I'm-going-to-come-across-as-a-huge-asshole-and-my-wife-told-me-to-stick-to-one-beer-until-the-broadcast-is-over-and-I-pray-no-one-is-left-listening-but-somebody-probably-is)... family member."

[MFS62]

His wife was right.
And, any advertiser that pulls its ads from their broadcasts until he is suspended or fired will be right, too.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Bauer draws a suspension, although apparently it's just for the last pre-season game. I could be misreading that.

Tellingly, it's not the station or the team or the league issuing the suspension, but Clear Channel, just so we know who's running the world these days.

[Edgy MD]

Is this Nitkowski I'm hearing?

He's good. Sharp and on top of the game. Not as funny as Wayne. And doesn't make the effort to engage Howie when he's on play-by-play. Howie is polite enough to wait for openings, but they don't come that often, so Howie can disappear for several batters at a time.