At the Least I Have The Presence of Mind to use Mute

[DOUGHBOYS]

I've come to loathe most baseball broadcasting. Part of it is my fault. I watch too much and it seems hardly any of them have anything new to say. All broadcasters are under team control, so broadcasters are not only 'homers', they are unabashed homers.
Yesterday, Atlanta broadcasters lauded AJ Pierzynski for his 'good base running.' Pirzynski hit a single to right field, when the throw was made to home plate, Pierzynski took off for second base. The catcher threw to second base, easily beating Pierzynski who was only half way between first and second base. Devon Travis ran Pierzynski towards first and threw to the first baseman with Pierzynski in the pickle. It was then that both Pierzynski, the first baseman, and the rest of the Blue Jays discovered that nobody was covering second base. Pierzynski was safe at second.
Good base running?
Yeah, right.

Every Major League team has the best catcher at blocking pitches in the dirt. Broadcasters know that this cannot be quantified or argued. So, their catcher is the best at it.
Listen to different broadcasters through the season. Each one will say that 'their guy' is the best at it.

With instant replay, broadcasters are robbed themselves of saying how robbed their team was, over a call. Now, they habitually pick at home plate umpiring. There is no replay for strikes and balls and this is where their team is now robbed. The strike zone is too small, it's too large, or the umpire is inconsistent. It can't be that teams pitcher or hitter.
They are never at fault.

Besides being 'homers', there is the mundane. The 'crap' every announcer spouts.
My biggest peeve is the 'presence of mind'.
A pitcher knocks down a ball and has the 'presence of mind' to nail the runner at first.
PRESENCE OF MIND?
He would have had no mind at all if he WOULDN'T have thrown to first base!
This is his job, no?
The same thing happens in football.
A quarterback gets out of a sack and has the 'presence of mind' to hit a receiver 20 yards downfield.
THAT'S HIS JOB!
If a burger flipper misflips a burger on the grill, he goes back and does it again. There is no big 'presence of mind', he simply does what a burger flipper does.
Sheesh.

A batter gets time out called by the umpire while the pitcher starts delivering the ball.
99.9% of announcers will start in about how this could cause injury. How many injuries have we seen from this action?
Really.
But yet, they feel it is their job to inform us that an injury could be had.
Heck, every pitch could end with a ball in the batter's ear. THAT, is more prevalent than a pitcher getting hurt on a called time out, but we never hear that, do we.

A home team batter in a slump is 'struggling'.
A visitor in a slump is batting a 'pathetic' 1 fer 20.
A home team pitcher has lost command.
A visiting pitcher is wild and all over the place.
A home team's Manager is making the right decisions.
A visiting Manager is making questionable decisions.

Ian Desmond has made eight errors in two weeks. His announcers laud him for his range.
George Springer is hitting .130, but he plays a swell right field. .
They are politicians. Accentuating the positive. Spinning the negative.
In a world where we want truth, we get half truths.
Yasiel Puig has more talent than any player in baseball, says his announcer.
Not many miles away, a different announcer says the same about Mike Trout.
And Giancarlo Stanton is the best player on Earth says his announcer.
Implying that their must really be a good player on another planet.

Living in Colorado and having several Rockies hitters on fantasy teams, lends me to listen to both tv and radio games.
I am put through Hell.
I am not a Rockies fan. So, I hear things with a different ear than those around me.
Rockies broadcasters are like those of the Braves.
They subtly say how wonderful their players and Manager is, while questioning every motive of the opposing team.
It gets to be tedious and hard to listen to.
After the Pierzynski base running goof that was 'good base running', Braves announcers spouted for two or three minutes about how the Blue Jays defense was derelict in not covering second base.
If it had been there team, I imagine a mention and moving on with the game.

Back in the day, announcers described the action like Vin Scully does today. At least in terms the fairness of calling a game.
Afterall, nobody else is like Vin Scully.
That fairness is gone now.
Mostly because of team control. Partially because of tv and radio themselves.
" Billy Hamilton steals second base!"
And fans, that stolen base was brought to you by Edwards Security Company. At Edwards, your secure against robbers!"
Really?


And then there are the stupid contests.
Locally, our minor league team has a board over the centerfield fence. Some 420 feet away from home plate.
on this board is an arrow pointing to a hole about the size of a cantaloupe.
If a player hits a home run through that hole, a lucky fan wins a years supply of something from the advertiser.
So far, the board itself, has gone untouched.
I listened to a Major League game who had an advertisement. If a fan was lucky enough to have a member of the home team hit a grand slam on the 99th pitch of the game, he/she would win big money.
Woo hoo!

Sometimes at home, I watch the games 'bar style'. Putting sound on mute.
I have the presence of mind to do that.
It is my only weapon in not hearing some of the crap.
Like I said, it's not all the broadcasters fault.
I watch too much baseball. I've heard it all and just want the truth.
I can handle the truth.
At the same time, I want fairness. I want the broadcaster to tell me that the home team screwed up.
In these times of political correctness and spin, it seems too much to ask.

[Le Grand Orange]

I couldn't agree more Dan. Whenever I check in on my fantasy players, I always mute the announcers except for Vin. The Rockies announcers are particularly horrid. That being said, the one advantage of being a Mets fan all these years is the excellence of the broadcast crew. From Lindsay, Bob, and Ralph to Gary, Keith, and Ron, the Mets booth is knowledgeable, entertaining, and yes fair. Perfect example was last night when Murphy inexplicably went to cover second for a phantom steal attempt by Gordon and allowed a grounder to go right past the spot he vacated. Keith was borderline apoplectic and didn't spare any scorn in his criticism of the play. Of course they are homers in the sense that Gary is a lifelong fan and Keith and Ron played on the 86 team, but they don't let that get in the way of calling a clean, crisp, and objective game. With the good start, the Mets are again must watch and listen TV for me.

[DOUGHBOYS]

You are so correct, Marc.
The Mets tv crew is the best. The crew for the Red Sox and Giants are also good.
Those three crews, in particular, seem to have a good time along with being informative.
Orioles, Cubs, and A's are worth a listen.
Vin Scully is a constant.
Jim Palmer and Steve Stone are really good.

Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Kansas City, and Colorado...horrible

[Navel Lint]

With instant replay, broadcasters are robbed themselves of saying how robbed their team was, over a call.

True.

Unless they disagree with the final ruling of the replay official, then they talk about it even more.

Last night Felix Hernandez "hit" Jake Smolinski with an inside pitch.
The pitch was inside and it probably hit the bat, but Smolinski acted as if the pitch hit his hand. He was awarded first base.
The Mariners challenged the call with replay. It was very hard to tell for sure, definitely not conclusive enough to overturn, and Smolinski remained on first base. He then eventually scored.
Dave Simms ( who I like as an announcer ) talked about it for two innings. He just couldn't get over it.......

[Edwards Kings]

Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Kansas City, and Colorado...horrible

Atlanta is really held down by Chip Carey. He flat out sucks. When it used to be EJ Sr, the Professor, and Skip Carey, they were enjoyable.

[Navel Lint]

You are so correct, Marc.
The Mets tv crew is the best. The crew for the Red Sox and Giants are also good.
Those three crews, in particular, seem to have a good time along with being informative.
Orioles, Cubs, and A's are worth a listen.
Vin Scully is a constant.
Jim Palmer and Steve Stone are really good.

Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Kansas City, and Colorado...horrible

I still think Stone is the best analyst on tv, but Ron Darling is quickly becoming a close second.

....And while I'm thinking about it, Schilling is one of the worst.
He almost makes me wish that Joe Morgan would get rehired

....OK, he isn't that bad, but it's close

[Philly High Hopes]

Not only are the Phils horrible, but their TV broadcast is horrible as well. Tom McCarthy will challenge anyone for the biggest homer and Matt Stairs adds zero value as color guy. I'm still waiting for a close play where McCarthy doesn't try to defend just the outcome that benefits the Phils. I will say that Scott Franzke and Larry Anderson are at least entertaining on the radio. God I miss Harry and Whitey.