This post isn’t really anti anybody, but I couldn’t help but notice the drop in quality in Saturday’s Mets radiocast.
Howie was off so Eddie Coleman was in his chair. I like Eddie. Eddie seems nice. Eddie is “fine.” He’s no hall of fame play by play guy and I don’t think he’s pretending to be one. If he took over the Yankees job their broadcast would get a million times better because at least he’d describe the game.
But Eddie is like a 6th starter. Sometimes you need to give him a start or two and you know what you’re getting.
Also in the three-man booth was Frank Catalanotto, who the Daily News says will be making appearances on TV and radio this season. Frank didn’t impress me in his first outing, but I’m not going to run him out of town. I’d put him on par with “whoever YES runs in there when Michael Kay doesn’t feel like doing a west coast swing” quality.
Then there is Wayne.
I don’t dislike Wayne but something just doesn’t click for me. There’s just something that screams “not from around here” to me. I know the same was true of Bob Murphy, but he was Bob Murphy. I can’t explain what the difference is but I know it when I hear it.
It all comes back to Howie. When it’s Howie/Wayne I am usually fine. I prefer the innings when Howie is the lead guy, and I never get to Paul Lukas type frustration. Take Howie out of the mix and we’re faced with a booth where Eddie is the best guy. Eddie should be the journeyman not the ace.
I’m not sure what I want and I know I’m rambling….but just wondering what your thoughts about the radio booth are? Would Howie/Eddie be better?
So now that Ollie and Luis are gone we’re gonna pick on the Broadcasters?
it’s not a pick on, I am just writing what Mets related thoughts I have (as always). I just didnt have a chance to write this up on Sat/Sun/Mon
I agree with the “not from around here” thing. It bothers me too.
We say roof. Not ruhf. Little things like that. Aside from that, which may be nitpicky, he’s not a very good announcer. Listen to him try to keep up with a fast developing play. Can’t do it. He eventually goes back and recreates what happened, but he’s not a top play-by-play guy. Every time I hear him, i think “Who hired this guy? This is the best they could do?”
Neither Bob Murphy [Oklahoma] Lindsay Nelson [Tennessee] or Ralph Kiner [California] were from around here, either. And Murph was our radio god. I do get up to Lukasian-like anger when the topic of Hagin comes up, though. There’s good out-of-town [as stated in open] and then there’s Hagin. Worse than Healyesque IMHO.
Anyhow, the Fishsticks are done very soon, and Howie will return to the radio booth. Eddie Coleman should get more work as analyst or even PBP.
The world of base ball men on the mike is in serious decline. i do not have mlb radio so i cannot get mets games in oakland.
i do know from the giants, A’s,wgn,fox and espn, todays broadcast men seem to have the charm of game show hosts and are cheer leaders (the giants mike krukow and dwayne kuiper are perfect examples)
i remember wayne hagin with the giants.
he was from the bay area and had the attitude of “i know everything about the giants and you do not.”
he did not last very long in san francisco.
i will take bob murphy because when i was growing up, people like him were professional who was not a former player.
murphy was teamed with one of the best, curt gowdy while doing red sox games.
as a kid in new york, on my am radio at night, i could hear ned martin of the sox,chuck thompson and bill o’donnell of the orioles (they were excellent covering the 1969 world series on nbc and network radio working with gowdy,lindsay nelson,jim simpson and ralph kiner)
im just trying to say i miss the quality of base ball announcers i grew up with.
hail vin scully !
At least once a year, I watch the Mets-Dodgers game on the Dodgers feed just to hear Scully. Sometimes when I’m driving late at night, I’ll tune into the Dodgers game solely for the same reason.
If you really want something to ponder in terms of decline, consider that at the time NBC lost the Saturday Game of the Week, Costas and Kubek were their B team.
To your point, Joe Buck has gone from “why are they letting Jack Buck’s kid do a game” to “this could be far worse, at least it’s Joe Buck.”.
decline?
NBC sports lost it when in one of the world series they presented had vin scully and joe garagiola in the booth-and get this, curt gowdy doing interviews in the stands!
You’re absolutely right. With a few exceptions, they don’t make them like Murph and Co. anymore.
If anyone disagrees, I’d simply direct them to tape of the all star game from 2005 in Detroit, when Buck and McCarver (if I remember correctly) handed the mic over to Ernie Harwell for an inning. I’d submit that the difference between what broadcasting used to be, and should be, and what passes for broadcasting today, has never been shown so starkly within a game. I don’t remember anything about that game. But I still vividly remember not wanting Harwell to hand the mic back over.
Harwell, at an advanced age, was amazing that day. Yes yes yes!
MLB usually has the extra innings package free the first week. Everyone should treat themselves to some Scully.
There’s something o be said for letting a game breathe. Also for calling. Game naturally, not just working in catch phrases.
Man I love Howie o the radio. The way he can express disgust by intonation…
i remember that too !
i remember after years of living in california, maybe it was espn, bob murphy sat in and did an inning.
it was magic. i was a child again listening to 97 wjrz hakensack (the mets first flag ship station.)
does ralph still do play by play ?
Ralph doesn’t do PBP…but he’s the most enjoyable he has ever been. He has that “I’m 80 and don’t care and I hooked up with Liz Taylor, Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe while hitting lots of home runs” attitude…so he is uncensored in his thoughts about today’s game.
He’s even gotten past his three go to stories about being traded and offered a pay cut and dating Marilyn Monroe…..and he recovered from the palsy issues he had in the latter days on Sportschannel/SFNY.
Chris if you have an iPhone or iPad the MLB app for $15 for the season is a must have. You can have Howie! Or if he’s off you can listen to the road feed. If the Mets are off you can experience the disaster of Sterling and Suzyn!
Ot but my sister in law is going through a messy post divorce lawsuit from her jackass ex. He did give me an 86 Strawberry jersey… For kharma’s sake, do I need to toss it now?
Is it autographed? Worn by straw?
If it’s just a jersey then yeah give it away and buy yourself a new jersey. The karma is worth $100. Family first.
The worst thing about Hagin is not what he says…it is when he makes a point, and it begs for his partner to engage in conversation, the partner almost always does not engage. I get the sense his partners don’t like him.
BTW, I also sensed back in the day that Gary Cohen did not really get along with Murph. He seemed quick to correct Murph and sounded annoyed often. Anyone else recall this?
Steve, I can’t say I know for sure, but I have it in my brain that Cohen did not like Murph. Or maybe it was the other way around, but yeah I remember what you did.
I don’t think Hagin or Ed Coleman are bad broadcasters, but Howie Rose is good enough that they just can’t measure up to him.
And to be fair, Howie wasn’t awesome when surrounded by Rusty and Fran, so there is that – whereas “me” and A punchy Keith Hernandez might be ok for a night.
Wayne Hagin is an embarrassment. Really, he sucks. It’s ok to say it…
Given the team’s recent play over the last few years, I found that I enjoyed Howie even more during a rain delay than during an actual broadcast. We were contemporaries at Queens College, so when he waxes eloquent on the old days, I feel like he’s talking just to me. As good as this was, there was one day last year when during a rain delay he began talking about his fondness growing up for Mott the Hoople and particularly Ian Hunter, who I was surprised to learn lives in Connecticut and is a serious Met fan. Amazing !
You hit the nail on the head with Wayne Hagin Shannon.Its not like I dislike Wayne,but its something about his lack of knowledge of Mets history that rubs me the wrong way.This goes back to a spring training game a few years ago when he couldn’t remember what year Gil Hodges became manager of the Mets,then guessed it was 1967.I don’t want to nickpick with the guy but he should know the basics….Well this lack of knowledge does spread to our local broadcasters,IE Mike Francesa,who if he doesn’t know the answer poo poos it as not important enough to know.