(noted surrealist Dave Niehaus)
Writes Tim Cook :
I was glad to see the Giants in 2nd (NL, behind Vin Scully), who I especially like because they’re really funny. One example is Krukow referring to excessive, redundant relief pitcher warm-ups as “dry humps,” a term probably invented to describe Dusty Baker’s managerial style.
Taking a full measure of this list, however, I can see that it is crap. That is, they ranked the Oakland guys as 2nd place AL, and I hate listening to them. The Mariners’ broadcasters are so cornball, robotic, errant or cliched, with insights apropos of nothing, save perhaps for Dave Niehaus’ involuntary and at times surreal outbursts providing a listener some ear-arresting NOISE to listen for should the team ever return to significance.
I have a hard time imagining all the other teams’ play-by-play guys really being worse.
With all due respect to Mr. Cook, he didn’t hear Ron Santo discussing his favorite childhood sandwiches (in detail) during the Cubs’ 6-0 loss to the Diamondbacks today.
I wonder if the please-shut-up Chris Wheeler dragged the Phillies aggregate score down. Harry Kalas and Larry Andersen are top notch.
I think Mr. Cook must have really hated listening to the 16-0 A’s victory over the Giants earlier this year.
It wouldn’t be because of the quality of the A’s broadcasters, though. Bill King is as legendary a sports broadcaster in the Bay Area as Vin Scully is in SoCal, although King is most well known for being the voice of the Raiders and Warriors during the 60s and 70s.
I’ll take King over the moronic, jock-sniffing “Kruk and Kipe” any day, though I do like Jon Miller and Dave Fleming.
Oddly enough, FP Santangelo replaced Krukow in that A’s-Giants game. He was boring. Krukow definitely is the best. This season he has taken to using his telestrator to ‘eliminate’ annoying fans, people talking on cell-phones, the poorly dressed, who whoever else.
I’m still trying to process the notion that there’s a Roxy Bernstein calling ballgames in Miami- could you invent a more stereotypical name? To think they had to go to California to make the hire. I was crestfallen to discover Roxy’s a “he,” but rebounded when I noticed he replaced someone named Boog Sciambi from the 2004 crew. Someone in the Marlins front office has a sense of humor….
If Santo was talking sandwiches, it sounds like he’s angling for Harry Caray’s old job of “neighborhood” announcer. CSTB probably has a grudge against Santo for 1969, when Santo Told The Truth about the Cubs getting robbed by the Mets.
Glad Jon Miller was recognized, who I believe is as good as Vin Scully. There, I f’n said it.
Ben
Miller is *clearly* better today than Scully who, at this point, is living off his reputation, much as Caray, Brickhouse, Harwell, et. al. did during their twilight years….
Except for a bit too much theatrical excitement during high points in individual games, I love Jon Miller. His voice sounds great and he has a legitimately good sense of humor. You get a lot more of his personality on Giants broadcasts than his ESPN work.
Brickhouse hid his decline brilliantly tho by calling games with Lou Boudreau for years, the sleepiest voice on TV short of Floyd the Barber from “The Andy Griffith show.” Next to him, Brickhouse was the Joey Styles of his day. But I’ve been biased against Brickhouse ever since Leo Durocher accused Brickhouse of trying to run him out of Chicago for missing a game. Chicago lost a winner and got Brickhouse.
I am trying to find the conversation that went on between Ron Santo and Roxy Bernestin just this past week at the Marlins game.
any help? In regards to the name Roxy being such a awful name?
Thanks