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I was cruising through MLB.tv last night for the first time in awhile and realized I had no idea which broadcast I wanted to listen on every stream. I figured it might be useful to make a discerning baseball sicko's guide to local broadcast teams. Cubs  Television Team: Jon "Boog" Sciambi play by play, Jim "J.D." DeShaies analyst, Taylor McGregor sideline, and a Rotating Cast of Thousands Overview Jim Deshaies is a very good analyst, someone who has some levity but also decent insight into pitching. I personally find Boog to be kind of annoying, constantly making dumb self-deprecating jokes and an attempt to fit in angles and stories that seem more suited to a national broadcast. The games with just Boog and JD are mainly fine. The main problem, though, is that since moving to Marquee, the broadcast often jams a third person into the booth, usually a rotation of Ryan Dempster who is surprisingly boring, Doug Glanville who is ok, and Rick Sutcliffe who is drunk. This year, they've added Joe Girardi, who will not shut the gently caress up at all and makes me desperate for some team to give him another shot to get him off my television. On Sundays, Sciambi calls the national game for ESPN radio, and is replaced by radio voice Pat Hughes or Beth Mowins who are both fine. The sideline reporting is fine, though there's too much of McGregor interviewing some Cubs functionary that I have no interest in. They also interview Ross once a week during the game-- I have never found anything interesting or insightful about an in-game manager interview. Are they annoying homers? Not much more than you'd expect from a standard home broadcast. Expect a lot of paeans to Wrigley Field and These Special Fans. Novelties The Cubs show the 7th inning stretch every game, even if it's just a video of Harry Carey. Does anyone have a distracting or annoying voice? Boog Sciambi sounds like a person trying to do a generic "announcer voice." Would I recommend this broadcast to the casual viewer? I don't think the Marquee Sports broadcast is very good, but it's also not unwatchable. A solid C-. Radio Team: Pat Hughes play by play, Ron "Coom Dawg" Coomer analyst, Zach Zaidman pre-postgame/fill-in Overview Hughes is going to the Hall of Fame this summer as the Ford C. Frick award winner. After 40 years in major league broadcasting starting with the Twins and the Brewers, he became the Cubs play by play man in 1996, partnering with Ron Santo. Hughes is what you would expect from a traditional baseball radio guy, which formed a counterpart to Santo, whose analysis often involved him just making guttural noises or screaming NOOOOOOO when the Cubs did something tha the Cubs usually do. In 2013, he was paired with another Ron, Ron Coomer, a genial baseball oaf. Hughes's call is classic and sort of old fashioned. Coomer provides pretty useless analysis (he loves when hitters go the other way) but is also often telling an anecdote from his many years as a baseball Guy or describing a sandwich he has recently eaten. I am irrational about Coomer and love everything about him, but I also listen to dozens of hours of Cubs radio every year at work or in my car. The entire broadcast is what you'd expect from the Cubs-- kind of corny, pitched to 80 year-old midwesterners. Are they annoying homers? Well, they are definitely homers in the way you'd expect, spinning every horrible AAAA guy the Cubs have trotted out there to save money as a breakout candidate, and Hughes describing Wrigley Field like it's the Smithsonian. Novelties Like on TV, you will hear the 7th inning stretch even if it is being butchered by the guy who was in rookie of the year. Hughes loves to describe the uniforms. A lot of the broadcast involves listening to Zaidman cackling off mic after any vaguely joke-ish statement like he is Robert De Niro in Cape Feare. Both Coomer and Hughes appear in a bunch of very stupid local commercials, the most notable is Coomer shilling for a product called "Funkaway" and Hughes touting the Village of Bedfork Park as close to railroads and sources of water like he is describing it to a nineteenth-century homesteader. Like most radio broadcasts, every thing the Cubs do is sponsored by some entity. Do I recommend this broadcast to casual listeners? I love the Cubs radio broadcast, I think Pat Hughes is one of the best radio guys in the game, and the concept of Ron Coomer and everything he does and says is extremely funny to me. If you can't stand Ron Coomer talking about how "i've gotta get one a' dem meatball sandwiches" after saying that "happer's really looking for something to hit here" then it's your loss.
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Apr 1, 2023 01:56
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 11:26 |
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That's pretty spot on. Boog I've settled on as mildly annoying but tolerable. JD is great and I hope he sticks around. Rick Suttcliffe is terrible and I don't think I can listen to him anymore I'll probably flip over to the opposing teams broadcast whenever they put him on. I like Doug Glanville. Coomer despite initially thinking I would not like him is good, he just works well as a radio guy. Everyone else is fine, please stop doing 3 person booths they are almost universally worse.
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Apr 1, 2023 02:04
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And because nobody asked broadcast teams I like that aren't the Cubs. Padres, Angels, Athletics, Mariners Mets and Blue Jays are all good.
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Apr 1, 2023 02:07
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Coomer works specifically because he's an idiot goofball which bounces well off of Pat being a traditional and straightforward pbp guy. If you want to get annihilated watching a Cubs game put on the radio broadcast and take a drink every time Pat says a thing, and then after a beat Ron says the exact same thing again, just phrased slightly differently. The TV booth situation is a trash fire, Marquee's production people seem dead set on emulating the national broadcast format of ESPN, complete with an overcrowded three-person booth, constant cutting away from the actual game for inane interviews or retrospectives, and an endless barrage of in-game ads. They also tried to insist on the booth guys wearing full suits for the first couple years like it was a Yankees flight and the work environment got so dysfunctional the former pbp guy Len Kasper jumped ship to call White Sox radio instead. The only good person left is JD so of course Marquee boxed him out of calling like every other game last year and I fear he's probably going to leave soon too.
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Apr 1, 2023 02:43
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Anyway so this thread isn't all Cubs I'll talk about the San Francisco Giants broadcasters since I get to hear them quite a bit around here: Television Team: Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper aka Kruk & Kuip Turns out when you've been broadcasting as the same duo for almost 30 years, you get pretty good at it! Kuiper is one of the few former players I know of to do pbp instead of color, and I think it's safe to say he's one of the best still going at knowing when to talk and when to shut up and let the game do the talking for him. Krukow is also a former player and does a good job of balancing anecdotes and player insight. The two bounce really well off another and make watching games a treat. That said they're both getting up there and Kuiper in particular has been dealing medical issues that prevented him from calling a lot of games the last couple years. Supposedly he is going to do all the home games this year and a limited number of away games as well. Radio Team: Jon Miller and Dave Flemming Miller is one of the most iconic broadcaster voices still working in baseball imo, an absolutely phenomenal personality and Ford C Frick award winner. Famous for having a Vin Scully impersonation and even more famous for doing the impersonation in front of Vin Scully who, in perfect Scully fasion, absolutely roasted him for it. Flemming is... fine, I guess? He's inoffensive but I don't feel like he adds a ton, and he kinda struggles with shutting up when the moment needs to breath. The radio broadcast isn't split into a traditional color/pbp, Miller and Flemming trade off every couple innings. Are they annoying homers? All of the SF broadcast guys are unabashed homers, welcome to the Bay Area bitch. If you don't like it listen to the opposing booth. Novelties None I can really think of, although maybe an actual Giants fan could think of something. Does anyone have a distracting or annoying voice? No and it rules. Would I recommend this broadcast to the casual viewer? It's probably *the* broadcast I would recommend to a casual or new viewer right now.
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Apr 1, 2023 02:43
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Tampa Bay Rays TV: Dewayne Staats - PBP, Brian Anderson - Analyst, Tricia Whitaker - Field Reporter Overview: Staats has been with the Rays since the beginning and has been calling games for a billion years. He started with the Astros in the 70s and has also worked with the Cubs and Yankees as well. Staats is the kind of voice you think of when you think baseball announcer voice. Whenever a Ray blasts one he'll say "And there's a drive, high and deep to (whatever direction) field," and he likes say "wave and a miss" as well. He's beloved by Rays fans since he's been at it for so long and he's really all we've known. He can be a bit aloof at times and he's never really been super great in big moments, but he's solid all around. Anderson is a wild card. While Staats is the image of an older veteran broadcaster, Anderson likes to be silly. Sometimes he can be too much, but more often than not the dynamic plays really well together and the chemistry in the booth has certainly gotten a lot better now that they've been together for over a decade. I think it's a good B+/A- crew. They do have the tendency to put on absurd broadcasts with a lot of dumb humor during late night west coast games. Staats is probably close to retirement since he's taking a bunch of road games off. Are they annoying homers? Anderson tends to be more homer than Staats. It's always hard to tell since I'm not a neutral fan, but I don't think they're ever annoyingly homer. It certainly comes out at times, but it's probably about average for most local broadcasts. Does anyone have a distracting or annoying voice? Not really. I've heard a few complaints that Staats voice is boring, but those seem to be few and far between. Would I recommend this broadcast to the casual viewer? The broadcast is solid if you can get past all the annoying poo poo that comes with any Bally Sports broadcast. gently caress Bally Sports you bankrupt shits. Radio: Andy Freed - PBP, Neil Solondz - PBP Overview: The Rays radio crew from 2006 until early March was the same. Andy Freed and Dave Wills would each do 2 innings of PBP and alternate with the other. I worked in the Trop from 2006 to 2011 and they played the radio feed in the hallways so I got to hear a ton of them. Freed is a more typical style announcer while Wills worked better in big moments. They played off each other extremely well and the stylistic mashup seemed perfect. Sadly during Spring Training, Wills passed away. It really sucks because you could tell how much Wills and Freed loved calling games and that there was a serious friendship between the two. Now Neil Solondz goes from being the pregame/postgame studio guy to announcing. Based on the highlights I listened to, he's fine for someone without a ton of work, but he's filling such a massive hole that will take a lot of time for him to build into. Freed is a great voice and I'm glad he'll be there to help Solondz out. While Wills was always more suited for big moments, Freed's call of the Longoria walkoff in game 162 is my favorite Rays related call ever. I wouldn't be surprised if Freed moves to TV when Staats retires. I'll really miss that big strikeout late in the game and the call of "Swing and a miss. He. Struck. Him. Out." Are they annoying homers? Wills would get more outspoken at times if he felt the umps were wronging the team, but Freed and Wills both were not afraid to say the Rays were playing like poo poo. Remains to be seen if the new combo will be annoying, but I doubt it. Does anyone have a distracting or annoying voice? Solondz is clearly still working out how to call bigger moments. Do I recommend this broadcast to casual listeners? With Wills and Freed, absolutely. Now, I'd probably still recommend it just because I really like Freed, but man it feels different. I also vote the Mets TV broadcast as the best, it's just fun.
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Apr 1, 2023 02:46
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Meet the White Sox, the Go GO WHITESOX! TV - Jason Benetti and Steve Stone I think Jason is inarguably the best baseball announcer and likely the best all around announcer in any game today. He seamlessly goes from WSox baseball to FOX baseball to ESPN statscast Home Run Derby to local high school JV girls volleyball, and I will go out of my way to listen to any of them. The perfect mix of descriptive, stats, and inane trivia. Stone has been announcing games since 1932 and while he was noticeably disinterested while working with Ken ""Hawk" 45 seconds of silence" Harrelson he seems to really enjoy Benetti. He has a good mix of old man yelling at clouds and honestly interesting insight that I enjoyable. Radio - Len Kasper and Darrin Jackson I am so glad that the Ricketts pissed off Kasper enough to want to stop doing TV for the North Siders and come to the WSox. Always insightful, nice at letting a moment soak in before stating the obvious, and has interesting talking points outside of baseball. Usually it would be an embarrassment that he is the alternate for TV broadcasts (but see above). After years of being beat down by Ed Farmer DJ is weak. Not necessarily bad, just weak. He has very typical ex-player opinions and when given the chance he can expound on them. Homers? TV definitely not and radio only occasionally. Distracting/Annoying? Well, they all have a face made for radio. If Benetti has a drawback he looks like a stereotypical nerd. At least the TV guys are only shown for < 2 minutes. Novelties? Well, if you consider getting Bill Walton and Michael Schur (Ken Tremendous) as occasional color guys sign me the gently caress up. They have Sox Math twitter raffles and a prize shelf with a rotating list of prizes. Recommended? Everyone listens to Benetti on the regular regardless of your sport, and Stone is really kinda fun. Kasper is literally the greatest consolation prize ever and DJ also talks occasionally too! NBCsports has excellent TV broadcasts with pitchcast and camera angles, Edit, I don't listen to a lot of radio, they are now on ESPN-1000 which probably reaches 78% of the US. Dog Faced JoJo fucked around with this message at 20:58 on Apr 2, 2023 |
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Apr 2, 2023 20:51
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Hearing Pat Hughes read ad spots for adult diapers makes me feel like I’m watching “National Lampoon Presents Booth Buddies” or some such poo poo.
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Apr 4, 2023 00:17
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Sydin posted:Would I recommend this broadcast to the casual viewer? Kruk and Kuipe own. One thing I'd add to your post is they're very funny. They'll constantly make fun of people in the crowd or just the odd situations that happen in baseball games. I'm a Giants fan but imo they're the best in the business. Funny, informative, not too homerish. They're perfect.
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Apr 4, 2023 06:48
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Suppose I can give my take on the Minnesota Twins Television Team: Dick Bremer & Justin Morneau Dick Bremer is synonymous with Twins TV. This is Dick's 40th season with the team as play-by-play announcer. He's a Minnesota native and it shows, but in a very endearing way. I'm not gonna say he's an all time legendary broadcaster, but he's good at his job, shows support for the Twins while not being an outright homer, and follows the game pretty well. Former Twins 1B Justin Morneau is his most common broadcast partner. Justin's a bit dry and isn't very excitable, but he's very insightful in his color commentary. It's an extra bonus if Glen Perkins (former Twins closer) is in the booth as they're great at analyzingv the game from different perspectives. Radio Team: Corey Provus and Dan Gladden Corey Provus is great. He's been the Radio play by play guy since 2012 after having worked with Bob Uecker in Milwaukee (which was the best radio team the Brewers ever had, in my opinion). His announcing is full of excitement when needed, subdued when not. His time with Uecker also shows, as he's very good at the banter with his broadcast partner as well. Dan Gladden, on the other hand, isn't very good at all. He'd be fine if he was just a color guy, but his play by play (which he does for the 4th - 6th innings) is terrible. The Twins could hit a grand slam and he'd call it like it was a routine fly out. Thankfully with the broadcast overlays on MLB.tv, I can just go back to the TV broadcast for the middle innings. Are they annoying homers? Everyone aside from Provus is either a MN native or former Twin, so yeah, there's some homerism. I've never found it to be annoying though, and nobody acts like the Twins can do no wrong. Novelties Sadly since Bert Blyleven retired, the Circle Me Bert gag on TV got rebranded as the MN state lottery "Winners Circle", so it sucks now. Does anyone have a distracting or annoying voice? Dan Gladden Would I recommend this broadcast to the casual viewer? Aside from the middle innings on radio, absolutely.
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Apr 4, 2023 18:47
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Infidel Castro posted:Suppose I can give my take on the Minnesota Twins I'm gonna back this up with a couple things: 1. Morneau's dryness is mostly related to being Canadian and living in Minnesota for the past 20 years. I love his analysis and stories and beautiful Canadian face. After the chaos goblin that was Bert Blyleven (which, tbh, the Dick-and-Bert dynamic was fun because Bremer had to keep on his preacher's-son toes) it's nice to have a guy that sounds like a baseball nerd. Morneau sounds like the kind of guy you would just talk sports with, and he has the added benefit of being really loving smart, which I'm super happy about considering his brain has been scrombled way too many times. 2. Gladden is by far the worst announcer I have ever heard on any medium in any sport. The most apt comparison I can think of is John Smoltz, but far more surly. New things?? In baseball??? He sounds like the manager in Major League but without hope, joy, or charisma. 3. If I had my pick of the crew, I'd move Provus to TV with Morneau. A one-for-one swap with Bremer would work, as Gladden and Bremer would be a passable old-school team, and then when Bremer finally walks they can find a whole new radio team. 4. Circle Me Bert can never die so long as my spouse still has it on a t-shirt.
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Apr 10, 2023 20:37
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 11:26 |
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A's still don't sound the same since the death of Ray Fosse after the 2021 season. Dallas Braden does a decent job of filling the void (and was easing into the role as a 3rd for several seasons previous) and has some good pitching stories to fill the air when the A's play isn't very entertaining (which is going to be a lot this season) and his only obnoxious bit of schtick is his convoluted Home Run call catchphrase that he's still trying to get over. Glenn Kuiper has a classic PBP voice and has been the sound of the A's for about 40 years now. [Yes, both Kuiper brothers do TV PBP and have been the soundtrack of Bay Area Baseball for longer than I've been alive.] Radio play by play for the A's is handled by the hidden gem known as Ken Korach, whose national profile isn't nearly as high as it should be (and the 2023 A's are unlikely to do anything to raise it). Vince Cotroneo is good at his job, which is staying out of Korach's way until Korach needs to stop for air. Dallas Braden is by far the most homery of the crew, and even he stays (mostly) within the acceptable range of homerism. He's filling big shoes. Everybody, with the exception of Braden, has been in their current role for about 20 years (Korach being the direct successor to the late, legendary Bill King). All of them refrain from gimmicky shouting and are devoid of schtick outside of Dallas Braden's cumbersome Home Run call. Definitely recommend giving them a view and/or listen as long as you can stave off the depression of watching a franchise get systematically murdered by a skinflint owner who is trying to orchestrate a franchise relocation, Major League style. Like A's fans, A's broadcasters deserve much better than the team they're getting.
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Apr 11, 2023 02:23
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