Absolute Carnack, Kreskin, and Moreno

i hate Vin Scully. I think he’s dry, boring and unenthusiastic about the game.

i also don’t mind Phys and Rex, but that’s partly because i’ve watched the most games with them.

if they were to make changes in the broadcast booth, i’m all for the Rory/Rex duo. we heard them together once this year (Toronto?) and it was amazing. I absolutely loved the two of them together.

I have been beating that drum a LONG time and will continue to.

FAIL beyond all proportions.
shakes fist

Dick Enberg back?

Come on he was the guy at the mic for a long time. I still remember listening to him call Nolan Ryan’s no hitters as I sat on the living room floor. Of course having Don Drysdale as his side kick was also great. That was the rival to the Vin and Ross and Jerry Dodgers. Not to mention for all those younger Angel fans Dick Enberg after every Angels victory, would wrap up his broadcast with “And the Halo shines tonight.”

those guys are just fine. If they can find a better broadcast team, then great. However, Rory Markus and Mark Gubicza are not better.

Some of my earliest childhood memories are of riding in the car with my dad, listening as the AM radio fading in and out under bridges, and the voice of Scully talking about Farmer John Hot Dogs. So Vin Scully will always be the Voice of Baseball, and that’s that.

As for Hud and Fizz, well… Rory and Goobie may be more respectable on the surface, but they have this tendancy to get bored during the game and start going off on completely non-germane tangents. They dynamic between Fizz and Hud is great because it’s almost like another generational reboot of Laurel and Hardy, Abott and Costello, Cousin Larry and Balki, etc.

Take for example one AM broadcast a week or two ago (and bear in mind I’m seriously paraphrasing):

Hud: “You know, I received a letter from a listener recently, and they said I shouldn’t be saying ‘we won’ or ‘we scored’ because it’s not professional or not right – I should be more, you know, objective – what do you think, Fizz?”

Fizz: “I’m not on the 25 man roster, so I say ‘they,’ not ‘we,’ I think that’s what’s appropriate.”

Hud: “I just get too excited and into the moment, you know? I just get all involved -“

Fizz: “Well, I just do my best to contain the force that is You…”

Rory and Goobie will probably never be remembered. Rex is an anomaly in and of himself so much now that when Hula Dula, charmingest human on earth, gave his press conference to announce his enthusiastic move to Anaheim with Rusty the Rally Monkey on his shoulder, he said “yeah, me and this monkey, we’re best friends… and Rex Hudler! Yeah, baby!”

And as such, I think he is the best at adding something different to the broadcast. On the RH show on Friday, Hud basically gave it up that he had no grooming when it came to broadcasting, he was thrown out there and a mic pushed in front of him. I think in the few years since he has been in the box, he has improved a lot. At the same time, I think the fact that he is so out of his element (out of the dugout and in the broadcasting box) makes him better as the color guy. Also, his recent background as a player I think is valuable (same for Gubi).

Phys, on the other hand, forgets the count/inning/etc regularly, or gets names wrong. For the non-color guy (whats he called?) to fail like this is unforgivable. I wouldn’t cry to see him go, but I would if the fired Hud.

Rory Markus sounds to me like he is trying to be Vin Jr. Being a Vin fan, this doesn’t bother me, it’s like a throwback to the Vin heyday, but it’s nothing special. Rory would be a bearable replacement for Phys.

“Some of my earliest childhood memories are of riding in the car with my dad, listening as the AM radio fading in and out under bridges, and the voice of Scully talking about Farmer John Hot Dogs. So Vin Scully will always be the Voice of Baseball, and that’s that.”

Aside from that sounding like a snippet from a good book, I think this has got to be a collective unconscious thing… just reading this, i can hear Vin saying “Farmer John Hotdogs” and it takes me back to listening to LAD games with my grandfather in the late 70’s.

And the crusty old dude who does the Fox national broadcasts, I can’t remember his name, but he drives me up a wall. 9 times out of 10, he talks up the other team and calls Angel’s plays like its a fluke that they are any good.

oh, hi, i’m new around HH, btw.

he seems to have gotten more comfortable. hes very hokie and corny, but hes not out of his mind like physioc and hudler can get

They do make mistakes constantly, and they never correct themselves. Does anyone else remember how Bob Starr (I think it was) used to occasionally make a mistake, then say “check that,” and correct himself? Sometimes I get the impression that Fizz wants to correct Hud, or vice vera, but they choose to ignore the errors instead for whatever reason. They just let things fly.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Hud’s enthusiasm. I even named my dog Hudler because he’s a goofy, energetic dog. But Hud can be so aggravating. Especially when the Angels are blowing a game, a bonehead Rex comment just adds fuel to the fire. Other times I feel like he’s treating the viewers like idiots. Paraphrase: “See, to catch a grounder, you gotta bend your knees and get your glove down.” That’s color commentary? We’re not all first time listeners, Rex. Some of us kinda know the game.

I “watch” baseball like I’m listening to the radio, I have the TV turned up and I do a bunch of other stuff around the house. I like the Play by Play announcer that tell me what’s going on in the game (this is why I hate ESPN’s Sunday night game and their announcers that seem to have alzheimer and just start rambling about random NY/Boston/Chicago crap) with the color guy telling me what kind of pitch it was or how difficult the play in the field was.

When I hear the situation starting to get tense I come to the TV and watch. I like Rory & Hud because Rory seems like an intelligent fan of baseball who is not afraid to point out the short comings and boast about the areas that we excel in but keeping an even temperment. Hud is Hud, you either like him or you don’t.

With Vin Scully and his monotone delivery I just kinda tune him out and end up missing the game.

I’ve been following the Angels since 1985, so I wouldn’t go as far as saying the I have the MTV Countdown Syndrome, well maybe a touch of it, but that said, my preferred media has always been the radio to listen to most sports, so I’m partial to announcers that describe the plays and allow me to use my imagination to see it (Like a good book).

As far as Scully goes I have heard him on the radio during from the 80’s to now and I stand by what I said above he has a very monotone voice that I find difficult to listen to. I know he’s a great announcer , he’s been around for god know’s how long, he’s just not for me.