Sometime during Fridays telecast, Gary Cohen mentioned that they were going to have three days in a row off. Monday was an off day but there were games Saturday and Sunday. Turns out Fox had the Saturday game and ESPN the Sunday one. Didn’t see a complete broadcast either day but saw enough to remind myself that it’s no fun watching a national TV baseball game.
National broadcasters can’t possibly know a team as well as the home broadcasters and there’s no way on earth they can compare with Cohen, who grew up watching the Mets.
It seems to me that national broadcasters latch onto a theme or two and they’re going to reference that theme over and over and over, even if it makes no sense to do it. The worst was the 2015 World Series, when we heard constantly about the “relentless Royals” and virtually not a peep about how the Mets’ offense, which had a .762 OPS in August, a .767 OPS in September, beat the Dodgers in a five-game series despite facing prime Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke twice each and posted an .833 OPS in the NLCS – this offense managed just a .552 OPS in the World Series. Think that might have been worth mentioning a time or two, even if it was mentioned in terms of how well the Royals were pitching. But it wasn’t the theme going into the Series so, uh, no.
The Saturday game was painful. John Smoltz was a terrific pitcher and he could be a really good broadcaster. But somewhere along the way – or maybe it was part of him all along – he’s devolved into a “Get off my lawn” old man. The next time you’re concerned about how baseball is trending older and not developing the next generation of fans – when you list the reasons why, perhaps you should include broadcasters who accentuate the negative whenever possible. No one wants to be around a “Negative Norman” for very long in real life and when we are subjected to Smoltz, well, that’s what we get.
The Sunday game was better. The play-by-play guy (Don Orsillo, maybe?) did a nice job trying to set up Alex Rodriguez and Buster Olney. My opinion is that they strayed from the actual game too much for my liking but at least it was to talk about current players in a positive direction. If we’re grading on a curve, it wasn’t bad for a national telecast. Still would have rather had the game done by GKR. But if all national telecasts were like this one, they wouldn’t be so insufferable.
*****
Like many of you, I grew up listening to Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner broadcast the Mets games on Channel 9. Of the three, my least favorite was Kiner, who had trouble talking in full sentences and talked about guys who were no longer playing. It surprised me as an adult how much I enjoyed when GKR would have Kiner in the booth. Maybe it was nostalgia. Maybe it was things that were infuriating on a daily basis weren’t so tough to take in a once-in-awhile basis. Maybe it was how Cohen set him up. Maybe it was how Keith Hernandez was so respectful and how Kiner wasn’t afraid to contradict Hernandez. I wish we could have Kiner drop in on a few more broadcasts today.
Speaking of Hernandez, well, he’s getting tougher to take on a daily basis. The easy comparison would be to the Kiner of the mid-to-late 70s. But to me there’s a better comparison that perhaps those of you who were around in the 70s might appreciate. Bill Russell is in the short list of people who can be considered the greatest player in NBA history. He was a successful NBA coach. He was an early activist for equality. He was admirable in many, many ways. But boy was he bad as an announcer. He would go through long stretches without saying a word, making a kid wonder if he was still awake. And when he did chime in with something, it was frequently not worth hearing. And that’s what Hernandez is like these days. You’re more likely to hear him sigh or cough than say anything interesting.
Hernandez used to be my favorite. It would be interesting to me to go back and listen to a broadcast from eight to 10 years ago and see if he really was better back then or if it’s just a case of his schtick growing tired. Now, my hope when I turn on the game is that Ron Darling is in the booth, which is the opposite of what it was 10 years ago.
I hold two contradictory thoughts in my mind about broadcasters. One, it’s important for clubs to have continuity with their broadcasters because the players change so often. It used to be that you could count on Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Ed Kranepool to be on the Mets because they were always on the team. But those days are gone. Which makes the broadcasters that much more important for fans to have.
My second thought is that color commentators have a limited shelf life and should probably be changed after seven years or so. It’s been great fun having Darling and Hernandez in the booth. It’s a credit to them that they’ve been so enjoyable for so long. But maybe it’s time for them to be replaced by Curtis Granderson and Bartolo Colon, two guys from the 2015 World Series team. It might be the only way to satisfy those who (still!!) clamor for a Colon return to the Mets.
Finally, we should all be grateful for Cohen. Sure, he’s lost a few miles off his fastball but did you listen to those games that Gary Thorne did when Cohen was on vacation? Nothing will make you appreciate Cohen more than listening to someone trying to fill his shoes. Although, two days of listening to national broadcasters comes pretty close, too.
I listened to Lindsay and Bob and Ralph for many many years. I liked Kiner because he was genuine and human. Hated Lindsey and Bob because they were plastic guys, and granted, it may be tough spending that much time with anyone… does not help that the Mets were so disappointing for all those years.
Gary is a phenom. I tire of him too, but at least he’s articulate, accurate, and very present in the booth… a human being aware that he is doing a job and trying to be pleasant. I think working with Keith limits Gary… he routinely has to hold Keith upright, feed him softball questions, and smooth over Keith’s vast limitations. It would be very interesting to me to see Gary with more competent sidemen, of which Ron is one. It is far better when Ron is in the booth with Gary alone.
I tend to agree. Hernandez is the least effective of the current three. Also agree that Granderson might be really good. On a sidenote, San Diego’s Don Orsillo is terrific.
This issue extends to the radio booth too. I thought Howie and Josh Lewin were great. Im adjusting to Howie and Wayne Randazzo, but Josh Lewin he aint. Josh could throw down with Howie about all kinds of things where Randazzo is more a deer-in-the-headlights. With Howie out now for the rest of the year, Randazzo (a cousin I think of the Umpire Randazzo) is the radio voice of the Mets with Ed Coleman (among others like Terry Collins) doing color. And wow that is Gary Thorne bad.
Back to TV. The schtick is passable overall because the Mets suck so bad. Kranky Keith, Radiant Ronnie, and Gary are as much a part of the game as the game itself. Throwing baseball cards, stories about some 19 inning game help make the 17 batters up and down stomachable. I wonder about breaking in a new person that talks in OPS more than BA. In fact, Id like to see OPS replace BA on the screen too. Im an old fashioned kind of baseball guy, but we all know BA is pretty lifeless. Keith is stuck there. Adding a guy like Grandy would be awesome, but would he elevate that? Not sure.
It certainly would be interesting to add a color guy who tried to engage Keith more. Gary has too many other responsibilities to really do that and Ron simply won’t.
It seems like Keith is sort of trying. He seems to be eager and alert earlier in the games than he is later. Maybe he could down an energy drink in the fourth inning.
The Mets production and camera angles are so superior than any other team and the national broadcasts. It make it so enjoyable. I’m comfortable with GKR and I find them informative and entertaining. Keith references players that I knew and saw but a teen age fan can’t relent to the point or the player. It would be beneficial to reference a current player in the league than a player 30-40 years ago. Ron does this because he does national broadcasts (TBS) and more rounded. Gary is a terrific play by play man. Rumor has it that Ron is expanding to the new national broadcast on Tuesday night and will cut back his Met schedule. That would be a good time to break in or try out another announcer. One that would be current and relate to younger fans and the “new” metrics.
Great points. I think Cohen is the best PBP guy I’ve ever heard, but Keith is just getting old. I cringe whenever he sighs.
I have enjoyed GKR through the years for sure, taking the edge off being a Met fan. I also think 2022 would be a good time to blend in a new voice, given Darling’s possible expanded schedule elsewhere. Keith seems to be losing interest/stamina for the day in day out job…he may be best served with a reduced schedule as well, perhaps evolving him down the road into more of the Ralph Kiner roll. I thought Todd Ziele did a good job filling in, although they may be better suited even with a younger guy, Recker has some potential. It’s hard to tell who could excel until they get there and settle in, but Grandy seems like a guy that could excel at many things. Ditto for David Wright.
Darling and Hernandez sound like each other and sometimes it is hard to tell them apart.
I liked Kiner the best, plus he had Kiner’s Korner, loved it. We are all showing our age here.
I cannot stand Arod as an announcer. He has a whiny squeaky sounding nasal clipped voice. Very annoying.
We could use a refresh. Maybe Cohen will do something radical and let some Mets360 writers join the booth for a game or two.
Wow, nostalgia. Loved Kiner even though he used to say things like “Len Backstra”. Then there was Lindsey Nelson and his loud test-pattern jackets and his mind-numbing dullness. Who can forget Tim McGarble? Calling his long-winded oratories “soliloquys” wouldn’t be accurate, so let’s call them soquil-lillies. As for Big Sexy taking over in the booth, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him speaking English, though he’s been a part of America almost as long as New York State. I think he knows English just fine, and it’s yet another way he enjoys yanking our chains
I think that Recker is a terrific idea.