HR and Verducci are out at FOX, Smoltz is in.

terrisus

formerly: imgran
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Ferm Sheller said:
Can I ask a dumb question? Why do broadcasters even need to be at a game in order to provide commentary? I mean, why couldn't they just sit in a studio in front of several monitors showing different camera angles and call the game remotely?

EDIT: IOW, for road games, couldn't Eck and Orsillo call the games from the NESN studio?
 
And Ferm Sheller... Err, I mean Sherm Feller... Could have just had recordings of each player coming up, and sent in a new one for each new player, and then kicked back and relaxed.
 

Yaz's '78 Popup

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Ferm Sheller said:
Can I ask a dumb question? Why do broadcasters even need to be at a game in order to provide commentary? I mean, why couldn't they just sit in a studio in front of several monitors showing different camera angles and call the game remotely?

EDIT: IOW, for road games, couldn't Eck and Orsillo call the games from the NESN studio?
 
Heck, they could even recreate it with stadium audio tracks and in-studio special effects.  Check out this wonderful segment from the 10/19 broadcast of Only A Game.
 
“We had a telegrapher from the Western Union office who we hired who came to the radio station in Ventura,” Willams said. “His counterpart would be at the stadium in Modesto, and then he would type out a few dots and dashes and send a brief message to our telegrapher.”
 
One half inning at a time, the telegrapher would type up the action, and there weren’t too many details. Williams gave an example:
 
    Modesto at bat. Smith strike one low.  Ball two. Hit to centerfield. Caught by Sam Jones.
 
The announcer in Ventura would then call the game, adding color with statistics and other details. Williams would play sound effects records to round out the production:
 
    “Booing, crowds cheering, people running around selling popcorn,” he said. “‘Get your fresh popcorn here! Get your red hots here! Get your Coke here!’”
 
And there was a wooden bat hanging near the announcer’s microphone.
 
“If there was a hit, he would simply take his wooden ruler and hit the baseball bat extending from the ceiling,”  Williams said.
 
For pitches that made it to the catcher, the sportscaster also had a baseball and a glove.
 

SoFloSoxFan

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Ronald Reagan did the same thing:
 
"In 1933, Reagan's voice carried him to Des Moines and WOC's larger sister station, WHO. Broadcasting over a new 50,000-watt clear-channel station that carried throughout the Midwest, Reagan became a well-known sports announcer whose specialty was creating play-by-play accounts of Chicago Cubs baseball games that the station received by wire."
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18329-2004Jun5.html
 

joe dokes

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Ferm Sheller said:
Can I ask a dumb question? Why do broadcasters even need to be at a game in order to provide commentary? I mean, why couldn't they just sit in a studio in front of several monitors showing different camera angles and call the game remotely?

 
Like Andres Cantor. (GOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!)
 

geoflin

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When I was very young and living in the Boston area I can remember listening to baseball games on the radio done by telegraphic recreation. They must have been Red Sox games as I can't imagine a Boston radio station broadcasting another team's games this way. It used to be funny when on occasion the telegraphic communication would slow down for whatever reason and the announcer would have the batter hitting foul ball after foul ball and wasting time in whatever other way he could think of while he waited to find out what had happened in order to relay it to the listeners.
 

Harry Hooper

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M*A*S*H* episode 101 "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" -- Hawkeye and BJ (plus Radar) do a spoof AFR broadcast of a baseball game to mess up Frank's betting scam. Pretty funny and worth a look.
 

Al Zarilla

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geoflin said:
When I was very young and living in the Boston area I can remember listening to baseball games on the radio done by telegraphic recreation. They must have been Red Sox games as I can't imagine a Boston radio station broadcasting another team's games this way. It used to be funny when on occasion the telegraphic communication would slow down for whatever reason and the announcer would have the batter hitting foul ball after foul ball and wasting time in whatever other way he could think of while he waited to find out what had happened in order to relay it to the listeners.
I heard those too when I was a tyke fan in New Hampshire. I think they were all Sox road games and they were called teletype broadcasts or teletype games. Baseball Almanac has a good description, below. Although they talk about minor league games being done this way, Red Sox games most definitely were also. Again, I think these were road only; home games way back had Curt Gowdy and before him, Jim Britt doing onsite broadcasting. The teletype announcer was terse and emotion-less, and said stuff like:
 
Burton up.
B1OS.
B2LO.
S1C.
S2 Foul.
Out. Flied out to right.
 
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/minor-league/minor2004a.shtml
 

seeitgosine

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the1andonly3003 said:
always thought Reynolds was good on Baseball Tonight when he was with the Mothership...it would be cool if Fox brought back the practice of using the participating teams' color guys
The color analysts of the participants is the most sensible idea out there, imagine Joe  with the Remdawg.
 

seeitgosine

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Spacemans Bong said:
I find it mind boggling how, after 20 years, Fox still doesn't really "get" baseball. I feel like if you could put baseball on NBC tomorrow, they'd come out with an infinitely better broadcast. Bob Costas isn't everybody's cup of tea but there's no doubt he loves the game a hundred times as much as Joe Buck, and they would be more likely to pinch somebody like Orel Hershisher or Dennis Eckersley than the dumbest guy in the room. 
 
Spacemans Bong said:
I find it mind boggling how, after 20 years, Fox still doesn't really "get" baseball. I feel like if you could put baseball on NBC tomorrow, they'd come out with an infinitely better broadcast. Bob Costas isn't everybody's cup of tea but there's no doubt he loves the game a hundred times as much as Joe Buck, and they would be more likely to pinch somebody like Orel Hershisher or Dennis Eckersley than the dumbest guy in the room. 
Joe Buck couldn't keep MacCarver from being a Cardinal frontrunner when the Cards were ahead, sheesh, he could barely contain himself.  Scully and anybody is my vote.
 
Red(s)HawksFan said:
 
I don't disagree with your assessment of Fox's inability to "get" baseball.  They treat their audience like they've never seen the game before and whatever they put on the air will be willingly lapped up.  It's insulting.
 
But I also have no trust at all that another network would give us anything better than Fox does.  IIRC, the last time NBC broadcasted major league baseball, Joe Morgan was prominently involved with their lead team.  I think broadcast networks in general will always gear their shows in a way that makes the uninformed audience feel more welcome (and us disgusted and insulted).  They honestly don't give a shit about appeasing baseball fans like us with their choices because they know we're going to be watching regardless of what they do.
Fox., may or may not get baseball, but they do get it better than all of the other networks.
 

Brianish

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You know, just saying 'nuff ced' doesn't make it true. What about Jim Kaat? He would be worse than Reynolds? He's a better choice? He's made some relevant comments on the situation? What the hell is your point?
 

joe dokes

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Brianish said:
You know, just saying 'nuff ced' doesn't make it true. What about Jim Kaat? He would be worse than Reynolds? He's a better choice? He's made some relevant comments on the situation? What the hell is your point?
 
I think the point is that McGreevy would be better than Reynolds.
 

steeplechase3k

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Ferm Sheller said:
Can I ask a dumb question? Why do broadcasters even need to be at a game in order to provide commentary? I mean, why couldn't they just sit in a studio in front of several monitors showing different camera angles and call the game remotely?

 
They do.  Maybe not for baseball games, but I know this is done for soccer matches. I know John Strong who is a soccer commentator with NBC Sports and he also calls matches from all over the world based in a studio in LA. For MLS Matches he travels, but for the international matches he's in LA.  
 

DJnVa

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So, did Reynolds actually ask Jon Heyman today if the AJP signing will make it tougher to move Salty?
 

scottyno

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DrewDawg said:
So, did Reynolds actually ask Jon Heyman today if the AJP signing will make it tougher to move Salty?
Yes, it was kind of cringe worthy, Heyman did well to not totally throw Reynolds under the bus and just talked about where Salty might sign instead
 

terrisus

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Didn't want to start a new McCarver thread, but figured I'd toss in a mention of this article, which had been linked from Buster Olney's ESPN blog.
 
 
 
Tim McCarver left the Fox television booth after the World Series following his record-shattering 34-year run as a network baseball analyst. But he never said he was retiring from broadcasting.

Could his next stop be into the Cardinals’ announcer mix?

Sources said there have been discussions about him being a part of the team’s broadcasts next season, probably in a limited role.
 
Meh, as long as he's not anywhere I have to see/hear him, I don't really care.
 

Wade Boggs Hair

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Harold Reynolds or not, I'm just looking forward to the addition of Old Hoss Radbourn as Fox's MLB equivalent to Tony Siragusa reporting from foul territory.
 

soxhop411

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Have not heard any updates on this in a while (ie other candidates other then HR) …. I guess that means we should be preparing to hear HR every Sat now?
 

InsideTheParker

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soxhop411 said:
Have not heard any updates on this in a while (ie other candidates other then HR) …. I guess that means we should be preparing to hear HR every Sat now?
No, you should be figuring out how to sync up O'Brien and Castig. to the NESN pictures.
 

soxhop411

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Fox Sports executives and baseball broadcasters huddled at the posh, isolated Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes in Southern California this week in preparation for the upcoming season.
It was here that Fox quietly decided to unveil its new “A-Team” that will call the World Series this Fall: Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci will join Joe Buck in the booth, two sources tell The Big Lead. From 1996 to 2013, Buck had been paired with Tim McCarver.
When reached for comment this evening, a Fox spokesman had no comment.
Reynolds, sources say, was offered the role earlier this month, and accepted. His addition to the booth has been speculated for months, by Sports Illustrated and the Boston Globe, among others. Reynolds, 53, is a two-time All-Star and spent a decade at ESPN before his highly-publicized departure in 2006. Reynolds was accused of sexual harassment and terminated; he later sued ESPN for wrongful termination and the case was settled out of court.
Verducci, 52, has been covering baseball for Sports Illustrated since 1993. In previous postseasons, he has been a dugout reporter.
http://thebiglead.com/2014/02/27/harold-reynolds-and-tom-verducci-to-join-joe-buck-in-world-series-booth-at-fox-sources-say/#sthash.AuFE56ox.uxfs
 

mascho

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With the caveat that I like Verducci, I will reserve judgement on this. Is Rosenthal still in the dugout? Couldn't tell from the articles. If so Verducci seems redundant.

And generally I don't like a three person booth.

EDIT: So if this is just the World Series, is it just Buck/Reynolds for regular season games?
 

soxhop411

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I think so. article is not that clear.. But I think we get some sort of official announcement from Fox in the next week or so
 

Sox and Rocks

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Buck Showalter said:
The McCarver haters are going to be dying to have him back.
yep; I enjoyed McCarver (although he was clearly starting to lose it in the end), but Reynolds?  I can't think of a worse choice (realistically speaking, that is).  
 
Give me a slow, aging McCarver a thousand times over
 

ForKeeps

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Please tell me this means he's not going to be plastered all over MLB Network during the week anymore? Please?
 

JimBoSox9

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ForKeeps said:
Please tell me this means he's not going to be plastered all over MLB Network during the week anymore? Please?
 
ForKeeps, he won't be plastered all over MLB Network during the week anymore!
 
 
 
 
 
......he will, though.
 

timlinin8th

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Buck Showalter said:
The McCarver haters are going to be dying to have him back.
Well, if Reynolds is the heir to the Fox color analyst throne, at the very least I'll raise my son in the time-honored tradtion of muting the TV guys to put on the local radio commentary.
 

cromulence

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I think I dislike Verducci even more than Reynolds. His voice totally sucks (reminds me of a less awful Tim Kurkjian) and I don't really value his insight at all. He's just totally unnecessary in the booth.
 

YTF

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Can anyone out there refresh my memory? Has Reynolds done much in the way of broadcasting actual games. He's been gone from ESPN for a while now but I remember him there mainly as a Baseball Tonight cohost and I'm not sure if he's done much at MLB Network other than studio stuff. I think I recall some Little League World Series stuff when he was with ESPN, but that's about it.
 

scottyno

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YTF said:
Can anyone out there refresh my memory? Has Reynolds done much in the way of broadcasting actual games. He's been gone from ESPN for a while now but I remember him there mainly as a Baseball Tonight cohost and I'm not sure if he's done much at MLB Network other than studio stuff. I think I recall some Little League World Series stuff when he was with ESPN, but that's about it.
he definitely did llws, his wiki claims he did the weekly tbs game and the tbs playoffs in 2008 but I don't have any memory of how good or bad he was
 

Pete Williams

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What I want is a separate channel or filter than can give me visuals with only the crowd and stadium noise.  I watched the entire 2013 World Series in silence.  Which is still better than Buck/McCarver or Buck/Reynolds.
 
I truly would rather have McCarver than Reynolds.
 

Clears Cleaver

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Reynolds is embarrassingly bad on hot stove. He never prepares, asking ignorant questions of guests. His analysis is old school at best, he is anti-sabermetics at the very least. If he isn't "pals" with the guest he asks journalism 101 questions.

I actually thought this thread about hiring him was an onion headline.
 

ForKeeps

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It's ok, it's not like he'll take this hiring as further validation of his idiotic style.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Clears Cleaver said:
Reynolds is embarrassingly bad on hot stove. He never prepares, asking ignorant questions of guests. His analysis is old school at best, he is anti-sabermetics at the very least. If he isn't "pals" with the guest he asks journalism 101 questions.

I actually thought this thread about hiring him was an onion headline.
 
He's almost militantly anti-sabermetrics.  He was the guest analyst on MLB Network's Top 10 Right Now for their second basemen episode (which I gathered was an annual thing), and they were really playing up the saber-friendly Brian Kenny versus anti-saber Harold Reynolds (which I also gathered was a regular thing).  Where Reynolds really stood out was on his personal list, he ranked Brandon Phillips as the #3 second basemen for 2014 while Phillips was nowhere to be found on the official "shredder" ranking.  Instead of describing it, why not let him speak for himself...starts around the 2 min mark.
 
http://m.mlb.com/video/v31336075
 

InsideTheParker

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The takeaway from this: Be careful what you wish for. Something much, much worse may be in the offing. However, FOX seems to be making a fortune pandering to the lowest common denominator (with some exceptions). So, he'll probably be a big hit.
 

Clears Cleaver

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Isn't this a move to attract younger minority audience? An area where baseball sorely falls short vs football and basketball. Why else would you hire this guy?
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Gammons weighs in on Twitter: "Fox could not do better than Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci to work with Joe Buck. Great, out of the box vision"

Chad Finn replies: "Hmmm."

He's being generous to the old man.
 

InsideTheParker

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Clears Cleaver said:
Isn't this a move to attract younger minority audience? An area where baseball sorely falls short vs football and basketball. Why else would you hire this guy?
This sounds right. 
If HR and Verducci are in the booth at the same time, I fear a reprise of the dynamic between Brian Kenny and HR, which has become boring and repetitive by now. 
As for a three-person booth, it works very well for the Mets. Too bad they can't broadcast a more successful team's games.
 

JimD

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On the positive side, maybe this will spur KenTremendous and his friends to start up 'Fire Harold Reynolds'.
 

Maurice09

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Baseball has some really bad teams. With ESPN having Sutcliff and Boone and now this, I thank God for satellite radio.
 

Al Zarilla

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Clears Cleaver said:
Isn't this a move to attract younger minority audience? An area where baseball sorely falls short vs football and basketball. Why else would you hire this guy?
Maybe so, but the most obvious audience gain would be blacks, wouldn't it? But, what are they, 12% or so of the population? Hispanics are larger than that and growing much faster in this country, percentage-wise. Fox could take a leap to someone like Erwin Higueros who does Spanish language broadcasting for the Giants. He is a character but he's also a good announcer. His accent might be considered a barrier but I'd take him over Reynolds any day. Just no Buck Martinez though. Reynolds would be unlistenable for me, much, much worse than McCarver.  
 

ifmanis5

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I'm not a big Harry fan by any stretch, but it's a big upgrade to McCarver. After 30 years of that NY ballwashing asshat, I'm just happy to be moving on to anything else. I can't take the same Steve Carlton/Bob Gibson/Keith Hernandez stories for another year. Stop complaining guys, the witch is burned.
 

Al Zarilla

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ifmanis5 said:
I'm not a big Harry fan by any stretch, but it's a big upgrade to McCarver. After 30 years of that NY ballwashing asshat, I'm just happy to be moving on to anything else. I can't take the same Steve Carlton/Bob Gibson/Keith Hernandez stories for another year. Stop complaining guys, the witch is burned.
Ugh, the Giants alone have four better announcers than "Harry", not even including their Hispanic guys. Fox in football is fine with Buck and Aikman, then they consider this moron for baseball?