Good move by Matheny elevating Grichuk to fifth in the order. His lack of plate discipline is perfectly suited for a knuckleballer.

He definitely just said "Dickey went out, Johnson went in."

artie_fufkin wrote:

Good move by Matheny elevating Grichuk to fifth in the order. His lack of plate discipline is perfectly suited for a knuckleballer.

That's almost as bad as hitting Fowler in the 4th spot.
 

artie_fufkin wrote:

Molina swings at ball four and tries to be a hero instead of taking a bases loaded walk.

Disgusting to lwt those opportunities pass.....just like that run scoring pass ball

Mags wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

He definitely just said "Dickey went out, Johnson went in."

Unfortunately, I'm once again relegated to the Braves telecast.  Although I think they probably are a better crew.

Chip Caray did say earlier after Grichuk's 2-out bloop hit to center that they were holding to a single to set up the double play.

 
The only alternatives to Joe Simpson and Chip Caray are the mute button or suicide.

don.rob11 wrote:

APIAD wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

Molina swings at ball four and tries to be a hero instead of taking a bases loaded walk.

Disgusting to lwt those opportunities pass.....just like that run scoring pass ball

 
Define low and out of the zone . Team player ...

 
http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/batter/425877/?pitchers=A&count=AA&pitches=AA&from=8%2F13%2F17&to=8%2F13%2F2017

The best (revised after Vin Sculley's retirement):
1. Ron Darling and Gary Cohen - Mets. Keith Hernandez's clowning drags down the broadcast, but Darling is the best analyst on the planet and Cohen's voice is like butter.
2. Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow - Giants. Maybe this works because they're both ex-players (though Ricky Horton is a disaster at play-by-play), or the contrasting tones of voice.
3. Brian Anderson - Brewers. With Sculley gone, Anderson is the best play-by-play guy. Period. There's a reason CBS keeps increasing his national profile. The Brewers' broadcast suffers from Bill Schroeder's homerism, but Anderson is terrific.
Honorable mention goes to Rich Waltz on the Marlins' broadcasts, especially when he works with Eduardo Perez. Jim Deshaies with the Cubs is a very good analyst. Jerry Remy is exceptional, but his Boston accent is grating. And I like Don Orsillo with the Padres, though he's saddled with Mark Grant, who is one of the worst color guys in the business.

The worst:
1. Ken Harrelson - White Sox. The only good thing I can say about Harrelson is I don't have to listen to him a lot because the Cardinals don't play the White Sox very often. Hawk is the worst broadcaster ever. Ever. E-v-e-r. He's the most blatant homer ever. He sulks when the White Sox are losing. The "He gone!" thing when an opposing player strikes out was tired 20 years ago. He's got one of the best jobs in the world but he constantly bitches about all the lousy stuff he has to put up with. I'm astonished Steve Stone hasn't killed him by now.

2. Thom Brennaman and Chris Welch - It's not the homerism, the shouting, the recitation of unexceptional statitics as exceptional ("Joey Votto has FIVE, count 'em, FIVE! home runs in the last two weeks!!),  the frequent factual errors, the obsequious pandering to people who they assume are watching their first baseball game ever, the non-baseball-related bloviating that goes on for half-innings at a time, the disingenuous praise of opposing players they clearly disdain (see: Molina, Yadier; Carpenter, Chris), what makes these guys truly awful is they are both just so egregiously obtuse. The broadcast is slightly better - and by slightly I mean the improvement can be measured with a micrometer - when Jeff Brantley is in the booth instead of Welch, but that's only because Brantley has a greater understanding his meager intelligence is confined to baseball, and baseball only, and there are no discussions of current events or politics. 

3. Rex Hudler, Royals: I always think Hudler thinks he's addressing an audience of first graders who just landed from Albania and have absolutely no concept of what baseball is.

Dishonorable mention: Michael Kay with the Yankees is exceedingly annoying. Bob Walk can be a good analyst, but he pouts when the Pirates are trailing, which used to be often. The Nashnils crews of Bob Carpenter and F.P. Santangelo is entirely unexceptional. I think TBS pairs Joe Simpson with Ron Darling during the playoffs to taunt Braves fans by letting them know what a lucid, intelligent announcer sounds like. Bob Brenly has been known to pander to fans of the home team, and his hatred of the Cardinals is well-established and well-known. Buck Martinez's affected voice is grating, but I don't watch the Blue Jays much.

Last edited by artie_fufkin (8/14/2017 12:46 pm)

Mags wrote:

don.rob11 wrote:

don.rob11 wrote:

 
Define low and out of the zone . Team player ...

 
http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/batter/425877/?pitchers=A&count=AA&pitches=AA&from=8%2F13%2F17&to=8%2F13%2F2017

I am afraid that I'm not smart enough to follow this discussion.  Not that anyone needs to know that, however.
 

The only chart that's germane is the second one, labeled "swing pitch types," indicating which pitches Molina swung at during the at bat. The first swing was the one where he conked the poor catcher, indicated by the red square in the center of the strike zone. The second swing is the one where he hit the ground ball. Depending upon the height of Molina's strike zone, I'd estimate the pitch was 3-6 inches below the strike zone.

don.rob11 wrote:

APIAD wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

Molina swings at ball four and tries to be a hero instead of taking a bases loaded walk.

Disgusting to lwt those opportunities pass.....just like that run scoring pass ball

 
Define low and out of the zone . Team player ...

 
There might be some confusion about the word "define", I typed definitely, and didn't check spellcheck. My apologies .....