Who is Your Favorite Announcing Duo?

[jhc2010]

With the return of George Grande this weekend, which is your favorite Reds announcing duo on both the radio and TV sides?

Please vote for two duos, one TV and one Radio.

[*BaseClogger*]

I didn't know Welsh has done radio, but anything other Brantley or Kelch sounds good to me.

For TV, I just can't stand Thom's complaining. Give me rosy George Grande instead...

[mth123]

Voted other, Kelch and Welsh. Grande and Welsh would be my second choice.

[jhc2010]

I didn't know Welsh has done radio

Welsh was with Marty on radio for two games so far this season. I believe it was for the first two games of the Reds/Giants series on Tuesday April 24 & Wednesday April 25. Thom and Marty called the Thursday afternoon game of that series on radio as there was no TV that game.

[Spitball]

I haven't lived in Cincy in a long, long time and not for all that long. I do remember enjoying Waite Hoyt and Claude Sullivan. I believe Ed Kennedy and Frank McCormick did television in those days.

I remember Hoyt would fill rain delays with great stories about his playing days.

[dougdirt]

Anyone and Kelch is better than any combo not involving Kelch.

[Ron Madden]

Anyone and Kelch is better than any combo not involving Kelch.

Agreed I like Kelch and Welsh.

The Duo of Marty and Brantley gets harder to listen to everyday..JMHO

Everyone said that Jeffs PBP would improve .. It hasn't and his color commentating is crap too

[fearofpopvol1]

Voted other, Kelch and Welsh. Grande and Welsh would be my second choice.

Yeah, how come this was not an option on the TV side? It's a good one.

Hearing George this weekend, I have to say, I just don't miss him (nothing personal to him of course). I don't mind Thom as much as most do either.

[dfs]

Anyone and Kelch is better than any combo not involving Kelch.

yup.

For TV, I just can't stand Thom's complaining. Give me rosy George Grande instead...

Yes. At one time I really couldn't stand Grande's rosy cardinal outlook, but now that the reds have a double dose of Brennaman announcers grouching their way through the season, I find George very listenable.

[Team Clark]

When Grande is on Fox for his cameos I turn the sound off. I have never been a fan of Grande. I see why some people are fans and that is great but I just can't swallow that pill. Brantley is becoming less tolerable.

Kelch does a very nice job! Big league broadcaster for sure. Thom is OK. Asks some really dumb questions of Chris. I'm sure it's on purpose to make a point but more often than not it makes Thom sound like he's 5 years old at is first ball game.

[Caveat Emperor]

Give me Marty & the Cowboy every day and Sunday.

[FlightRick]

I might be in the minority, but I just can't lump the two Brennamans in the same pile. Marty can be grumpy, but he's my kind of grumpy; he gets upset in roughly the same fashion as I do, not overdoing it, and I like having somebody who "gets me" telling me the story of the game. Plus, when the Reds do well, he gets as excited as I do, too, and it also rings true and feels right. Thom's just a (surprisingly) ill-informed harpy who latches onto dumb rants, drives them into the ground, and doesn't even seem that convincing of a "homer" when the Reds do well.

So: thumbs up to Marty, thumbs down to Thom.

That makes Kelch the obvious choice for the TV PBP guy... thing is, I like him and Marty on radio, but only for one reason: Cowboy is atrocious at play-by-play. He's a great color guy and a likeable personality, but if he's doing PBP for one third of each game, he's also a liability. Does anyone know the full story behind Marty taking the 3rd, 4th, and 7th innings off? Is that some kind of industry standard? Or an old-timey throwback thing that used to be common, so Marty's grandfathered in? Or just Marty being Marty, to the detriment of the overall product?

If we could get Marty to work 9 innings, then the ideal situation would definitely be Marty/Cowboy on radio and Kelch/Welsh on TV.

If not, I'd like to hear more of Welsh on PBP before I make a judgment... but maybe he'd play just as well as he does on TV on radio (and I think he plays very well on TV, after hearing other team's color guys, I vote we're very lucky to have him), and if so, you just switch him with Cowboy (who plays WAY better on TV than on radio, seeing as how you have pictures to tell you what is happening on TV and don't have to rely on Brantley's quasi-English descriptions).

Either that, or let Marty keep his 3 inning vacation, keep Cowboy on radio, and pull Kelch over from TV for those three innings. Then put either Day or Picoiro in the booth to keep Welsh company for those innings on TV; they're both better than Thom, at least.


Rick

[WVPacman]

Marty/Cowboy on radio

Thom/Cowboy on tv

All Brennaman's with the Cowboy all day everyday!!!

[AtomicDumpling]

At one time I really couldn't stand Grande's rosy cardinal outlook, but now that the reds have a double dose of Brennaman announcers grouching their way through the season, I find George very listenable.

I agree wholeheartedly.

[AtomicDumpling]

Voted other, Kelch and Welsh. Grande and Welsh would be my second choice.

Dang, I didn't think to vote for Other. I would have voted for Kelch and Welsh if it had been an option. Not sure why it was not an option since they do so many games together. In fact it throws off the entire poll because Thom and Welsh are the only option in the TV vote. The other two combos rarely happen at all. Kelch and Welsh do as many games as Thom and Welsh yet they were not included in the poll, which means that Thom and Welsh is guaranteed to win the poll.

I do not care to listen to Thom in any form or fashion. He is simply unpleasant and grates my nerves. I roll my eyes every time I tune in and see that he is doing the game.

Marty is a grumpy shell of his former excellence. Marty was great as Joe's sidekick, but he is an egotistical know-it-all old man at this stage of his career. He still does great play-by-play but sounds like a fool when he starts giving his opinion. His whining and nastiness turns me off in a hurry.

Chris Welsh is by far the best option the Reds currently have and is actually one of the best in the business in my opinion. Jim Kelch is also a very good play-by-play guy. Kelch is underrated by too many people. Give him a chance guys, he is good.

Brantley is a good guy and I like him, but he just does not have what it takes to be a radio announcer. His play-by-play is atrocious. His color commentary is sometimes good and sometimes comical (in a bad way). It is interesting to hear him talk about pitching, but his comments on hitting and strategy are ridiculously bad.

Grande is too syrupy sweet, loves small ball, spends too much time talking about college baseball and secretly loves the Cardinals, but I still like him anyway. He is the #3 option behind Welsh and Kelch in my book.

Please keep Sean Casey away from the broadcast booth, especially when the Reds are playing the Pirates. It was quite obvious last year that Casey keeps more in touch with his hometown Pirates than he does the Reds, and it felt like he was happy that the Pirates were beating the Reds when he broadcast those games last year. Casey is fine as a visitor in the booth for a couple innings so he can tell his Skyline eating adventure stories, but that is all I can take of him as an announcer.

Does anyone else get the feeling that Chris Welsh secretly loathes Thom Brennaman? They don't argue as much as they did in Thom's first season, but I sense that Welsh thinks Thom is a poser.