Reds deserve better broadcasters

[savafan]

http://www.maysville-online.com/articles/2006/05/08/sports/999broadcasters.txt

By CHUCK HAMILTON Sports Writer

The rejuvenated Cincinnati Reds are off to a 15-7 start to the 2006 season, a remarkable beginning for a team picked by most experts to finish in or near the cellar of the National League's Central Division.

If you are a Reds fan this comes as welcome news, as well as a very surprising development to many who follow big league baseball closely.

It is, of course, a very long season (only 140 games to be played) but if the Reds can somehow come up with another reliable pitcher or two, they will give St. Louis and Houston a run for the NL Central title.

Following the progress of the long baseball campaign and our favorite team is much different than it was when I was even more of a fan, with the proliferation of the Internet, cable television, satellite radio and ESPN's 24-7 coverage.

Not too many years ago, a televised Reds game was a rare treat and listening to baseball on the radio was still preferred by many, and it still is.

Today, many fans are so spoiled they are disappointed when a game is not televised.

Having more games televised is a nice option for those who have the time and patience required to watch a game but the most important button on the remote remains the mute control.

Fox Sports Net does a very good job bringing Reds baseball into our homes with pre-game and post-game programs, which are usually interesting and informative.

The problem remains with the incompetency of the men in the broadcast booth.

To me anyway, it is unbearable to listen to the babbling of play-by-play announcer George Grande and his color cohort, the smiling Chris Welsh.

Grande must think he is on the radio because he drones on and on and on about what we can clearly see is occurring on the screen. His most annoying habit is asking himself questions and then giving the answers.

A routine fly ball to left field becomes a Grande routine:

“Will he be able to get there? Is it deep enough? Yes, he can. No, it isn't.”

It truly is ridiculous at times. And as a particular sports editor in the building mentioned the other day, Grande has the weakest home run call in the history of the game.

Welsh adds very little to the broadcast and also suffers from the I-don't-know-when-to-shut up syndrome.

We used to be able to turn the sound down on the television and listen to Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall on the radio but that has become impossible, unless you want to hear what is going to happen on the field and then see it six seconds or so later.

With the advent of satellite and cable television also comes a delay that makes it difficult to do what we used to do all the time.

It was also an advantage in basketball season to have the option of tuning out mediocre announcers and listen to Cawood Ledford describe the action on the court as only he could.

Muting the television sound isn't that big a deal to me anymore because listening to Tom Leach and Mike Pratt broadcast UK basketball can only be described as painful. Pratt's propensity for using the term “Treyville” for any three-point shot attempt is past tiresome and Leach's screaming of “Touchdown Kentuck-eeeeeeeeee” during football season is ear-splitting and unprofessional.

There are two broadcasters in the area far better than Leach; Chuck Mraz, who calls Morehead State University basketball and football, and Maysville's own Danny Weddle. Listening to other college basketball announcers. i. e. Billy Packer, can be excruciating.

I don't expect Hall of Fame quality broadcasters such as Ledford and Brennaman but I still feel the Reds and UK can do much better.

Another excellent announcer has recently begun to receive very deserved recognition.

His name is Claude Sullivan, and he broadcast both UK and the Reds, Wildcat basketball and football from 1951-67 on the old Standard Oil Sports Network and he was the voice of the Reds from 1964-67.

Sullivan, who died of throat cancer in 1967 at the age of 42, was named to the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame's second class, which will be inducted in September.

Many Kentucky fans preferred Sullivan's style to the legendary Ledford when there were several networks broadcasting UK games years ago.

However, it appears the days of outstanding announcing are long over, unless you are fortunate enough to have XM Radio, and you can tune in Vin Scully calling Dodger games.

It is just my opinion that the Reds, with their rich history and loyal fan base, can find announcers that are interesting, prepared and qualified to be MLB broadcasters.

Brennaman has also slipped a bit in recent years, with his all too often private jokes with Reds employees and others that pop in and out of the booth.

Nuxhall's replacement, Steve Stewart, is almost as boring and bland as Grande.

I have tried and tried to get used to Stewart, but my feeling remains that Brennaman's partner should be a former player. Perhaps the Reds brought in Stewart to be Brennaman's eventual play-by-play replacement but currently the broadcast suffers without a player adding his knowledge.

There is no shortage of former Reds players who would have interest in the position but it seems the Reds have made their decision and that is that.

The same goes for the television announcing team. I believe FSN does the ultimate hiring of its announcers but certainly the Reds must have some input to the decision-making.

Perhaps the new majority owner, Bob Castellini, has some ideas on improving the Reds' broadcasting team, and if new general manager Wayne Krivsky can keep making all the right moves on the field, not many of us will care who is in the booth, even if they are incompetent and annoying.

[Ron Madden]

I rememmber Claude Sullivan doing Reds games,
he was very good along with Jim Mac.

Seems to me more and more fans are growing tired of Marty's act.

[MaineRed]

Marty is annoying. All of the little jokes with people I have never seen before do grow old. And I just got XM. And what is up with the stupid, irrelevent trivia questions? This guy is in the HOF? I thought that was for people considered the best?

As for the TV guys, AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHH. I do like Welsch but Grande .........

That said, when I tune into directv, I hope I get the Red announcers, as other teams announcers are no better. Most of these announcers are glorified cheerleaders. Like Mike Shannon in St Louis. Here is his HR call:

"There goes one deep to left, get up baby, GET UP."

Cheering in the booth? Lame.

[REDREAD]

Marty is annoying. All of the little jokes with people I have never seen before do grow old. And I just got XM. And what is up with the stupid, irrelevent trivia questions? This guy is in the HOF? I thought that was for people considered the best?
.

Marty is in the HOF for what he did in the 70's and 80's. I agree that Marty's act has gotten tiring.. It seems like he milks that stupid trivia question for 2 innings. He acts like it is a chore to talk to some of the sportswriters (not the ones that are his close buddies). All his stupid inside jokes are lame.

His whining about double headers/rain delays which make him have to work a little more are tiresome. The guy has one of the best jobs in the country, and he acts as if its so hard. :laugh:

[macro]

However, it appears the days of outstanding announcing are long over, unless you are fortunate enough to have XM Radio, and you can tune in Vin Scully calling Dodger games.


Is this just an older guy failing to appreciate a new generation of announcers with a style more-suited to twenty-year-olds than sixty-year-olds? I find it hard to believe that there are no outstanding announcers left.

I strongly disagree with his criticism of Steve Stewart. He's not Vin Scully or Jack Buck (99.9% of announcers aren't), but he's very good, and the Reds could do a lot worse.

[traderumor]

While no one likes a total homer like Ron Santo, one of Grande's biggest annoyances is that he is constantly building up and talking about our opponent, with a little bit of depth, not to mention the exuberance when an opposing player makes a good play in the field, while information about the Reds is shallow when anything is mentioned at all, and rarely does he get excited about what the Reds are doing on the field.

The broadcast is too generic and sometimes it is hard to tell that these are the hometown announcers. My wife barely pays attention, and even she notices that. For example, what's going on in the minors? They maybe give 20 seconds in "Down on the Farm." But buddy, they can tell you some top prospects in the other organizations. Fine to do your homework, but how about keeping the viewers up to date on the state of the Reds?

[MattyHo4Life]

Most of these announcers are glorified cheerleaders. Like Mike Shannon in St Louis. Here is his HR call:

"There goes one deep to left, get up baby, GET UP."

Cheering in the booth? Lame.

Shannon spent most of his career sitting next to Jack Buck in the broadcast booth. He never was the main play by play guy. Shannon is St. Louis's Yogi Berra with all of his Shannonisms.

[Blimpie]

I have some pretty mixed feelings about this article.

I agree on: The fact that Marty's act has grown tired and that Mike Pratt (UK Basketball color man) is a box of tools.

I disagree on: Chris Welsh as a color commentator and Steve Stewart doing PBP on the Reds' broadcasts. I like them both...just not with their current partners.

By the way, Tom Leach is pretty well-liked across the Commonwealth as the PBP man for UK varsity sports. For those of we who had to endure Ralph Hacker for so many years, there should be no discussion there.

Of course, in the past, the bar was set pretty high with both Claude Sullivan and Caywood Ledford. UK fans were lucky enough to have BOTH announcers doing basketball games until the broadcast rights were finally consolidated.

As a sidenote, the honors that Claude Sullivan has received recently has led to a rekindled interest in his work. His surviving children have gathered and restored some audio tapes from his personal collection that are absolute treasures. Many of them were candid, one-on-one interviews with Bear Bryant and Adolph Rupp from decades ago. I heard some snippets of them a few weeks ago; although, I am not sure if/when these tapes might be made available to the UK fans in the future.

[westofyou]

George Grandes use of the world "Brilliant" as become so commonplace that the word no longer contains the same meaning to me whilst watching a Reds broadcast.

[kyle1976]

Steve Stewart shows absolutely no passion towards the Reds. I think he could care less whether the Reds do well or not. Grande isn't so grand, but atleast he wants the Reds to win. I agree with Savafan that an ex-Red should be in the booth.

[smith288]

George Grande? You know his story....

If Grande is going to start off a story about a guy by saying "You know his story" then DONT FRIGGIN TELL ME HIS STORY.

[realreds1]

I think that when Welsh does the broadcast alongside Brenneman (it happened at least one time last year) that they give each other a more-focused approach to the game. Welsh is more knowledgeable than he appears on TV. I really think it comes back to a bad chemistry between he and Grande. No, I don't mean a "fighting" chemistry. I mean, they seem like total opposites, and Welsh at times seems to be trying to cover Grande's mistakes.

[smith288]

"Does it have enough? No, Ramirez, the 3rd basemen, catches it on the grass..." ugh

He doesnt know how to tell how far a ball has been hit off the bat.

[indyred]

How long has Grande been doing the TV side?

[westofyou]

How long has Grande been doing the TV side?
13 years or so?

[Newman4]

How about Lance McAlister and Pete Rose doing Reds TV?

[scounts22]

How long has Grande been doing the TV side?

Way too long.

[CTA513]

"Does it have enough? No, Ramirez, the 3rd basemen, catches it on the grass..." ugh



:laugh:

[westofyou]

How about Lance McAlister and Pete Rose doing Reds TV?
And The Cool Ghoul as PA Annoucer.

[RollyInRaleigh]

If you have the chance to hear the TV announcers of a lot of the other MLB teams, I think you would realize that Grande and Welsh are far from being the worst. As far as the radio is concerned, with XM, I have been able to listen to a lot of those announcers as well. It is sometimes comical at the mistakes that they make and how unprepared a lot of them are. Marty and Steve are an easy listen as compared with a lot of them.

[westofyou]

I think you would realize that Grande and Welsh are far from being the worst.

The Nationals and Diamondbacks (Gracie!!) can be painful, the Rockies are a yawn, Mariners too as is the Tigers announcers and the Marlins guys.

More interesting IMO are the

Brewers
Pirates
Braves
Giants
Dodgers
Houston

In the AL the Red Sox and Yankees are a informed but the sight of watching them pat themselves on the back bores me.

With all that said I have to say the WORST announcers I have heard in years are the jokers from CBC who did the Oilers/Red Wings games last week, blatent homers to the point of ridiculousness. Boring and dryer than a sandwich without mayo. And on top of it the Wings crashed like Icarus.

Ughhh The humanity!!

[Benny-Distefano]

Why not bring in Anthony Munoz and "Ed the furniture guy" to call the games?

Quality-wise it would be 6 one way, half a dozen the other.

But you all know his story....

[CySeymour]

Why not let Steve Stewart do the tv broadcasts when games are televised, and bring in a guest color guy, like Nuxhal, when he's doing the televised games.

[TC81190]

That article was going oh so well....until it hit Steve Stewart. The Bad Boy owns. Period. Great broadcaster.

Sounds like this guy can do nothing but complain.

[REDREAD]

Steve Stewart shows absolutely no passion towards the Reds. I think he could care less whether the Reds do well or not. Grande isn't so grand, but atleast he wants the Reds to win. I agree with Savafan that an ex-Red should be in the booth.

I agree with you on this. Steve does seem to act totally indifferent. He's seemed to improve a little bit, but his "enthusiasm" seems phony.

I really don't get why they felt the need to hire Steve so they'd have a replacement for Marty. Why not worry about that when Marty retires (and I'm guessing he'll have to be dragged out, kicking and screaming, despite his constant complaining about how 'hard' his job is).

The radio booth desparately needs an ex-player or someone with some personality to balance out cranky old Marty, and to prevent the broadcast from being a monologue about Bar-B-Q, trivia questions, and all the other crap Marty likes to talk about when there's a game going on.

[RedFanAlways1966]

By CHUCK HAMILTON Sports Writer

REDS deserve better writers w/ better topics.

[Heath]

In all sincerity - Steve Stewart will "replace" Marty Brennaman when Marty's done.

Unless Marty pulled a "Willie Greene"-quote somewhere.

The few times I heard Johnny Bench do games as a colorman were very good, IMO. He makes too much on the "motivational speaking" tour to do a season, though.

I was actually hoping when Marty stepped down, that Dan Hoard would have been the new-PBP'er. Toss in someone Rex Hudler/Mark Grace-like and you'd have a ball.

[Unassisted]

I really don't get why they felt the need to hire Steve so they'd have a replacement for Marty. That was not the reason stated at the time, although a succession plan makes some sense in a reactionary market like Cincinnati.

A play-by-play capable announcer was hired to work with Marty because Marty didn't want to do play-by-play for all 9 innings. That ruled out about 99% of the ex-Reds who might have wanted the job.

I said when it was down to the 6 finalists that Steve was the best choice for the job. I like what he brings to the booth.

[TOBTTReds]

I can't believe how many guys like Steve Stewart. I think his PBP is painful! Slightly better than Nuxhall painful. I would go whipping boy here, but I'll refrain.

[Roy Tucker]

Article from USA Today from last year about announcers...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/announcers.htm

Steve Stewart is a perfectly competent announcer. He doesn't get me worked up about the game, but then he also doesn't get me mad the way grumpy Marty and saccarin sweet Grande can. And really, that's all I want from an announcer. Relate the game to me, give me the score and the count, and let me know what's happening on the field. ESPN has proved to be the worst thing that ever happened to announcing it's incessant babble and stupid schticks.

When Marty is on his game, he is still in the top 3 in the business. But he grew bored long ago and just shows flashes of what he used to consistently be.

Grande makes like everyone loves his little sayings, whereas nobody does. Welsh is fairly decent but gets candied over by George.

IIRC, Brenneman and Welsh did some games together and after some initial bumpiness and scraps, did well. Welsh didn't toady up to Marty. Stewart and Welsh might make a good pair too.

And also IIRC, Bench did TV games for a while.

[BoCcc2832]

Marty is far from being a bad announcer. In fact, I think he is the best, for two reasons. One: Marty Brennemen is the most honest play-by-play announcer today. He calls it how it is and he doesn't care what you think. Two: Marty is a true Reds fan. I wonder sometimes about Steve Stewart (came from St. Louis), George Grande (the first Sportscenter personality), and Chris Welsh (who has very loose ties to the Reds). You can't go wrong with Marty. Sure, Steve and George struggle to call home runs accurately, but I want to see you all go in the Reds Hall of Fame Museum and call Griffey's 500th home run better than Marty. You can't do it. So back down and let these men do their job, because they're better than you and I.

[Falls City Beer]

I had a chance the other day to listen to a Reds broadcast (I drove down to Columbus on business); I liked Stewart just fine--if he were paired with a color man who knew the specifics of the game in more than just a surface way, yet who wasn't pedantic and was kind of laid back, that would be a pretty golden broadcasting team. But, no, I don't have anyone in mind for that second phantom color guy. But they need someone besides Marty in the booth.

[savafan]

And also IIRC, Bench did TV games for a while.

It was sometime during the 1990's. JB and Gordy Coleman. Marty also did at least one year on TV, going back and forth between the radio booth and the TV booth during televised games. That year may have been the best broadcast team I've ever seen.

[BuckWoody]

And also IIRC, Bench did TV games for a while.
I don't remember Johnny being a very good announcer. He'd always point out that it was the seventh inning stretch at the beginning of the 7th.

I've also not seen Tom Browning's name thrown out there as a possible color guy. I think he has the personality to do it and he would be great in the booth in the same vein as Joe was.

[Rotater Cuff]

.

I disagree on: Chris Welsh as a color commentator and Steve Stewart doing PBP on the Reds' broadcasts. I like them both...just not with their current partners.


I agree. Chris Welsh is first rate, and brings plenty of insight into his analysis.

I also think the cable people didn't do the 6 second delay for nothing. They were losing ears to radio, and maybe cutting into their ad revenue.

Couldn't WLW strike back and delay it 6 seconds to counter it? 6 seconds wouldn't mean lose much impact.

[jocross]

We have all gone over the annoyance "Grandeisms" numerous times, but as of lately, he has added another and in my opinion the worst of all. He has coined Pujols as "Sir Albert".

To make this even worst, he didn't start saying this until his walk-off homer against us a few weeks ago. He will even go as far as giving us an update on "Sir Albert" during our broadcasts. George, we know you love the Cardinals, but we don't care about what "Sir Albert" has done. Please give us a break on this. Anyone else find this completely annoying?

[IslandRed]

ESPN has proved to be the worst thing that ever happened to announcing it's incessant babble and stupid schticks.

Granted, but the state of baseball radio announcing has gone downhill ever since the advent of regularly televised baseball. Even the announcers who don't work in TV have probably watched more games on TV than listened to them on the radio. On TV, the picture can tell the story. On radio, YOU have to tell the story. But there's all that airtime to fill and no pictures to help, which encourages rambling and storytelling and inane attempts at humor. So a lot of baseball announcers fall into a trap where they're simultaneously talking too much and not talking about the game enough.

Oh well. If it weren't for the mediocrities, we wouldn't appreciate the good ones so much.

[jredmo2]

How about Dan Hoard? I remember him doing some games last year and he was AWESOME.

[Blimpie]

With all that said I have to say the WORST announcers I have heard in years are the jokers from CBC who did the Oilers/Red Wings games last week, blatent homers to the point of ridiculousness. Boring and dryer than a sandwich without mayo. And on top of it the Wings crashed like Icarus.

Ughhh The humanity!!Whew! I was beginning to doubt whether or not you were "ready" to begin posting about that opening round series...:)

[Blimpie]

I was actually hoping when Marty stepped down, that Dan Hoard would have been the new-PBP'er. Toss in someone Rex Hudler/Mark Grace-like and you'd have a ball.So when do they start screening the announcers for 'greenies'?

[ED44]

I think Grande is terrible. His love for the Cards should be enough to get him out of the booth.

As for Stewart, I couldn't stand him at the start, but he is growing on me now. I think it was more getting use to hearing his voice, rather the Nuxhall's, more than thinking he was doing a bad job though.

[Blimpie]

How about Dan Hoard? I remember him doing some games last year and he was AWESOME.Hoard was actually a finalist for the open position when Steve Stewart was hired.

IIRC, he is now the PBP man for the Pawtucket Sox and his call was heard quite a bit last week when they played the Durham Bulls (Delmon Young bat throwing incident)

[Chip R]

How about Dan Hoard? I remember him doing some games last year and he was AWESOME.

I recall he was on the west coast roadie last year and in signing off from one of the games in San Diego he made an "Anchorman" reference i.e. "You stay classy, San Diego." :lol:

[TOBTTReds]

I think Grande is terrible. His love for the Cards should be enough to get him out of the booth.

As for Stewart, I couldn't stand him at the start, but he is growing on me now. I think it was more getting use to hearing his voice, rather the Nuxhall's, more than thinking he was doing a bad job though.

It's funny, for XM listeners, Steve's voice is VERY different on XM than on regular 700. I lived in Dayton this past year and would listen to the games on 700, sometimes I would lose the feed a bit so I would switch over to XM, and his voice was hardly recognizable. Actually, I liked it better on XM, not so baratone.

[savafan]

Steve Stewart,

If you're reading this, maybe you could do one game talking like a 16 year old girl. Or perhaps broadcast the game from the perspective of a mouse seeing his first baseball game. I know it sounds crazy, but just try it, I think it could work. If it doesn't, just chirp like a bird and throw in a few "just sayin'"s every so often. ;)

[pedro]

Marty is far from being a bad announcer. In fact, I think he is the best, for two reasons. One: Marty Brennemen is the most honest play-by-play announcer today. He calls it how it is and he doesn't care what you think. Two: Marty is a true Reds fan. I wonder sometimes about Steve Stewart (came from St. Louis), George Grande (the first Sportscenter personality), and Chris Welsh (who has very loose ties to the Reds). You can't go wrong with Marty. Sure, Steve and George struggle to call home runs accurately, but I want to see you all go in the Reds Hall of Fame Museum and call Griffey's 500th home run better than Marty. You can't do it. So back down and let these men do their job, because they're better than you and I.

Marty wouldn't know what "it" was if "it" hit him in the face. It is true though that he doesn't care what we think and that's too bad because if he did care he might actually do his job rather than spend so much time acting like a pissed off Regis Philbin.

I will say this though. With the Reds off to a good start this year, Marty hasn't been too bad. Yet.

[jredmo2]

I recall he was on the west coast roadie last year and in signing off from one of the games in San Diego he made an "Anchorman" reference i.e. "You stay classy, San Diego." :lol:

Yup, now I remember... Anchorman references will win you a lot of points with me, I suppose.

[westofyou]

and Chris Welsh (who has very loose ties to the Reds).
Yep, growing up in Cincinnati, getting to throw off the mound during the BRM era and playing for the home town team for a hero of your youth is a loose tie if there ever was one.

[BCubb2003]

Article from USA Today from last year about announcers...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/announcers.htm

Steve Stewart is a perfectly competent announcer. He doesn't get me worked up about the game, but then he also doesn't get me mad the way grumpy Marty and saccarin sweet Grande can. And really, that's all I want from an announcer. Relate the game to me, give me the score and the count, and let me know what's happening on the field. ESPN has proved to be the worst thing that ever happened to announcing it's incessant babble and stupid schticks.

When Marty is on his game, he is still in the top 3 in the business. But he grew bored long ago and just shows flashes of what he used to consistently be.

Grande makes like everyone loves his little sayings, whereas nobody does. Welsh is fairly decent but gets candied over by George.

IIRC, Brenneman and Welsh did some games together and after some initial bumpiness and scraps, did well. Welsh didn't toady up to Marty. Stewart and Welsh might make a good pair too.

And also IIRC, Bench did TV games for a while.

I agree completely. I like the way Steve Stewart comes prepared, and keeps his head in the game. I like it when Marty calls the game and cuts down on the in-jokes. Marty used to be the young Steve Stewart type with all the facts, and Joe was the old guy with the stories. Now Marty is the old guy with the stories, but they aren't baseball stories.

[scounts22]

How about Dan Hoard? I remember him doing some games last year and he was AWESOME.

Just as long as it's not Jim Day! He annoys the crap out of me. It's painful to watch Real Reds or Reds Wrap after the game. He is completely annoying and d r a g s o u t h i s s e n t e n c e s f o r r r e v v v e e r r r ...

[Unassisted]

Just as long as it's not Jim Day! He annoys the crap out of me. It's painful to watch Real Reds or Reds Wrap after the game. He is completely annoying and d r a g s o u t h i s s e n t e n c e s f o r r r e v v v e e r r r ...I went to college with Jim Day. Used to work with him at the college TV station. Somewhere in my collection, I have a videotape of a basketball game that he and I announced together. I don't watch it because I was terrible/horrible/lousy on it. I tried it once because I knew that announcing would make me a better director. I'm sure JD's work back then was was just fine compared to mine. :D

I don't know enough about his current work to comment. But it's definitely freaky for me to see him on that postgame show on those occasions when MLB.TV leaves the feed up that long.

[KYRed]

We have all gone over the annoyance "Grandeisms" numerous times, but as of lately, he has added another and in my opinion the worst of all. He has coined Pujols as "Sir Albert".

To make this even worst, he didn't start saying this until his walk-off homer against us a few weeks ago. He will even go as far as giving us an update on "Sir Albert" during our broadcasts. George, we know you love the Cardinals, but we don't care about what "Sir Albert" has done. Please give us a break on this. Anyone else find this completely annoying?

Glad to see I'm not the only one pulling my hair out when he calls Pujols by that name. Really, it's bad enough when he calls him that during a series against them, but it's beyond bad when he breaks into a "Sir" update during the 5th inning of a Reds-Rockies game for example.

[Hap]

Have we ever had a Grande-bashing thread before?

[Benny-Distefano]

Have we ever had a Grande-bashing thread before?


http://z.about.com/d/animatedtv/1/0/l/cbg.jpg

"The answer of course is yes we have."

[Doc. Scott]

I like Stewart, but his "excited" calls bug the crap out of me. He sounds forced when he is calling something that's suspenseful. I don't know if it's because he's not a "true" fan of the Reds or what (which I don't consider a major disqualifier or anything), but an announcer should have those mode changes down.

I really like how well-prepared he is for every broadcast, though. You can tell quite easily that he really does his homework, and I think it's his strongest point.

[minus5]

It may not be the popular choice around her but I still like Marty and enjoy listening to him.

[KronoRed]

I like Stewart, he's the best of all of the people (radio/TV) calling the Reds, I also don't want a former player int he booth telling us how it was back in his day and how they played the game..who cares, call the freaking game.

If they can find a former player who doesn't do those 2 things then we can talk ;)

George and Chris are bad, but most of the FSN crews are.

[OnBaseMachine]

The Nationals and Diamondbacks (Gracie!!) can be painful, the Rockies are a yawn, Mariners too as is the Tigers announcers and the Marlins guys.

More interesting IMO are the

Brewers
Pirates
Braves
Giants
Dodgers
Houston

In the AL the Red Sox and Yankees are a informed but the sight of watching them pat themselves on the back bores me.

With all that said I have to say the WORST announcers I have heard in years are the jokers from CBC who did the Oilers/Red Wings games last week, blatent homers to the point of ridiculousness. Boring and dryer than a sandwich without mayo. And on top of it the Wings crashed like Icarus.

Ughhh The humanity!!

Wow. I thought I was the only one that actually likes the Braves and Pirates broadcasters. I'm sad to admit, but I actually like Chip Carey now that he is no longer with the Cubs. He's actually not that bad now.

[westofyou]

Wow. I thought I was the only one that actually likes the Braves and Pirates broadcasters. I'm not a Chip fan, but his father doesn't bother me, nor don and pete and that other joker... the Sports South broadcast has Torborg and someone else.

The Pirates are easy to listen too, they aren't boring or pompous just easy on the ears.

Though I have to say I like Sutton and that former catcher on Milwaukee's FSN feed as well as Brenley and Kasper a lot.

[OnBaseMachine]

I'm not a Chip fan, but his father doesn't bother me, nor don and pete and that other joker... the Sports South broadcast has Torborg and someone else.

The Pirates are easy to listen too, they aren't boring or pompous just easy on the ears.

Though I have to say I like Sutton and that former catcher on Milwaukee's FSN feed as well as Brenley and Kasper a lot.

Kasper used to broadcast for Florida didn't he?

The Pirates use about four or five different guys, but I enjoy just about all of them.

I still say the best of all is Vin Scully, and I bet about 80% of baseball fans would agree with that. His voice is perfect for baseball...and he paints a perfect picture for his listeners.

[minus5]

I like Stewart, he's the best of all of the people (radio/TV) calling the Reds, I also don't want a former player int he booth telling us how it was back in his day and how they played the game..who cares, call the freaking game.

If they can find a former player who doesn't do those 2 things then we can talk ;)

George and Chris are bad, but most of the FSN crews are.

I agree with you. I like Stewart but I still like Marty. George and Chris are probably the most muted hosts on television.

[Phhhl]

It may not be the popular choice around her but I still like Marty and enjoy listening to him.

I like Marty, too. He's everything people have said in this thread. Very cantankerous and arrogant at times, a little home spun at others. But, he is intelligent, honest and tells the game from the perspective of someone who wants to see the Reds win. Time catches up to everybody, but I still think Marty has enough "game" to stand up against most of the other announcers in baseball.

Grande, on the other hand, seems generic. I don't think he intentionally roots for the Cardinals, but he seems to go out of his way to make you understand that he is a fan of the game first. You must appreciatate "Sir Albert" even when he beats your brains in, because he is one of the greatest players of the last decade. That may be true when we are speaking rationally. But, broadcasting games to a Reds market is not necessarily supposed to be an impartial forum. Fans are hoping for action when a game is in progress, not a lesson in baseball diplomacy. Everything he says on air seems to guard his status as this "Grande ambassador" to the game rather than a representative of the Reds. He never lets that guard down and behaves in way that is not methodical, yet inane. Unlike Marty, he lacks the intelligence and passion that I think we would like to see from that team.

I don't have near as much problem with Chris Welsh, except for the porn 'stache.

[saboforthird]

I rememmber Claude Sullivan doing Reds games,
he was very good along with Jim Mac.

Seems to me more and more fans are growing tired of Marty's act.

Marty is arrogant. I really dislike HIS answer-my-own-questions charades. Such as question: [insert question here] answer: "I doesn't know".

[MaineRed]

Santo Alcala, I think you summed up Grande the best of anyone so far. He treats himself as an ambassador of the game before doing the same thing for the Reds.

How many times did he say, "Say Hey Kid," the other night when talking for 60 seconds about Willie Mays 75th birthday? I counted about 6. Once would have been good. Two it gets slightly annoying and after that it is pull out the hair time.

His Sir Albert routine is something that would not be accepted from Red Sox announcers if they were talking about a Yankee. Just as Yankee announcers don't talk about what a privelage it is to live in the time of Big Papi.

George and his, "its a great day for baseball," when its 11-0 drive me up the wall too.

And who the heck are Daddy Wags and Jesse Jackson?

[Chip R]

And who the heck are Daddy Wags and Jesse Jackson?
Jesse Jackson is a producer or something for the broadcast. When I first moved here in 1999 I would watch games and wonder why they kept talking about Jesse Jackson. I thought they were talking about Reverend Jackson. :lol:

[buckshotrod]

Marty is far from being a bad announcer. In fact, I think he is the best, for two reasons. One: Marty Brennemen is the most honest play-by-play announcer today. He calls it how it is and he doesn't care what you think. Two: Marty is a true Reds fan.

I personally agree 100%. Someone also said he acts pissed off a lot. How would you like to announce games when the team constantly get their butts kicked and management never seemed to give a crap until recently? Marty askes the trivia questions, Yid comes up with them. Heck I think they are funny at times. Try announcing a game and have to fill time.

Arrogant?? My wife and I met Marty at the Reds Caravan in Lima this year. He reminded me of when we met Sean Casey in Atlanta last year. Marty acted as if he knew us and took genuine interest in our questions and never made us feel like schmucks or tried to hurry us along.

I have listened to a lot of annoouncers over my life and in my opinion I have never heard better.

Stewart has gotten better I think and that was tough for him to come in and take Nuxhall's place. One thing my wife and always thought funny was Stews HR call as we always thought he sounded surprised..haha...maybe he was!

[BoydsOfSummer]

Remember Jay Randolph and Tom Hume's days in the booth here? :explode:

[Yachtzee]

I'm not a Chip fan, but his father doesn't bother me, nor don and pete and that other joker... the Sports South broadcast has Torborg and someone else.


I always enjoy Skip Caray's nasal "ChippahJones" calls.

[Heath]

Remember Jay Randolph and Tom Hume's days in the booth here? :explode:

Steve LaMar and Gordy Coleman

Bill Brown and Ray Lane.

I missed the Tom Hedrick-Bob Waller years....

[Heath]

best TV duo I thought was the "Hawk & Wimpy" show when Hawk Harrelson and Tom Pacoriek did White Sox games.

I think Pacoriek's in Washington now - I think he'd fit well in Cincinnati.

[indyred]

I like what I've heard of Marty and hope he hangs around for awhile longer. I met him on Reds caravan this winter, seemed real nice....How old is he.....

[Marc D]

Anyone else hear Welsh and Grande going on tonight about how kids glove night is one of the biggest traditions in baseball? Probably my earliest muting of the season.

[TeamBoone]

Anyone else hear Welsh and Grande going on tonight about how kids glove night is one of the biggest traditions in baseball? Probably my earliest muting of the season.

.... in Reds baseball.

[KittyDuran]

Anyone else hear Welsh and Grande going on tonight about how kids glove night is one of the biggest traditions in baseball? Probably my earliest muting of the season.It's still a big deal in Cincinnati. The Kid Glove games generate a lot of money for Knothole baseball because I believe the Reds give all the money to the teams.

[Yachtzee]

It's still a big deal in Cincinnati. The Kid Glove games generate a lot of money for Knothole baseball because I believe the Reds give all the money to the teams.

I think it's a pretty good tradition too.

[Marc D]

It's still a big deal in Cincinnati. The Kid Glove games generate a lot of money for Knothole baseball because I believe the Reds give all the money to the teams.

I'm sure its a fine promotion. That wasn't the point.

[Heath]

I'm sure its a fine promotion. That wasn't the point.
I don't mind the knothole tradition -

You know the story, don't you??

;)

[pedro]

It's still a big deal in Cincinnati. The Kid Glove games generate a lot of money for Knothole baseball because I believe the Reds give all the money to the teams.

I remember selling tickets for the game in order to raise money for knothole baseball when I was a kid.

[pedro]

Wow. I thought I was the only one that actually likes the Braves and Pirates broadcasters. I'm sad to admit, but I actually like Chip Carey now that he is no longer with the Cubs. He's actually not that bad now.


I like the Braves announcers. I listened to a lot of them when I lived in Atlanta. Skip caery is particularily good IMO.

Tom Paciorek used to do the sports south games and he's not good as we know from his work with the Nationals.

[maniem]

How about the Thom Brennamen and Johnny Bench days? I almost preferred listening to Thom over his dad. I hated to see when he left to go to the DBacks. And I always thought Bench did a decent job, nothing great, but you respected what he said because of his player status..

[westofyou]

Anyone else hear Welsh and Grande going on tonight about how kids glove night is one of the biggest traditions in baseball? Probably my earliest muting of the season.
It's a big deal. The community outreach program starting with the Knothole club in the 30's and the Kid Glove game in the 40's and the straight A program in the 60's and 70's created a hell of a lot of Reds fans and poured money into equipment and fields.

That's great marketing, the type of marketing that the Reds used to be known for instead of being known as losers owned by one of the richest men in America.

Back in my day the Kid Glove was an exhibition against the Tigers.

[Heath]

How about the Thom Brennamen and Johnny Bench days? I almost preferred listening to Thom over his dad. I hated to see when he left to go to the DBacks. And I always thought Bench did a decent job, nothing great, but you respected what he said because of his player status..

Thom took a detour from Cincinnati to Chicago for the Cubs, then IIRC, took a year off before doing Arizona Diamondback games.

I'd take Thom back in Cincinnati. He could almost be the Joe Buck of Cincinnati.

[Heath]

Back in my day the Kid Glove was an exhibition against the Tigers.

I have one of the more common pictures of the Red Machine 4 ( Morgan, Perez, Bench, & Rose) and if you look closely it was taken in Tiger Stadium.

[WVRedsFan]

As the late Ronald Reagan might say, "here I go again..."

We've proven in the millionth thread on this subject that univerally these announcers are good or bad, but it's in the ears of the beholder. Some on this list abhor Marty Brenneman, but the record will show that removing him might start a riot among Reds fans. He's the "voice" of the Reds and is their signature. Unless he retires, he's here for life. I like his irreverant look at the nation's pastime. He may not be 100% right, but (and how many times have we said this), he mirrors what the fans are saying. So shoot him. Put him out ot pasture. It will save Boss scads of bandwidth.

Steve Stewart, the darling of RedsZone, is simply a vanilla milkshake in a Oreo-cookie Blizzard world. He is a competent pbp guy until something extraordinary happens. Then he goes into what seems like a fake (though I'm sure it's not) "excited" mode. The only solution for the "bad boy" (more great marketing by WLW or the Reds PR department--Ugh) is PBP with a color guy who can make things interesting for the normal radio listener who isn't fascinated by statistic after statistic or every fine detail of the game. But, if you're waiting for SS to be Marty's replacement, think again. My money's on a whole new radio crew when Marty gives it up. The whole Castillini regime is about Reds tradition and SS doesn't fit in there. When his contract is up he's gone. I have a buddy who is a great PBP guy-Syracuse grad and everything. His comment is always that in ten years SS will become George Grande II.

Same goes for Grande. Whenever his contract is up, Sir Robert C. will be asking for a new pbp guy--someone who is more Reds oriented. Chris Welsh may stay, but George will probably leave the building. Too much opposition love. I can imagine Castellini just cringes. And folks are right. Chris is much better when he doesn't have George to apologize for.

And the other teams? Some are good and some are bad. Some have said they like the Pirates' guys. I don't. Lanny is so full of himself about Pittsburgh that his portraying it as the mecca of the western world is a little much along with his fixation that the Pirates are always just so close to winning. He needs drugs.

I do like Milwaukee's TV and radio guys. I like Scully (and if you think that's because I'm over 30, think again. Scully is renowned as the best of the best from everyone, including those who have only been through 12-15 seasons in their lives). I hate the Astros' guys and the Cubs and Cardinal guys are pathetic.

But, it's all taste. The taste that makes a difference is RCast. He'll make the decisions. And my prediction is Marty as long as he will do it with a former Reds as pbp/color man, and a new TV crew. As soon as possible. Mark that down.

[savafan]

Since I posted the article, and someone else thought it was my opinion, I'd just like to say that it's not.

I thoroughly enjoy Marty Brennehan ;) and have since I was little. Steve Stewart, I don't mind, but I don't think I'd miss him if he wasn't here. I'd rather see a former player in the booth...even Tracy Jones (I don't think he'd be the same doing the game as he is doing extra innings).

Grande and Welsh...can't really comment too much on. If there's a radio nearby, I mute the TV and listen...even with the delay, it's more tolerable. If there isn't a radio nearby, I suffer through, but I'm not a fan of those two.

[Ron Madden]

I've said it before and will say it again.

At one time Marty was a "Great PBP Guy" and he earned his spot in the HOF.

It's sad when we are wittness to the heroes of our youth slowly lose thier skills and become average. The great majority of Reds Fans today have never known anything other than Marty and Joe on the radio.

I am a life long Reds Fan but I also grew up with Willie Mays as one of my heroes.

Listening to Marty now is almost on the same scale as watching Willie finish in a Mets uniform.

Marty will go down as a Legend in Cincinnati Reds History. That should be enough.

To steal one of Marty's favorite lines he likes to use on rookie players... The Reds were here long before Marty and they will be here long after he is gone.

[RollyInRaleigh]

.....and Marty, the voice of the Reds, will stay with the team, pretty much as long as he wants to.

[macro]

How about the Thom Brennamen and Johnny Bench days? I almost preferred listening to Thom over his dad. I hated to see when he left to go to the DBacks. And I always thought Bench did a decent job, nothing great, but you respected what he said because of his player status..

I recall that Thom was still green and inexperienced when he called Reds TV games, and Bench was pretty hard on him. He would call him out when he made a misstep and make him look like a fool on the air. I actually felt sorry for Thom a few times.

Does anyone else remember this?

[Hap]

Listening to Marty now is almost on the same scale as watching Willie finish in a Mets uniform.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B10140OAK1973.htm

Remember his dropped fly ball? It doesn't show up in the box score.

I have seen the game on ESPiN Classic and Curt Gowdy's commentary pretty much echoes your statement.

[KronoRed]

.....and Marty, the voice of the Reds, will stay with the team, pretty much as long as he wants to.
Unfortunate.

Nobody is above the team.

[savafan]

I was watching the game on FSN tonight, listening to Grande and the Crafty Left Hander. When things fell apart in the eleventh inning and they were still all sunshine and patchouli, I couldn't take it anymore. As a fan, I wanted to hear someone who was saying what I was feeling. Thank God I could turn on the radio and listen to Marty.

[Marc D]

Anyone know where Zach Day went to high school?

[westofyou]

Anyone know where Zach Day went to high school?
LaSalle

[KronoRed]

Thank God I could turn on the radio and listen to Marty.
Thank goodness for MLB radio and the nats radio guys, pure gold :D

[Phhhl]

I thought the most agregious thing Grande said tonight was when he mentioned Cole Hammels starting for the Phillies. To paraphrase, he said "the fans coming out tomorrow will get a treat (Hammels) and the Reds will be in for a tough night."

What? That's absolutely absurd when you think about it. I know he's trying to draw people's attention to the fact that Hammels is a phenom. But, just think about that statement. Reds fans are going to want to see that kid get absolutely shelled, and there's your d*** treat.

[savafan]

Do you remember back when George Grande would try and get people out to the ballpark by saying, "Fans, come on out and see Sammy Sosa take on the Reds this Friday, Saturday and Sunday"

Or

"Fans, come on out and see Mark McGwire take on the Reds this Friday, Saturday and Sunday"

or

"Fans, come on out and see Neifi Perez take on the Reds this Friday, Saturday and Sunday"

[Ron Madden]

To give credit where credit is due.

Marty's call of JRs game winning HR. was a classic. :thumbup:

[Caveat Emperor]

This thread seems as good a place as any for this observation:

Several times over the last few weeks, Marty has gone out of his way to mention that Steve Stewart is a Cardinals fan. The other night he referred to them as "Your St. Louis Cardinals" in the middle of a broadcat when talking to Steve.

It just struck me as really odd, given the hatred a good many Reds fans have for the Cardinals (mostly stemming from jealousy over good front office moves and having lucked into a 13th round pick that turned into the best player in baseball) that Marty would paint Steve into the corner of supporting a hated rival of the Reds.

Not saying it was an intentional or anything, but not exactly a way to endear a co-broadcaster to the fans. Just, odd...

(Oh, and I agree that Steve will not replace Marty when the time comes. They'll find someone locally here to take the gig over and replace the booth to make a clean start of things. Not a clue who that will be, though.)

[jmcclain19]

hmm - I know I've defended him before, but I like George Grande. I've seen and heard many others in the last several years.

Everyone else hears syrupy happiness and sugar coating, I hear a guy who loves his job, loves what he is doing, loves the game of baseball and wants to tell everyone who will listen about it. Does he have an affinity for other teams? At times. He watches the Reds 160+ games a year, I'm sure new teams are welcome changes. Does he have a strange mancrush on Jim Edmonds that borders on obsession? Sure, but we all have our flaws.

If they could pry him away from ESPN, I'd love to see the Reds pick up Steve Stone. He seems to be about 8th on the pecking order for ESPN Analyst gigs, which is unfortunate. He's an excellent analyst - despite his former Cub ties.

In fact, the cold, stark truth from a guy like Stone in contrast to Grande could be a excellent match.

One last thing on Grande. Castellini has said he's big on Reds tradition. And I think people forget that Grande has been with the Reds for a long, long time, as has Walsh. Not Marty or Joe long, mind you, but still longer than any other Reds TV broadcaster. I doubt Castellini makes any changes unless one of them leaves.

[KronoRed]

Not saying it was an intentional or anything, but not exactly a way to endear a co-broadcaster to the fans. Just, odd...

Hmm..

[conspiracy theory]Could he be trying to get Steve canned so Joe can return full time?[/conspiracy theory]

;)

[RollyInRaleigh]

Marty's call last night was classic. I have heard several of his calls on Adam Dunn's homers this season, as well, and what I hear is a Hall of Fame broadcaster. I have always been supportive of Brennamen and I will continue to support his work. I realize that is not particularly a popular opinion around here, but so be it, to each his own.

[dabvu2498]

Someone mentioned this earlier... but I have XM radio as well and listening to some (not all) broadcasters around the country reminds me of how lucky we are despite all of our complaints. Some of them are absolutely minor league. In fact, the Dayton Dragons have a pretty top-notch broadcaster on their AM affilliate. I believe his name is Mike Vanderwood. He's solid. 1410 if you're ever between about Middletown and Troy you can pick him up.

[redsfan1966]

I am an unabashed Marty supporter....baseball can drag at times, and Marty is able to keep the broadcast entertaining...I am also very impressed with the transition from Joe to Steve Stewart...Steve is also a very good listen and works well as the "anti-Marty"--focusing more on the game at hand and stats...yes, his puns and asides can cause groans...but I love the Marty and Steve team....George Grande and Chris Welsh, the only thing I can say about those two is that I try to turn the tv down and listen to the radio cast during broadcasts as much as possible....