Sunday, October 30, 2011

OPEN THREAD: World Series Wrap-Up

I tried to listen to as much Ticket as I could Friday and this weekend, didn't catch as much as I would have liked.  A little Diamond Talk, a little Orphanage, a little Soul Patch.  I'm liking the Soul Patch, Matt McClearin is growing more comfortable by the week.  I'm also finding that I like listening to Danny Balis talk sports on those too-rare occasions when he turns his attention that way.  I didn't listen to much Diamond Talk this year -- bedtime -- but I may have to make that effort next season.  Good stuff, and I didn't notice some of the Newberry mannerisms that have gotten some adverse commentary here. 

In general, I thought the coverage was about where I hoped it would come out -- informed, calm, non-accusatory, balanced, big-picture.  Put responsibility about where it probably belonged (mostly pitching) without going ballistic. 

I especially liked the commentary from the likes of Mike R that we had focused on the Rangers' "story" to the near-total exclusion of the Cardinals' "story," and that had been our mistake.

So I gots nothing too profound here.  Feel free to offer sportsy baseball commentary as well as Ticket commentary, and if you have a thought on the TV coverage, that would also be welcome.  Here's a very mild one:  I've never thought much of Tim McCarver, going back a long time.  His observations have always seemed generic and obvious to me, but I guess we could have worse color guys.  Contrary to some of the Ticket hosts, I thought A.J. Pierzynski gave the Fox presentation a needed jolt.  Yeah, he looks kind of spiky, and I hear he has been voted putz-of-the-year or something by MLB players, but I thought his observations were fresh.

We haven't heard any of The Ticket's regular programming apres-Series as of this posting, so please return and post your thoughts on what our weekday warriors have had to say as the broadcast week gets underway. 

Me, I'm getting ready for The Ticket's "unofficial" Cowboys pre-game show.  (They've started to call it that on promos -- I wonder if The Fan complained to someone about that.)

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[PS:  There seems to be some controversy over whether Danny B has received some kind of formal appointment as "weekend program director."  Anon D says no, it's a bit; a couple of other commenters seem fairly certain that it has happened.  Can anyone shed any light on this?]

Hits way way up the last few weeks.  My gratitude to the Nation.  The party's only getting started.

As always, don't worry about jacking the thread.  If you've got something else on your mind, let us hear from you.  You can also email me at ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com.  I am not case-sensitive.

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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

9 comments:

  1. I'll start by derailing the thread.

    I was interested to hear Mike Rhyner joining Bob Sturm and Rich Phillips on the (unofficial) Cowboy pre-game today. I heard him introduced in the beginning and then basically forgot that he was there until they threw it to him a couple of times during the report.

    I am always glad to hear that Mike is part of a broadcast group, but he doesn't seem to care much for these one-off assignments. We have observed in the past that he's out of his element when he's not hosting, and that was on display today.

    I don't blame him for this at all. Mike's style is discursive, conversational. Bob and Rich are high-volume, high-decibel, high-velocity broadcasters (both of whom this site admires), and it's not a format that jibes well with the sublime Rhyner melodies.

    I thought maybe he would be subbing for Rich Phillips next week while the latter is observing a NASCAR event at the Speedway, and this was something to ease him into that.

    Anyone have a notion of what Mike was doing there?

    By the way, I thought Bob was at the top of his game today, although the statistics he cited are not being borne out in the 'Pokes' first-half performance.

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  2. http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/10/29/3485267/loss-of-radio-stations-is-a-blow.html#storylink=omni_popular

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  3. It's not that big of a deal, Mike did the pregame a few weeks ago when Bob was gone I think.

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  4. Welcome back, Norm. Sounding a little rough and weak, but at least on the air.

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  5. Glad to see Norm back on the air. So it seems like he was supposed to have gone on vacation but came down with a nasty infection. While I'm happy he's better and I wish him a speedy full recovery, am I the only one who found his words and even tone of voice (think "tough one, pal") to be almost maudlin? I've always thought Norm to be a bit on the sentimental and emotional side, but I did find it a bit strange to hear a host speak and sound as if he was almost presiding over his own memorial service. Am I overreacting?

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  6. I caught this on a DFW Radio thread: http://www.jimmagesblog.com/norm-hitzges-ashton-gardens-corinth-texas/

    Apparently Norm is recently married. So, was he really sick too or not?

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  7. He said on air on Monday that he had some type of an infection where he had trouble urinating.

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