by markp65 » Fri May 22, 2009 1:53 pm
Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling are excellent analysts for the Mets, and I am the opposite of a Mets fan. They'll criticize players when warranted and give you some genuine field-level insight into the game, with humor, intelligence and something especially rare: originality.
Does anything lend itself to the propagation of cliches like baseball? I bought the MLB package to stream games online and I have to say that thus far, most of the Fox Sports regional guys could have been produced by the same factory farm. I'm a Cardinals fan and you can start with The Bland Hungarian, Al Hrabosky. Traded K's for Z's. Listening to Hrabosky and Mike Shannon I feel like I've had an easy-drinking Busch Light lobotomy.
Too many of these guys lack candor and intelligence, or they're just lazy. They need to get their behinds off the golf course and do some prep! Think about the amount of history, provocation and poetic whimsy Vin Scully packs into a broadcast. I know it's like comparing Jesus to a bunch of storefront preachers, but you'd think there'd be a few guys who at least actively aspire to be Scully-good.
Baseball is the perfect scaffold for thoughtful conversation. I wish the suits would pull from beyond the ex-jock pool and bring analysts into the booth who can sling it -- and are used to doing their homework: writers. Not the typical daily beat guys, but students of the game like Bill James, George Will, Buzz Bissinger, Michael Lewis... Otherwise, my all time favorites are Jim Kaat and Tony Kubek.