The Phillies are playing at the moment. I know this, because I'm listening, and sometimes watching, the FSN coverage from Arizona. It's part of our MLB on the computer package.
The Phils were up by eight when I tuned in. Mark Grace and Daron Sutton (color and play-by-play, respectively) had long since lost interest in the game and drifted off to other topics.
Weird. Surreal. Strange. It was still a ballgame to me. That's what I wanted to hear. I was disappointed.
Granted, they were probably disappointed too... in the D-Backs who stunk up the joint this evening. It sounded like they didn't think anyone was still watching.
They had an evening like their team's!
The one weak point of the MLB package is, they only send one TV feed of the games I had no choice.
PHILLIES..... 1 0 4 0 0 0 4 1 1 - 11
D-BACKS...... 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 - 4
The mark of a good announcing team is when they can make the broadcasts entertaining and engaging even when the game is a blowout for either side.
The Red Sox have this with their NESN tv team (Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy). Even when what's happening on the field isn't very interesting, they keep it worthwhile to tune in. They have great chemistry, and hilarity often ensues.
Sadly, the Sox can no longer say this about their radio announcers. This is the second season of the post-Jerry Trupiano (a Hamden native!) era, and poor Joe Castiglione is still stuck sharing a booth with someone (Dave O'Brien) he clearly has no desire to be working with, and with whom there is zero chemistry. Castiglione/Trupiano used to be one of the great broadcasting teams in all of sports ... it's really sad.
Isn't Joe Castiglione from Hamden? His brother is my dermatologist (I went to see him once).
Of course, no matter what the score, if you are a Yankees fan listening to WCBS, you will undoubtedly hear John Sterling break into a Broadway tune or two during the average game.
Actually, last night's game call reminded me of Phil Rizzuto with Bill white.
(paraphrasing)"Ya' know White, I found a new way to the George Washington. Inside, ball one. And it's cutting 10 minutes off my trip."
Ha! Exactly- or, as the game stretched into the 7th inning or so, Channel 11 would put the camera on the George Washington Bridge, Phil would take a look at the traffic flow and announce to his wife "Cora, I'll be home in about half an hour", since he never stayed until the ninth inning, because he didn't like to hit the end-of-game traffic.
D'oh, of course. Castiglione is from Hamden. I knew that. :P