April 2012 Monthly Thread

[HelterSkelter]

Originally Posted by Hanging out with Lori

Mike takes on a caller who hates Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eOQnqsn1Es

I heard that call. There are a lot of Yankee fans who don't like either one of them.

[Hanging out with Lori]

Steve Kallas did the overnight shift today. He is the attorney who has been a guest on some other shows. A caller said the "f" word and it got on the air. It sounded unintentional he meant to say 'messed up' and said 'f'd up' instead. The host did not catch it until a few seconds after it got on the air.

[OnThePike]

Originally Posted by Hanging out with Lori

Mike takes on a caller who hates Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling:

There are a couple of topics Mike just refuses to discuss or blatantly dismisses. One is the discussion of broadcasters, the other is player uniform numbers. Neither of these topics are entertained by him because "he doesn't care".

[mohawk mike]

Sundays New York Post:

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_...MLYl6ZivVxnI/1

[Hanging out with Lori]

Originally Posted by OnThePike

There are a couple of topics Mike just refuses to discuss or blatantly dismisses. One is the discussion of broadcasters, the other is player uniform numbers. Neither of these topics are entertained by him because "he doesn't care".

Mike is a hypocrite because he used to play some of Sterling's game calls where he messed up. It's OK for Mike to make fun of Sterling but the callers can't criticize the broadcasters.

[OnThePike]

He still plays Sterling's calls, especially those where there's exaggerated enthusiasm. Mike seems to enjoy those.

Years ago, I was very much on the anti-almost-everyone bandwagon for one reason or another (McCarver/Buck, Miller/Morgan as anti-Yankee, Kay/Sterling as bigger then the game, etc) but really, these days, in my older age, I just see these guys as entertainers of a different variety. In all honesty, Rizzuto, toward the end of his broadcast career was an awful play by play and color guy, but "we" (those of us who are fans) loved him anyway. Messer would really be the only baseball guy up there with Bill White playing more a sidekick role to Phil than anything else. Jack Buck none of them are, but then again, today, who is? Even the styles of Garagiola and Costas are old news.

It's very hard to find unbiased "broadcasting" these days. It's more in your face entertainment than anything else, in my opinion.

With respect to Michael and John, well they were both better when they did radio as a team and weren't hyped to believe they were each bigger than the game they were broadcasting. Today, I pit Olden, Seaver, Kubek, and especially Katt well over either of these guys. Today, maybe Singleton plays the straight man, but can still be swayed into Kay's trivial nonsense.

And yet... I'd rather listen to any of the above than suffer through Ralph Kiner and the bottle-du-jour. =)

[Hanging out with Lori]

Rizzuto was almost always about entertainment even if he didn't intend to be. I think him and Fran Healey around 1980 were pretty funny or bad depending on your point of view. John Sterling is too dramatic for me. I don't mind his HR calls so much but who wants to hear his affectation "thaa pitch" all game long?

I liked Ralph Kiner, and it's nice to still have him around for nostalgia, but his time is past. In the late 90s he started slurring his speech supposedly due to Bell's Palsy but maybe it was a stroke. Vin Scully still had his voice into his 80s so he was/is still on top of his game.

[Vulnable]

God Lori Rubinson sucks so much. Hagelin ridiculously suspended, Knicks play Heat, Mets take 2 of 3 from Phils, Yanks about to take 2 of 3 from Angels, and she starts off with some Jackie Robinson nonsense that has gone on all day. Come on.

[OnThePike]

Personally, I think the whole Jackie Robinson thing is a bit over-hyped already. Everyone wearing the same number? Come on now. Enough PC already. Nobody is taking anything away from the man, but they don't all have to wear his number to honor him and what he stood for. A simple arm number or other jersey display would be quite sufficient in my opinion. There's no common sense anymore; everything's either trivial or over the top.

[Hanging out with Lori]

Originally Posted by OnThePike

Personally, I think the whole Jackie Robinson thing is a bit over-hyped already. Everyone wearing the same number? Come on now. Enough PC already. Nobody is taking anything away from the man, but they don't all have to wear his number to honor him and what he stood for. A simple arm number or other jersey display would be quite sufficient in my opinion. There's no common sense anymore; everything's either trivial or over the top.

It trivializes him rather than honoring him. Plus he seemed like a humble man. I doubt he would have wanted every player to wear his number every year. It is probably a public relations move to gather support among certain fan segments. Who was the second black player, Larry Doby? It was probably tough for him too but nobody honors him with anything.

They retired Robinson's number in all of baseball, that should be enough. And the exception they made for players like Mariano who had that number, they should have been made to change it if it was that important.

[tnt1528]

i went to last nights espn game at the stadium.125 dollar tix(didnt pay for them).but i like to know what mike smokes saying the stadium was a sell out.the whole section by right field foul pole with the pepsi ad under it was empty all night except for a cpl of rows.empty rows of seats all around me.( i sat in 223 row 10........and good thing out of mushnick quoting all mikes predictions on mets and get every single one wrong.

[FreeBobKemp]

Originally Posted by Hanging out with Lori

It trivializes him rather than honoring him. Plus he seemed like a humble man. I doubt he would have wanted every player to wear his number every year. It is probably a public relations move to gather support among certain fan segments. Who was the second black player, Larry Doby? It was probably tough for him too but nobody honors him with anything.

They retired Robinson's number in all of baseball, that should be enough. And the exception they made for players like Mariano who had that number, they should have been made to change it if it was that important.

I preferred the way they did it a few years ago when they let the individual players decide. Actually Howie Rose had an interesting idea Sunday of letting each team designate one player to wear it each year on April 15.

Doby wasn't the second black player (I believe the Dodgers added another black player - Dan Bankhead maybe? - before anyone else did) but he was the first black American Leaguer. I'm sure he must have endured the same indignities/abuse that Jackie Robinson did so it's very unfortunate that he lived out his life without anywhere near the fame/recognition Robinson got (and Doby was a damned good player, too). The only thing he had going for him was that as an outfielder he didn't have to worry about baserunners coming into him spikes-up, but otherwise I'm sure his experience was pretty much like Jackie's.

I really didn't mind the "grandfathering" of existing 42s. In fact you're the first I've heard that was actually bothered by it. It's worked out kind of nicely that a future Hall-of-Famer will end up being the last one.

[Hanging out with Lori]

I checked and Larry Doby was indeed the second black player (and first in the AL).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...yers_ by_team

[jakeydaman]

Was that Al Leiter defending the Mets and Reyes?

[FreeBobKemp]

Originally Posted by Hanging out with Lori

I checked and Larry Doby was indeed the second black player (and first in the AL).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...yers_ by_team

My bad. I thought sure the Dodgers had added a second black before Doby joined the Tribe but I guess not. Bankhead joined the Dodgers in August, Doby joined Cleveland in July. My point about his treatment (guess it's your point, too) stands.

[Hanging out with Lori]

Originally Posted by FreeBobKemp

My bad. I thought sure the Dodgers had added a second black before Doby joined the Tribe but I guess not. Bankhead joined the Dodgers in August, Doby joined Cleveland in July. My point about his treatment (guess it's your point, too) stands.

Looking at some of those players, a number of them died fairly young. Monte Irvin is still hanging in there at 93.

[Hanging out with Lori]

Mike announces the death of Dick Clark today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOoZTC0wuzU

[tnt1528]

whoever does the sterling/waldman impersonations is more entertaing then mikes whole show......dont know if i heard him right but did he say elvis was on american bandstand?im not sure if he was,just hope he didnt screw up and say rolling stones and the beetles too.

[Hanging out with Lori]

Originally Posted by tnt1528

whoever does the sterling/waldman impersonations is more entertaing then mikes whole show......dont know if i heard him right but did he say elvis was on american bandstand?im not sure if he was,just hope he didnt screw up and say rolling stones and the beetles too.

That was Sour Shoes from the Howard Stern program. This is the audio of the call:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bkmd2zjaCI