Monday Morning Media Musings

just kidding. You might want to reformat that to include some returns.

I was just going to say, you really need to use paragraphs, because in the new format, everything is bunched together in the middle of the screen (making it harder to read). But then they magically appeared.

this was my first time seeing Perez and Motte pitch. They look like they can be a dominant 1-2 punch in the bullpen for years to come. I really hope they both get a chance to spend significant time on the ML roster this year. Thoroughly impressed.

Secondly, channel 5 has the most horrible baseball broadcasts I've ever seen. Flat out pathetic. I just don't think I can take Jay Randolph calling players by the wrong name anymore. Ricky Horton is ok I guess. The pre-game includes a lot of really good interviews by Cusamano. I'm a big fan of his. The in-studio pre-game is perhaps a little bit less atrocious than it was last year with Diane Lane. If your gonna use a news anchor, why the hell wouldn't you get Mike Bush to do it?! The man was the sports director for like 15 years! There are so many sports personalities in Saint Louis who could do a much better job, its hard to believe this is what they give us. Where's John Maracek? Mike Claiborne? Bob Ramsey? Malcom Briggs? you mean to tell us that Rene Knott and Randy Jackson are the best possible options to host a Cardinals pre-game show?! Really?! I can't wait until this contract is over. I'd really like to see the games back on 11 or maybe channel 2. Channel 2 would at least give a decent pre-game with Martin Kilcoyne...we just might not see too many Albert interviews.

The radio broadcast I can live with since I don't have to be subjected to it too often. I like Rooney better than Hagin. And though he screws up a lot, I've always enjoyed Mike Shannon.

I miss the Birds on 1120. After moving from the Metro area in '93, I was still able to listen to games at night on KMOX. There is a hill between Denver and Boulder, CO., where I was able to sit and hear the games perfectly. I could drive from Denver to my folks house in S.Dakota and listen to an entire game.

The Internet has obviously changed things, and I think we are going to get XM Radio for baseball and the MLB package for the TV coverage, so I guess the impact won't be as great.

can possibly offer, I am embarrassed for them. This was an unimaginative good ole boy network type hire. At least they haven't hired his son as yet. As far as KTRS goes, could they possibly squeeze one more commercial in the broadcast?

I enjoy Shannon and Rooney on the radio... but I actually think that Rick Horton and Rooney sound great together when Shannon leaves the booth to do some commentary with Jay Randolph.

Jay Randolph... now that's another story. I understand that Randolph offers a bit of nostalgia to some of the older generations, but he's almost unbearable for me to watch.

Horton's a little goofy for my taste but I can deal with him. Does a pretty decent job in my opinion.

My favorite personality that covers the Cards is Dan on FSN.

So I have to rely on radio (usually have gameday on the computer also). I'm so used to Mike Shannon that this mistakes, eccentricities, etc. don't even phase me anymore.

My favorite Mike Shannon call was from the 80's when Jack the Ripper was with the team. The Cards were down, the bases were loaded and Clark was coming to the plate. Mike mentions something about how many career grand slams Jack has had in his career so far (I can't remember the #, it was 20 years ago). Of course Jack gets good wood on the next pitch and Mike gets wound up. "THERE'S A LONG ONE TO LEFT"!!! I about drive my '64 Rambler into the ditch I'm so excited. Except that Jack got a little under it and it was caught on the grass in front of the warning track. My favorite Mike Shannon call. ***sigh***

First - let me say that I like Rooney and Shannon. Rooney calls a good game, and Shannon is like your drunk uncle.

BUT - the rest of KTRS is really not good. Claiborne is the best of a bad lot.

Hadley is a homer who does nothing to serve the StL sports community with weak interviews and average insight. His Sunday morning broadcasts last year were comical; no one would call in so he would argue with himself and then get so worked up you could hear the slobber slopping around in his mouth.

I can't watch the games on KSDK. It's like I'm watching my old college TV channel.

Hadley is bad, Clairborne is good

Who is this little pip squeak and why am I subjected to his idiocy?

but why are all my posts white and everyone else's yellow. Make me feel like I'm wearing a black tuxedo with brown shoes.

thing that bothers me is when Rooney says "SWING!" It always sounds like it is leaving the park only to have it caught by the SS or something. Always bugged me. Mike Shannon is awesome because you don't know what will come out of his mouth. Keeps you engaged. As far as the TV side is concerned, they are all too nice. Though last season, they were more critical so maybe it has improved.

i, like most others, enjoy shannon and rooney

i can deal with dan, al, and horton

but when it comes to randolph, he is hard to listen to

i will miss joe buck, just as we miss his dad

i still feel, though, that when you hear some of these other teams announcers, you really see how good we have it

Im kinda a newer Cardinal fan. I started by listening to Ronney and Shannon do the radio broadcasts back in 2006. It was just to kill time at work. (it was durring thier first 7 game losing streak...) But I got hooked. Last year I more than likely listened to 120 games on the 550.

Anyway. Besides the game itself I can not stand to listen to anything else on the radio. I'll check maybe 20 games or so on the TV. I like the FSN broadcasts. The channel 5 ones annoy me. And the ESPN broadcasts just angery me.

but has there been any mention of the new t-shirt design lately? I'm a somewhat infrequent visitor, but I remember lboros saying something a few weeks back. I only ask because I have some free time at work this week and i might try and mess around with Adobe Illustrator to see if I can come up with anything.

Cardinals

1. Colby Rasmus, CF
2. Cesar Izturis, SS
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Troy Glaus, 3B
5. Rick Ankiel, RF
6. Ryan Ludwick, LF
7. Jason LaRue, C
8. Anthony Reyes, RHP
9. Brendan Ryan, 2B

Go get 'em, Iron Bill. Here's to Cesar getting a couple more errors and zero hits!

I miss him on the TV. He called a good game and would have been better had they never not stuck him with such horrible color guys (Horton, Ozzie, Al are all awful).

To be honest, most color guys, with the exception of Orel Hershiser and Bob Brenley are beyond bad, adding nothing to the game.

I generally long for the days when you can mute just announcers and still watch the game on TV.

there is none better (outside of Vin all on his own) than the SNY 3-man booth of Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Mex. They aren't insulting. They are very balanced in their approach to home and away teams, they understand baseball and they have a decent enough respect for sabermetrics to not insult you like Joe Morgan loves to do.

I find myself watching random Mets games just to listen to them talk.

would be much appreciated. Thanks!

KSDK does a better job with their HD broadcasts, in terms of both production values and picture quality, than Channel 11 did. The broadcast quality, although not as good as it could be, is far better than what Channel 11 ever put out. Jay Randolph and Ricky Horton probably rank as the worst Cardinals broadcasting teams of recent years for me, although I'd still take them over many of the broadcast teams that some of the national networks put out there and some of the non-Cardinal broadcast teams I've heard over the years.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/y2007/gd.html?2008_03_17_atlmlb_slnmlb_1&brand=mlb

2 players that shouldn't be on the roster April 1st.

Seems like ARey finally got the message that his rotation spot isnt locked up yet.

Toward the end when those two really hated each other it was unbearable. The only thing that got them together was games 4 and 5 of the NLCS in 2005. Edmonds' ejection and Albert's Homer.

I hate Rooney's impersonations, but they at least make Shannon laugh - and that's all I need to hear to make me enjoy the radio.

Is it on TV anywhere? Is anyone watching it?

I'm stuck at work with the mlb.com updating box score.

How does Reyes look?

Looks like Reyes got out of it ok. Just by reading on GameDay, it looks like the 3rd out was pretty loud, but no damage done.

and a K already for Izturis - so far so good.

Reyes pitches out of a 2 on, 1 out situation after falling behind 3-0 with two swinging strikeouts in a row. niiice.

Yahoo March Madness pick 'em if I set it up.

tried to get the runner out at 3rd base on an infield hit, missed by Jiminez (error on Ryan) and a run scored.

2 RBI ...

I wonder how long he can walk this tightrope ... but he still has a very low ERA ... and, I hope he keeps it up ... I'm hoping he's this year's Percival ...

Anyone else losing confidence that Duncan will start the season on the DL? I presumed that this would occur, but given how much TLR is playing him, it's hard to believe that anyone actually thinks he's injured.

And if he doesn't have an injury, or if his injury is such that a little rest won't fix it, then I'm hard pressed to explain his struggles.

Ryan does remind you he's a rookie ... I am really getting into Barton's speed ...

and Gameday actually stays caught up with the game ... this half inning stuff is getting frustrating ...

Izturis now has 6 errors. he can't make the team, can he? please tell me he won't. I know they spent guaranteed money on him, but...

Couldn't Cards DFA Izturis like they did Spivey? Chalk it up to "It seemed like a good idea at the time". (even though it really wasn't even close to a "good" idea).

but i had posted a comment & now its gone. oh well, guess whoever is in charge didn't like it that i said for the most part i like the guys on FSN Midwest. i really like Mike & Rooney on the radio. i could listen to Shannon talk all day & the voices in my head all sound like Shannone. KSDK 5 coverage is horrible & pathetic. Ricky Horton is the worst ever & needs to go away. the chick that does the pre & post games shows has been replaced. and i forget what else.

oh well, it's gone forever i guess. its either a bug or user error. of course could be a loose nut behind the wheel.

here's a link to a radio interview Boog did this very morning right here

hope it works. nothing really all that new, but i think it worth a listen to because he talks about his play & what he's trying to do to make the team.

I can't stand Al Hrabosky and Jay Randolph. More often wrong than right and always mispronouncing names.

Shannon, Rooney, Dan Mc, and Horton are all listenable with Shannon being very entertaining IMHO.

On a national scale, the best on the radio is Joe Castiglione with the BoSox. I hate Boston but he is fantastic. He researches opposing teams and players and always drops that knowledge on his listeners. The best on TV is not Jon Miller who is more interested in rolling his Latin R's, and it is most certainly not Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver who are both awful, it is our own Joe Buck who learned from his dad how to call a game.

I also used to like Al Michaels when he used to do the Monday Night/Thursday Night Baseball games on ABC.

I like Joe Buck when he's doing Cards games (which is a shame that he's not doing them anymore.)

I also think the Mariners' Dave Niehaus is good, though he's slipped a bit as he's gotten up there in age.

I have to admit that Dan 'n Al grew on me a bit after a full season of MLB Extra Innings last year. with some exceptions, I usually looked forward to the home FSN Midwest telecasts.

First of all, I freakin' loathe KTRS, or K-TRASH as I call it. Awful, awful radio. That said, I enjoy listening to Shannon and Rooney, although that's the only time you'll ever catch my radio tuned to 550. Before and after the game, I'll listen to KMOX or 590 if I'm stuck in the car...but I'll be damned if I listen to the crap on KTRS.

Like everyone else, I love Shannon's "drunk uncle" personality (although he apparently doesn't actually drink anymore)...you never know what the heck the guy is gonna say next, so it's constantly engaging. Rooney seems fine, although I, too, find his "it's a goner" call to be very forced. I much prefer Shannon's "Get up, baby! Get up!" homerun calls. A friend of mine once referred to Mike Shannon as the High Priest of the Church of Baseball. Truer words were ne'er spoken.

As for KSDK, ugh. Love the HD signal, but I simply cannot abide the horrific commentary job from Randolph. I'm sure he's a very nice man, but he should NOT be broadcasting baseball games. Just terrible. I really enjoy Rick Horton, however. I've always found his commentary to be even-handed and intelligent. I also like how he won't hesitate to call out a Cardinals player for a bad play when it's warranted, but he has no problem gushing about the good plays...which most of us fans always enjoy hearing about our own players. I also rather like his self-deprecating humor.

As for FSM, Dan does a fine job (no real complaints there), but Al Hrabosky is WAY too much of a homer for me to tolerate. Damned annoying. I often feel like some suit from the Cardinals front office must be standing behind him in the broadcast booth slipping him $20s every time he parrots another ridiculous "official" stance, even when everyone knows it's BS. His color commentary is also typically unimpressive and lacks the insight and intelligence of Horton's analysis, imho.

So, locally, it's a real mixed bag overall.

I could listen to Vin Scully and Jon Miller call a tee ball game and be enthralled. Class acts, both of them. I just wish ESPN would dump Joe Morgan and give Jon some intelligent color commentary rather than that inane, insulting drivel Morgan continually spouts.

the Cubs have been offensively this spring? You should take spring training stats with a grain of salt but maybe we picked the wrong two horses for this NL Central race and it'll only be Milwaukee and Cincy?

I mean, they've been really bad for a team full of guys being paid lots of money to hit.

I have always thought of KTRS as the loudmouth, less intelligent step brother of KMOX. The fact that Cardinals sacrificed the history, class, and broadcast range of KMOX for a quick buck is a shame. In the long run this will be viewed as a poor investment by the owners. I believe that the Tigers did the same thing five or six years back and it too has gone sour.

this is probably better served here.

Back on February 4, I noted that Kyle Lohse suffred from a ridiculously low WHIFF rating on his curveball, of which led to many of his problems at the mlb level:
http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/story/2008/2/4/8561/23331#1458576

Which essentially went like this:
http://blog.stats.com/2007/07/whiff_profile_kyle_lohse.html

Lohse has an eye-opening WHIFF rate for one particular pitch, and it's for all the wrong reasons. Lohse's curveball is currently drawing a whiff rate of .031. That is to say, he's coaxed just one (1) swing-and-miss out of the 38 swings hitters have taken against this pitch...a big breaking ball. This is not a good pitch. The opposition is hitting .500 against it, and slugging .607. Fortunately, this is his least used pitch, but it might not be a terrible idea to ditch it completely.
[...]
Fortunately for Lohse, his changeup has been a very good option. He's posted a .311 WHIFF, while the oppostion has hit only .184 against it, and slugged .298.

Fastfoward to today's Goold post and lo and behold:
http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/bird-land/bird-land/2008/03/lohse-breezes-through-sim-game/

During his four "innings" — which turned into an out every three or four pitches — Lohse had a specific kink to iron out in his delivery. Get this: The Cardinals believe he was tipping his breaking pitches. (You may have heard something like that before.)
[.]
Lohse’s hand placement just before going into his windup would give away the pitch he was about to throw. Pitching coach Dave Duncan pointed it out to him, suggested a fix, and by the time Lohse was throwing from the stretch in his final inning the tip had been erased.
[.]
"I had heard rumors that teams were picking up some stuff," he said.

Rasmus shouldn't be. Its all about organizational control at this point for both of these players. We're not going to be a playoff team because Perez is pitching the 7th inning instead of Russ Springer. So would you rather have 1 year of Perez as a 6th-7th inning guy at a young age, or a year of him as a legit closer at the beginning of his prime. If we put him on this team now, then his FA clock starts now. If we wait a little while, that clock won't start until next season. Then there is the issue of arbitration as well. Its all about making a smart business decision. And putting him on the roster for opening day is a VERY VERY VERY BAD business decision.

...I'm lovin' the new template and everything else. I did not know this blog could get any better...but it did! great job larry and SB nation; keep up the fantastic work!