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Joe Buck ends an era.

It was announced that Joe Buck will not be calling any games for the Cardinals in 2008. Which will end a 54 year run with a Buck (Jack/Joe) in the booth calling games for the Cardinals.

The legendary Jack Buck called games from 1954-2001, missing only the 1960 season. Joe Buck had been a part of Cardinals broadcasts since 1991 but has only done a handfull of games in recent years for Fox Sports Midwest.

I know there are many with mixed opinions of Joe's call of the games, but I for one will miss hearing him do a Cards broadcast as a Cardinals announcer instead of his national network "persona" which is not the "real" Joe Buck in my opinion. Joe's announcing was alot better when he did Cards games for the Cardinals as opposed to his "non-bias" national broadcast persona.

Listening to Joe & Mike Shannon do games on KMOX in the mid 90's brings back some good memories, and I wish Joe would have stayed to take his father's position instead of going off to be Fox's #1 football/baseball guy. But I guess I can't blame Joe for going for a bigger payday to support his family.

Joe filmed a pilot for Fox for a late-night show awhile back.  Maybe he is looking to get more into the entertainment buisness, or maybe he is going to film some more "Slam a lama ding dong" commericals. I just hope he doesn't forget his "roots" and might consider coming back to the Cardinals in the future as a radio play by play announcer.

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Buck
I always thought Joe was a great announcer...Not his dad obviously, but still one the best out there right now.  I used to try very hard not to laugh every time I'd see him and McCarver, b/c Buck's skills are the power of a thousand suns higher than McCarver's in the booth.  

I'm a little sad to hear this too...I guess that means we have 162 games of Al acting like Dan is some dumb shit...Sweet.

"Your Holiness, I'm Joseph Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal."-Joe Medwick, to Pope Pius XII.

by redbirdnation8206 on Mar 5, 2008 8:15 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Horton
Horton, color guy from Channel 5 broadcasts, will be replacing Buck on FSN.  Also not every game is on FSN so feel safe that you won't have Al and Dan for 162 games.

by StLHugo on Mar 5, 2008 9:26 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Rick Horton...
is absolutely painful to listen to.  And I mean painful...

by mynameistyler on Mar 5, 2008 3:10 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Horton
Horton isn't great, but honestly I'd rather listen to Horton's aweshucks, self-deprecating stuff than Hrabosky's 3 hour long exercises in patting-himself-on-the-back.  He gets in these kicks where he'll blame EVERYTHING on something completely dumb.

Example: I remember once he started complaining for about 4 weeks straight that the reason outfielders don't make perfect throws every time is that they don't take pregame anymore.  And then McKay told him they do MORE throwing in the system they use, but Al kept up with his no pre-game kick for another few months.  

Example 2: He's convinced ice is bad b/c Gibson didn't use it, but Koufax did.  Therefore, b/c Koufax's career ended early, ice is bad.  

The guy is unbearable.  Horton stinks too, but he at least has a reasonable opinion of his own knowledge.

"Your Holiness, I'm Joseph Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal."-Joe Medwick, to Pope Pius XII.

by redbirdnation8206 on Mar 5, 2008 10:58 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I have seen Mc Carver
criticized as an announcer a lot on this site, but I have never really seen why. I think he shows he has a good knowledge of what's going on in a game and i have always thought he would make a good manager.

I have also sensed a little hostility towards the Cards in his announcing though but I can understand why. Mc Carver had a good career and was clutch in his hitting and defense. I remember him well and he was great at getting a hit when you really needed it. He was a "big play" kind of guy. Kinda' like Biggio.
He was a great Cardinal and should be remembered as such but unfortunately there was a lot of bitterness in his departure (mostly not of his fault) and he has never been celebrated in old time events as he should.
But as a long time Card fan he provided me with as many thrills as most of the other greats I remember. I guess that is why I am a little forgiving is his faults as an announcer.

by ridgesee on Mar 5, 2008 8:39 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

McCarver
I generally don't like he continually tries to wax poetic and turn a phrase at nearly every opportunity, failing most of the time.  Sometimes he butchers the language so badly it becomes unrecognizable.  When he does focus on the mechanics of the game, it shows that he does not have an appreciation for any of the advances made in baseball research and he doggedly sticks to an idea regardless how idiotic it may be.

For more information, see here....
http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2007/01/youre-better-as-pop-culturist-chuck.html

The hot stove is burning...

by cardzfan24 on Mar 5, 2008 9:15 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Wow...
Was "the way" supposed to be in the first sentence somewhere? The one before "butchering the langauage"? Just checking?

Do you not like Tims broadcasting?

If we can't be good, can we at least be lucky?

by cardschinmusic on Mar 6, 2008 4:10 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Touche
put "how" in there somewhere.  I do that all the time when I type....I don't think I do it when I talk.  I think.

Hey, at least you got the gist of what I was saying...I guess that puts me one step ahead of McCarver, right?  Right?

The hot stove is burning...

by cardzfan24 on Mar 6, 2008 4:07 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

...I hear you...
Sometomes it appears I type with my foot....in my mouth! Those kind of things always catch up with us at the worst moments.

McCarver drives me nuts when he uses the "voice of ominous doom and undoing" and implies that some routine hit, out or error in the game is the single event the whole game will turn on because he was so painfully observant and then deeply informative in pointing it out for us.

Its the voice that other announcers reserve for a rare and horrible collision in center when neither player can get up....Tim Mc likes to use it several times per inning.

If we can't be good, can we at least be lucky?

by cardschinmusic on Mar 7, 2008 3:23 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

See!
Typing with my foot above.....sometomes!!
If we can't be good, can we at least be lucky?

by cardschinmusic on Mar 7, 2008 3:24 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Incredible observation
McCarver comes to incredibly wrong conclusions about the cause of a certain effect...usually its Derek Jeter using his inside out swing to send a sharp line drive to the opposite field.
The hot stove is burning...

by cardzfan24 on Mar 7, 2008 8:19 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

By the way,
that incredible observation was for you and not me.  I will let you know when I finally come up with a worthwhile observation.
The hot stove is burning...

by cardzfan24 on Mar 7, 2008 8:20 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Do not doubt...
You're a genuis and dont ever tell yourself you're not! Im done.
If we can't be good, can we at least be lucky?

by cardschinmusic on Mar 8, 2008 4:58 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

It seems like every game he loudly says . . .
multiple times that some insignificant play in the game he's "analyzing" is the "best" or "worst" he's ever seen.  It's just hard to take the guy seriously when he claims that some double play, that wouldn't come close to a web gem on ESPN's Baseball Tonight, is the best or one of the best he's ever seen.

by bailorg on Mar 5, 2008 9:50 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I agree with just about all the
criticisms of McCarver--he really does drive me crazy to listen to, especially when he latches on to a point he wants to make, and then can't shut up about it for 15 minutes.

But I will say this:  Now and then I do learn something valuable from McCarver, i.e., he will point out some detail of play that never occurred to me before.

Joe Morgan, OTOH, is a guy who I've never learned anything from, and in fact I think it makes me less intelligent just to listen to him.  He's definitely the biggest tool in the drawer.

by MdRedbirdFreak on Mar 5, 2008 11:01 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Morgan
Morgan was an incredible player, and he is an equally HORRIBLE announcer.  His chats, detailed via FJM.com, are even worse.  The guy was good, and doesn't even realize WHY he was good.  It was b/c he was "clutch" or "consistent" or b/c he "concetrated."

The gospel according to Joe...Billy Beane's teams will never win b/c they don't bunt when they're down 9-3.  Gary Sheffield was the reason the Tigers didn't win the World Series last year, the absence of his .850 OPS cost them dearly.  The Yankees rock.  There are no great teams anymore, just a lot of mediocre 95-100 win squads.  And so on, and so on...

He's a HOF announcer...yeesh.  

"Your Holiness, I'm Joseph Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal."-Joe Medwick, to Pope Pius XII.

by redbirdnation8206 on Mar 5, 2008 11:03 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

mccarver
I soured on mccarver after the 1994? or so nlcs were all did was complain about deion sanders playing football. I can't remember how many games the series went but one game was on sunday, and deion played a home game for the falcons and the was late for the braves game. Made mccarver look like an ass, deion dumped water on him after atlanta won, but he should of kick his ass.

On joe buck leaving, it was only a matter of time. He is Mr. Fox now, he can call the big games and that's it, less work more money.

"Textbooks are Soviet propaganda" - Rev. Jerry Falwell

by elirock83 on Mar 6, 2008 2:23 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Not to nitpick
But I think you're thinking of the 1991-92 playoffs with Deion.  There was no postseason in 1994.
Personally, I think we got hosed on that call.

by TurdFerguson on Mar 6, 2008 11:55 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

The Problem With McCarver
Here are just a couple of problems with McCarver that the WS pointed out...
  1. He doesn't know what a spike curve is. He thinks it's a curve with a sharp break (e.g. an off the table curve).
  2. He doesn't understand the 45 degree rule of thumb with respect to balks by LHPs.

by thepainguy on Mar 6, 2008 4:04 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

always liked joe.
As cardinals fans, we'll always compare him to his father.  Joe tends to more critical than his Jack was. call it a generational thing.  But IMO, they both stand up to the best - at least in the baseball radio broadcast world.  I've lived in several cities and had a chance to listen to alot of different broadcasts via satellite radio.  After making the rounds, you realize how good KMOX & the Cardinals had it. There was a comfortable, conversational ease that they both Bucks had. They both understood the intricacies of baseball.  Every sentence was thoughful and meaningful and absent of pulpy, filler comments.   Vin Scully is/was similarly good.
I'd rather my sister be a prostitute than my brother a Cub fan.

by _pistol_ on Mar 5, 2008 10:16 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

After seeing the Marlins' TV team,
I will never complain about Dan and Al again.

Well, I will never complain about Dan 'n' Al much.

by Valatan on Mar 5, 2008 10:38 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

For what it is worth
Harry Carey and Jack Buck together made the best team that ever grace the broadcast booth in STL. Although Buck and Shannon were enjoyable. It was never really the same after Harry Carey left. Harry's calls on Musial's Home runs were the greatest ever. I always listened real close when Musial was batting. You would hear that sweet little "click" of the bat and and Harry would simply  scream, "There she goes." Musial seldom hit those those "might be, could be" home runs Carey was famous for calling.

by ridgesee on Mar 5, 2008 10:58 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I, too, grew up
with Jack and Harry, and couldn't agree with you more. I spent many a hot Virginia summer night with my ear close to the radio, listening to those two. It was a fun time back then.
"The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it."

by cardsrul on Mar 5, 2008 1:26 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Got to agree
w/ Val on this one.  The Marlins' broadcast crew = "bad for baseball" (as one columnist says).  Wasn't impressed with the Rockies TV team when the Cards were in Colorado last year either.  Bad camera work as well.    

by cardsgirl95 on Mar 5, 2008 11:29 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

rockies
the rockies radio crew is pretty good though - light, descriptive, informative, none of that (not so) witty banter or space filling nonsense....

by cdb on Mar 5, 2008 10:20 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Run Down on Baseball Announcers
All-Time (no particular order):

Jack Buck
Harry Caray
Curt Gowdy
Vin Scully
Mel Allen
Ernie Harwell
Red Barber

I think the Dan and Al do an acceptable job on FSN, which is where I watch most of my Cardinal baseball (finally in HD this summer -- can't WAIT!!!)

I'm not a fan of McCarver either, he's just to nit-picky and callous for me.  I really wish they would have offered Steve Lyons or Kevin Kennedy his job way back when Fox got that contract -- those guys bring a lot more to the game than McCarver and don't tend to beat a dead horse until it's in pieces.  

I will miss hearing Joe call some of the Cardinal games for sure.  He is a top-notch baseball announcer, but I wish he'd hang up the football microphone -- he and Aikman during the Super Bowl were so bad that we turned off the audio and listened to Marv Albert call the game on Westwood One.  

"I just wish that the late Harry Caray were still around so I could hear him mispronounce 'Kosuke Fukudome' every fukun' night" -- Dennis Miller

by fourstick on Mar 5, 2008 11:15 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

HD yes
Directv, I presume?  I noticed that last week as i perused my available HD lineup.

BTW, it isn't on the official schedule (pops), but my set-top box shows next monday's game vs ATL as a broadcast on FSN. Hopefully in HD.

I'd rather my sister be a prostitute than my brother a Cub fan.

by _pistol_ on Mar 5, 2008 1:13 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Actually
I'm a manager at the local cable company in Des Moines (Mediacom) and we recently added FSN HD to our basic channel lineup. YAY!
"I just wish that the late Harry Caray were still around so I could hear him mispronounce 'Kosuke Fukudome' every fukun' night" -- Dennis Miller

by fourstick on Mar 7, 2008 11:54 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Ernie Harwell...
A voice for the ages, indeed.

by mynameistyler on Mar 5, 2008 3:11 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

End of an era
This news really bummed me out. I't shouldn't because I no longer live close enough to STL to get local broadcasts but it still sucks that there won't be a Buck in our booth anymore.

I think that the Bucks are a major reason why the teams fans are considered "The most knowledgeable fans in baseball". They fostered a culture where we wanted to know everthing about the team, players and the game itself. They both engaged and entertained the fans in a way that made you want to be a Cards fan.

Sad day but I wish Joe the best and we'll still get to hear him on national broadcasts. I doubt I'll see it but I bet when he's in town at a game he will stop by the booth for a in-game interview. That's when it will happen, in the middle of an answer there will be a base hit and without missing a beat he'll jump back into play by play mode and start calling the action without letting either of the other broadcaster a chance to butt in. It would be nice, even if it is just for one play.

"Do what you want to the women and children but leave me alone"-George Carlin

by That's a Winner on Mar 5, 2008 12:06 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Joe seems to be
the only one who could rein in Hrabosky when needed. Dan just lets Al run roughshod over him.
"The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it."

by cardsrul on Mar 5, 2008 1:31 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Any chance
we can get Joe to take Al with him?  It would greatly increase my game enjoyment.

I don't hear a lot of opinion expressed on Al's play calling.  Is anyone else as anoyed by him as I am?

by Stanfan6 on Mar 5, 2008 2:44 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I have a fondness for
Dan and Al. Dan's decent and a nice guy, to boot, whereas Al is like somebody's drunken uncle at Thanksgiving during every broadcast.
Rasmus or bust.

by Zoop on Mar 5, 2008 3:28 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Al's not great, but we could have it a lot worse
There are very few "analysts" out there I really like.

I like Al more Rick Horton, Tim McCarver, Joe Morgan, and a lot of the other ESPN analysts.

by bailorg on Mar 5, 2008 6:11 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Yes
I made a post a few spots down about Al.  I actually turn down the volume during games because I hate him so much.  I won't even go to his bar because of its association with him.
"And that's a winner. A World Series winner for the Cardinals."

by Bird Watcher on Mar 5, 2008 11:55 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Love the Bucks
Too bad Joe always has to be compared to his dad because he is the best in the baseball buisness right now... regardless of how great his Dad was.  (Don't get me wrong, I grew up going to bed every night with my radio barely being able to hear the broadcast over so much static... loved it!)

I too hope he'll one day go full circle and come back to the birds on bat.

by Birdos in Mexico on Mar 5, 2008 2:10 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

this is really lame news
I thought Joe was hilarious during Cards' broadcasts... the few that I've been able to see, anyway.

Vin Scully would have to be my all-time favorite.

Acquire some runs... next year!

by madding on Mar 5, 2008 4:45 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Joe Buck and others
Joe has been a great cardinal announcer.  Don't compare him to his Dad, who was the best.  I'm sorry he is gone.  His professionalism amazes me.  During the 2004 WS, the average viewer couldn't tell that his haeart was bleeding.  Likewise during the 2006 WS the averag listener couldn't tell the glee.  But put him in the Cardinal booth and there was no doubt who he was for.

Tim McCarver was a great Cardinal.  We wouldn't have won the 64 WS without him.  He really produced at the plate, even though his catching skills were not the best.

As an announcer he has always shown disfavor for the Cardinals.  I think he is stil mad about being traded.  Additionally, he is like Joe Theismann and  Ron Jaworski in football,  they can't stop talking about themselves and they assume that everyone in the audience is an idiot.  They just won't SHUT UP!!!

Al and Dan are boring, but they are Cardinals and that's important to me. And never doubt for one minute that Al Hraboski is a Cardinal through and through. I think Rick Horton does a great job.  I'm all for him.

We Cardinals have been blessed with some of the greatest announcers of all time.  Jack, Harry, Joe Garagiola, Bob Costas, Joe Buck, Mike Shannon, John Rooney, Jay Randolph and on and on.
Harry was a great announcer with the Cardinals, but as a Cub, he was simply annoying and a bafoon.
Mike Shannon, under the careful watch of Jack Buck has become one of the deans  of Baseball announcers and is now ready to take hos place in the HOF--He's definitely one of the best.

by MikeCard6 on Mar 5, 2008 11:23 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Al
Alright, this definitely sucks about Joe Buck.  I loved listening to him much more than Dan Mglaughlin (don't really know how to spell it)

Now we just need to get the Mad Hungarian to stop broadcasting games.  I've talked to many many people and 90 percent of them feel the way I do about Al. None of us can stand him.  Listening to the constant name dropping and the dumb downed comments he makes about the game absolutely make me want to throw up.  I don't care how well he pitched in the 70s.  He can't broadcast a game.  

Listening to Dan kiss his ass makes it even more unbearable.  

Get Hrabowsky out of the booth for God's sake.

"And that's a winner. A World Series winner for the Cardinals."

by Bird Watcher on Mar 5, 2008 11:54 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Does anyone know
why Jack Buck missed the 1960 season and who replaced him in the booth that season?  I go back that far--farther--but I have no recollection of it.

by MikeG on Mar 6, 2008 11:23 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Am I the only one?
I think that Jay Randolph is atrocious.  Remember last year when Shannon wasn't traveling to be w/ his wife?  There was this one game where Pujols hit a liner to Hanley Ramirez, who of course dropped it.  I mean, this thing was a pee-rod.  Ramirez bent over, picked it up, and threw Albert out...Well, I'm listening on the radio, and Randolph was completely baffled as to why Pujols was out.  The color guy (don't remember who the hell it was that night) sounded like he was about to strangle the guy, b/c he said about 4 times in a increasingly angry and desperate tone that Pujols was still out, even though Ramirez dropped the liner.  It was awful, esp. for someone who is supposed to know what the hell he's doing.
"Your Holiness, I'm Joseph Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal."-Joe Medwick, to Pope Pius XII.

by redbirdnation8206 on Mar 6, 2008 12:12 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Randolph
I listened to Randolph's first ST game last year, and it was torture. Tons of dead air. He got better over the year, but that's not saying much given where he started.

by thepainguy on Mar 6, 2008 4:50 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I'll miss him
The Bucks are a tradition in St Louis and his presence will be missed...even if I don't have FSN Midwest.
Redbirds Fun
2006 WS for JB and DK57 RIP: Josh Hancock

by cardsfan84 on Mar 6, 2008 3:06 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

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