Broadcast Sports: Buck and McCarver Are About to Destroy Another World Series

That was fun. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Red Sox and send all the obnoxious fans of Red Sox Nation into the winter with tears in their bloodshot eyes. TBS rose to the occasion, with a crew that let the game unfold on its own and commented with appreciation, insight and restraint. Hats off to Chip Carey, Ron Darling and Buck Martinez. I suppose that Craig Sager was dressed appropriately for the home of the Ringling Brothers Circus and did a creditable job under his usual sartorial circumstances.

Probably the best part was the coverage of the large pile the Rays formed on top of reliever David Price, featuring isolated replays of Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton racing in from the outfield, shedding equipment and clothing along the way and then taking running high dives on top of the pile.

Normally, I root against a dome, but if they are going to play during the second half of October, being inside is a good idea. Next year, the seventh game of the World Series will be on November 5th. If a couple of Northern teams are in it, they will be bumping up against your local Turkey Bowl.

Now the bad news. The World Series is on Fox. Joe Buck announces baseball as if it were a funeral. It is like trying to watch a game from the old Seattle Kingdome. You become depressed no matter what is happening. Combine this with Tim McCarver's incessant proctologic prattlings and you have a recipe for watching The Daily Show instead. Or just constantly refreshing the polls on realclearpolitics.com.

Buck does not even like baseball, and it shows. His dad was one of the best. He is the absolute worst. Luckily, you can enjoy Jon Miller and Joe Morgan if you have one of these and slow then down about ten seconds.

Who is the best? There was a time when Vin Scully did the World series on national TV. His call of the Dodgers' last inning of the season shows why L.A. fans still enjoy him after all these years. Doing his best Vin Scully imitation, he pointed out between pitches that in June, no Dodger fan would have imagined being in the NLCS, quoted the old chestnut about W.C. Fields wanting his tombstone to say, "all in all, I'd rather be in Philadelphia (remember he lived near Ronald Reagan in Pacific Palisades), and acknowledged that the better team was about to win. It just felt right.

And one more thing. The Rays are no longer the Devil Rays and they have the picture of the sun on their chests, meaning, I presume, that they are now named after the rays of the sun.

So, why do they still have a devil ray on their sleeves?

(photo from Boston Herald)

(Corrected to name correct Carey. Thanks)

Follow Stephen Kaus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/stephenkaus

Comments

[Pedro1918]

"(Corrected to name correct Carey. Thanks)"

It's C-A-R-A-Y.

[R.W. Sanders - Huffpost Blogger]

You are so right about Vin Scully. Absolutely the best ever. I once posted on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch site - CARDINALS TRADE Dan McGwire, Al Hrabosky and Albert Pujols straight up for Vin Scully.

And you are also correct regarding Buck and McCarver. As an old Cardinal fan, I have been overexposed to both. I loved McCarver when he was catching, but he wields a microphone much worse that he wielded a bat. Like most sports announcers, they are not nearly as clever as they think.

Am looking forward to a great series! Minus the audio.

[susie88]

Buck and McCarver are absolutely the worst. As a Phillies fan it was so obvious that both of them wanted the LA Dodgers to win, they could not say one good word about the Phillies. All they would talk about was Manny this and Manny that and an LA - Boston World Series. It got so annoying to listen I finally muted them. I was so glad to see the Rays win so all of those anouncers would finally shut up about Boston too. Maybe without the so called big market teams in there they won't have anything at all to say.. (hey I can dream can't I)
NO YANKEES...NO RED SOX...NO DODGERS..NO METS...NO CUBS..
In my book "A GREAT WORLD SERIES" Can't wait...GO PHILLIES!!!!

[jerseypal]

Actually think Buck is ok, he's not exactly a phillies fan, but he has a stronger voice than Scully, for sure, who let's face it is over the hill, and he doesn't meander through every baseball triviality as if he's a kid reading an encyclopedia to his grandfather, like Costas and Al Michaels. Costas with the participles and gerunds could maybe diagram sentences between the history lessons he seems to feel have some religious dimension. McCarver really is weary sounding, actually Joe Morgan's a great analyst, laconic perhaps, but he will teach you how to bunt and steal second base. The TBS guys who did the Rays-Sox series were just literally monotonous and worst of all, not identifiable by voice alone, quite non-descript. Phillies in 5.

[JerzGirl226]

I absolutely hate listening to Buck and McCarver as well. I don't even watch Saturday baseball on Fox anymore because of those two. No one is saying that you have to love the teams but do they have to nitpick at every little thing. Baseball just is not enjoyable when I have to listen to them.

[Sparty1]

Those two are just horrible. My husband and I just shake our heads when they come on. They know nothing about baseball. They're just collecting a check and the powers-that-be allow that to happen.

[drumz]

When I first noticed that they called them the Rays the first thing that popped into my head was that some christian got their panties in a bunch because of the word DEVIL... Some piety prick tried to rename Mt. Diablo in Contra Costa County so it isn't far fetched

[TheCountMikeG]

Thanks for this! We need more mainstream attention to Joe Buck's corporate mediocrity. The Phillies are in the World Series---but Harry Kalas won't be able to call the games? That's the real travesty.

[drumz]

Buck sucks and McCarver should have a few pops before the show so he'll be more interesting

[mediamarv]

Correction: Garlic fries!!!

[mediamarv]

Couldn't agree more. Buck hs long ago driven me away from watching any game he covers. He has no broadcaster'svoice and I think he only got the job thanks to his dad.

He is also one of the biggest wussies in thw world: when he was out here convering the Giants/St Louis game, Pacbell Park as it was kown then had intorduced some really interesint new food, includig garlic fires. Someone brought some into the booth and he literally was afraid of them. Kept saying, get them away from me, and he was serious.
Has no personality, no wit, no sophistication, so pefect for Fox.

[SouthernBlueBelle]

You are oh, so right. Those guys are the worst. We used to have the local radio feed on, with the TV muted, during the World Series and play offs.

[uheardme]

Joe and Tim are awful. I want John Miller and Joe Morgan. Or, Orel Hershiser and the former Mets GM guy.

[billofgoods]

Buck and McCarver are awful as are most national announcers.....Much rather listen to an opposing teams home announcers as they know what they are talking about and know when to shut up , which should be during most of the game for any sport

[JimR]

Why can't you congratulate the Tampa Bay Rays and acknowledge that the better team won?

By the way, I am one of those Red Sox fans that you find SO obnoxious.

Have a nice day.

[Stephen Kaus - Huffpost Blogger]

I wavered on this, but I have taken a lot of abuse from Sox fans over the years at the Oakland Coliseum, so I decided it was fair.

[erikad]

i'm pretty sure you meant chip, not skip. skip passed away earlier this season. i grew up listening to skip. he was one of a kind.