The funnest time was when Rizzuto introduced himself as Bill White before a game. Bill White was laughing so hard he almost fell over.

Rizzuto: “Welcome to Yankee baseball. I’m Bill White. Holy Cow!”

White: “Haaaaaaaaaaaa!”

He was the best!

Ray Scott – also awesome as NFL play-by-play man for network TV – CBS. Covered first 2 Superbowls.

Hearing those guys broadcast an NFL Football game was a treat.

Skipping to today:
John Sterling’s a goofball, but I’ve gotten used to him.
Suzyn Waldman: has earned her spot and is a good reporter
Michael Kay: he asks good questions and brings out interesting information from the guys with information to share (see below)
Paul O’Neill: a waste of time
Ken Singleton: a bigger waste of time; hard to believe he actually played the game given how much of what he says is the same thing I could say without having had a minute in a baseball uniform
David Cone: I hadn’t heard that he was leaving. Tremendous loss because he actually talked about stuff that no one else talked about: percentage of strikes thrown, percentage of infield popups (for Jeter)
Al Leiter: Another really good one with insight to share that comes from experience.
John Flaherty: He actually had good stuff to post on the LoHud blog in terms of pitching previews, but he never says this kind of stuff on the air.

Oh, Bodhi, you nailed it.

SJ’s right, it’s a different business now. NO dead air allowed, gotta fill it with some noise, squeeze in as much “content” between pitches as possible. The broadcasters have bought into the canard that “the game is too slow.”

I still maintain that if fans really understood the game – non-bandwagon fans of course – it’s not slow at all. You need to be thinking along with the managers and the players, not waiting until someone hits a home run. A strike is an event, so is a ball. Whether it’s high and outside and the pitcher missed the target, whether the hitter fouls it straight back or swings late, whether the outfield is shifted… nevermind. If it has to be explained, it’s too late. That’s why Michael Kay (a Fordham alum like Scully), can sometimes be irritating. He’s trying too hard. But in Michael’s defense, they all talk too much now. BTW, Kay is as knowledgeable as anyone in the game, IMO, but he’s got to re-cycle content from his YES Q and A, Centerstage and his radio show and still do nearly every Yankee game live. He better be taking his vitamins.

My favorite Yankee broadcast team was White, Rizzuto and Messer. I missed out on the golden age of Mel Allen. IMO, Jon Miller is very good, if a little in love with the sound of his voice. He has reason to be; carrying Joe Morgan all this time is NOT easy.

Still, Vin Scully is an artist. He knows that silence is an important tool in the broadcaster’s toolbox. If Michael Kay stays in the business long enough, he’ll start to economize eventually.

Gonna miss Coney a lot, as he really found himself as a broadcaster last year. I’m willing to give Flash Flaherty a little more time; he was starting to come into his own late last season. O’Neill is good as a foil to Kay, and as for Tino, well, speaking may not be one of his five tools. But I love him anyway.

I enjoyed the info on Mel Allen. I grew up watching the Yankee broadcasts in the middle 50′s. Listen to Mel and Red Barber was priceless. I can still here the HR call by Mel “that ball is going going gone.” He had a way of smacking his lips as if to indicate a taste of the Ballentine Beer.

I grew up listening to Ernie Harwell, so I’m spoiled, and cannot bear to listen to Sterling and Waldmann. It’s simply unbelievable that those two are calling Yankees baseball to millions on the radio.

Back to Harwell, the epitome of talent, grace, and class. Do yourself a favor and read this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=4444976