Thought this would give us something fun to talk about in the offseason.
My #1-#30:
1.) San Francisco. Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper are the best in the business. Smooth, relaxed but emphatic in the big moments, and there’s obvious chemistry between them in the booth. Flemming a solid backup but Jon Miller’s best days are way behind him.
2.) Cincinnati. Thom Brennaman solid baseball guy, and Chris Welsh and Brantley both underrated color guys. Prefer Brantley.
3.) Tampa Bay. Dewayne Staats is one of the best. Should have a national gig, instead he toils in anonymity in the worst MLB market in the country. Full disclosure: I have a soft spot for him from his short time with the Cubs when I was a youth.
4.) NY Mets. Gary Cohen is solid and when all 3 are in the booth (Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling) it’s a great listen.
5.) San Diego. Boston made a huge mistake firing Orsillo, and I’ve always liked “Mudcat” Mark Grant. There was some slippage with a well-past-his-prime Dick Enberg, but Vasgersian before him was solid too and Grant has paired well with all 3.
6.) Chicago Cubs. Kasper the consummate pro and Deshaies has grown nicely into the analyst role, although I felt Kasper had better chemistry with Bob Brenly.
7.) Detroit. I don’t follow the Tigers all that closely anymore, thus I had NO IDEA there was so much friction between Impemba and Rod Allen. I actually thought they worked really well together. Gibby a solid backup too.
8.) Pittsburgh. I have a soft spot for Steve Blass, but the team as a whole was better when Tim Neverett was still around.
9.) Oakland. Glen Kuiper not as good as his brother across the bay, but still solid and I always tend to gravitate toward the viewpoints of ex-catchers. (Ray Fosse in this case)
10.) Boston. Made a huge mistake firing Orsillo. O’Brien solid but can be boring. Remy top notch and Eck is never afraid to speak his mind.
11.) Chicago White Sox (POST HAWK.) Benetti is very good, as is Steve Stone. Was never a big fan of Hawk’s blatant homerism.
12.) Minnesota. “Circle me, Bert!”
13.) Baltimore. Gary Thorne a better baseball guy than hockey guy, and he and Jim Palmer have a nice rapport.
14.) Arizona. Berthiaume and Brenly average. Top 10 crew when Mark Grace is in the booth instead of the studio.
15.) Milwaukee. Brian Anderson is the consummate pro, but Bill Schroeder leaves something to be desired.
#16-30 coming next post.
My #1-#30:
1.) San Francisco. Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper are the best in the business. Smooth, relaxed but emphatic in the big moments, and there’s obvious chemistry between them in the booth. Flemming a solid backup but Jon Miller’s best days are way behind him.
2.) Cincinnati. Thom Brennaman solid baseball guy, and Chris Welsh and Brantley both underrated color guys. Prefer Brantley.
3.) Tampa Bay. Dewayne Staats is one of the best. Should have a national gig, instead he toils in anonymity in the worst MLB market in the country. Full disclosure: I have a soft spot for him from his short time with the Cubs when I was a youth.
4.) NY Mets. Gary Cohen is solid and when all 3 are in the booth (Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling) it’s a great listen.
5.) San Diego. Boston made a huge mistake firing Orsillo, and I’ve always liked “Mudcat” Mark Grant. There was some slippage with a well-past-his-prime Dick Enberg, but Vasgersian before him was solid too and Grant has paired well with all 3.
6.) Chicago Cubs. Kasper the consummate pro and Deshaies has grown nicely into the analyst role, although I felt Kasper had better chemistry with Bob Brenly.
7.) Detroit. I don’t follow the Tigers all that closely anymore, thus I had NO IDEA there was so much friction between Impemba and Rod Allen. I actually thought they worked really well together. Gibby a solid backup too.
8.) Pittsburgh. I have a soft spot for Steve Blass, but the team as a whole was better when Tim Neverett was still around.
9.) Oakland. Glen Kuiper not as good as his brother across the bay, but still solid and I always tend to gravitate toward the viewpoints of ex-catchers. (Ray Fosse in this case)
10.) Boston. Made a huge mistake firing Orsillo. O’Brien solid but can be boring. Remy top notch and Eck is never afraid to speak his mind.
11.) Chicago White Sox (POST HAWK.) Benetti is very good, as is Steve Stone. Was never a big fan of Hawk’s blatant homerism.
12.) Minnesota. “Circle me, Bert!”
13.) Baltimore. Gary Thorne a better baseball guy than hockey guy, and he and Jim Palmer have a nice rapport.
14.) Arizona. Berthiaume and Brenly average. Top 10 crew when Mark Grace is in the booth instead of the studio.
15.) Milwaukee. Brian Anderson is the consummate pro, but Bill Schroeder leaves something to be desired.
#16-30 coming next post.
