Playoff Announcers
 

I heard it during the Rockies/Phillies game this afternoon on the radio as I was driving. The radio announcer was explaining what would be a balk move for a left-handed pitcher's move to first. He said, "if the pitcher's knee goes past the rubber, he has to go to the plate or it's a balk." I nearly drove off the road.

Then, just a few minutes ago, I heard Ron Darling, a former Major League pitcher, say the EXACT same thing in the Cubs/D-Backs game. I'm yelling at the TV (irrational behavior, I realize, since they can't hear me :) .)

Did they change the rules while I wasn't looking from "free foot past the back edge of the pitcher's plate" to "free knee past the back edge of the pitcher's plate?" I don't remember any such rule change.

Now we will have more coaches quoting the rules as they heard them on radio and TV. Thanks guys.:rolleyes:

the nobodies that tbs had working the red sox/angels game were SO AWFUL that i turned off the sound and turned on the radio instead. unfortunately the tv was a good 5 seconds behind the radio so i had to change it back. it was like pulling teeth to get them to speak coherantly. oh, and i already HATE frank tv.

The talking heads are probably thinking of the NCAA rule:.... where any part of of the stride leg breaks the back plane of the rubber.... is considered a balk. This is not so in OBR. In OBR, it is still the free or stride foot going past the back plane of the rubber.

Regards

Ozzy: in order for what you wrote to be true, they had to be actually thinking.

I think you are giving them WAY too much credit. I sincerely doubt that anyone was EVER "thinking of the NCAA rule". I think it's much safer to simply assume that the talking bobbleheads were just stupid as usual.

Frank Caliendo is fun to watch in small doses, but I can't see him having a whole show. TBS proves time and time again that they really don't know "funny" like they think they do. Their latest batch of sitcoms is proof of this.

Frank Caliendo looks great on XM radio.
As for TV announcers....I think bigwigs take it for granted that the average joe that watches their games doesn't know diddly about the rules of the game, so any explanation they throw out there will be just fine. Sure would be nice it we could get some knowlegeable umpires on that "color commentary" job - at least for playoffs....
I'm available....and I look great on the radio, too....;)

JJ

whoever the clown is that is working the sox series just asked the color guy what it meant when varitek set up almost standing up.

Judging by his announcing style, I'm guessing that Ted Robinson was just setting Steve Stone up for a softball, letting the color analyst to give the color commentary, and not to step all over Stoney's territory. In other words, I think he knew the answer, but deferred to the former MLB pitcher to explain it.

As we all know, tie goes to the runner.:rolleyes:


Shoot me now, please.:(

It's a shame that there are more out there than Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver.

Bob

Can anyone tell me who it was that said "tie goes to the runner"? I heard it but didn't know who the broadcaster was. Thanks.

I don't remember, but it happened just before I posted on October 6th at 4:35 Pacific time. If you go back and look at who was playing at that time, and then find who the lead broadcaster was, then you will have the culprit. It was not the color commentator, it was whoever was the play-by-play TV guy.

But ONLY on the radio, John. Let's keep it that way. ;)

Now we know why pitchers balk.

Bob

I believe it was Dick Stockton.

Could Tim McCarver take a vacation during the playoffs?
 

Oh dear GAWD, this guy is so brutal. While I understand that the networks actually think that people who do not normally watch baseball are watching the playoffs (not really happening according to the ratings) but please can someone convince Tim McCarver to start his vacation three weeks early?

And now you know why millions of umpires and other sports officials still hold Deion Sanders in such high regard for "baptizing" McCarver a few years back.

Priceless.

TeeMac was an equally promising football player. The reason he chose baseball (outside of the money) was because it was too far away from the fans for them to best see him. :D

T was a head hunter, for sure, he would knock the beejesoose out of you. When he turned down Tennesssee, people thought he was nutzoid. Gotta give him credit, dude spanked the signing bonus clause using football as his edge.

"Ears" could lay you cold on the 50 but he never took to blockin' balls. He was good at hitting criples, the one he pegged in the side of the head druing basketball with a basketball, half court throw. :rolleyes:

T-Mac was a treat and he and Musberger must have hit it off great as F2-PU

Another gem of wisdom by McCarver:

Commenting on the Red Sox base-running skills, he said "After dropping the bat, baserunning is the most important factor in scoring runs. It is SO important!" As opposed to what? What else is there for the runner to do BUT run the bases?

I still like his comment in the second inning of game 1, where, when a runner was rounding third, he said something like, "...and he's gotta be careful, bcause he has only one base to go, and that's home."

Ya think?