Does anyone else dislike the Pirate announcers as badly as I do?
- Thread starter PSUSam
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I love watching the Pirates but I can't stand Steve Blass. The rest aren't much better. Bring back Lanny!
Blass is past his prime, Wehner is average and both play-by-play guys stink, but I think Walk is as good as anyone out there
I am ambivalent. I don't dislike them but I'm no fan either. I like Walk more than the others because I can learn something listening to him. One radio gripe I have is that I can be in the car for 10 minutes and never hear the score. I think the entire lot is average, at best.
I cringed when Blass thanked the lady who cuts his hair, or the guy who services his car. Steve is a great guy, but he does NO pre-game preparation beyond driving to the ballpark. He and the Pirates two play-by-play guys are pretty representative of the bad announcing the pro teams serve up to the public in Pgh.
Mike Lange is a HOFer, an icon in town. However, if you bother to listen to his calling of a game you soon realize the guy can't follow the play any more. Color guy Phil Bourque, who I think is very good, is always bailing Mike out when it comes to who the penalty is on, who scored or just "what happened" out there. I sometimes wonder of Lange needs new glasses. And, on the TV side, Steigerwald is the poster boy for homerism. Always complaining about the officials and always telling us what he hopes will happen rather that what IS happening. He often serves up this clairvoyant gem, "Syd is flying tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a big night." The problem with the Penguins is both announcers are horrible and Center Ice blacks out the opponent's TV feed so you're stuck with Lange or Steigy. I think next season I'm going to get the NHL's Internet radio package in order to watch the Penguins in peace.
Sadly, the Steelers Bill Hillgrove is another who is well past his prime. And, it's debatable how good he was in his prime. He loves to use the nicknames rather than players' names. If you don't follow the Steelers closely, there are time when you don't know what Hillgrove is talking about.
And, this is not about the pros, but for my money the best color man whose radio or TV comments are heard in the Pgh market is, hands down, Jack Ham. I was never a Mark Madden fan but when he and Jack did the mid-week hour on Pgh football, Jack's comments were must listening. Madden was Madden, always taking shots at Jack. But, Jack just laughed it off. The two had a chemistry. It was entertaining and when Jack spoke, very informative.
Mike Lange is a HOFer, an icon in town. However, if you bother to listen to his calling of a game you soon realize the guy can't follow the play any more. Color guy Phil Bourque, who I think is very good, is always bailing Mike out when it comes to who the penalty is on, who scored or just "what happened" out there. I sometimes wonder of Lange needs new glasses. And, on the TV side, Steigerwald is the poster boy for homerism. Always complaining about the officials and always telling us what he hopes will happen rather that what IS happening. He often serves up this clairvoyant gem, "Syd is flying tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a big night." The problem with the Penguins is both announcers are horrible and Center Ice blacks out the opponent's TV feed so you're stuck with Lange or Steigy. I think next season I'm going to get the NHL's Internet radio package in order to watch the Penguins in peace.
Sadly, the Steelers Bill Hillgrove is another who is well past his prime. And, it's debatable how good he was in his prime. He loves to use the nicknames rather than players' names. If you don't follow the Steelers closely, there are time when you don't know what Hillgrove is talking about.
And, this is not about the pros, but for my money the best color man whose radio or TV comments are heard in the Pgh market is, hands down, Jack Ham. I was never a Mark Madden fan but when he and Jack did the mid-week hour on Pgh football, Jack's comments were must listening. Madden was Madden, always taking shots at Jack. But, Jack just laughed it off. The two had a chemistry. It was entertaining and when Jack spoke, very informative.
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Not as much as I'm starting to dislike watching Gregory Polanco.
Remembering the Gunner: Bob Prince calling the last out of Bob Gibson's no-hitter.
Nowadays they would have pulled Gibson at the 100 pitch mark.
Was at that game and yes almost all the Bucco fans were rooting for Gibson to complete the no-no after about the 7th inning. The game was a blow out anyway and meaningless since the Pirates were well ahead of the Cards in the standings and would ultimately win the World Series that year. Gibson was throwing bee-bees all night long and likely in the high 90s-100 MPH if they had electronic guns back then, which they didn't. Snuck into box seats by about the 5th inning (as always) and watched most of it from up close along the 1st base line.
Could say that I was lucky, but the truth is I saw about 30-40 games a year from the opening of Three Rivers stadium (1970) when I was 12 years old until 1976 (graduated high school), so my odds were pretty good of seeing any of the Bucco games back in the 70's. During my college years (1977-1980), I probably saw 20-25 Pirate games a year, since I would miss most of April and September being up at Penn State and having a summer job needed to help with tuition. Like many fans back in the day, I was an addict. Took a bus (79a) from up the Allegheney river to downtown and walked across the Clemente Bridge for 75% of those games with some buddy's, until we could drive in later years. All the time listening to the Gunner call the game on transistor radios. Great time to be a sports fan in the Burgh, with the Steelers and Buccos and Penn State wasn't too bad either. Hey, the Pitt Panthers had their best teams back then too once Johnny Majors arrived and often went to Pitt Stadium and watched those teams.
Knowing Gibson, I doubt that that would fly. McCarver always tells a funny story about Gibson. He goes out to talk to him as a younger catcher. Gibson tells him to get the F' off the mound and then says the only thing McCarver knows about good pitching is that he can't hit it.
We were likely at a number of games at the same time. From 1958 through about 1982 my family had Pirate season tickets and, like you, I saw dozens of games a summer, especially from 66 through 75. Sadly, I missed this no-hitter. On the plus side, I did see Clemente's 3,000th hit. Those were some golden days.
I like Walk and Wehner. Steve Blass used to be a lot better than he is now. I am almost embarrassed for him at times. I hate to say I dislike anybody but Greg Brown just does not get it done for me.
Quick story on Clemente's 3000th hit. I was at the game of course, but almost missed it since I was sneaking into the box seats before the inning of his at bat from the outfield seats. It took probably 10 minutes to do it and included jumping some fences and ramps that wound around the stadium for fans to walk up to the upper decks. Anyway, if Jon Matlack had not thrown a ball on the first pitch, I could have missed Clemente's double as I was just entering the box seat area underneath the grandstands on the first pitch. I just sat down in an open box seat when he drilled the one hop liner of the fence for his double and 3000th hit. Of course Clemente rarely swung at the first pitch and often conceded a first strike to every pitcher, but I could have missed it if he had decided to swing at the first pitch that inning from Matlack and drive it the opposite way as he often did on outside pitches.
Tickets for that game, in good condition, sell for as much at 1K at auction. Do you have yours? I cannot find mine, despite repeated searches.
Didn't know enough to keep them (ticket stubs) back in the day. I did have one heck of a baseball card collection that my parents kept in my room for years, but somehow got lost during their move to the west coast back in the early 80's. The collection was from 1965-1972 or so, when I lost the youthfulness of card collecting. Had numerous Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, Banks, Robinson, Kaline, Gibson, Marichel, Koufax, Seaver, Bench, Rose, etc.... from that era. I actually did keep my 1974 All Star game ticket stub and a few world series stubs from 1971 and 1979 on a hanging board in my bedroom, but never saw them again once I moved away.
I know the feeling. I do still have my World Series tickets from 71 and 79, but I don't have any from 60, even though I saw 2 games (not the Maz home run). My parents, now deceased, would have kept their tickets but I never found them after they died. The Clemente game really bothers me because I made a point to keep it pristine, but I probably tucked it in a drawer somewhere and just have not come across it.
I think Bob Walk is one of the best in the business. Informative, entertaining, and doesn't get diarrhea of the mouth like so many analysts do.
Brown is OK. He seems to be legitimately enthused, and does a solid job.
Steve Blass is (in best Bill Walton voice)......TERRRRRIBLE. Manages to never say anything of any interest, even though he never shuts up.
Neverett is like maximum strength SOMINEX.
Wehner is the annoying guy at the corner stool of every Western PA bar.
Fortunately, when Blass or Wehner is doing the TV side - you can at least switch over the radio and listen to Walk.
.
Hated Lanny. What's so wrong with our current guys? I know, Blass is a master of the obvious, but in general I have no problem with all of them.
I've never seen so many broadcast experts whine over nothing. It could be worse......they could bring Lanny back
I've never seen so many broadcast experts whine over nothing. It could be worse......they could bring Lanny back
I am NOT a fan of the play-by-play guys. Listening to them is painful.
I am a fan of the color guys - Wehner, Walk and yes, even Steve Blass. I like Blass because when he talks, it's about the older days and he is the bridge back to the days of the Gunner, of the Great One, of Maz, of Chicken-on-the-Hill Will. Those were the Pirates that I remember very fondly.
The other guys (play-by-play) I just wish they'd shut up. I don't need to know that player XYZ is 3 for 19 against left hand pitchers in the daylight between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
If Blass wants to compliment his barber, so what - that's what Prince would do and that's what makes Pittsburgh the city of neighborhoods.
I am a fan of the color guys - Wehner, Walk and yes, even Steve Blass. I like Blass because when he talks, it's about the older days and he is the bridge back to the days of the Gunner, of the Great One, of Maz, of Chicken-on-the-Hill Will. Those were the Pirates that I remember very fondly.
The other guys (play-by-play) I just wish they'd shut up. I don't need to know that player XYZ is 3 for 19 against left hand pitchers in the daylight between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
If Blass wants to compliment his barber, so what - that's what Prince would do and that's what makes Pittsburgh the city of neighborhoods.
Well, let's hope it's the start of something for him. Likable kid, I just haven't liked watching his play. Still doing stupid things on the bases by the way.
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