My response to that is, “Some people have enough sense to have an umbrella with them when it’s raining … and some people don’t.” 
So they aren’t shown on a broadcast station anymore? Odd.
Last time I was there, WPIX was the Yankees and WWOR was the Mets.
Slight correction. That’s Skip Caray that calls Braves games on TBS. But, you’re aboslutely correct about his “style”. His voice is slow, monotonous, and boring. He’s the best cure for insomnia that mankind has ever known.
Chip Caray calls games for the Cubs on WGN and FSN. While I wouldn’t say he’s boring, I can’t listen to him if I just finished eating. He causes nausea. It was even worse when he was teamed up with Joe Carter. Joe Carter could play the game, and play it very well, but my god, keep that man away from a microphone!
I do, however, like Chip’s current partner. In fact, I don’t know of many people who don’t like Steve Stone.
cardsfan1975
I remember the same thing growing up. Scranton’s cable extortionists carried both WPIX and WOR. I can’t remember seeing either station on Scranton’s cable system in years. Occasionally, our local WB or UPN affiliate will carry a Yankee game that appears to be originating from NYC’s CBS affiliate (channel 2?).
Oh, and re: TBS broadcasts. I caught some of the Sox-Braves game tonight, and was surised at how well Dave Winfield sounded. A lot more articulate and smoother than I would have imagined.
Please don’t get me started on this. I could rant and rave all night about this subject.
Rugby players do not wear armor because it is a contact sport, similar to basketball, but more severe.
Football players do wear armor because it is a collision sport, similar to hockey, but more severe.
The difference is vast.
Some of the players who wear the more conspicuous padding do so because they have been hit there so many times.
I agree about the ‘stepping out’ thing. I don’t think a batter should allowed to step out once the pitcher is in the wind up.
Did you see the Yankees/Red Sox game the other day. With Martinez pitching, Sheffield stepped out not once but twice, the ump allowing it each time. After the 2nd time, Martinez voiced his displeasure by plunking Sheff in the back.
I had mixed feelings about it.
Body armor is fine with me; it gives the batter no appreciable advantage and provides protection against injury.
If it’s the batter having an unfair advantage that bothers you, the solution is simple and obvious. Have umpires call the strike zone as it is described in the rules (mid chest to the bottoms of the knees), which is how it was actually called until the late 60’s, when the strike zone was “reinterpreted” and the mound lowered to give the hitters an advantage.
At first this would have the effect of lowering offensive output, but as hitters adjusted to a strike zone and started swinging at those chest high pitches, the offensive output would come back up and the chief result would be faster play as batters swung more often, putting the ball in play on fewer pitches.
Agreed on stepping out.
Why is someone called “cardsfan” listening to the Cubs game? I was going to share a secret with you but now… :dubious:
Ross Porter who does LA games has probably made Vin Scully the godlike figure out here that he is. Ross always sounds drunk or like he is trying to talk with a mouth full of marbles. Then to fill in the time he tells us all kinds of neat stats. "Shawn Greeen is batting .345 vs lefties in afternoon games when there has been a rain delay in the past week. " “Nomo has not allowed a hit in any inning after he has given up a two out homer.” Thanks Ross! Get Vinny back on quick.
I fear Vin doesn’t have much longer to broadcast. He’s starting to slip. Confusing the number of outs, the number of balls and strikes, the players names…
Several times this year he has called the Dodger catcher “Mike Piazza”. Mike’s been gone for 5 going on 6 years.
It will be sad when he hangs it up. He was probably the best ever.
And Ross Porter *does * sound drunk.
Ahhhhhh it sounds like you have successfully figured out my fan affiliation. 
As for why I’m listening to Cubs games, sometimes I don’t have a choice. We have DirecTV, and with that, we have MLB Extra Innings. Therefore, we get to watch a lot of baseball games. If the Cardinals are playing the Cubs, and the game is broadcast on FSN with the Cubs announcing team… Well, I just have to hope that I haven’t eaten too soon before the game starts. I could turn the sound off, but watching television with no sound annoys me. Also, I don’t want to pay for the radio package on mlb.com (we can’t get KMOX down here in Dallas. At least, not in our house.)
He and Mike Shannon have something in common then. Only Shannon sounds drunk (because he is) AND (not or) he sounds like he’s trying to talk with a mouth full of marbles. My dad affectionately calls him Mushmouth.
He might be slipping, but Vin still has as many years left as he wants. I mean, Harry Caray “broadcast” for years despite being so senile that he didn’t even know what ballpark he was in.
cf’75
And this is why I’m so happy that Ernie Harwell retired with his mind intact. Of course, I do miss hearing him on the radio :sigh:
Vin is slipping. But I think he’s too much of a pro to go on like Carey did. I feel this year may be his last, or definately next year.
Re: body armor
I’m okay with the padding, assuming that the ump calls anything that hits the padding a strike (assuming the padding is in or near the strike zone, of course). This negates the only advantage that the padding provides – the ability to get hit by a pitch for a free base. I’m tired of watching the batter stand there with an elbow sticking out over the plate, not even moving to get out of the way of the pitch, and then expecting the ump to give him a hit-by-pitch for a free pass. Mo Vaughn was *particularly *annoying in that regard.
There is a good reason for some guys to wear padding – if they’ve been hit before, another hit would be really painful and could aggravate an injury.
On announcers
I’m in Minnesota, so on radio we get Herb Carneal and John Gordon for home games, but Herb doesn’t travel, so we get John and Dan Gladden for away games. I like Herb, but he’s getting near the end of his career, and is starting to lose it a bit – his smooth voice is getting rougher and harder to understand. It’s sad. John Gordon has never been good, but he’s okay. I just wish he could remember the names of the players, so we’d get less of this:
"Top of the fifth, and Radke’s ready. First pitch to the…
…
…
righthander…
…
…
Johnson is a ball. "
You can just imaging him peering over his glasses to try to read the name from his scorecard.
On the plus side, he does know when to shut up and just let the sounds of the game tell the story. I tuned in the other day and hear nothing but crowd sounds for a good 60 seconds. It was glorious.
On TV, we get Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven. I wish Dick did the radio games – he’s a great play-by-play announcer with a deep voice. On TV, he has to do too much of the shilling for the team (“You know, Bert, this would be a great day for outdoor baseball, if only we had that new stadium. Fans, if you’re interested in outdoor baseball in Minnesota, contact your representative and let them know you support the new ballpark effort.”).