This particular blog was written by a good friend of mine and fellow Mets fan, Ed Leyro. It’s just a sample of some of his brilliant writing. We’re trying to get him to join our staff here at MetsMerized Online. Maybe all you readers out there can help us convince him!! – Denise (MetsWrighter)
Way back in the days when the Mets were on SportsChannel, before my parents had cable TV, I would listen to many Mets games on the radio. Bob Murphy and Gary Thorne called the games and I enjoyed listening to them because they painted such a good picture of what was transpiring on the field. Now that we can watch every game on TV or on the internet, the days of listening to games on the radio have passed me by. However, I’m seriously considering going back to listening to some games on the radio again. What better games to choose than the Sunday night ESPN games when Jon Miller and Joe Morgan call the games!
Take tonight’s game for example. Apparently, the so-called broadcast team of Miller and Morgan (and Steve Phillips as well…I haven’t forgotten about you.) found it necessary to spend the early innings of the game dissecting whether or not the Mets have a team leader. I had no problem with them bringing up this point as I personally don’t believe the Mets have a “follow me to freedom” type of guy. My problem is that they did their best Energizer Bunny impression by keeping the topic going and going. Not even a commercial break could stop them. I can only imagine a Giants fan watching the game, wondering if Miller and Morgan were ever going to talk about their team.
Joe Morgan also seems to have a problem with players’ names. Apparently, David Murphy of the Texas Rangers became a Met for the day. At least, that’s the impression we were left with whenever Morgan was talking about Daniel Murphy. At least when Ralph Kiner messed up, he made it funny. When Joe does it, I can’t help but be annoyed by it. Perhaps it’s his holier-than-thou attitude or his smugness. He talks about second base like he invented the position. At least when Ron Darling talks about pitching or Keith Hernandez discusses defensive strategy, they back it up with good, sometimes exceptional points that doesn’t serve to inflate their ego, but to educate the viewer.
Speaking of players’ names, does anyone else have a problem with how Jon Miller pronounces names? I understand the proper pronunciation of Carlos Beltran’s last name is Bel-TRAN, so having Miller pronounce it properly is not a problem. However, he has repeatedly changed the pronunciation of Fernando Tatis’ name. One inning it’s TA-tis and the next inning it’s Ta-TIS. Come on, Jon! I applaud you for trying to learn proper pronunciations of foreign-born players’ names, but choose one and stick with it the whole game! It makes you sound like you’re guessing when you alter between one and the other.
The next ESPN Sunday night game is scheduled for July 19 against the Braves. It appears I’ll be revisiting my childhood that night when I listen to the radio play-by-play.
