I quit watching the game for CSI, but I enjoyed what I heard from this team. They didn't bore the hell out of you.

I have a message for the guy who enjoyed the "FrankTV" promos yesterday:

Are you sick of them yet?

I guess it's time to ask the "Doomesday Scenario" question:

If Colorado plays Arizona in the NLCS, will the games be moved to the Cartoon Network?

Chip Caray is a more insightful, less pretentious version of Joe Buck (and always has been)
Brenly and Gwynn were great as well.
Once they straighten out some of those production flaws, like cutting out of Caray's home run call for John Adams' beating on the drums or flashing that 'Ryan Garko' had hit the home run instead of Victor Martinez in the 5th, this will be a good watch come NLCS time.

Anon- I saw that Garko graphic as well. Those are little things that they'll hopefully hammer out by the NLCS. I'm kind of excited and I hate NL Baseball.

Chip was that good, really? Snore....

Ted Lilly, ladies and gentlemen.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Even the Rockies might get to the Series before the Cubs go back.

Can't say I like Caray, but the other two did a fine job.

i liked it, however my surfing between the game and time to kill was fucked up by the synergy. theres no need to keep the game on tnt once it switches back over, that ten minute half inning was pissing me off, flip back to regular programming right away

Frank TV needs to be cancelled right now. I'm already sick of the show.

Caray was brutal, Brenly didn't add anything, I think Gwynn has potential. Granted they are not as bad as Miller/Morgan or Buck/McCarver and if that's your comparison then they're hall of famers.

First bsseball doesn't need three guys in the booth it's overkill, in fact neither does MNF.

In the other post I gave you the Caray debacle.

Are you nuts? Who wrote this review? HARRY Caray? That broadcast trio was brutal. Wake up!

Listen, if you didn't like that trio then you're never going to enjoy any baseball telecast with the sound on. There's not a problem with that, but that was a good broadcast. Light years better than any other team out there.

I do mute the tv when Chip "I Wanna Be Joe Buck" Caray is doing pbp; always have. I hated him and Stone on the Cubs games, too. To be honest, there isn't a broadcast team out there that I would consider to be anything more than average these days, local or national. I can't even stomach the Cardinals broadcasters; Shannon included. I grew up listening to Chip's grandpa and Jack Buck, Jack Brickhouse, Ernie Harwell, Mel Allen; all those guys, so I guess I'm spoiled.

I know this site makes it's living out of bad announcers, but seriously, some of you guys will complain about every announcer born after 1930.

They were God compared to Joe Morgan/Jon Miller

Caray has a severe case of the yucks. Both he and Brenly seemed to have an anti-Yankee bias. Gwynn was pretty good.

And did Caray really say "Cleveland Rocks!" and "Cleveland's Rocking?"

Well Bruce, Harry Caray ain't walking through that door. Jack Buck ain't walking through that door. Brickhouse, Harwell, Allen, Bird, McHale, and Parrish ain't walking through that door.

I'm a Yankees fan and I thought they did a fantastic job. And that's saying a lot since I will always hate Bob Brenly for supporting terrorism and not letting the Yankees win it all post 9/11.

I've always enjoyed all 3 whenever I've heard them in a booth. I'd be fine with TBS broadcasting the entire playoffs if it could be those 3 every game. That and if my cable company would carry TBS in HD.

Is this a serious post? Did you watch the same game the rest of us did???

A sampling of just a few of the gems this "A Team" gave us last night:

"And now we'll see if deciding not to bunt will cost the Yankees a run in the fifth inni-- it won't."

"If Alex Rodriguez was the sizzle for the Yankees, Jorge Posada was the stick." What the hell does that even mean?

"...relentless patience of the Yankees." What the hell is "relentless" patience???

One of them referred to the 7th spot in the batting order as a "run-producing slot".

At one point, they discussed why their own idea of having Jeter bunt (referenced earlier) before was actually a bad idea and what happened made more sense.

"It's not surprising that Sabathia managed to pitch five innings. Cleveland starters lasted at least five innings 88% of the time!" I kept waiting for that to be followed up by where that stood compared with other Major League teams... but no.

Caray insists on extending the excitement of his home run call for like thirty seconds:
Yells: "And nobody's getting that one!"
Pause.
Yells: "A home run for Travis Hafner!"
Pause.
Yells: "The runs just keep on coming!"
Pause.
Yells: "10-3!"
Pause.
Yells: "I think I'm having a heart attack!"
I wish.

Somebody actually said, after the game had turned into a rout "The last thing the Yankees need is another baserunner!"

"That's gonna roll for a while!" As he's finishing up the word 'while' Damon cuts off the ball.

There was an exchange that went something like:
"The Yankees have been to every postseason during Joe Torre's tenure. Is this a demoralizing first six innings?"
"No, I don't think it'll be demoralizing for a long time. They have veterans. They can do things the right way." Not only is that a stupid response, but the first sentence to set up the question had nothing to do with the question.

"From this game on, nobody on the Indians roster can say they don't have a postseason appearance."

"The Yankees had a lot of chances. Not necessarily swinging the bat, but just to take advantage of those bases on balls." Generally, taking advantage of walks entails swinging the bat. It's difficult to do so otherwise.

Chip made it a point to mention Pettite has a lot of postseason experience "unlike Wang" which should make a difference. I thought they decided during this game that the Indians showed postseason experience doesn't mean a whole lot?

"Giambi on deck. One would think, tomorrow, Giambi would be in the lineup somewhere for New York." There's only two places I could think of him being there, Chip. First or DH. It's not that complicated.

"Pretty tough to pin this one on ARod. The whole team collapsed." Yes, it is. In fact, Alex has exactly zero earned runs allowed!

"You never know, Johnny Damon might have a good at-bat in this series!" He actually did. The very first at-bat of the series.

Not to mention pointless interviews and plenty of discussion of Lebron James.

This crew was absolutely brutal. Give me Buck and McCarver any day. McCarver's a moron, but at least he's a funny (and not maddening) moron.

Here are you Chip Caray gems from last night:

CC Sabathia gave up a long HR to Johnny Damon. It went about 350 feet.
What does it mean when a pitcher needs to extend?
The Yankees big four (pitchers) made most of their starts this year.
How many times was he going to over pronounce the word "comfortable".
Cabrera had a long HR to right. It landed two rows in the seats.
It’s 9-3, Cleve-land Rocks!!!
Chip is it Rah-FIE-el or Rah-fah-yell?
Borowski’s come into Cleveland and done a magnificent job. He knows ERA is over 5.00 right?
If your pitching isn’t pitching well you’re not gonna win.
and if he said (player name) spanks one, one more time I'm sending him to a dominatrix so he gets a good spanking.

"If Alex Rodriguez was the sizzle for the Yankees, Jorge Posada was the stick." What the hell does that even mean?

I believe he said Posada was "the steak". I'm still unsure what that whole sentence meant.

Does Bob Brenly ever review tapes of games he announces and then wonder why no team is clammoring for his managerial services? He is a moron. One name for him: B.Y. Kim.

Are you kidding? This crew was decidedly mediocre, maybe even trending towards decidedly lousy.

Chip Caray may be better than Joe Buck, but that is hardly a compliment. He's still a second-rate play-by-play man with a penchant for stupid puns and obnoxious affectations.

Gwynn is the prototypical "bland" analyst. Not awful. Not particularly insightful.

Brenly is even less insightful than the average cliche-spouting ex-jock.

The game was boring, they did NOT make it interesting and were very easy to tune out. At least they kept viewers informed as to whether LeBron's hat was still on...and what way it was facing as the Yankees fell further behind.

As for their other gems, see the comprehensive lists above.

Being generous, this was a "C" broadcast at best. I'd be inclined to give it a "C-" and still feel like I'm being too nice.

I think this problem of disparity of opinion regarding the crews can be fixed by one simple thing: Have Vin Scully do the play-by-play for all the games while watching from a studio set somewhere. I don't think you'll be able to tell the difference.

Some of you would hate ANYONE who did these telecasts. While Chip Caray is far from perfect, he's slightly better than most of the other hacks working out there.

Better him than Joe Buck and his fake indignation.

Ron Darling is the worst ever. He was the Nats color commentator their first season. He couldn't cut it with one of the worst teams in the league, but is somehow good enough for prime time playoffs.

i dunno, i'm sort of numb to crummy announcers- years of joe buck and tim mccarver have set the bar very low indeed as far as quality goes.

i heard that TBS won't let Don Orsillo do a Sox or a Yankees game- too much conflict of interest, i guess. but i wached the NL Tiebreaker game, and at least he had a clue about how to pronounce the names on the roster and where they stood on the field. At least he knows that the ball is stuffed, not blown up.

my bigger problem with TBS so far is commercials. More than once, and in more than one game, we missed play because of commercials. Mike lowell made a terrific play wednesday, and all we saw was a slow mo replay and some pitter about how he's sort of old.

How about, fewer stupid Chevy commercials, and more baseball?

Okay let me tackle some of these comments......

1. "And now we'll see if deciding not to bunt will cost the Yankees a run in the fifth inni-- it won't."

Uhh...yeah it did. CC got out of the inning after the Yanks had two on and no one out.

2. "If Alex Rodriguez was the sizzle for the Yankees, Jorge Posada was the stick." What the hell does that even mean?

Caray said Steak. It's a phrase commonly used in America.

3. "...relentless patience of the Yankees." What the hell is "relentless" patience???

It's called a simile....look it up

4. One of them referred to the 7th spot in the batting order as a "run-producing slot".

They were talking about how Kenny Lofton set a career high with 3 RBIs in the game. They said this was because he was a leadoff hitter earlier in his career and didn't get many RBI chances. The 7th spot usually hits with the 4, 5, and 6 guys on base. It made perfect sense.
_______________________

Again, I'm not saying they are world beaters, but they are the best team out there right now, and they've only done one game.

If Scully, Harry Kalas, Milo Hamilton; even Gary Cohen was doing the pbp, I'd watch. They can, and often do, make the game worth watching.
And gmoney... not sure where the Celtic names came from, but um, ok....

Look here's the thing that I think separates TBS from ESPN/FOX so far. They are just giving you Baseball. In a blowout game that may seem boring, but everyone who bitches about all of the ESPN/ABC interviews this is a welcome change.

Sure the Lebron interview was a little long, but I'd take this TBS crew over any other out there. That says a lot about the state of Announcing (hence this site), but not EVERYONE sucks.

I'll be right here waiting when you all are begging for them during FOX's coverage of the World Series.

I didn't say the bunt didn't cost the Yanks a run, Skip Caray did!

Also, patience is like the exact opposite of "relentless", but I'll give you a pass on that one.

And the 7th spot isn't a run-producing spot, it's the "where do I put my third-worst (second-worst for you NL fans) hitter on the team" spot.

You can keep calling them the best team out there right now, but you might as well say that gouging out only one of your eyes instead of both of them is the best thing that could happen to you right now.

Look here's the thing that I think separates TBS from ESPN/FOX so far. They are just giving you Baseball.

Oh, I agree that TBS's presentation is a lot better (endless Frank TV promos aside). But their broadcast teams, particularly the one in discussion here, are just more of the same old dreck.

Mats- It's Chip Caray first of all Skip is at home twidling his thumbs after being snubbed by TBS. Second, I was agreeing with him. They should have bunted. No teams in the AL do it anymore and it's just dumb.

Please just google the word "Simile" and you will understand my point.

Which spot produces more RBIs....7th or Leadoff? Let's just take some of the playoff team's players.....

BoSox- Leadoffs...Crisp (60) Pedroia (50) 7th...Varitek (68)

Yankees- Johnny Damon (63), Cano (97)

Cleveland and Philly are the only teams that don't work because their leadoff hitters hit homeruns.

Skip, Chip, they're all the same to me.

And sacrifice bunting (in pretty much any situation not involving a pitcher at the plate) is what's dumb. Google it a bit, you'll understand.

Right. Good comeback, and way to debate. Everything sucks...you're right.

Whoa. I haven't had a "good comeback" comeback pulled on me in a decade or so!

And that's pretty sneaky starting the "just Google it" bit and then blaming it on me. You may have a future in broadcasting yet!

I don't think anyone is trying to suggest (except for matskralc, maybe) that the Buck-McCarver team is a better option.

Anyone who thinks that the trio from last night is better than a large portion of local broadcast crews, or SIGNIFICANTLY better than the other network crews, needs to watch and/or listen to a lot more baseball.

TBS scores big, in my opinion, with better baseball presentation. And I'd take any one of their crews over the Buck-Timmy Mac team. I'll certainly miss them when the Series is on FOX -- where I'll mute the tube and listen to the local radio guys.

That said, it is the height of ridiculousness to heap such unwarranted praise on so lackluster a broadcast as last night's.

Being the best in a sea of garbage doesn't mean the best might not be garbage as well. If they deserved an "A", we're talking about serious grade inflation.

And criticizing what is still, in the end, "Awful Announcing", does not mean we're all longing for Vin Scully or praying for Mel Allen to rise from the dead (although that would be GREAT!). That is a rather arrogant assumption. Kind of like telling people to "Google it."

Oh man, these guys are awesome! The only way it could be any better was if they were hobbits and doing it shirtless! Forget showing us the game, just show us half-naked hobbits yammering on!

Thanks peace out!

I don't think anyone is trying to suggest (except for matskralc, maybe) that the Buck-McCarver team is a better option.

Yeah, I don't remember saying they were good, just that at least when McCarver's a moron, it's funny. When Bob Brenly's a moron, it's just mind-boggling or down right frustrating. I'm not exactly sitting here all eager for some BuckCarver ALCS action.

And TBS's presentation is, like I also said earlier, very good. Could use some improvement, but the clear weak spot is the booth, unlike FOX where there is no clear weak spot because it's all just so bad.

"Relentless patience" is not a simile. "They're patient like a tiger waiting for the moment to strike his prey" would be a simile. "Relentless patience" is a horrible turn of phrase. As a Braves fan, I've had to put up with Chip Caray for the last couple of years, and he is brutal to listen to, especially compared to the teams we had in the past.

I also agree with the people who said Gwynn was bland. I think he has an opportunity to be OK, but he was definitely the third voice in the broadcast.

Brenly was awful and full of self-contradiction. So far I haven't been impressed with any of TBS's broadcast teams, although I preferred the Dick Stockton team of the later game. I would still take this bad team over McCarver and Morgan in the booth.

-Sublimity

Mats- Look everyone is entitled to their opinion and all are welcome here...whether you disagree with me or not. The google comment was in reference in to you not understanding what the word simile was. I don't think I should have to explain basic journalistic terms to people who seem educated enough.

College Guy- Announcing is a lot like Umpiring/Reffing. When you don't notice the refs that means they did their job and did not get in the way of the game. That's what this team did last night. Really what more do you want? Especially during a game in which the Yankees were getting blown out.

There wasn't any bias towards the big market team, the analysis was there, and the team let the game speak for itself. It was the opposite of what I and everyone else bitch about everyday on this site.

P.S.- I have no idea what your point about my arrogant assumptions were so I'll pass on responding to that.

Just an FYI-

A simile is a comparison of two unlike things, typically marked by use of "like", "as", "than", or "resembles". Examples may include "the snow was as thick as a blanket", or "she was as smart as a crow", or the usage of emotions similes such as "madder than a bull", or "fast like a cheetah".

Maybe it's more of an oxymoron, but either way I thought it worked within the context of the game.

AA- being a writer, you should know that arguing simile, alliteration, metaphor, oxymoron, and/or allegory with most sports fans is "like banging your head against the wall."

I think it's safe to say that we can agree to disagree. And don't think for a second that if they're terrible as hell tonight that I won't admit I was wrong.

While I have to admit I didn't watch much of the Yankees-Indians ALCS. I have to feel bad for Azdrubal Cabrera. Apparently our announcing crews have yet to learn enough Spanish to pronounce that admittedly awkward first name. Otherwise, it seemed like what I did catch of Caray, Brenly, and Gwynn was spot on. It might not have been the best coverage, but it certainly wasn't bad.

You people kill me......did I say "You people"? my bad....Y'all kill me! Most of you could not stand in front of a room and make a 3 minute speech without a bunch of "you knows" and "uhhs". But....because we're....and I put myself in it with you guys....we're fans...and that gives us the right to critique? Come on ...you will love some guys....you'll hate some guys. The perfect broadcast has never been aired........get over it.

Joe Buck....fake indignation?!? You mean he wasn't really mad at Randy Moss mooning Lambeau??

I'm just glad there weren't endless shots of celebs in the seats (FOX would spend half the game showing the cast of Prison Break eating peanuts)

"Relentless patience" is in no way, by no stretch, and under no hideously tortured definition of the word a simile. It's an adjective modifying a noun. That's it. A simile is not just any "comparison of two unlike things;" it's an explicit comparison of two (otherwise unlike) things that have a common trait, made to emphasize that trait. Even under your incorrect definition, "relentless patience" isn't a simile, since there is no comparison there--again, it's just an adjective modifying a noun. If you want to call "relentless patience" an oxymoron, that's fine, but that's a matter of interpretation, not grammar. This is a stupid argument to have, but if you're going to be snotty and tell someone to "google it" when you're actually in the wrong about it, I'm sorry, but as an English MA and soon-to-be lawyer, I have to jump in. I'm sick like that. You're just wrong, so drop the attitude.

Yes, Jeter, who was batting a career .500 against Sabathia in 24 at bats, should've bunted in that spot, giving up an out and lowering the chance for a very big inning...

I could understand bunting with a Craig Counsell type guy or a David Eckstein. But this is Derek Jeter. A .320+ hitter, who's batting .500 lifetime against the opposing pitcher. Giving himself up in that spot makes ZERO sense.

Also, Chip Caray yelling out "Cleveland Rocks !!!" is beyond obvious homer-ism. He might as well have put on an Indians or Yankee-Hater hat.

Chip Caray yells "here come the yankees" after a-rod hits a single. WTF! I expected men on horses with guns to come out on the field. Please, stop with the yankee bias... it's disturbing.

You guys stink!! Is it possible to just stay with the current game w/o rehashing every moment of every other game?!! I can't wait for the day when we can muts out the announcers and just hear the game being played!! Real fans know how the game is played. Obviously, you guys are Cleveland fans. The Yankees can do nothing right according to you guys!!

Chip Caray, TBS’s lead baseball announcer, who has been calling the Yankees-Indians division series and will work deeper into the postseason on the National League Championship Series. His play-by-play of the Yankees’ 8-4 win in Game 3 on Sunday night was packed with errors and silly strategy, enough to give me agita.

Caray’s skein of faux pas in Game 3, as well as during Game 2, befogged his announcing like the insects that swarmed Joba Chamberlain on Friday night.

He stated that Derek Jeter was playing in his 49th postseason game — “No. 1 of all time.” Truth: it was his 49th division series game, out of 122 postseason games.

He likened the “dynamic duo” of Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera to the Rivera-John Wetteland bullpen pairing in “those great early years of Joe Torre,” when they were dominating the World Series. Truth: Rivera and Wetteland were Yankee teammates for two seasons, and Torre managed them only in 1996.

He said the “Yankees led the world” in home runs this season with 201. He liked saying it so much he said it again. Truth: The Brewers led the majors with 231, followed by the Phillies with 213 and the Reds at 204. The Yankees and Marlins were tied at 201.

He extolled Alex Rodriguez’s “offensive heroics in the first two months of the season” for keeping the Yankees in the race. Truth: A-Rod had a sensational April, but he slumped in May to a .235 batting average with 5 home runs and 11 runs batted in.

He introduced Indians reliever Joe Borowski in Game 3 as having played for the Brewers and the Reds. Truth: He never played for Milwaukee, and while he once signed with the Reds, he never made it out of spring training. Caray also noted his hometown, Bayonne, N.J., but pronounced it as if it were part of the Louisiana bayou.

The error bug also hit the reporter Craig Sager, who reflected on the absence of Bob Sheppard, the Yankee Stadium public address announcer, and said that his first game in 1951 was between the Giants and the Yankees. Truth: The Red Sox were in town.

Caray does not distinguish a go-ahead run from a winning run. In Cleveland on Friday, he said the Indians had the winning run on second base in the bottom of the eighth, and he put the Yankees in the same position in the top of the ninth. Wrong. He also believes that a runner on second will automatically score on a single. Not always.

He also has an annoying air of certitude. With the bases loaded Sunday, and the Yankees leading, 5-3, thanks to Johnny Damon’s three-run homer, Caray said, “This is a spot where they have to score another run to win the game.” Does he also read palms?

That attitude led him on Sunday, after Rodriguez’s first hit of the series, to say, “And here come the Yankees!” A-Rod went back to the bench on Jorge Posada’s double play.

After Damon’s run-scoring single in the third, he said, “And here they come!”

No, they didn’t: Jeter promptly grounded into a double play.

I’m sure that Caray believed his own words when he said, about the Andy Pettitte-Fausto Carmona Game 2 matchup, that “you can’t get better postseason pitching than we’ve seen tonight.” But there had been better, like that perfect game at Yankee Stadium in 1956 when the 42-year-old Chip’s legendary grandfather, Harry, was only 42

The Caray team was like listening to a carney barker for 3 hours. Enough already, with the fake enthusiasm. I rather enjoyed the laid back approach of Ted Robinson/Steve Stone and Don Orsillo/Joe Simpson. They gave good info without the brain pounding, non-stop rattle of Caray.

CHip is terrible, papers all over NY wrote articles about all the facts he couldnt even get right, the easy ones too!!

he said the chrysler building was in downtown manhattan, which it isnt!! then later he talked about how kei igawa came up thru the yankee system

AND EVEN TODAY freaking game 4 of the rockies-Dbacks........at the end of the game he says "21 of 22 wins, the rockies have had 12 different hitters get the game winning hit, today it was S.Smith's 2 run double that gave them a lead they would not relinquish"

HEY CHIP!! that double gave them a 2-1 lead, they won 6-4 so that wasnt the game winning hit.......it was holliday's hr that ended up being the winning hit......i'm sure they're making fun of him in the broadcast truck