Watching a Game without Sound

Last night I was watching the game between the Yankees and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the second game of the American League Championship Series being played in Yankee Stadium. In the second inning I turned the sound off. Listening to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, as has happened so many times in the past, I was not able to enjoy what I was listening to. The game promised to be as exciting as a playoff game can be, but I was not able to stomach having to listen to two announcers who through the years have annoyed me regurlarly. Team announcers broadcasting during the season are familiar with the team that you root for, and you will tolerate their quirks. At least they know the teams they are covering. They are there every day and every night throughout the season, usually assuming that the individuals watching the game have a knowledge of baseball. They don't over explain situations that occur, that a real baseball fan appreciates.

The national announcers on the other hand don't have that same feel of the teams. They are broadcasting to an audience, many of whom are casual fans, who are unfamiliar with the teams on the field. The good ones allow the game to flow with the action telling the story. They comment when needed and offer insight that may be helpful.The 2009 post season announcers calling the Yankees games, both on TBS and Fox, have been dreadful.

On TBS Chip Carey and Buck Martinez called the games. Martinez was innocuous, but Carey tormented viewers. Chip is the son of Skip Carey, former voice of the Atlanta Braves. Skip called games for years over TBS. He toiled for years doing play by play for a very bad Braves team that caught fire in the early nineties and became popular throughout the country as their fortunes improved and TBS brought virtually all of their games to the nation.Skip was a homer, he openly rooted for the Braves, but he and his broadcast partners had a friendly style that went down well.

Skip was himself the son of the legendary Harry Caray, the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals and later the Chicago Cubs. Millions of Cardinals fans received their daily doses of baseball from Harry Caray over the vast Cardinal radio network. Later Harry acquired a national audienc doing televised Cubs games on WGN. Harry was flamboyant, easily the star of the broadcast. Not content to jusrt call the action, Harry led the Chicago crowds in "Take Me out to the Ballgame" during each seventh inning stretch.

Poor Chip Carey. He is neither the showman Harry was or the down home charmer his father Skip was. He is bland, but then again, he chatters. He could be tolerale if he did straight play by play, but he rambles , saying frequent meaning less trifles, becoming to the viewer like a bothersome insect. If Chip Carey had not been related to Harry and Skip, he would not be a national broadcaster, more likely reporting sports in Topeka on weekends.

Joe Buck yet another son of a famous protester Jack Buck he also succeeded to his father's job is protester of the St. Louis Cardinals where is Jack Buck was a veteran announcer who had a palpable love for baseball Joe Buck is someone who is a Fox announcer he goes to the major baseball game of the week he is also the lead football announcer for Fox NFL football. He has a voice that is annoying he makes definitive statements and he just bothers me. If he were paired with someone who was a really good commentator I could probably stomach joke box. But now we come to Tim McCarver. McCarver is a former ballplayer he played as far back as the 1964 world series with the Cardinals. He later was the personal catcher to lefty whose name escapes me right now for the Phillies. That one time he was considered to be the best baseball announcer but those days are long gone by. Carver is closing in on 70 and is the most annoying trait for many years to me has been that he will seize upon one thing that happens in a game sometimes early in the game and he will stay on that point the term I've used is he'll whine about that point over and over again throughout the game. If these comments were insightful or something that brought real meaning to the game to even the average fan than I, but he seems to lose track of whether his point is valid or not and seems to want to follow David himself by continually and nauseatingly repeating. So last night I turned off the sound. In the second inning I couldn't take anymore. Score was 00 and it was not as if they had done anything unusual at that point it was just that I knew I could not watch the entire game with them doing the announcing and me doing the suffering.

What was remarkable was that I enjoyed the game immensely with no sound now I had tried on other occasions to listen to the game on the Yankee radio forecast while watching the pictures on the television with the sound down. That doesn't work the television is on a delay and is out of sync with the radio broadcast so you have the disturbing concept of hearing what's going to happen that soon you will see. I've learned not to go that way. So last night I turned the sound down I turn the sound down at approximately 834 4 1/2 hours I watched again with no sound because yes the game went 13 innings and ended after one in the morning. I guarantee I would not have watched the entire game being subjected to Buck and McCarver. Only one time did I turn up the sound when I saw a play that I did not understand just from my sight line watching the TV this was the play where Eric I. bar of the Angels straddled second base on a double-play pivot and the Yankee run was called safe even then McCarver droned on and on and on about how this is called the neighborhood play and the runner is always called out. I turn the sound down again and remembered having been watching very carefully because I didn't have anyone telling me about these things and pass things that on three other double plays that the Angels had turned in every case the turn by I. bar was made with his foot it least touching the bag or so close to the bag you couldn't tell whether he was touching her. In this case he on replay was shown to be well off the bag straddling the bag several inches from the bag and never was in the genuine neighborhood of the.

Having survived this brief encounter with McCarver I went back to watching the game was interesting was that as a 56 year stand having been a Yankee fan since I was six years old I tend to get very excited. Nervous and sometimes almost distraught watching a game with the announcers announcing the fan noise. However having watched so many games in my lifetime I know what is happening I don't have to have people telling me what a messy. The other thing I noticed is having watched so many games and knowing baseball for what it is as a sport where there is always a tomorrow except at the end of a playoff series or a pennant race that you must adopt a certain calmness in watching the game. My tests came very late at night and well past my normal bedtime when in the 11th inning the Angels scored a run to go ahead 3 to 2. I did not count my fists I did not order any words I did not know I just keep kept watching. It occurred to me at the time that this was how I would watch again if I was in the stands at say a high school or college game or a minor league baseball game where I would just be there to enjoy the game. Now I have to admit that when Alex Rodriguez hit a home run to lead off the bottom of the 11th to tie the game I did murmur some appreciation but I did not jump up in the air nor did I put my fist of course it probably was because I was by myself now we have three cats on the bed with me but nonetheless I was taking the game and stride it was until I can experience the again was a game I was entertained I was engrossed as I must have been to live virtually in the same position prop up in my bed for all those hours and I must say that I was delighted when the Yankees won albeit on an error in the bottom of the 13th inning but once again I didn't jump up and cheer I was quietly satisfied and very tired. It was only at that time that I realized that I was not over stressed I was not so excited as I've been so many other times when announcers have artificially pumped up the scene the crowd noise has energized me and Ed had difficulty sleeping afterwards I went to bed I went to sleep today is another day I feel rested and ready to do the same thing again so thank you Tim thank you Joe you've given me a real insight into being a golf fan watching a national broadcast.