Terrell Owens. Jimmy Fallon. Daulerio. James Madison. Adelaide Brubaker & Mary Jo Catlett. All of these names had the unenviable task of replacing a legend, be it Jerry Rice, Thomas Jefferson, or Mrs. Garrett on Diff’rent Strokes. And the empty space in the Phillies broadcast booth is one that will not soon be filled.
Aside from Harry the K’s death being all sad ‘n shit, it made us realize that, without Harry, the announcing is average at best. In Philadelphia, we are lucky to have top notch announcers in every fucking sport. Now we only have that in 3/4 of them.
This predicament (as Howdy S. Thompson sees it) is restated as a result of Harry Kalas finally being included in the Radio Hall of Fame. Let us me review the current booth
- While some find Tom McCarthy enjoyable, I find his giant baby head a distraction. He’s not particularly interesting, and his voice isn’t very memorable. While Phillies management and PR are trying to make him the venerable Simba of the Phillies announcers, he’s too vanilla for my tastes. And I find vanilla to be fucking delicious.
- Chris Wheeler has the tenure, but he is the Keanu Reeves of the group. Enjoyable in a strange way, but not a Hall of Fame broadcaster. Well, some tend to disagree…
- Sarge Matthews is the closest thing to a deity, but Cadillac Time will always be an add on, not the original call.
- LA seems too angry/bitchy to be the spokesperson for anything.
- Frankze is decent, but is still a youngster. He good by my standards, but not exactly stand-outish.
My solution (the most important opinion), is one the Phillies are accustomed to. They brought back Jose Mesa and Terry Adams, the aforementioned baby head man, but this will be a great recall.
Scott Fucking Graham.
Many were perplexed with his leaving, and no one truly understood why. Sure, there were some that didn’t like him, but there are always dumbasses out there. How could you not be charmed by the utter Carlos Ruiziosity of his Graham Slam commercial? Confusing a man with an ice cream, that’s funny in a ‘supposed to be funny, but unfunny, making it funny’ way.
With his half-decent charisma, the man had a fucking memorable voice. Both Harry and Scott did work for NFL Films. And you need a fucking voice for that shit. Scott ain’t too busy these days, just spouting gold for all of us to hear on CN8’s coverage of the Atlantic 10, or NFL Films reruns.
Put that motherfucker back in the booth. Put that one in the announcer column for the Fightin Phils!
*On an unrelated note* If anything, I always find it a point to include something unrelated to Phillies baseball in my posts. ‘Tard girlfriend once asked me what my blog was about, as she had presumed it was a simple factual rundown of the previous game. It obviously isn’t. This is to be addressed to David Letterman. To put it simply, stop being a fucking pussy and stop fucking apologizing and catering to that underqualified cuntrag from Alaska. Fuck Sarah Palin, and fuck her dimwitted daughters, all of ‘em. Never apologize in comedy. Never.
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General
June 18th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Todd Kalas?
Either way, I apologize in advance if Hdysr? offended anyone at any point during his tenure here at The Fightins…
PSYCHE!
June 18th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I was always a Scott Graham fan. Everytime I purchase a gallon on Graham Slam Ice Cream I think of him. I wouldn’t object if he returned. Although, it’s probably unlikely.
June 18th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I like Graham too. I like Franske.. I wish they’d switch the radio and TV guys.
Not a huge fan of Tmac.. he IS a Mets fan!
June 18th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
I’d be in favor of Graham. On a related note, I picked up the book Remembering Harry. In Graham’s essay, he mentions twice that he was FIRED by the Phillies, and it seems he’s still a little bitter (understandably).
June 18th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Scott Graham currently works for SiriusXM on MLB Homeplate hosting Baseball this morning. I would definitely like him back if he was willing to return.
June 18th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
@HDYSR: I’m glad someone understand where Letterman was coming from.
…and as far as announcing goes, I’m not sure what I want in another Call man. I mean… I absolutely adored HK. I do kind of like T-Mac, but he’s no where near the quality of a 162 Game call man. I like Franzke, and think he could be great in the calling role, but it’s a toughy.
…can we just get Merril Reese to call the PHILLIES too?
June 18th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
I realized why I dislike Tom McCarthy and Chris Wheeler so much. They are a broken record; they focus on all the negatives and always go back to it. Even in today’s game. When they were interviewing Ruben Amaro jr., Chris Wheeler asked him about the first inning and how the Phillies ran themselves out of the inning. Harry was never like that. I find myself watching the game on mute.
Tom McCarthy is only tolerable when paired with Sarge. I also do not like that he was with the Mets and now with the Phillies. Scott Graham probably wouldn’t come back. I’d love LA and Scott Franzke on TV. They work well together and pretty enjoyable to listen too.
June 18th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Fuck Sarah Palin’s daughters? Thats the kind of talk that got Letterman in trouble in the first place!
June 18th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
@MaxL:
You’re point being?
June 18th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
TMac Sucks!! His play by play is like listening to someone read copy of a car commercial.
I have been championing the return of Scott Graham from day 1. I doubt it will happen though. I think he may have been involved in the middle of that Harry/Wheels feud. When Harry went public with his disdain for Wheels, he mentioned something about Scott Graham wanting to “punch wheels in the face….” My guess is that Wheels pulled strings to get him canned.
Scott was a very good announcer who had a genuine passion for the Phils. Can’t say the same about TMac. The TV crew is awful. Franzke is very good on radio.
June 18th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Thats right never apologize in comedy (just look at Artie Lange’s tirade on Joe Buck’s shitty show).
But to the main point….
The Phillies announcing crew is horrendous. The are dull, unquotable (except their screw ups), and unmemorable. The only decent one is Chris Wheeler, and I hate fucking Chris Wheeler.
Bring back Scott Graham and do it quick. I hope whoever is in charge of these decisions reevaluate the situation at the end of the season and make amends with Graham and install him in the both to lead these clowns.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
@Dead Rabbits
Esscuse me sir, am I to believe you could be besmirching (/William Regal’d) the fucking legend that is Sarge Matthews?
June 19th, 2009 at 2:00 am
scott graham or todd kalas, wheels, and sarge. put t-mac out in the stands interviewing fans or some dumb shit like that.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:32 am
Put this one in the BRING GRAHAM BACK column. Please. He was good. T-Mac Sucks, no joke. His interviews are cringe-worthy. Franske and Anderson are ok for radio, but now without a beak they sound bored or tired.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:32 am
Er, that is, without a BREAK. Not beak.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:31 am
More importantly, How the Hell can Turkey Hill get away with advertising “Graham Slam” Ice Cream without Scott Graham? Who is buying that shit?
June 19th, 2009 at 5:47 am
Graham was decent on the radio. But I think he is similar to T-Mac. a very vanilla voice. Franzke isn’t as good as I thought he was. His home run calls can be bland most times. But him and L.A. are magic together when the ball isn’t in play.
If I have to hear about a no-doubles-defense one more time, I’m gonna puke. Wheels is good, but very repetitive.
June 19th, 2009 at 9:16 am
I liked Scott Graham. I have an electronic Phillies bottle opener that plays one of his calls. Unfortunately, I never have any bottle caps to open (not a beer drinker), so I never get to hear it.
Don’t care for Sarge. He sounds like he’s got a mouth full of socks and belabors the obvious. I often turn the radio on for the middle three innings.
McCarthy’s just so-so. He needs to lay-off the cheese steaks, though. I noticed on this week’s Charlie Manuel show that he’s starting to develop breasts.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:01 am
@ Beth
I don’t spend too much time looking at man boobs, but they’re kind of hard to miss. T-Mac lost like 150 pounds or something like that when he left Philly. Now that he’s returned, it looks like he’s trying to gain it all back
June 19th, 2009 at 10:16 am
FRANZKE IS THE FUTURE.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Now, THERE’S an idea:
@PhiPhan5648: …can we just get Merril Reese to call the PHILLIES too?
Love it.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:23 am
I didn’t mind Graham, as long as he wasn’t paired with Wheels. When those two were together, I always felt like they were trying to one-up each other
Despite that, one of my all-time favorite on-air exchanges occurred between Graham and Wheels. The Phillies had gotten off to one of their usual slow starts, so somebody put up a rally monkey in the dugout. The team then proceeded to hit something like nine home runs in the next two games, and the commentary went something like this:
Graham: The rally monkey again is bringing the Phillies good luck
Wheels: That monkey’s got some longballs in him
Graham (after a couple seconds of awkward silence): I’m just gonna leave that one alone
Wheels: Ah, geez…you know…I make an innocent comment…
June 19th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Vin Scully said in an interview with TMac when they were in LA that a local broadcaster’s job is to make the game seem so enjoyable to be at, they the fans will want to turn off their radio/TV and head down to the game. If Scott Graham comes back, that’ll happen to me, because that guy was a joke. He sucked. He’s good with the scripted stuff, and he’s just like TMac, trying to say something-anything, to fill dead air. And whenver he and Wheels were on together, they both had to get the last word, so they just kept talking about nonsense. TMac gets way too excited for a pop up for the third out in the second inning with a runner on second for the other team. I just don’t believe his enthusiasm, it seems forced-like his voice through his nose. I like LA and Franzke. They have a good repore between the two, something that should be kept together for atleast a little while longer to see how well it can coalese. I could go either way with Sarge, he is what he’s supposed to be, an ex ball player jock talking about the game. I could go without Cadillac Time, but whatever. The thing I dislike the most about Wheels and TMac, is that they repeate themselves whenever they get back on the air, or when reunited with the other while on the air. They say the exact same thing in the 1st, 4th, and 7th innings. They just have to get that point across.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Well said, Watrick. I agree with almost everything except your Cadillac Time comment.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:16 am
I can never get enough Cadillac Time.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:36 am
At least it’s more organic, and natural-the way it came about. Little by little, and only really with Big Man at first. It’s a whole lot better than Scott Graham’s “Say Goodbye!” That shit seemed forced, as if he wanted it to be his signature call. Maybe Harry did that, but it was way more natural. That’s what I want out of my broadcasters, sincerity and flow. Ice Cream boy didn’t seem to do it for me with that.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:52 am
McCarthy sucks. I like the Scott Graham. Agreed, ‘Tard. PS, you have a girlfriend? For real?
June 19th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
i fucking hate chris wheeler. he’s repetitive and very idiotic. he makes the stupidist comments that often dont even pertain to the conversation or the play on the field.
i was shocked when graham disappeared. my father and i both liked him a lot.
franske definitely goes extremely well with LA and i love that combo on radio. sarge is sarge, enough said. TMac is OK. i do agree that hes bland and doesnt have that distinct voice, but at least he’s not a dumb shit like wheels. wheel’s strikes me as the kinda guy that will talk with someone who actually knows what he’s talking about and then repeat that back verbatim as if it’s an original thought.
i’d like graham back for TV. with a nice big raise. and a firing of wheels. graham + sarge would be a nice combo. i wouldnt think wheels + graham would work, but then HK didnt show any displeasure on air about his pure unadulterated hatred of the chris wheeler.
i also was under the impression that wheels somehow behind the scenes worked to get scott graham canned…douchebag.
btw i like sarah palin
June 19th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
“Well, right, yeah, the thing about Graham is….., is that he was always kinda goofy, he was the proverbial “typical lefty” of our broadcast team, he never called enough pitches “splits” and he never emphasized the “no doubles defense” enough. The thing about McCarthy is…. that he knows how to “call the game the right way” and “OH BROTHER!” can he announce a ball game and tell a great joke! BAaahhahhahah “AH JEEZE!” is he funny or what? You’d hate to see him leave the booth. Graham will “be the first to tell ya” that he doesn’t belong back in the Phillies booth”- Chris Wheeler
June 19th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
The no doubles defense!
June 19th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I read where Scott was a speaker at Harry’s graveside service, so I guess that tells you how Harry felt about him.
@ mplant: I know what you mean about TMac’s man boobs being hard to miss. It seems like they just grew overnight, and when I was watching the Charlie Manuel show, all I could think of was that he needed to call Frank Costanza and get a man-bra. It was quite disturbing!
June 19th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
haha when i saw t-mac tonight i couldn’t stop laughing at his baby head
June 20th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
andy musser, scott franzke, LA and Sarge.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
@Reverand Paul Revere
It’s what the young kids refer to these days as, trading up.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:28 am
Graham is HORRIBLE. Worst HR call ever “That Ball is GOONNEE” it was so forced. Franzke and LA are awesome on the radio. LA, angry? WTF are you talking about. LA is funny and when it comes down to it, very insightful. Franzke is a good and is the future, hopefully. T MAC and Wheels are like listening to two nerds repeat the same bullshit every game
June 21st, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Chris Wheeler got Scott Graham fired. I was at a charity event last year talking to Scott. He had a few in him (if ya know what i mean) and basically told me Wheeler got him canned. I’d love to see Scott back, thought he was the heir apparent to Harry, but for that to happen somebody’s gonna have to knock off Wheels…anybody here have mafia connections?
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:16 am
I was a HUGE Graham fan always stating he was 2nd best to Harry. I always said to my brother… If I were them, I wouldn’t let Scott Graham go – cuz he should be the successor to HK… But sure enough, Graham got tossed and without him the broadcasts slowly got worse. Immediately after the passing of HK, I went on a tirade with everyone who would listen that they needed to bring back Graham immediately… the man can do it all (A10 Basketall, NFL Films, etc) very similar to the way HK could do it all.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
How do you think the Yankees feel losing Bob Sheppard. He’s been announcing since 1957, and is now 98 years old and has just this year retired?
March 6th, 2010 at 6:37 am
Thanks for posting this one! This is really great! I am really planning of taking my girl to the games in our Philadelphia dating getaway! This would be really fun! Actually, we are a big fan of baseball. Thanks a lot! You just gave me the best idea in our dating getaway!