Tim McCarver

[Sultanosurf]

'Can't figure out if Fox is muzzling McCarver or if he and Buck don't get along. I actually found myself wanting more from McCarver tonight, for probably the first time ever.

The most obvious was when they had the trivia question about pitchers who held the record for hitting two homers in World Series (Jeez, I thought for sure Steve Carlton was one), and they pull up Bob Gibson as one. Well, McCarver was Gibson's catcher (Carlton's too) and it would've been a perfect spot for an anecdote. But we got nuthin. Sometimes a little lore can be interesting, espectially from somebody who saw it first hand.

He's actually had some great insight through this Series. On quick pitches, how different situations affect pitch selection, etc. At least he seems to have pulled back from his awful pun habit...

[commercial hack]

I actually like Joe Buck a lot, but last night when Damon stole third with no one covering the base, he sounded like it was an everyday occurence. I would have been yelling "Damon is headed for third and NO ONE IS COVERING THE BASE!! Wow what head's up running by Johnny Damon!!"

Time for Joe and Tim to be done.

[kmfdmatt]

Maybe someone told them to tone it down a bit, seriously. I know people always say this about national announcers, but the Fox people have a reputation in Philly of always sounding like they're rooting against the Phils or the Eagles.

[Sultanosurf]

As smooth as JoBuck can be, I'd agree that sometimes it's a drone. And Damon's dash was something that deserved a little more.Maybe they just get worn down by all the ads and promos they have to read.


At least Mark Grace can add a little spice. He's been fun. The whole Rose-Ozzie Guillen deal has been forced.

I love this Series. It's been a couple of heavy-weights trading swings. I guess it just might have been even better. Maybe the Yankees or Phillies broadcasts go beyond, and Jon Miller and Joe Morgan are always a pleasure. It would just be nice to see the Fox announce team match their incredible camera work.

[22]

He probably didn't talk about Bob Gibson because Gibson just hated McCarver. Once, when Timmy went to the mound to talk to Gibson, when he got about halfway there, Gibson yelled at him, "Get back behind the plate! All you know about pitching is that you can't hit it!"

And Carleton didn't talk much to McCarver.

I have never liked Timmy behind the mic. I appreciate the lower key Tim. And I like Joe Buck, but I am tired of him. He is overused.

[Sultanosurf]

Originally Posted by 22

He probably didn't talk about Bob Gibson because Gibson just hated McCarver. Once, when Timmy went to the mound to talk to Gibson, when he got about halfway there, Gibson yelled at him, "Get back behind the plate! All you know about pitching is that you can't hit it!"

And Carleton didn't talk much to McCarver.

I have never liked Timmy behind the mic. I appreciate the lower key Tim. And I like Joe Buck, but I am tired of him. He is overused.

Be keerful what you get off Wiki.

At the start of this season, McCarver took some questions from kids on a baseball blog:

Jason: Mr. McCarver How was it catching from Bob Gibson and Have you ever been to Nebraska for anything?

Tim McCarver: Jason, Bob Gibson is one of my closest friends in life. I think of him every morning when I look at my left hand and think about how much it hurts. And that’s a fact. So, Bob is rarely, ever far away.

Was Gibson the fastest pitcher you ever caught for?

Tim McCarver: Mike, he was the very definition of electric stuff. Let’s put it this way, he was the origin of the term electric stuff. Gibson was to fastballs what Ben Franklin was to lightning.

Yet we got not one word from McCarver on Gibson Sunday night. And on Carlton, from the NYTimes today:

Tim McCarver knows Steve Carlton probably better than any other man. They were teammates for more than 10 seasons with two teams, and McCarver served as Carlton's personal catcher. They also were good friends. In other words, there isn't anything about Carlton that McCarver hasn't learned in the 29 years they have known each other...

"I can say with all the assurance in the world that Lefty is not a bigot and he is not an anti-Semite," McCarver said yesterday.

He sure is strange, though. That is evident from his comments that are quoted in an article in the April issue of Philadelphia magazine, the same article that gave rise to charges that Carlton is anti-Semitic. The comments, in turn, give rise to the feeling that the world was better off all of those years when Carlton was pitching and not talking. According to Pat Jordan, the writer of the article, Carlton alternately said that the world is ruled or controlled by the Russian and United States Governments, which "fill the air with low-frequency sound waves," the Elders of Zion, British intelligence agencies, "12 Jewish bankers meeting in Switzerland" and "a committee of 300 which meets at a roundtable in Rome."

Not only that, but Carlton also charges, according to Jordan, that President Clinton has "a black son" he won't acknowledge and that the AIDS virus was created at a secret Maryland biological warfare laboratory "to get rid of gays and blacks."

All of this and more from the fertile mind of a man who lives reclusively in what Jordan describes as a bunker in Durango, Colo...

In a statement issued through the Phillies yesterday, Carlton said, "The article has almost no truth in it." ...

Jordan, however, said he stood behind his article and the accuracy of the comments in it...

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/14/sp...e-carlton.html

[22]

I have no idea about Lefty. But I got to know Gibby when he was Torre's pitching coach in the ATL. Believe me, he hates McCarver. It aint off Wiki.

On the other hand, Bob Gibson seemed to hate most people. One night in 1981, Torre sent Gibson to the mound to talk to the pitcher. Gibson went out there and threatened to hit the pitcher in the mouth.

[Sultanosurf]

Originally Posted by 22

I have no idea about Lefty. But I got to know Gibby when he was Torre's pitching coach in the ATL. Believe me, he hates McCarver. It aint off Wiki.

On the other hand, Bob Gibson seemed to hate most people. One night in 1981, Torre sent Gibson to the mound to talk to the pitcher. Gibson went out there and threatened to hit the pitcher in the mouth.

Whatever their status, it'd still have been nice to hear something on Gibson from the guy who caught him in two World Series...

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally Posted by 22

And Carleton didn't talk much to McCarver.

that must be why he was "Carleton's" personal catcher.

[22]

Originally Posted by adam & doctor drew

that must be why he was "Carleton's" personal catcher.

I don't know if you are trying to be a smart a$$ about the spelling or you think that a personal catcher talks to his pitcher.
If it's the latter, you need to wise up.

[New Majority]

Originally Posted by commercial hack

I actually like Joe Buck a lot, but last night when Damon stole third with no one covering the base, he sounded like it was an everyday occurence. I would have been yelling "Damon is headed for third and NO ONE IS COVERING THE BASE!! Wow what head's up running by Johnny Damon!!"

Time for Joe and Tim to be done.

I thought it was okay. I see what's happening. You don't have to sell me on the action. It aint radio.

[Sultanosurf]

Originally Posted by New Majority

I thought it was okay. I see what's happening. You don't have to sell me on the action. It aint radio.

In that particular case, I never really saw a wide shot on why third was left open. One of the few times their many camera angles didn't provide the whole picture. I'll say it again. JoBuck seems either bored or overworked. Jon Miller was excellent and much more fun last night.

Could Girardi have blown this Series by throwing pitchers out on three days rest? The Phils sure solved Burnette...

[Clever Login Name]

Originally Posted by Sultanosurf

In that particular case, I never really saw a wide shot on why third was left open. One of the few times their many camera angles didn't provide the whole picture.

All the Fox cameras were too busy getting closeups of either Fox network show stars in the stands or slow zoom-ins to close-ups of everyone's eyes.

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally Posted by 22

I don't know if you are trying to be a smart a$$ about the spelling or you think that a personal catcher talks to his pitcher.
If it's the latter, you need to wise up.

yes, I do think a personal catcher talks to his pitcher.

if you don't, try this from the book "Koufax":
The two were so close that when Carlton was dealt to Philadelphia in 1972, he asked Phillies' management to import McCarver as well.

Carlton preferred McCarver catching him, and in time some called McCarver Carlton's "caddie." McCarver said later that when he and Carlton die, they're going to be buried 60 feet and six inches apart-the distance from home plate to the pitcher's mound.

or maybe try this from the SI vault:
Five years together in St. Louis, a half season in Philadelphia in 1972 and autumn elk-hunting trips to Montana have solidified their friendship. When McCarver rejoined the Phillies two years ago, Manager Danny Ozark talked to him for three hours to get a better understanding of his star pitcher.

but ultimately, I wasn't there every day.
nor, I presume, were you.
so really neither of us knows for sure.

and yes, if you're going to present yourself as an expert on someone, you might want to learn how to spell his name.

[22]

I'm no expert. Didn't present myself as such. In fact, I said, "I don't know about Lefty."
And I wasn't there so I don't know. I was trying make a wise crack about Carlton not talking to ANYONE for all those years. Of course, it was only the press that he would not talk to.

Now back off Poindexter.

[Sultanosurf]

Strange coincidence how we got into this and then the NYTimes article on Carlton came out. I missed Lefty throwing out the first pitch in Game 4. The guy was really something, and arguably part of the most one-sided trades in history. He and Ryan were in a league of their own, just think if they'd been on better teams. Since I tend to discard Clemens' career now, they rank as probably the best I ever saw in my lifetime. Although Randy Johnson, Schilling, Gibson, Koufax, and Fernando were something. That first game from Cliff Lee was about as impressive a start as I've seen in the Series. And we get to watch stuff that will never be matched with Rivera.

At any rate, just when I'd gotten complacent about pro baseball, we get a great Series, although it could be even better. Imagine Vin Scully calling this one...

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally Posted by 22

I was trying make a wise crack about Carlton not talking to ANYONE for all those years. Of course, it was only the press that he would not talk to.

Now back off Poindexter.

oh ok...

sorry, that was hilarious!

[Sultanosurf]

Originally Posted by adam & doctor drew

oh ok...

sorry, that was hilarious!

The dour dr. chimes in. Wow, just how can you read these things, since you've got your own Carlton " ignore" deal going on?

Peace to all. Enjoy the rest of the Series...