If it’s true that you ain’t tryin’ if you ain’t cheatin’, the Houston Astros have apparently been trying very hard as they’ve become one of the best teams in baseball. According to former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers, there was a whole lot of trying, in terms of stealing signs from the opposition, in 2017 when Houston won the World Series.
That’s just one of the topics Pat Ryan and I discussed on Wednesday’s WISE Sports Radio baseball segment. We also talk about the Manager of the Year award winners and look ahead to the Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player announcements.
[Note: There was a glitch in the recording around the 13:10 mark, some kind of hiccup with my internet connection. Sorry about that.]
The WISE Guys were off on Monday, so Wednesday’s baseball segment was a bit longer than usual. That worked out just fine, since there’s already plenty to talk about with MLB’s offseason under way.
Among the topics Pat Ryan and I discussed on WISE Sports Radio were the New York Yankees apparently moving on from shortstop Didi Gregorius, the top free agents available this offseason, the Atlanta Braves bringing back outfielder Nick Markakis and buying out pitcher Julio Teheran, and the Modern Era Ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Detroit Tigers second baseman Lou Whitaker is among the nine players selected and, yes, I had some thoughts on that.
Joker is the big movie release of the weekend and drawing a lot of buzz, so we have a review for you (2:11). Then baseball and football radio segments from WISE Sports Radio. Up first is a preview of the 2019 MLB postseason (15:05), followed by a look at Week 5 in the NFL (27:33).
I don’t write about baseball as much as I once did, and that means I don’t talk about it on radio or podcasts as much either. So I was grateful when Jim Irizarry invited me on his new podcast, Jim On Things, to talk about the upcoming MLB season and baseball’s woefully slow offseason.
You can listen to the show below, at the Jim On Things website, or through just about every podcast provider available, including Anchor FM, which I’m eager to learn about from Jim. We recorded the show via Zencastr, which provided some excellent sound (maybe too good, when you hear me loudly draw in a breath frequently).
Next time, maybe we’ll get into some of MLB’s proposed rules changes. And of course, we’ll have actual baseball to talk about in a couple of months. Or I’ll try to add to whatever stress Jim is experiencing about his upcoming wedding.
It was always great fun with Jim and Craig Williams (who I knew from one of his previous radio gigs) on their Maximus and the Bartender podcast talking baseball and pop culture. I could talk to those guys for nearly an hour and it felt like 10 minutes. I was bummed out when they had to shutter the show, but I certainly understand when life takes precedence over fun and hobbies, and they had to move on. I’m glad to hear Jim get back in the ring, though.
As someone who’s tried his hand at podcasting and may want to expand what I’m doing there, I’ll be following Jim to see what he does with his new show — not just in terms of content, but distribution. It gets easier each day to find a podcast and listen to it on whatever device you choose. Jim’s not trying to fit in a niche; he just wants to talk about whatever is on his mind and tell stories from his life. I’m intrigued by that.
The 2015 New York Mets season will represent the 10th year together for SNY’s (SportsNet New York) broadcast trio of Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez. It’s an impressive run, one not typically seen on regional team broadcasts. The success is even more notable, considering how rare three-man booths are on sports television these days.
But the SNY team makes it look easy, with a smooth chemistry and refreshing candor that’s made it extremely popular among Mets fans and considered by many to be the best broadcast booth in MLB. So what has been the key to the trio’s success? How has it worked so well over the past nine years?
“I think the thing that works best for us — and it really is rare in television, especially when you have two players who had great careers — is that we have a very low-ego booth,” said Cohen, who had called Mets games on radio for 17 years before moving to TV.
“What I mean by that is, nobody needs to be the star. You hear it sometimes in other broadcasts, where there’s almost a competition for the microphone, and that’s never the case on our broadcast, even when we have three in the booth.”
Ian Casselberry 