Sam Blum: Angels radio broadcasts will once again call games remotely this season

[Make Angels Great Again]

This is the biggest who gives a shit worthy thread in quite a while imo.

[Jeff Fletcher]

34 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

So 28 other teams send the radio guys to the game and the Angels are the ones that are correct for not doing the same thing? Bunch of homers. Oh and if Jeff Fletcher reported this, you guys wouldn't s*** all over him.

I did report it as part of the Arte interview two weeks ago. 
 

It is a pretty silly thing for the Angels to do, IMO. I think there is value in having the broadcasters on site, which is why it’s been done that way forever. And the cost savings is minimal in the budget of a Major League Baseball team. 
 

The OCR, which has way less money than the Angels, sends me on the road because it’s necessary for me to keep the readers informed on what’s happening with the team. 

[beatlesrule]

1 minute ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I did report it as part of the Arte interview two weeks ago. 
 

It is a pretty silly thing for the Angels to do, IMO. I think there is value in having the broadcasters on site, which is why it’s been done that way forever. And the cost savings is minimal in the budget of a Major League Baseball team. 
 

The OCR, which has way less money than the Angels, sends me on the road because it’s necessary for me to keep the readers informed on what’s happening with the team. 

I guess it was overlooked in your interview and just brought up now that Sam Blum tweeted it. For as much as users here hate the guy, they sure do like to post his tweets and make threads about him. Thank you for being objective and showing how petty Arte is being.

[HaloBronco]

55 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

As much as Terry Smith has declined over the years, I love listening to Mark Langston. 

Yep, I do like and appreciate Langston for sure but just like the TV side to me Wayne Randazzo has even improved Gubicza’s performance (kinda like a good point guard making a great pass to a player braking to the basket in mid stride or QB to a receiver), Langston would be even better with a good Play by play guy setting him up. 
 

I just think it’s important 

[HaloBronco]

4 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I did report it as part of the Arte interview two weeks ago. 
 

It is a pretty silly thing for the Angels to do, IMO. I think there is value in having the broadcasters on site, which is why it’s been done that way forever. And the cost savings is minimal in the budget of a Major League Baseball team. 
 

The OCR, which has way less money than the Angels, sends me on the road because it’s necessary for me to keep the readers informed on what’s happening with the team. 

Thanks Jeff, always appreciate your insight and opinion. 
 

Can’t say enough how cool it is to have you on this forum.
 

Thank you for keeping us connected. 

Edited March 30, 2023 by HaloBronco

[JoJo26]

Look - I'm 64. Been around a long ass time.

The LA Times has no beat writers for NHL hockey. They send no one to cover the DUCKS or KINGS even during a home game. The Times will send writers to OHIO to cover a prep basketball game or to TEXAS for a prep football game - but they use Associated Press to cover the hockey games?

Now - ARTE - that cheap son of a b itch is cutting costs - first with his minor leaguers - and now 2 announcers & a tech is too much money? There's always things that go on around the ballpark during games - that the TV misses. Maybe between innings - maybe in the stands - in the dugouts. If you're there - you can report it.

F-U-C-K Arte - 

[Slegnaac]

If Terry was a Ford C. Frick Award winner would things be different?

[Taylor]

1 hour ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I did report it as part of the Arte interview two weeks ago. 
 

It is a pretty silly thing for the Angels to do, IMO. I think there is value in having the broadcasters on site, which is why it’s been done that way forever. And the cost savings is minimal in the budget of a Major League Baseball team. 
 

The OCR, which has way less money than the Angels, sends me on the road because it’s necessary for me to keep the readers informed on what’s happening with the team. 

@Chuckster70 @Stradling FYI

[Blarg]

56 minutes ago, Slegnaac said:

If Terry was a Ford C. Frick Award winner would things be different?

Many people ask, What the Frick is Terry talking about now?

[Make Angels Great Again]

1 hour ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

It is a pretty silly thing for the Angels to do, IMO. I think there is value in having the broadcasters on site, which is why it’s been done that way forever. And the cost savings is minimal in the budget of a Major League Baseball team. 

 

Can you expand on that? What added value do you think there is in having Terry and Mark go on the road with the team?

As has been said already, obviously the primary issue with the TV guys is the delay that makes for a poor quality production. But that's not an issue with radio. I can't think of anything else, except maybe in person interviews with the players. But are Terry and Mark really doing those much anymore?

Maybe the issue is less cost savings and more as a favor to Terry, perhaps he is getting too old for all the travel? Though he's only 68. I know Arte said it's the cost, but maybe that was said so as not to embarrass him or something? Just throwing things out there...

[Lou]

Radio? 

lol 

[Revad]

9 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Many people ask, What the Frick is Terry talking about now?

That’s part of the fun, and knowing he’s guessing some of the time makes me think of skits of baseball broadcasts with the announcers creating noises for the bat and so on.  Terry is soothing to me.

[Jeff Fletcher]

9 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

 

Can you expand on that? What added value do you think there is in having Terry and Mark go on the road with the team?

As has been said already, obviously the primary issue with the TV guys is the delay that makes for a poor quality production. But that's not an issue with radio. I can't think of anything else, except maybe in person interviews with the players. But are Terry and Mark really doing those much anymore?

Maybe the issue is less cost savings and more as a favor to Terry, perhaps he is getting too old for all the travel? Though he's only 68. I know Arte said it's the cost, but maybe that was said so as not to embarrass him or something? Just throwing things out there...

When you're at the ballpark you talk to people about what's going on. If there's an injury or something, it is pretty hard to tell the listeners what's going if you weren't there to talk to the player, manager, trainer, etc. about what's going on. I think the broadcasters also get a lot of color about what's going on with the players by being there and talking to them.

What ends up happening is the radio guys get the audio file of the manager's session with the media, but there are things that don't necessarily come out in that setting. I can tell you that if I'm on a road trip and I find out something that not everyone else knows, I'm not going to ask about it in front of everyone else at the main scrum with the manager. 

Also, there are times when you don't see everything that's happening because the TV feed you're relying on doesn't show you. Did a player have a conversation with the umpire between innings? Did someone start throwing in the bullpen and then stop? This year there are going to be timer violations that may not be caught by the camera if it's not focused on the plate umpire.

Obviously, none of this or make or break. As they've shown, you can still do an acceptable broadcast without all that stuff, but it's definitely not as good. It's not what any broadcaster would want after doing it from the ballpark for so many years. And the amount of money is saved about 1/4 of what they're paying Andrew Wantz.

[CaliAngel]

 

3 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

As much as Terry Smith has declined over the years, I love listening to Mark Langston. 

Maybe it's just the homer in me but I still like listening to Terry Smith, even if he misses stuff from time to time, I don't care. Sometimes I'll listen to the radio feed old MLB At Bat just to hear him, sounds like good old Angels Baseball to me. 

Although sometimes it feel like he delays saying what is going on and you're waiting for him to tell you and at some point it's like "OH FOR GODS SAKE TERRY SPIT IT OUT ALREADY!!!"

I will definitely agree that Mark Langston has been a diamond in the rough as far as his commentating. I like his insight, he doesn't add uneccesary fluff, is straightforward and honest, and he can be pretty funny from time to time. 

As far as not physically going to the games, I think it's horse shit.

Why do we have to be ONE of the teams that doesn't go out of 28 that do? I just think it's stupid to make decisions that make the organization look like cheap assholes. We're already the leagues unwanted stepchild, why fuel the fire.

[Blarg]

Then there are some in a continuous hyperbole loop.

[3pitchwalk]

getting worked up over radio broadcasts that'll probably die out in like 5 years lmao.

[NrM]

2 hours ago, JoJo26 said:

Look - I'm 64. Been around a long ass time.

The LA Times has no beat writers for NHL hockey. They send no one to cover the DUCKS or KINGS even during a home game. The Times will send writers to OHIO to cover a prep basketball game or to TEXAS for a prep football game - but they use Associated Press to cover the hockey games?

Now - ARTE - that cheap son of a b itch is cutting costs - first with his minor leaguers - and now 2 announcers & a tech is too much money? There's always things that go on around the ballpark during games - that the TV misses. Maybe between innings - maybe in the stands - in the dugouts. If you're there - you can report it.

F-U-C-K Arte - 

F U C K arte! Sell the team! 

[AngelsLakersFan]

Lol. Fletcher reports something and *crickets.* Blum reports the same thing and he gets called a twat.

This board has always been moderately antagonistic towards negativity. There’s a decent subset of posters who have been unable to get off Arte’s nuts while the man has driven the franchise nearly into the ground.

[m0nkey]

15 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Lol. Fletcher reports something and *crickets.* Blum reports the same thing and he gets called a twat.

 

Came to say the same thing.  Great minds again

[AngelsLakersFan]

4 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I did report it as part of the Arte interview two weeks ago. 
 

It is a pretty silly thing for the Angels to do, IMO. I think there is value in having the broadcasters on site, which is why it’s been done that way forever. And the cost savings is minimal in the budget of a Major League Baseball team. 
 

The OCR, which has way less money than the Angels, sends me on the road because it’s necessary for me to keep the readers informed on what’s happening with the team. 

I will personally apologize to you Jeff for all the people indirectly calling you a twat in this thread.

We are very sorry.

[HaloBronco]

1 hour ago, 3pitchwalk said:

getting worked up over radio broadcasts that'll probably die out in like 5 years lmao.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

5 hours ago, Blarg said:

If there wasn't such a game disconnect to what is going on in the field through the Televised feed the Angels could abandon the radio crew and just simulcast. But often the TV crew wanders off topic and expects viewers to fill in the missing pieces through visuals. Radio requires keeping the listener updated to the pitch count and where the fielders are aligned that often is ignored on the TV side.

l watch with MLBtv and when O'Neal broadcasts the game l used to listen to the radio simulcast but on the away games the ball is in the catchers glove before Terry says here comes the pitch. I sometimes have to resort to the other teams broadcast. Hopefully O'Neal won't do many games this year...

[Pancake Bear]

26 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Lol. Fletcher reports something and *crickets.* Blum reports the same thing and he gets called a twat.

This board has always been moderately antagonistic towards negativity. There’s a decent subset of posters who have been unable to get off Arte’s nuts while the man has driven the franchise nearly into the ground.

I haven't changed my mind from anything I said earlier. Go back and read them. My opinion is unchanged. 

[HaloBronco]

1 minute ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

l watch with MLBtv and when O'Neal broadcasts the game l used to listen to the radio simulcast but on the away games the ball is in the catchers glove before Terry says here comes the pitch. I sometimes have to resort to the other teams broadcast. Hopefully O'Neal won't do many games this year...

 

You won’t need to do that anymore, now that Wayne is doing the TV play by Play just listen to the TV side.

 

[AngelsLakersFan]

3 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

I haven't changed my mind from anything I said earlier. Go back and read them. My opinion is unchanged. 

I’m not here to change your mind