On Saturday night, after the game, (which the Giants lost), the wrap deteriorated in post-game silliness and chaos. Everybody is supposed to love the Kruk-Kuip giddyfest and they stuck to form. The tradition "who's your pick?", (the player of the game, according to the guys), struck true to form as all of the broadcasters, except Jon Miller, chose a Giant player. Boo! Talk about issues, boys. And they're are plenty here.
The idea of the wrap in its local origin is perfectly fine. It has a following. It is intended and aimed straightly at the booster club and Giants amen corner. BUT...this is not a time for that just as these games are not local anymore.
This is the start of the playoffs. The PLAYOFFS. With a national look and feel and a national stage. The local broadcast takes on a more larger picture. We all want laughter and fun, but we, (at least me and a few others), prefer a more broader analysis. Kuip can jokingly say all he pleases that he "hates Brandon Phillips", (the Reds flamboyant second-baseman), but we expect and desire a more meaty and informing performance. The shtick during the regular season can be, and should be altered for the post-season, one should expect.
Instead, we get the unnecessary giggles and bizarre over-homerism. It's insulting to the listeners. It's probably even insulting to the STH club too; the Giants didn't play a bad game on Saturday--the Reds were just better. It's only one game. But the wrap didn't indicate that and when that happens, the wrap is nothing more than an audio infomercial.
*Speaking of which, why hasn't the obvious Buster Posey-Tim Lincecum internal feud been explained to the Bay Area sports fans? Krukow knows the deal. And so does Kuiper too. And more than likely, so do the Giants' press corps, yet they've been remarkably coy about the whole matter. One would think the fan base deserves at least a little story, but there's a reason they call sports the toy department.
*TBS is dreadful. The Turner Network's camera angles for post-season baseball are excellent. That's about it. The broadcasters are awful. I miss Fox Sports here and NBC too. Hell, even ESPN has more personality than the TBS no-names.
*Follow me on Twitter
Mike Krukow has never once mentioned Lincecum's strange weight loss and gains. NEVER. Even as pitching coach Dave Righetti said Lincecum came to spring training "too small".Krukow sticks to the convenient catch all lies of "mechanics" Sure,MLB pitchers always forget how to throw a baseball.
ReplyDeleteAnd..Its not just a feud with Lincecum..but Zito also prefers Sanchez over Posey.
Your right..SF Gate and BANG beat writers?..like they work for the local teams. In bed,not imbedded.
If Bochy is not going to let Lincecum make a postseason start, who cares about any feud between Posey and Lincecum?
DeleteRich, I have a hard time understanding why you feel like you are in a position to dictate the appropriate mood for broadcasters doing the post-game show.
ReplyDeleteAlso your point about this being the playoffs with national implications is misguided since the wrap is still a local broadcast.
You just seem like a grouchy old guy who disapproves of everything.
God knows... there is no such thing as a grouchy YOUNG guy! Right??
DeleteSee how easy going YOU are, after putting up with a few more decades of the same old horseshit, Homer.
And Rich, if the mood moves ya, grouch on dude!!
You are spot on about TBS. Horrible. We have the radio on, TV on mute. Interviewing the managers during the game? Disturbing. What's next...? Interviewing batters facing a full count?
ReplyDeleteI suspect the Lincecum-Posey thing is sort of a red state-blue state type of thing. Two different temperaments. I think Timmy is an Obama guy, while Posey's more of a Romney guy.
ReplyDeleteTo put it simplistically.
-- Gaga V
Rich no one in this media market will ever utter a critical word or say anything to offend the Giant brand. You will never hear it from the Chronicle. Those guys are beholden to Larry Baer.
ReplyDeleteIf fact Scott Ostler plays golf with Baer, so how can you expect to hear any objectivity.
That's just plain wrong. Krueger criticizes the Giants all the time. Ostler openly criticized the Giants plans to start Lincecum in game 3.
DeleteThe Chronicle isn't beholden to Larry Baer. Teams depend on newspapers to say nice things about them.
DeletePost at 2:02pm Are you Scott Oslter's brother?
DeleteLet me see, his knucklehead of the week went to Lew Wolf again.
"Hey Scott I need another hit job on Lew Wolf and the A's move to San Jose, can you write another blistering piece?"
It is a real treat when the local newspaper is the full-time PR department for the Giants.
I'm not Scott Ostler's brother but I do think he's a great columnist. I read Ostler and the Chronicle enough to recognize that they aren't reluctant to criticize local teams including the Giants.
DeleteI fail to see any truth to the claim the Chronicle is controlled by the Giants. The Giants need the Chronicle's good will as much as the other way around.
If you are one of these tin hat guys who think everyone is conspiring against you, I can't change your mind but maybe you could offer some evidence or explain why it would even make sense.
"...takes on a more larger picture..."
ReplyDelete"...prefer a more broader analysis..."
WHO is writing this? Why not any criticisms about THAT?
Hey Rich. If you'd let me, I'd crack your (pea) nuts at the ballpark. xo Pam
ReplyDeleteThey don't mention it because they are paid by the Giants and you tend to not air any dirty laundry or personal stuff from the locker room or behind the scenes. Assuming there IS anything to this. And this is just the standard M.O. of all teams, businesses, and corporations too.
ReplyDeleteRich -
ReplyDeleteIt's the post-game wrap. Lots of people (including me) enjoy its juvenile nature. You don't like it? Turn it off. It's not like you have to listen to it to understand what happened in the game.
"*Speaking of which, why hasn't the obvious Buster Posey-Tim Lincecum internal feud been explained to the Bay Area sports fans?"
ReplyDeleteRich you are asking the impossible.
Here is just one of the headlines I found at sfgate.com:
"Lincecum's reaction to demotion" "Taking in stride".
As we all know, The Chronicle is in complete spin mode right about now. To expect an objective analysis of the local baseball team is a foreign concept to The Chronicle.
"The Chronicle, where are mantra is . . . .Go Giants, Go!"
This claim is more paranoid, big corporation conspiracy, crap. i.e. the Giants, KNBR, the media are all in cahoots to screw us and not tell us what's really going on.
DeleteWhile it's true that Giants broadcasters, who are paid by the team, avoid any criticism of the team they work for, that's just not true about other KNBR hosts or the Chronicle. This morning, Radnich, Krueger, Fitzgerald, are all talking about how the Giants just aren't that good.
Ostler in the Chronicle has plenty negative to say.
These continuing claims about the media not telling the truth and being manipulated by the Giants, is paranoia.
I think whatever is going on between Timmy and Buster is deeper than we know, and has negatively affected the team. Of course I don't have facts to back this up; they don't give us any facts. It's just my considered opinion. Zeets having Sanchez catch him pretty much all year didn't seem to be disruptive. But the Timmy/Buster thing: poison.
DeleteOfficer Vic Lives here's Tom Tweet
ReplyDeleteTom Benner @benneradio
Officer Vic is the new Monday through Friday morning traffic anchor on NewsTalk910.
At least TBS is carried on my Comcrap package. The A's game 2 was only shown on MLB Nitwit channel. A lot of Athletic Supporters woke up Sunday morning to find the game on the so-called "premium" digital. This really smelled. I refuse to be exhorted by these chumps. I hooked up my flatscreen to a pirate web site vis HDMI and watched the A's let another slip away...From what I understand, this baloney might happen if game 4 is a reality. MLB Nitwit will exclusively carry the game. Say, Rich, if you're such a big 'fan' why didn't squawk about this????????????????
ReplyDeleteCan't stand Kruk and Kuip. Their blatant homerism is as bad as the announcers back east. The Giants are toast anyways. Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteActually you need to distinguish between Kruk and Kuip.
DeleteKuip plays it pretty straight and doesn't resort to blatant homerism.
Krukow on the other hand is a living, breathing Giants infomercial. He's lost his credibility. He is constantly insisting that some slumping hitter is coming out of a slump when he isn't or how the old Timmy is back when he's not. His perpetual Giants booster-ism is tiring. And worse yet, Krukow is preachy. He lectures about how fans should feel about the team and the game.
In my book, Kuiper is fine, Krukow is insufferable.
Tierney and Bucher had Posey on their show last Thursday and they tried to ask him that question. It was a very uncomfortable interview to say the least.
ReplyDeleteThe 'chuckle-hut' as some like to call it can get a bit ridiculous at time, especially after a tough loss, but this is BASEBALL for crying out loud. If you don't want to listen to KNBR, there are plenty of other stations to turn to.
ReplyDeleteKrukow and Kuiper are PAID GIANTS EMPLOYEES, and are NOT SUPPOSED TO BE OBJECTIVE. Yes, they are paid to describe and analyze the game, but their core audience is made up of Giants' fans. The same goes for those who listen to Marty Lurie's long pre and post game shows. That's what most KNBR listeners want to hear, and that's what KNBR gives them.
Again, if you want to hear a more balanced analysis with less humor and giggles, you should turn on ESPN or switch over to 'The Game.' KNBR is, has been, and will always be the radio home of the Giants.
1025..how naive. Kreuger just spent ten minutes on how K&K are not like those idiot FOX announcers and that the locals "tell us what is really happening". And then,you say that as paid employees,its fine to beat the home team ra-ra?.
DeleteYou see?..is it clear?
@11:24, I don't see why you are calling 1025 names [naive]. Actually what Krueger said was that Fox announcers didn't know much about the team, and that's correct.
DeleteThe Giants announcers do know a lot more about the team and to me at least, more interesting to listen to. Yes they are employees of the team but I'd still rather listen to them rather than some vanilla nobodies from Fox.
And BTW, they aren't all as blatantly biased as Krukow.
If you have traveled and listened to broadcasters in other parts of the country, you will come away with a great appreciation for Kruk & Kuip. Some of them just plain awful and are homers multiples more than Krukow. Krukow gives credit when the opposing team does something well, as he should, and points out bonehead plays by the Giants. Listen to Hawk Harrelson on the Chicago White Sox games and you'll realize how we have it here.
ReplyDeleteMessage to everyone for comment:
ReplyDeleteIf Kruk and Kuip are "paid employees of the Giants and are not suppose to be objective", as a previous post stated, then why is it, that Gary Radnich insist that the Bay Area has no homers?
This topic comes up quite often on KNBR.
And there is Gary Radnich making this silly comment that the hip and chic Bay Area does not have any homers. Homers are what you find in the mid-west and the south, according to Radnich's way of thinking.
Radnich you want homers? Look no further than Murph and Mac, Bob Fitzgerald and Ralph Barbieri.
Fox BasebaLL broadcasters are abolustely awful. You like them better than TBS? Sorry, but I don't know how that is remotely possible. Buck and McCarver are the absolute WORST broadcasters of any sport, anywhere, anytime...
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, feud fans. If there's really anything to the story, the New York tabloids will break the news far ahead of the Bay Area press.
ReplyDeleteHeres the real story from a friend close to the giants clubhouse.Posey is an ass,players,coaches etc are comparing him to Bonds.When the Giants clinched and everyone was going crazy on the field some player came up behind Posey and he got pissed and startes pushing the player away,very annoyed.yesterday after clinching the players were on the field jumping and celebrating and a glance of Posey was wandering around looking for high 5s and I didnt see many for him.II have no connections to the clubhouse but as I said he has close connections and BTW Timmy and Zits do not want him to catch for them,They dont like him!
ReplyDelete