Kool Keith and the Rearing of SNY
Note: Sippy Momo told everyone there wouldn't be any posts after this past Wednesday until Monday, but what can I say, I had time on my hands, a fire in my belly, and some things to get off my chest so I wrote a couple pieces.
For those of you who didn't check out the site on Thanksgiving, there's a lengthy tribute to the Mets directly beneath today's post about Keith Hernandez and SportsNet New York. We here at Yankees 2000 hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and that you enjoy the unexpected content.
Hey guys, A Friend of Mr. Glass' back at you today. This is going to be a fairly short post, if for no other reason than that my fingertips still hurt from writing yesterday's post.
Anyway, we're all still basking in the afterglow of the Delgado deal with 5 extra lbs to worry about I'm sure, but I was excited to read Andrew Marchand's article in today's New York Post (you can find it here: http://www.nypost.com/sports/31869.htm) declaring Keith Hernandez, old Mex, the frontrunner for the analyst spot at SportsNet New York (SNY) for Mets games next year.
Now I know that Keith rubs some people the wrong way. Some friends of mine say they find him too caustic and self-absorbed. Regarding the latter charge, I've got no argument. It's pretty plain that Keith is pleased with how his major league career played out. Some people get worked up by it, but as for me, by this point I just find it amusing.
As for the former complaint, the truth is that he can be decidedly blunt and undiplomatic. But as far as I'm concerned, so long as the SNY execs don't try to rein him in, his willingness to take players, coaches, and managers to task will be the perfect answer to the propagandistic "analysis" offered on YES.
Listening to a broadcast on YES is like pulling teeth, and I'm fairly certain I'm not just saying that because I'm a Mets fan who despises the Yankees. All the announcers are such cheerleaders. To Michael Kay and the other YES broadcasters, the Yankees can do no wrong.
Thankfully, Mets brass seems to agree that this isn't the way it should be. They respect their fans' intelligence. To that end, they've declared that SNY will have a committment to objectivity and balanced reporting. Love him or hate him, Keith Hernandez offers just that every night he goes to work.
And really that's the point. Ultimately this is about more than holding SNY's objectivity over Yankee fans' heads for YES's jingoism. After so many years of "analysis" from Fran Healy and Tom "Big Boy" Seaver (although Seaver's nowhere near as bad as Healy), it'll be nice to have the incisive and insightful Hernandez on the air every night.
Hernandez always has a read on the in-moment, in-game situation. What I mean by that is he explains what's going through a player's mind or what they're doing right or wrong as it happens, but he also puts individual actions or decisions in the context of the larger narrative of the 9-inning game, 3-game series, or 162-game season.
Between Kool Keith and Gary Cohen (see yesterday's blog, point No. 10 on the list), Mets broadcasts would offer two thoughtful, articulate broadcasters who would enhance the daily listening experience of Mets broadcasts immeasurably. Let's hope Marchand's sources are reliable and that SNY has the good sense to bring Keith on board.
There is of course one other angle to the news that Keith might be joining Cohen in the SNY booth, and that is that he would be leaving his former partner, Fran Healy, behind.
Undoubtedly, no one would be happier about this divorce than Hernandez himself, but as far as I'm concerned, there's good news and bad news (granted, mostly good news). As we all know, Fran's a bit of a hack. He's good for a phrase such as "can 'o corn" or for incorporating plugs to the team's sponsors
"There's a long fly ball headed for the Pepsi Picnic Area!"
into his regular commentary, but beyond that he's pretty useless.
The one down side about the breakup is that no one was more aware of Healy's shortcomings than Hernandez. Nobody knew this better than MikeM over at East Coast Agony, who transcribed the below hilarious conversation following the Mets' game against the Astros on April 13.
As MikeM wrote it up himself (http://eastcoastagony.weblogs.us/archives/2005_04.html):
"When Fran Healy and Keith Hernandez combine in the booth, great moments in broadcasting are never far away. I think this is because they hate each other. Tonight's gem came as [Doug] Mientkiewicz [(RIP)] was at the plate:
Healy: And here's Doug Mientkiewicz. He's a contact hitter --
Hernandez: Don't call him that! He's a line drive hitter.
Healy: Ok, he's a line drive, contact hitter.
Hernandez: That's just wrong. He's a guy who knows he isn't going to hit 20, 25 homers a year, knows what he is capable of, and goes out there with a plan and hits line drives.
Healy (after a pause): I think I've hit a nerve.
Hernandez: Yeah? Just keep going.
So it looks like we may not have moments like this one to savor any more, but that's no matter. East Coast Agony hasn't updated in months and besides, after 22 years of Fran, haven't we earned the best combination available?
For my money, that combination is none other than Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez.
The turkeys have gobbled their last gobble,
A.F.O.M.G.
For those of you who didn't check out the site on Thanksgiving, there's a lengthy tribute to the Mets directly beneath today's post about Keith Hernandez and SportsNet New York. We here at Yankees 2000 hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and that you enjoy the unexpected content.
Hey guys, A Friend of Mr. Glass' back at you today. This is going to be a fairly short post, if for no other reason than that my fingertips still hurt from writing yesterday's post.
Anyway, we're all still basking in the afterglow of the Delgado deal with 5 extra lbs to worry about I'm sure, but I was excited to read Andrew Marchand's article in today's New York Post (you can find it here: http://www.nypost.com/sports/31869.htm) declaring Keith Hernandez, old Mex, the frontrunner for the analyst spot at SportsNet New York (SNY) for Mets games next year.
Now I know that Keith rubs some people the wrong way. Some friends of mine say they find him too caustic and self-absorbed. Regarding the latter charge, I've got no argument. It's pretty plain that Keith is pleased with how his major league career played out. Some people get worked up by it, but as for me, by this point I just find it amusing.
As for the former complaint, the truth is that he can be decidedly blunt and undiplomatic. But as far as I'm concerned, so long as the SNY execs don't try to rein him in, his willingness to take players, coaches, and managers to task will be the perfect answer to the propagandistic "analysis" offered on YES.
Listening to a broadcast on YES is like pulling teeth, and I'm fairly certain I'm not just saying that because I'm a Mets fan who despises the Yankees. All the announcers are such cheerleaders. To Michael Kay and the other YES broadcasters, the Yankees can do no wrong.
Thankfully, Mets brass seems to agree that this isn't the way it should be. They respect their fans' intelligence. To that end, they've declared that SNY will have a committment to objectivity and balanced reporting. Love him or hate him, Keith Hernandez offers just that every night he goes to work.
And really that's the point. Ultimately this is about more than holding SNY's objectivity over Yankee fans' heads for YES's jingoism. After so many years of "analysis" from Fran Healy and Tom "Big Boy" Seaver (although Seaver's nowhere near as bad as Healy), it'll be nice to have the incisive and insightful Hernandez on the air every night.
Hernandez always has a read on the in-moment, in-game situation. What I mean by that is he explains what's going through a player's mind or what they're doing right or wrong as it happens, but he also puts individual actions or decisions in the context of the larger narrative of the 9-inning game, 3-game series, or 162-game season.
Between Kool Keith and Gary Cohen (see yesterday's blog, point No. 10 on the list), Mets broadcasts would offer two thoughtful, articulate broadcasters who would enhance the daily listening experience of Mets broadcasts immeasurably. Let's hope Marchand's sources are reliable and that SNY has the good sense to bring Keith on board.
There is of course one other angle to the news that Keith might be joining Cohen in the SNY booth, and that is that he would be leaving his former partner, Fran Healy, behind.
Undoubtedly, no one would be happier about this divorce than Hernandez himself, but as far as I'm concerned, there's good news and bad news (granted, mostly good news). As we all know, Fran's a bit of a hack. He's good for a phrase such as "can 'o corn" or for incorporating plugs to the team's sponsors
"There's a long fly ball headed for the Pepsi Picnic Area!"
into his regular commentary, but beyond that he's pretty useless.
The one down side about the breakup is that no one was more aware of Healy's shortcomings than Hernandez. Nobody knew this better than MikeM over at East Coast Agony, who transcribed the below hilarious conversation following the Mets' game against the Astros on April 13.
As MikeM wrote it up himself (http://eastcoastagony.weblogs.us/archives/2005_04.html):
"When Fran Healy and Keith Hernandez combine in the booth, great moments in broadcasting are never far away. I think this is because they hate each other. Tonight's gem came as [Doug] Mientkiewicz [(RIP)] was at the plate:
Healy: And here's Doug Mientkiewicz. He's a contact hitter --
Hernandez: Don't call him that! He's a line drive hitter.
Healy: Ok, he's a line drive, contact hitter.
Hernandez: That's just wrong. He's a guy who knows he isn't going to hit 20, 25 homers a year, knows what he is capable of, and goes out there with a plan and hits line drives.
Healy (after a pause): I think I've hit a nerve.
Hernandez: Yeah? Just keep going.
So it looks like we may not have moments like this one to savor any more, but that's no matter. East Coast Agony hasn't updated in months and besides, after 22 years of Fran, haven't we earned the best combination available?
For my money, that combination is none other than Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez.
The turkeys have gobbled their last gobble,
A.F.O.M.G.
posted by Sippy Momo at 5:03 PM
3 Comments:
Sorry for the anonymous posting. Don't have an account and don't want to make one (I go by A Year To Remember on Metsgeek).
Just want to take a minute to commend you on the site. I like your insight, thoughts, and humor. An especially noteworthy post yesterday. I too was born in teh early 80's and love the Mets only as our generation can. (That said, Gooden's memory is faint to me as well but my father gets choked up every time he talks about him). Too bad you got negged on Metsgeek, because more people should know about you (I'll tell my friends, although, they're not bloggers). Anyway, keep up the good work.
Oh yeah, you've got to love Fire Willie. He's what makes sites like Metsgeek work.
I would like to share an inside look into the New York Mets that most fans couldn’t. Over the last 3 years I have been the winner in the “Cheering for children” charity auction the Mets host each year. The prize I have out bid for has been the “Follow Matt Loughlin” for a day at Shea. I have to say being toured by Matt into every corner of Shea for a complete day and night including the dugout, complet with players and manager, locker room 30 minutes before game time, managers office, while Matt myself and only the manager were present for a post game interview and the radio and television press booth ( which I was privelaged enough to call a 1/2 inning live on tv with Gary Thorne and Fran Healy) I learned alot about what all we Met fans often wonder. What does it look like behind the scenes? How do players interact with one another. Who has bad attitudes and who seems to be always smiling. I have to say that what I saw in those 3 years was not at all what most fans invision. If you have any “curiosity” questions, feel free to ask and I will due the best in “Painting the verbal picture” (Thanks Murph) as I can. It is something to read about clubhouse interactions, its another to see it first hand. I now have the rare privelage of sharing my experience with all my fellow Met fans. Ask away and if I can help you see something you have always wonderd about it would be my way of repaying each and every one of you for supporting the greatest and possibly most frustrating baseball franchise ever. Fire away!
I would like to share an inside look into the New York Mets that most fans couldn’t. Over the last 3 years I have been the winner in the “Cheering for children” charity auction the Mets host each year. The prize I have out bid for has been the “Follow Matt Loughlin” for a day at Shea. I have to say being toured by Matt into every corner of Shea for a complete day and night including the dugout, complet with players and manager, locker room 30 minutes before game time, managers office, while Matt myself and only the manager were present for a post game interview and the radio and television press booth ( which I was privelaged enough to call a 1/2 inning live on tv with Gary Thorne and Fran Healy) I learned alot about what all we Met fans often wonder. What does it look like behind the scenes? How do players interact with one another. Who has bad attitudes and who seems to be always smiling. I have to say that what I saw in those 3 years was not at all what most fans invision. If you have any “curiosity” questions, feel free to ask and I will due the best in “Painting the verbal picture” (Thanks Murph) as I can. It is something to read about clubhouse interactions, its another to see it first hand. I now have the rare privelage of sharing my experience with all my fellow Met fans. Ask away and if I can help you see something you have always wonderd about it would be my way of repaying each and every one of you for supporting the greatest and possibly most frustrating baseball franchise ever. Fire away!
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