I was watching. Won't get pitches from skimming the box score. I thought I saw two pitches with any regularity/multiple use.

If you're honestly wondering, I listen to more games than I watch, TAG and Buzz are awful and put me to sleep.

Much more enjoyable experience with Nadel on the radio.

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I was watching. Won't get pitches from skimming the box score. I thought I saw two pitches with any regularity/multiple use.

If you're honestly wondering, I listen to more games than I watch, TAG and Buzz are awful and put me to sleep.

Much more enjoyable experience with Nadel on the radio.

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As mentioned above, I enjoy listening to Nadel, as much as watching. I think you get more info.

Buzz and TAG mentioned that the Sox put up that it was a changeup in the park, but they thought it was something else but didn't really have a name for it.

I have no doubts Tom and Buzz know the life of a major league baseball player... but Tom is an old man that puts you to sleep and Buzz still has not managed to get a handle on seeing the ball off the bat and knowing how well it's hit... I think he's like that fan sitting behind homeplate that jumps up on every routine fly ball thinking its outta the park, and he's been burned on it so many times that now even when there is a legitimate blast its "ho hum fly ball to right field... well the ball is carrying well.. AND GOODBYYYYYYYYYYYYYE".

It's a horse that's been beaten enough times, but Nolan letting Lewin walk is one of the worst decisions of his tenure. His call on Dellucci's game winner in 2004 vs the Athletics -- a game that as time has passed probably doesn't even crack the Top 10 greatest Rangers moments anymore -- has exceeded any call the broadcast booth has had in the last 5+ years.

I haven't really noticed that, but Buzz is just bland.

TAG and Buzz are the same person, and that's a couple of old-school ballplayers that probably have intersting things to say but aren't totally natural storytellers.

Lewin did his homework and brought personality and knowledge out of TAG and I thought they worked together.

But with sleepy Buzz, TAG is extra-sleepy TAG.

Buzz is an ex-pitcher and alledgedly, the crack of the bat on a home run ball freaks him out.

Twice this series there were 17 runs scored and I DIDNT get half priced pizza. 3 times for the road trip if you include the 22 run game in Minnesota.

I prefer Busby on the radio. I think he is much more natural and offers more color.

I think Lewin was good for the Rangers when he was here, because he provided entertainment and kept a wit about pop culture, when we were consistently losing games. I think he'd come across as terrible, with little insight for where the team is now.

I liked TAG, but I think he is done. He has started taking time off and isn't very sharp. He provided some good insights early, but I think he has run out of material worth sharing. His responses aren't very sharp or informative.

Busby is a better color guy. On TV, he seems tentative and lately has made too many careless errors. I'm not sure if partnering with TAG has become a distraction where he is trying to force too much interaction with TAG.

The other guy... the new guy, reminds me of going to the Hootie and the Blowfish concert. They had one song and once they played it, they really didn't offer anything else and relied heavily on the others to help them. H&TBF were the headline and one of the opening bands had to do the encore.

I'm not sure if Busby is reaching an age where he is just getting slow, or he needs a legit partner. I could see Lewin and Busby working, but I don't know if they could work together.

Sometimes I wonder if Busby would prefer the radio and only made the transition to TV because the Rangers were in need.

I'd love to be a broadcaster. In HS we had a Radio Broadcast competition and it was quite difficult. You were basically a 3 person team in one room with a speaker and talked a script through a microphone to the judges in a different room. It really taught me how to communicate. See Dave South.

I don't think TAG is back next year. You really spend a lot of time preparing.

I thought Lewin was terrible. Not a fan.

I could see how his voice could annoy you, or in the earlier Rangers years him rambling on about non-baseball related stuff could get on your nerves (though how else do you keep people tuned into a 70 win team with no pitching?)...

But Lewin told me things I didn't know, made pop culture references and could make a big play exciting to listen to. That's all I really need.

Overlap an exciting play with Nadel on the call and an exciting play with Busby on the call and it's night and day and it really shouldn't be. Nadel is much better suited for radio (as he is far more descriptive which isnt as needed on TV), but I've grown tired of obvious homeruns seemingly sneaking up on Busby. To add on to the Dave South example in the above post -- it's like he has no build up of actual excitement, just a mouthdump of excitement long after TV watchers already know the outcome.

Does anyone delay their TV broadcast a few seconds in order to get Nadel synced up? I think that would be the best option.

Michael Young. This is how I felt when I got a twitter account. Still look at it that way...

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I could see how his voice could annoy you, or in the earlier Rangers years him rambling on about non-baseball related stuff could get on your nerves (though how else do you keep people tuned into a 70 win team with no pitching?)...

But Lewin told me things I didn't know, made pop culture references and could make a big play exciting to listen to. That's all I really need.

Overlap an exciting play with Nadel on the call and an exciting play with Busby on the call and it's night and day and it really shouldn't be. Nadel is much better suited for radio (as he is far more descriptive which isnt as needed on TV), but I've grown tired of obvious homeruns seemingly sneaking up on Busby. To add on to the Dave South example in the above post -- it's like he has no build up of actual excitement, just a mouthdump of excitement long after TV watchers already know the outcome.

Does anyone delay their TV broadcast a few seconds in order to get Nadel synced up? I think that would be the best option.

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I've never really been up on all the Pop Culture and didn't get many of his references, probably like TAG. He did have exciting calls and was a very dynamic speaker. He just didn't know that much about baseball.

I agree about Nadel being descriptive. I was listening with my boy and told him Nadel really paints the picture, as if you were watching the game. That's why I think Nadel doing play-by-play, with Busby doing color make a great mix.

As mentioned... Busby being a former pitcher and his calls on HRs seem more sympathetic to the pitcher, than excitement for the hitter.

I mentioned Busby seems tentative. I meant to include, he seems like with the viewer watching, he doesn't want to be wrong. On the radio, you can have mistakes or corrections and the listener is reliant on the speaker, regardless. With TV, the viewer is watching what you are saying and being wrong is just terrible.

We've called out several mistakes real-time in the past month. I don't recall every being able to do that in years past. So, I'm not sure if he is just not preparing... if Banny's playing with the lineup constantly requires more attention, or Buzz is just getting old and slow.

I haven't thought about lining up the broadcasts. I used to think about it with football, but I almost exclusively listen to the radio in the car... without a TV. But that would be a great option to test.

BTW... I was looking for your response on the Matt Harvey DL15, per our earlier conversation about the Mets willingness to trade him.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/07/mets-place-matt-harvey-on-15-day-dl.html

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Harvey is seeing Dr. Thompson to check out the team's "suspicion" that Harvey could be dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome, Newsday's David Lennon tweets. The syndrome involves a compression of nerves and/or blood vessels in the shoulder area, and can be quite painful.

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Buzz no doubt has had more mistakes this year than previously, I've noticed it too.

I think in the first year or so of Lewin you could make the case that he didn't know that much about the game, but much like Costas, he is a student of the game (in a much less smug way) and did his research. Everything I have read about him regarding his knowledge is that he is an encyclopedia on the history of the game.

As for pop culture, I also meant that he would work in comments that only people that know the players well and have heard stories off the field would pick up on. One night Carl Everett was in right field and he ventured over to try and get a foul ball and ended up pulling up short on what might have been a catchable ball in the stands and Lewin made a comment something along the lines of "it's not like he has to worry about a dinosaur reaching out and grabbing him or anything", in reference to Everett's disbelief that dinosaurs existed. It was perfect.

I think Lewin was more insightful due to the fact that he'd do his homework. Buzz and TAG do very little other than lean on the fact that they were in the game. It's good to have one guy like them in the booth, but for true insight, I think it takes one guy that does his research while another that has a former player/coach perspective. When all you have are a couple of former players that are decades removed from the game, you get old, boring, and rarely insightful.

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Buzz no doubt has had more mistakes this year than previously, I've noticed it too.

I think in the first year or so of Lewin you could make the case that he didn't know that much about the game, but much like Costas, he is a student of the game (in a much less smug way) and did his research. Everything I have read about him regarding his knowledge is that he is an encyclopedia on the history of the game.

As for pop culture, I also meant that he would work in comments that only people that know the players well and have heard stories off the field would pick up on. One night Carl Everett was in right field and he ventured over to try and get a foul ball and ended up pulling up short on what might have been a catchable ball in the stands and Lewin made a comment something along the lines of "it's not like he has to worry about a dinosaur reaching out and grabbing him or anything", in reference to Everett's disbelief that dinosaurs existed. It was perfect.

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I thought you were talking about Pulp Fiction.

Yes, he brought in many references that you had to know, to get. Alright... your talking me onto the Josh Lewin bus.

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I think Lewin was more insightful due to the fact that he'd do his homework. Buzz and TAG do very little other than lean on the fact that they were in the game. It's good to have one guy like them in the booth, but for true insight, I think it takes one guy that does his research while another that has a former player/coach perspective. When all you have are a couple of former players that are decades removed from the game, you get old, boring, and rarely insightful.

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I think because Buzz was more of a career player and TAG was more of a front-office guy, that would seemingly be a good mix of information and background. But, I think you hit the nail. I think they lean too much on their own experience and haven't updated much. And that is why their info is stale and they run out of content.

I liked their point about Rod Carew getting stolen bases and how the wind-up has changed, but they were going more on speculation, than actual knowledge. A good broadcaster would go back and find out the difference in delivery times for future reference, even if it was a "you know we were talking about xyz and come to find out..."

I agree, they have become a couple old guys sitting at the bar, talking about the old days. Now, it could be that right now, they are just as tired as the players, and in need of the ASB, as well. At least some home cooking.

The Rangers have the best record in the AL. It should be a more exciting broadcast.

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BTW... I was looking for your response on the Matt Harvey DL15, per our earlier conversation about the Mets willingness to trade him.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/07/mets-place-matt-harvey-on-15-day-dl.html

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Harvey is seeing Dr. Thompson to check out the team's "suspicion" that Harvey could be dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome, Newsday's David Lennon tweets. The syndrome involves a compression of nerves and/or blood vessels in the shoulder area, and can be quite painful.

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I don't feel like pitcher injuries really play that big a role when it comes to frontline starters getting moved. Yeah you have your Matt Harrison throw-ins... But a guy like Harvey who is a top of the rotation starter if healthy... Mets are still going to ask the moon, and I certainly don't want Texas offering the moon for an injury gamble.

Right now if I'm Texas I offer a mega-prospect package for a guy like Chris Sale or Jose Fernandez.

For a Pomeranz or Tehran I offer multiple middle range guys (12-20 range) as those teams will want quantity.

I'd certainly take a Santana just to give us some rotation depth and not having to rely on Chi Chi or Nick Martinez... And while he's not "worth" it, I'd stomach giving up a couple of prospects (one of which in the 12-20 range) for him if they will pick up a chunk of his salary... Not because he's all that great, but because we are reaching panic time when it comes to rotation depth. I said it a few weeks ago and it still holds true -- if we're rolling out Griffin, Chi Chi and Nick Martinez on a somewhat regular basis then there is a good chance we lose this division.

Assuming you can't swing a mega-deal for a Sale or Fernandez, then my #1 target would be Matt Moore.

It's not sexy, but he gives you rotation depth and has the upside of a bonafide #3, potential #2 starter.

3 more years of team control which means we still have him if Yu leaves, or can let him walk if we manage to resign Yu and/or we feel like Derek Holland is ever going to finally get over the hump.

His ERA is inflated this year, but his WHIP and his K/9 are still relatively in-line with what he's done previously in his career -- he's just been hit with the homerun bug.

I'll take the gamble that can be fixed.

Does anybody (AccidentProne) know if I have four tickets with me, can I get four A&M/Ranger hats at once? One for me, of course, then three friends coming closer to gametime? Don't want to show up closer to gametime and miss out. The way Aggies do things, there's probably a line forming now.

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He did have exciting calls and was a very dynamic speaker. He just didn't know that much about baseball.

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Josh Lewin has probably forgotten more about baseball than any of us know about baseball.

Like mhayden said, he's an encyclopedia of the game.

You ought to read one of Lewin's books about baseball. He's a pretty dynamic writer, too, and you'll learn plenty about baseball.

He wouldn't tell you that maybe Mazara needed to get a little bit behind that ball if he wanted to be in position to make that throw home but it wasn't his job to tell you that. That is was TAG was there for.

Lewin probably could tell you that, but again, not his job.

And TAG and Buzz don't exactly "wow" me with knowledge about baseball.

They probably should be more insightful, and be more interesting, but they're sterile and not all that insightful or interesting.

I know Buzz goes on occasional monologues about "well, usually when you throw that pitch..." but he was better on the radio when he was forced to talk but also had to fill much of that time telling you what was happening.

On TV, he's just not very interesting.

As bad as Buzz and Tag are, Raymond is worse.

Yeah, I'm trying to give Raymond some "he'll grow on me" time, because usually, any new announcer takes some getting used to. But man, they seemed to just double down on the incredibly generic and boring factor with him.

I guess I'm the only one, but I love Buzz and TAG. Can't stand the new guy

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I guess I'm the only one, but I love Buzz and TAG. Can't stand the new guy

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I don't really have a problem with them. They're not all that great but it's what I'm used to.

Loved Lewin and Barnette was alright before his incident.. And then there was John Radigan.. He was the worst of all.

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I guess I'm the only one, but I love Buzz and TAG. Can't stand the new guy

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I don't really have a problem with them. They're not all that great but it's what I'm used to.

Loved Lewin and Barnette was alright before his incident.. And then there was John Radigan.. He was the worst of all.

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I had a dream that I was sitting right there where you are......well, I'm living the dream anyway.


......


3-2 count to Elvis....


(paraphrased)

If you purchased tickets the University Days link for tomorrow night, be sure to get there early.

We've sold over 4,200 tickets through that promotion and only have 3,000 hats available so we WILL run out, and you will miss out on getting a hat if you show up to the game late.

We've had a lot more interest than we expected. We put the order for the hats in several months in advance.

Any *****es, gripes, complaints...just let me know!

Did I see correctly that this team will have played 38 of 39 days before the ASB? This stretch has been brutal. No wonder they are struggling right now.

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Did I see correctly that this team will have played 38 of 39 days before the ASB? This stretch has been brutal. No wonder they are struggling right now.

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Yes.

And IIRC, there were 2 ten-day road trips.

And another one coming up after the ASB.

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And another one coming up after the ASB.

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Its only 9 games.

And there is a day off in the middle.

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And there is a day off in the middle.

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WOW... total cake walk...

Fishing day...