Doesn't it make you cringe a little when Dodgers part-time television broadcaster Eric Collins says repeatedly, "He's painting the corners"?
As if you haven't heard that before. Or when Angels analyst Rex Hudler says for, oh, about the 100th time, "Mighty Maicer" Izturis after Izturis beats out an infield grounder for a barely-there single as well as after he hits a home run. Kind of cute in April. Just grating in October.
Somehow baseball seems to lend itself to fomenting cliches. Such as, "The bases are juiced," (and this is a Collins thing again). He says it when all the bases are occupied by runners. Juiced? It brings to mind an image of the base being injected with, um, something.
Charley Steiner, who does Dodgers radio play-by-play, hardly ever says, for example, "Touch 'em all," after someone hits a home run. Or "That should end the frame," (Collins again; it's an INNING, most viewers aren't keeping a scorecard).
"I try desperately to avoid catch phrases and cliches," Steiner said. "I'm here to tell a story. A story is a story, it's always different. I need to tell the story as accurately as I can and reflect the moment. Isn't every moment different?"
Yes, it should be.
Bob Costas, who is widely considered one of the best baseball broadcasters around, dismisses all those hackneyed phrases. "They have no meaning," he said. "Tell the story. There are plenty of words."
There will be plenty of words spoken about baseball in the next few days. Fox will telecast the Angels-Yankees series with Joe Buck on play-by-play, Tim McCarver as analyst and Ken Rosenthal and Chris Myers reporting. The Fox pregame show is hosted by Chris Rose and features analysts Eric Karros and Mark Grace.
TBS has the Dodgers-Phillies series with Chip Caray doing play-by-play and Ron Darling and Buck Martinez serving as analysts with Craig Sager reporting.
And the after-party
"Angels Live" will be on Fox Sports West. For road games in New York, Jose Mota will serve as reporter/analyst with Bill Macdonald as host and Mark Gubicza as analyst. At home, Macdonald and Hudler will host, with Mota reporting from the clubhouse after every game.
"Dodgers Live" will be on Prime Ticket with Patrick O'Neal and Steve Lyons hosting from Dodger Stadium and Jeanne Zelasko reporting while O'Neal and Kevin Kennedy will host on the road with Lyons reporting.
