Please throw Mark Grace out of the booth!

[AZZenny]

OK, you guys win...he said it. He said "folks, believe me, they are giving 110%"

 

[Lefty]

Grace brings nothing to the booth. His voice is horrible for TV. What about Thom? He is criticizing the Diamondback players for swinging at the first pitch but is mentioning how well the Rockies are doing at swinging at the first pitch. Make up your mind Thom.

 

[Hanson]

I listen to the radio almost every game and by far Jeff Mund is the worst. It is terrible. My favorite was Taber. He was there to entertain you or at least try.

 

[Desert Fox]

With every sportscaster there are wonderful aspects of their broadcasts, and terrible annoyances. Obviously, this is 100% subjective. I think Grace adds a needed perspective to the booth. He and Thom work well together and sincerely enjoy each other's company, something mandatory for team coverage. At times, Shulte acts as if he's superior to the people he works with, and though he's better than his color guys, it detracts from the broadcast.

Every one of Thom's partners added something new and different. Traber had/has/showed more enthusiasm for our D's than anyone else, and during meaningless blowouts kept the broadcasts fresh and interesting. Old Joe has some of the great old-time one-liners, and mentally brings a lot of us back to the golden ages of the MLB. Lyons didn't hold back with his criticism, and even though at times I wanted to kick his arse for some of the things he would say about the team, 99% of the time he was right. I think it's important to maintain a love of the team, and at the same time not be blinded by it to be able to admit when a harsh critique is appropriate. Grace brings with him a contemporary knowledge of the game and team important for many of the fans to understand. And then there's Todd Walsh. He's useless as far as I'm concerned. Somehow he even manages to be worse during the Coyotes season. Ugh.

Last year's rotation of three color guys worked well, IMO. They had one guy just long enough to not get too annoyed with what he said, then introduced a new one at the right time for a fresh look at the game. I think this year's rotation should be Grace, Joe Sr., and Traber, with Lyons doing the National broadcasts. "Big Todd" should be fired immediately.

 

[Chaz]

With every sportscaster there are wonderful aspects of their broadcasts, and terrible annoyances. Obviously, this is 100% subjective. I think Grace adds a needed perspective to the booth. He and Thom work well together and sincerely enjoy each other's company, something mandatory for team coverage. At times, Shulte acts as if he's superior to the people he works with, and though he's better than his color guys, it detracts from the broadcast.

Every one of Thom's partners added something new and different. Traber had/has/showed more enthusiasm for our D's than anyone else, and during meaningless blowouts kept the broadcasts fresh and interesting. Old Joe has some of the great old-time one-liners, and mentally brings a lot of us back to the golden ages of the MLB. Lyons didn't hold back with his criticism, and even though at times I wanted to kick his arse for some of the things he would say about the team, 99% of the time he was right. I think it's important to maintain a love of the team, and at the same time not be blinded by it to be able to admit when a harsh critique is appropriate. Grace brings with him a contemporary knowledge of the game and team important for many of the fans to understand. And then there's Todd Walsh. He's useless as far as I'm concerned. Somehow he even manages to be worse during the Coyotes season. Ugh.

Last year's rotation of three color guys worked well, IMO. They had one guy just long enough to not get too annoyed with what he said, then introduced a new one at the right time for a fresh look at the game. I think this year's rotation should be Grace, Joe Sr., and Traber, with Lyons doing the National broadcasts. "Big Todd" should be fired immediately.

Welcome Desert Fox.


Awesome signature BTW. I think of that quote at least once a week.

 

[Desert Fox]

Thanks! That quote was way ahead of its time. Glad you (and others) appreciate it as much as i do.

One other thing: I'm glad Rod Allen is gone from the booth here in Phx. Though i don't think he was a bad sportscaster, he didn't fit into the D's broadcast at all. Apparently he's doing well with his relatively new job, so congrats in that respect.

 

[BOB_Man24]

He just made a "wooopoooohh" sound....

 

[Desert Fox]

After being in the same chair for 5.5 hours, and finally seeing your old team win, "wooopoooohh" is just one of the many sounds i'd probably make!

 

[Ryanwb]

Honestly I think Grace is getting better....

 

[minercon]

I'll tell you what he sounds like to me.....Grace sounds like a spoiled rich teenager that is very immature and someone that needs to be told how great they are all the time. After 5.5 hours yesterday of watching the game and observing him for over 15 games that is how he played it out for me.

I wish they would talk more about what is happening on the field and yes you are right...Traber would tell you ahead of time what would be the next pitch to expect etc.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Anyone watching today's broadcast on AZTV? I think it's disgraceful how Thom and Joe Sr. spoke to that Jr. PA announcer girl.....Oh well...

 

[thirty-two]

Anyone watching today's broadcast on AZTV? I think it's disgraceful how Thom and Joe Sr. spoke to that Jr. PA announcer girl.....Oh well...

what did they say?

 

[Cland]

After last night's game I've changed my opinion on Grace. I love the fact that he called Thom out on his ridiculous statement about how RJ "worked Zambrano" with his RBI single. That had to be one of the biggest homer statements of all time and Grace did a nice job by calling him out on it.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Granted, I haven't watched enough games to know for sure, but the ones I heard with Grace doing them I enjoyed.

He doesn't seem to sugar coat anything, and tells it like it is. I liked that.

Mike

 

[BC867]

Anyone watching today's broadcast on AZTV? I think it's disgraceful how Thom and Joe Sr. spoke to that Jr. PA announcer girl.....Oh well...

I thought the same thing. They were both very condescending, especially Joe, Sr. They talked down to her as though she either just learned the language . . . or just came out of brain surgery.

Then they ran out of inane questions to ask her, but kept asking anyway.

Awkward, yes. Professional, no.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regarding all the comments in this thread about Mark Grace's grating voice and bad traits, the longer he stays in the booth, the less management will be tempted to name him Manager when Brenly moves on.

Mark would be as much a neophyte in that position as he is doing color commentary, with much, much more at stake.

 

[schillingfan]

Some of my friends were listening to MLB-TV for tonight's game which had Brennaman and Grace. MLB TV apparently this year does not block out the announcers between innings when the commercials are run. He was saying that when guys are on base he used to talk to them about all the p*ssies in the stands. I gather that got cleaned up when they went back on the air. A lot of our game thread was taken up with "What's Grace going to say between this inning.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

what did they say?

Oh, I somehow missed this and I apologize...

BC867 (you) certainly nailed it.....

The girl was a 11 y/o and Thom and Joe Sr. treated her like as BC867 put it.. someone who just had brain surgery....

If I remember correctly...She did the PA announcing for 1-inning, but since the Dbacks managed to score 4-runs, she ended-up doing the following inning..

Anyways, first...she was about to sit down and Joe was like..."you can't sit here"...Dont know if he was saying that sarcastically...Even Thom said "Joe" in an alarming manner in response that Joe's comment....

Then, they asked her how long it took for her to learn to say the names since she pronounced them all flawlessly..... Then, they asked which name was the most difficult...She seemed annoyed/uncomfortable to be in the booth w/them.....

They asked her what her favorite tv show was....Even asked if "Sponge Bob" was among them....She's 11 and even Thom realized she's too old for that..... I felt sorry for her.....Thats pretty much all I can remember, but it just struck me odd.....