Glad to hear Carpenter is returning; he's a solid pro behind the microphone.

Hope this means that we'll have good Slowes/Jagelar news soon, too.

Are we still stuck with Knight?

booooo. they could do better, but they could also do worse.

i'd love dan shulman/sean mcdonough. if not mel proctor or johnny holiday.

Does anyone know if, or when, MASN intends to start broadcasting in Hi-Def? DirecTV is now offering a host of local sports channels (local Comcast, NESN, YES) in HD. Seems kind of ironic that we will have the largest HD scoreboard at the stadium and no HD on MASN!

Didn't get my wish: Mike Frankhauser, but Carpenter is certainly a welcome continuation. He now knows the team and is a seasoned pro. One of the good things about this transition is that he will be able to do comparisons, during the broadcasts, between '07 in RFK and '08 in GEICO/FBR/Mars. That will give us a better handle on who is logical as we move forward.

Wait a minute!!!! "Cutting Edge"??? Does the phrase HiDef resonate with the MASN folks?

Carp does get confused sometimes, but he has a great baseball voice, and that's more important. He seems like a real gent, too, sort of the anti-ESPN/Fox announcer (except for Jon Miller).

Wasn't Darling on the TBS post season broadcasts? He's still a stiff.

Hey Barry, Zim apparently had surgery on his wrist, but the Nats have not yet announced that it was "successful."

Should we be concerned?

I don't think anyone could watch the World Series coverage and not pine just a little bit for Bob Carpenter -- no matter who one's top choice would be.

Looks like we are finally going to find out where our new seats are. Buried in a Nats' press release about Zimm's wrist surgery is this nugget.

"In other news, the Nationals will display the playing surface at Nationals Park on Tuesday (Nov. 13). Team president Stan Kasten will also be on hand to share information about the seat relocation process for season-ticket holders."

What's up Barry? Any insight? Are we going to be told to shut up and wait like I usually get from my ticket rep?

Thanks for passing on the good news, Barry. Carpenter and Sutton have been one of the few teams I could stand to watch on TV, even though -- the hutch being cable-free -- I usually Charlie-and-Dave it anyway.

(Now let's hope we get our radio team back.)

Oh, on Zim's wrist: Got an update this morning, and it went well. I'll tack it onto the post.

Hooray!! Great decision to bring Carpenter back. Anyone who complains about his occasional "mistakes" should try doing three hours of live, unscripted TV 162 times a year. Harder than it looks.

Having seen a bunch a announcers during the playoffs, I actually appreciate Carpenter even more. He also handled himself like a total pro the last two weeks of the season when he thought he'd been canned. Kudos for that.

Hopefully this announcement will soon be followed by news that Charlie and Dave will be back on the radio.

Happy Holidays, Carpy!

Dagnabbit, forgot to tell Kasten to keep Charlie & Dave at that Nats promotional event at ESPN Zone downtown last month. I guess winning those four free tix to a game next year took priority in my mind... :-}

Agree, Ray Knight is just horrible. Besides not being able to think on his feet and ad lib, I've never forgiven him for scoring the winning run in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. In his defense, Darling is better although that means going from comatose to being able to utter complete phrases.

Carpenter is a workmanlike pro. I just wish he would give some sense that he actually lives here and is part of the community. I was hoping for Sean McDonaugh who was let go by the Red Sox some years ago.

Good news to me. It seems an old friend is returning. I have spent so much time with him over the last two years late at night on TV. More time listening to him than my wife. It will be fun watching his enthusiasm going to the new park and him announcing all the new firsts that happen there. Looking forward to next year.

I guess the new Nats store at the new stadium will have to re-order more of Carpenter's scorebooks. Strangely enough, a lot of them were available during the last home weekend series...

I think the Nats/MASN could've done better than Carpenter, but - as several other posters have acknowledged - he ain't the worst of the bunch. Carp got a bit too saucy for my taste near the end of the season, doing a lot more opinion/commentary than simple play-by-play game-calling, and was often flat-out wrong in his analysis at times. That said, I think he was infinitely better than Proctor.

I do hope Bob picks up his game a bit next year, and lets Sutton do his thing. Don grew into his role EXTREMELY well IMO, and provided excellent, non-hysterical, non-"homer" analysis and color to the broadcasts. They outta lock him up for life, after dead-fish Darling and Cookie-Monster-trying-to-be-Ray-Romano Paciorek, who added nothing but idiocy to the telecast.

No offense here, but to the poster who commented positively re: Johnny Holiday... I'm sorry, but while he's got a great voice, he knows NOTHING about baseball that he doesn't read off his notes. He'd be awful. He needs to stick to UMD football and basketball, and preferably off-camera. While Ray Knight may be a little hysterical and definitely goofy at times, at least he knows the sport, and is fun/funny to watch. He can keep doing pre/post game and occasional fill-in color for as long as he wants, IMO.

I heard/saw Johnny Holliday call the Nats once this season, and was surprised how well he pulled it off considering that he was climbing into the baseball saddle with perhaps just a few hours' preparation (or a couple days' at the most).

Then again, I've always been a Holliday booster. That said: as has been suggested of others offhandedly, we could do far, far worse.

Off topic: Dang, that turf at Nats Park is looking better every day.

Glad to hear Bob Carpenter is returning to the Nats booth next year.

And nothing against Don Sutton, but I do miss Tom Paciorek and the lighter delivery of the Carpenter-Paciorek combo.

The great thing about Ray Knight is that his head is about three times the size of Johnny Holiday's, which cracks me up every time I see the postgame.

I'd expect you, of all people, to be tolerant re. head size, Bob L. ;-)

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The great thing about Ray Knight is that his head is about three times the size of Johnny Holiday's, which cracks me up every time I see the postgame.

MASN told me they would have some HD games next season. No commitment as to how many.

natsfan1a: It's not the size of the head, it's the motion of the bobble...

I'm glad to see that the TV crew staying together for another season. Carpenter is a pro, Sutton is a great analyst who has the skins on the wall to bring instant credibility and Debbie Taylor really improved as the season went on. I think that she was especially good on the Nats Extra show.

Your Welcome Bob! Glad to provide the support, delighted that we will have a solid baseball announcer back next year.

I agree that pre- post- game crew needs some help. Knight is a nice guy, but I sure would like to see a little more spark in those shows. Debbie Taylor started out pretty good, but the guy that subbed for her was better. And she started to fall into that lazy "How great did it feel to hit that homerun?" line of questioning. What is the guy going to say? "Oh well, it was totally awesome." Why not ask a meaningful question like "Were you looking for a specific pitch or location?" "Were you influenced by the positioning of the outfielders?"

I think the sod is going to be all in by tomorrow night. God it looks great...

Hmm, dunno, estuartj... is the dirt even all in yet?

Still, I heartily agree, it sure is looking like a ball field.

1a, I was voicing support for disproportionately large heads!

And good one, Hendo. Though may I propose "it's the wobble of the bobble?"

I think the dirt is all in and that all of the sod will be down today or tomorrow.

My apologies, Bob L., I should have realized that you would be supportive of "differently headed" individuals. Nice saying, BTW.

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1a, I was voicing support for disproportionately large heads!

And good one, Hendo. Though may I propose "it's the wobble of the bobble?"

I think they made the best possible decision bringing Carpenter back. My guess is, he'll really gel this year.

RE: The sod... notice how the sod that was laid last week is really greening up!

Hendo, check out the clark cont. site, they have all the dirt in and almost all the grass, just about a third of LF is left to do...

Another post is up.

This is an old post, so I guess it will go unnoticed, but:

1. I am no fan of Carpenter, although I strangely like that he is a homer. My complaint is mostly over his home run call. "See...You...Later!!!" does nothing for me.

2. Man, I was so sorry to see Tom Paciorek go, but I admit now that Don Sutton is great.

No one beats Charlie Slowes. Nobody.

Slowes is terrific! Hope they lock those guys up soon.

Busting on Johnny Holiday! Shame on you Borg. Johnny called Senators games on occasion in the late '60s and early '70s. To me, it's like hearing a Washington baseball game as it should be.

"To me, it's like hearing a Washington baseball game as it should be."

You're talking Arch McDonald and Bob Wolf, aren't you? Remember the Countess Mara neckties given out to interviewees?

By the way, Slowes is not "great." The screaming that goes with home runs is bush league. Neither is Sutton "great." At best, Sutton's OK as #2 in MASN's "cutting edge" broadcasts. Spare me. MASN's production values are lower than Walt Whitman High School's.

Ray Knight is the most knowledgeable baseball man, and would be good in Sutton's place. Knight's terrible in his current role. Sutton has an unpleasant, scratchy voice and, even worse, looks at everything from a pitcher's perspective. Pitchers, especially Hall of Famers, need to be seen and not heard. Where is Earl Weaver when we need him? But Sutt is a pal of Kasten's and has sucked up to Mark Lerner, so he's probably with us for life.

The good news is we have a team and a fine new ball park, courtesy of DC taxpayers. Hit don't get no better'n that..

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