Just say no to Ray Knight

Thanks for following up on the HD thing Barry! I spoke with DirecTV and they are adding HD channels as soon as they are able. I can't wait to see Don Sutton's mop in High-Def.

After seeing Cal Ripken on TBS in the playoffs, I have no idea why MASN hasn't snapped him up. I guess he is probably has enough endorsements ($$$), speaking engagements, etc. that he doesn't need the hassle of a 7-month gig. But, he was great!

Ray Knight looks as lost in the studio as he did in the dugout.

I clearly am in the minority, but I really enjoyed Ray Knight on the pre- and post-game shows. The real horrow was when he was occasionally replaced by Don Baylor. Cringeworthy.

I think Barry should get the pre- and post-game MASN gig! Boston Globe reporters are on NESN all the time prior to, and after, Sox games.

Looking into HD? If I recall correctly, it is only Kansas city and O's/Nats that don't have HD. Every other team has it, usually for all their games. Maybe it's the cheap-a$$ owner of MASN that won't spring for it....nah, that couldn't be it.

Raaaaarrr! Want blood! Somebody must go! Must hate at least one person in every part of the organization, arrrrgh! Knight/Tolman/Lopez must go, mwahahahaha!

""It's definitely a possibility," Webster said. "We are working with satellite and cable companies, and we ar hopeful to offer a number of Nationals and Orioles telecasts in HD.""

Translation: Fat chance, Nats fans.

I have gotten an advance copy of Kasten's statement next Tuesday providing an update on the status of seasons ticket relocations.

"I am happy to report today that I can finally announce that an announcement will be forthcoming sometime between Christmas and Easter concerning relocation of seasons ticketholders to this lovely new park. The delay has been caused by the fact that I must individually sit in each one of the 20,000 seats to ensure the proper viewing angle before I will sign off on each seat relocation. Unfortunately, not all of the seats and cupholders have been installed and I must wait for that to be done."

I'm with you, Baldino - I like Knight. I like my goofiness after the game (Knight), not during it (Paciorek). Frankly, the MASN post-game shows aren't terribly interesting, IMO (if I got better radio reception in my house, I'd listen to Charie & Dave every time), so the fact that Ray and Johnnie ham it up a bit is good by me. I think they do a decent enough job pre-game, as well.

Keeping Slowes and Jageler is a MUCH higher priority/bigger issue, however (tho i think we've beaten that horse beyond recognition!)

For those of you who are complaining about the fact that we do not offer HD like Comcast, I would remind you that MASN has already incurred a great deal of technical overhead costs in order to bring the games to you in color instead of black and white.

Duuuude, what nice grass...

Maybe the angle is playing tricks, but it looks like Austin Kearns will have a much nicer time in right in the new park. Wily Mo might not feel it's any better, though.

I enjoy Ray Knight. He is enthusiastic about the Nats and is a homer which I like. If I want pure objectivity I can read the comments on some of the web sites. I learn a lot about being a baseball player in the majors from him. He does have a smile which radiates when the Nats do well and it adds to the show especially when the Nats get that curly W.

506, I think the angle is indeed playing tricks, it looks like third base is almost as far away from home as the right field foul pole.

Oh, and count me among the pro-Ray Knighters. The show is a little goofy at times, but when your team is in rebuilding mode it's good to have some supportive happy folks as part of the broadcast.

And the Javelinas are down 5-1 to the Surprise (!) Rafters, now batting in the top of the ninth. Maxwell is 1-3 with a double and a walk, and Zinicola just pitched a 1-2-3 eighth.

Nats have TWO nominees for Blooper of the Year. Sniff. I'm just so proud.

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/mlb/awards/y2007/tyib/index.jsp

I also love the Ray Knight post game performance. I stay tuned only if he is on and find Johnny Holliday to be a bore. Ray is enthusiastic and surprisingly knowledgable.

506-

I loved your "must hate one person in every part of the organization" riff. Funny stuff.

I love Ray Knight for 1986, but he looks as weird on camera as I do when I pose for photos. I will also be happy to have announcers be homers until the local media and DC government give the Nats a little love.

In the meantime, kudos to Mayor Fenty for plans to come to the event on the 13th. He has proven to live up to expectations so far in the (non-Nats) truly important parts of his job. I am glad he is also taking time to boost the team next week.

Final from Surprise: Rafters over the Javelinas, 5-2.

Good effort by Zinicola in relief, as noted, with help from a fine running catch by Brett Gardner of an Adam Rosales line drive.

J-Max went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout looking, and a robbery by Chris Lubanski on a fine line drive to left.

Devin Ivany (eye-VANN-ee in the unique pronunciation of the Surprise Stadium announcer) went 0-for-3: struck out swinging, flied to the left-field warning track, lined into a double play, and finally was hit by a pitch to reach in the ninth, after which he scored on a Corey Wimberly double.

Surprise Stadium is well worth the visit. Surprisingly (pardon the pun) a seat over the first-base dugout affords shade all afternoon.

There are games in Mesa and Phoenix tonight, but having got into town at 3 this morning, I'm apt to give those a pass.

Hendo,
I'm not sure what your schedule is, but if you get a chance, drop by and take a look at Scottsdale. Their SS is Manny Burriss, a local product, who seems to be on a very hot streak.
A report would be greatly appreciated.

Re: The Kasten wrestling comments. So, it's back to snarky Barry???

Seriously, the field looks lovely, what a sight! A great, scenic stadium - feels like a new era!! But, now we have to face Lidge in Philly. Man.

No HD? Is this 2005? The fact that this is not a sure thing shows that MASN is a low-budget outifit that cannot and should not be taken seriously. (Kinda like Angelos and the Orioles, no?) Great news about Carpenter. I enjoyed him and Sutton immensely. Go Nats!

Catcher50: Scottsdale is at home Friday and Saturday nights, and our Javs play during the day on both dates, so I might well swing over to Scottsdale on one of those evenings. Thanks for the tip.

Ah, fresh and lovely turf in Nats Park and under 100 days until pitchers and catchers report in Florida (I figure about 97 or so but who's counting?). Now if they could just lock up Slowes and Jageler I'd be one happy camper.

"So, it's back to snarky Barry???"

I like the snark feint -- so characterized by me because I'd have missed it if Natswriter hadn't pointed it out.

How 'bout a three-way battle royal between the Nats FO, city officials, and the Washington press corps? (Too bad Kasten and Sheinin aren't in the same weight class; I'd part with serious coin to see that matchup.)

Too bad Manny isn't in town. Then they could go mano a Manny.

Assuming pitchers and catchers report on February 15, natsfan1a, my math gives me 22+31+31+15 = 99 days.

Still under 100. Yep, I'm counting. 8^D

how come that centerfield camera shot on the clark const website doesn't get updated? I want to see how the left field corner is coming along since that seems to be the one part of the park that is the least developed. Or maybe they could rotate the press box camera around a little to the left?

just suggestin'

more, more, more. give us more.

Where's the purple glow coming from (8:05 pm shot) in the upper right field seats?

Excellent call on DC native Manny Burriss by Catcher50, by the way.

Despite seemingly qualifying with 40 at-bats in 13 games, Burriss is missing from some of the Arizona Fall League on-line leaderboards. I had to drill down to the Saguaros team list to find his numbers.

And tasty they are: .375 / .432 / .450. That looks an awful lot like the line I'd like to see from a leadoff hitter, although that SLG would move him down an orthodox batting order.

Strangely, Burriss stank out the hitter-friendly California League with a line of .165 / .237 / .180, but happily rebounded to .321 / .374 / .381 in the South Atlantic League and seems not to be looking back.

Anyway, I'm sure looking forward to seeing Burriss in Scottsdale later this week. Thanks again, Catcher50.

I like Ray Knight too...I think he and Johnny's joking around is quite funny. And, unlike Bob Carpenter, they seem to actually LIKE the team.

I am VERY UNHAPPY that Carpenter was brought back. Next year (assuming Charlie and Dave return) I'll be tuning Carpenter down and listening to the radio broadcasts. Carpenter says "I guess the other five percent is my ability to do a good baseball bradocast"? Bob must be watching his tapes of his old Cardinal games, because any home town broadcaster who puts down his own team for the opposition constantly is NOT doing a good baseball broadcast. Scott Rolen never broke HIS hand in the offseason, did he Bob?

The purple glow seems to come from some sort of street lights. I'm guessing Metal Halide or Mercury vapor. Those are replacing the ones which have a yellow glow but, for a lot of reasons are now considered less desirable.

BTW, Manny tends to be a streak hitter and, as you can see from his line, mostly singles. Mucho stolen bases. He is definitely an Ozzie Smith type shortstop. It'd be great to see him in a Nats uniform (just trade up from a green curly W to a red one), but as has been said "you can't go home again". Although, I don't think that the Giants would give up on him. They seem to be going from big heads to pure speed. Word is that they have a set of four players working towards the parent club that you could give a baton to, next summer, and they would have a serious shot at the 4x100 in Beijing.

Thanks for the math check, Hendo. Glad to know it's still under 100.

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Assuming pitchers and catchers report on February 15, natsfan1a, my math gives me 22+31+31+15 = 99 days.

Still under 100. Yep, I'm counting. 8^D

It's now 98, natsfan1a, assuming the 2/15 date is right. ;^)

(A cool ST link: http://www.springtrainingonline.com.)

Nice AFL story this morning, Barry. Actually, attendance is surging this week; the announced attendance at Surprise Stadium yesterday afternoon was over 200.

Competition for good seats was moderate, but courteous; I had to go all the way back to the third row behind the first-base dugout to find an empty row. The crush was allayed somewhat by the fact that 40 or 50 of the attendees were scouts, who of course sit behind the net back of home plate, radar guns in hand.

Off to Peoria Sports Complex and Scottsdale Stadium today.

Interesting article on mlb.com about Andruw Jones (and Ladsen managed to get all the names right too!) With some troubling quotes.

it's clear to me that Kasten will NOT be able to do an end around on Boras again and that the relationship Jones has with some Nats personnel will NOT get us any discount on Jones contract.

If we can't get a good deal on him (either in reduced years or reduced dollars) and have to go full freight with Boras I think we pass and instead ride out Church (possibly with a low end FA or trade augmentation) until J-Max is ready for the show.

Okay, let's stop sugar coating stuff.

The simple fact that MASN does not offer HD is absolutely atrocious. It is amateur broadcasting and they will remain a sub-par media outlet holding the fans of Nats and O's HOSTAGE because the fans have no other option. It is an insult. Anytime COMCAST does something better than you, it's time to look in the mirror.

A brand marketing report at the beginning of this year polled consumers on what their three most hated brand names were. The results were:
1. Exxon
2. Haliburton
3. Comcast
So essentially people hate Comcast right after "Big Oil" and Dick Cheney.

At current, with no HD, MASN provides WORSE service than COMCAST. So again, stop sugar coating. It is an embarrasment and an insult. Period.

Secondly, I cannot stand Ray Knight. I have ZERO respect for anyone who calls himself a journalist and uses phrases like "WE" and "US" referring to the team in which they are covering. The announcers on WGN's WhiteSox coverage are the most egregious homers in all of broadcasting, but MASN and Ray Knight are awfully close. I understand when your outlet is owned by the team that there has to be some serious questions about the journalistic integrity of its on-air content, but that doesn't make me any less annoyed by it. All you end up doing is creating a fan base that becomes too unicentric thinking that their team is better than it is which in turn creates a culture accepting of mediocrity because the public voices they hear always falsely praise or spin the truth.

Ironic thing is, I'm actually in a good mood today :)

From a Ladson item on the team site (one down, one to go):

In the other news, Dave Jageler has agreed to terms on a new deal and will continue as one of the Nationals' radio play-by-play voices, according to baseball sources. Jageler's quick wit on the air has made him a popular figure in the D.C. area. Jageler was not available for comment.

There is no word if Jageler's partner, Charlie Slowes, has agreed to terms with the Nationals.

As a cable repairman once said, I don't care who you are, that's funny! :)

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Ironic thing is, I'm actually in a good mood today :)

I laughed right out of my chair when I read your quip about Comcast, Ryan. Just the other day I heard myself say, "I'm thinking of switching over to Verizon FiOs so I can get better customer service."

That's right, I wanted to get better service so I intended to turn to... VERIZON.

Anyone else up for hiring Hendo as official NJ scout? We can all pitch in on salary- I've got some pocket lint.

Sect. 506, I second that emotion. I've got a tissue and a Tic-Tac of unknown vintage...

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Anyone else up for hiring Hendo as official NJ scout? We can all pitch in on salary- I've got some pocket lint.

Better up the ante, people... I got a call from the folks in Bristol this morning.

(OK, so they wanted to sell me magazines. But still.)

I'll toss in a new Lincoln...a nice shiny bronze one.

Better make that a copper one instead...fits better with my budget.

Do it soon, there's a bill in the house to reduce the amount of copper in pennies in order to save the taxpayers money.

I'll leave the cynical analysis to someone else....

There are two villians in the great MASN HD issue: MASN and Comcast. First Comcast - because they use coax cable to deliver tv and interent to your home they only have so much bandwidth for TV and particularly HDTV. That bandwidth is now at capacity. Meaning to add another HD station, they have to remove channels to do so. They probably won't have additional capicity to add HD until they convert the analogue channels (2-60ish) to digital. This won't be accomplished until early 2009 (this the "digital conversion you've been hearing about).

The problem for all us HD fans is that Comcast dominates the cable market in the area - close to 2 million subscribers. The next biggest is Cox and they have the same technical issue as Comcast. That brings us to Verizon FiOS which is fiber optic service. FiOS has the compacity to add HD channels as soon as they have a carrier agreement with the provider. FiOS added 2 HD channels this week alone (including CSN-HD - so you get Wizards in HD). However, they have a very small foot print in the area (but are growing quickly).

The final major provider is DirecTV and they like FiOS can add an HD Channel as soon as they have a carry agreement (they've added 60 HD channels in the last month). But again - fewer subscribers than Comcast/Cox.

This brings us to the other villian - MASN (a.k.a. Peter, slang Dick). For MASN to invest heavily in HD they want to make sure people can see it, but since Comcast can't add the channel the vast majority won't see it. And MASN is too cheap to create the channel only to carry it on FiOS and DirecTV given the limited viewers on those networks. Now if MASN wanted to create HD they could and it would be carried, but my guess is they are going to hide behind the "Comcast won't broadcast our games in HD" argument so we won't get any HD in 2008.

One solution is for one of the network affiliates (4,5,7,9 or 20) in DC to pick up the rights to carry the games. They already broadcast in HD and would be added to all systems. But my guess is these networks aren't going to give up revenue from primetime to carry baseball games (this argument might change if the writers strike stretches for months, but again very unlikely).

And finally there is one other issue. Remeber there is MASN and MASN2. Will there be a MASN-HD and a MASN-HD2? If only one MASN game then that means if the O's and Nats play at the same time only one will be in HD the other in SD. Who do you think Peter will want to see in HD? Remember, baseball viewership (hence ad revenue) went up in every market that had HD this year. So my bet is we'd see more O's in HD than Nats.

And of course if MASN did do 2 HD stations, that only doubles the problems for Comcast to carry them.

As fans our only leverage is switch from Comcast/Cox to FiOS/DirecTV and let MASN know everytime you do it. I have FiOS and love the picture quality. They've committed to adding 60 HD stations next year. There are some bugs with the software on their DVR, but that is supposed to be fixed in Dec.

Barry - you're great, this would make a great story (IMHO).

At the beginning of the 2006 season, as I recall, there was a story that My20 was willing to carry more Nats games, but couldn't for some reason.

The most obvious reason would be that MASN wouldn't offer them the feeds -- but, much as I love Lord Peter, I'll have to do some digging before I nail that accusation to his door.

Anyone else remember anything about this?

Hendo, I also recall seeing something about that but not when or where...

HD Fan, how is the internet connection with Verizon? Is it really slower than cable, as they keep advertising? Is it reliable? I find that Comcast - in my lower-income neighborhood - drops all the time (which is a disaster with my Halo score...). How long did it take to get installed?

Thanks for the tip on the bloopers, NatsNut! If you watch them all, you'll see that our Nats were really involved in THREE of those bloopers, though they only get credit for 2 (Zimmerman error led to the Cubs guy taking an extra base and colliding with his third base coach). I think the hands-down winner has to be the Rangers' "No Defense" clip. Yikes. The Chico clip still cracks me up though. As did the Orioles catcher beaning his pitcher on an attempt to throw out a base stealer. Good stuff.

p.s. Thanks for the informative and funny story on the Javelinas today, Barry. It felt like old times reading a Nats story over breakfast. :D

Does anyone know if the MLB extra innings package is available anywhere with HD broadcasts. My cable company down here in South Carolina (Charter) only broadcasts the games in SD, even if available in HD. Seems all HD broadcasts are in the 700-799 channel line-up. Extra innings packages are broadcast in the 800 channel ranges.

New post, finally.

Ah, here's the link on the 2006 over-the-air broadcast rights:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/23/AR2006022302217_pf.html

"Duffy Dyer, general manager of WDCA, said the station will carry fewer games than last year because that was the total offered by the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, a regional network owned by the Baltimore Orioles and Major League Baseball. . . . 'If MASN wanted to discuss taking some additional telecasts, that's something we would be looking to sit down and take a look at.'" (Dyer seems to have mellowed out a good deal since his catching days. ;-D)

So it's up to Lord Peter, and we can pretty well guess what's on tap for 2008. Guess I'll continue to Charlie-and-Dave it, for the most part, at the cable-free hutch.

"Finally?" You're going at a pretty good clip these days, Barry.

Agree with Hendo on this. Barry's been el fuego.

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"Finally?" You're going at a pretty good clip these days, Barry.

I would love to have the games in HD. I would love to know if the higher rates of HD viewers coincides with lower attendance at the game.

Also, I had Comcast internet and recently moved where I have Verizon FIOS installed. FIOS is faster for internet, IMO, and the picture is much better. More importantly, the customer service is 1000% better than Comcast. They almost seem like the want to help you. I could not say the same about Comcast.

BTW, I don't work for Verizon :)

Also, Ladson says that Jaegler is signed, but no word on Slowes. Also, if you have access to Baseball America, they ran the Nationals Farm system special on Nov. 7th. If people want, I can try and post it here.

To: Section 501 (before moving):

I have had absolutely no problems w/ Verizon FiOS internet. You can get several different speeds from 5/2 to as high as 50/2. I have the basic 5/2 and have had no real issues w/ any download and no service interruptions.

Keep in mind this is Verizon FiOS, not Verizon DSL. Verizon will have had to run fiber to your house for you to get this service. You can go to their website and see, but sometimes you have to call as well.

Install depends on your home. If you have really old coax cable they sometimes have to replace it w/ new (I don't think there is a charge for that). My TV and Internet took about 3 hours w/ no replacement of Coax. I have their version of "Triple Play" - TV, Phone and Internet for $99/mo (before taxes and equipment). The phone service is unlimited long distance and is not VOIP, but regular phone service. The boxes for the TV are about $5 each for SD TV and 15 to 20 for HD DVRs depending on the type you get (my wife loves the multi room DVR for $20). All in all I pay about $7 less a month than I previously did for Comcast(TV/Internet) & Verizon (local phone only), but I get a ton more channels - particularly HD and more phone service.

I too do not work for Verizon, but I do recommend FiOS highly if you have the option (remember FiOS was the first to add MASN in the DC area when Comcast refused too).

I've been very happy with FIOS Internet. I'm still trying to make a case to natsfan1c for the FIOS TV package...

Oh yeah, I don't work for Verizon either.

Yes please.
____________
Also, if you have access to Baseball America, they ran the Nationals Farm system special on Nov. 7th. If people want, I can try and post it here.

Posted by: roman1735 | November 9, 2007 11:24 AM

natsfan1a:
Have 1c talk to my wife. She loves the multiroom DVR. Can watch any recorded show from any room w/ TV that has a FiOS set top box. As she moves around the house in the evening she can keep watching recorded shows and skip the commericals.

To be honest she was a tough nut to crack to get it. In fact I couldn't get her to agree. So one day I just went and did it. She came home complained there was nothing to watch. I said hit the DVR button on that remote. She said "what did you do". I said just push the button. She saw the screen come, arrowed around a minute and started watching a show. Now mind you, she never said "that was great you switched", but she never complained either.

Thanks, HD Fan, will pass that on...

Sorry, Svrluga's agent, but it seems the reason why the Globe has reporters on NESN is because there's an ownership connection between the paper and the network and the team.

This is from an article I found on the Boston Globe's boston.com website.

"Red Sox ownership, which includes a 17 percent stake belonging to the New York Times (parent company of the Boston Globe), shares ownership of NESN with the Bruins."

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I think Barry should get the pre- and post-game MASN gig! Boston Globe reporters are on NESN all the time prior to, and after, Sox games.

Posted by: Svrluga's Agent | November 8, 2007 03:39 PM

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Loved the "designated for reassignment," 502.

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