SF Gate: Tim Goodman: Giants telecasts should just play ball

Some interesting thoughts from the Chronicle’s Television Writer:

Whether he’s overusing his favorite phrase, “Grab some pine, meat,” or layering on the familiar “gamer” tag, he takes the notion of color to the extreme. In fact, Krukow is also known for “eliminating” people in the stands he doesn’t like by using the Telestrator. Mostly his targets are Dodger fans or those who have crossed some anti-Giants threshold. If there’s anyone more “homer” about the Giants, he or she is heretofore unknown.

In fairness to Krukow, even though he has no apparent personal dislike of being goofy (old-school player aphorisms and lingo, a willingness to chat about characters in the crowd), he’s much better when he keeps the goofiness tamped down. He knows the game. He adds value with his insight. And he handles with aplomb what is expected of most analysts: to repeatedly tell fans what they already know (that someone dropped a bunt in the perfect situation, that a batter stayed balanced through a swing or a runner advanced with a heads-up play). Done in the proper way, this never comes off as being condescending or overly obvious. (John Madden has made a career out of this neat little trick.)