"Fly ball to right. Way back. Gone. {silence}"

Is that so hard, Ted?

'Course, if a Padre hit it, it would be more like "Flyballtoright. Waaaaybackgone." I like the guy for some reason, but whenever I'm listening on XM the image I get is him auditioning for the next voice of the MicroMachines. Dude can talk seriously fast.

Geez, get off your high horse. You're calling a home run, not defending a murderer in court.

The more I hear media types loathe Bonds, the less I dislike him. I often wonder what we'd find on his critcs if they were examined as closely as the atheltes they cover are examined.

Is it sooooooo hard to congratulate the guy? I am willing to wager that most of the people listening and watching will know that Barry has been under a cloud of suspicion for some time.

Just sing a little riff to the tune of "Closing Time" but call it "Homer Time" (D'oH!!):

It's homer time,
One last call for stanozolol so finish your Winstrol and Clear
It's homer time,
They're cheering you back home but we won't be here....

Best Regards

John

Voices of Padres dread Bonds call

Oh, boo-frickin-hoo.

Voices of Padres dread Bonds call

Sure, I'd listen if the Padres called...

#1 - That would actually be stunningly effective, if he did it. The neutral tone, plus the silence afterwards...very understated.

We just went through this with the Dodger broadcasts, and the breathless interviews with Vin Scully asking him how he would "handle" Bonds home run call.

All the announcers have to do is REPORT WHAT THEY SEE. How hard is that? Do we have to have a scripted call?

And, by the way....most likely the call to be used for "history" WON'T BE THE VISITING TEAM'S ANNOUNCERS. Why is this so hard to figure? There are four sets of announcers here: radio and TV for both teams. Why does Ted or Vin figure they are under pressure? It will be the two Giants announcers who will be under a bit of pressure.

So, just report what you see, Ted.

Of course, while the writers and broadcasters wring their hypocritical hands over this "dilemma", their employers, the newspapers, televisions, radio stations, shoe shine boys, all of them, will cover Barry constantly. The Dodgers arranged their whole telecast the last few days over where Barry is, what Barry is doing now, when does Barry bat next, etc, etc, etc. So will the Padres.

The Los Angeles Times, even as their sports pages took the now trite shots, put the Barry Home Run story (with photos) on page one of the paper three days in a row. The sports section contained huge screaming headlines, sidebars, charts, graphs, and a story about every homer hit by Bonds off a Dodger pitcher.

They don't want Bonds to hit the homer in their city, but they certainly will add to the Neilsen ratings and rack sales. Not to mention the added tickets sold by the Padres.

As a baseball fan, the continued presence of Ted Leitner calling baseball games offends me more.

Trust me on this: I know people who have dealt with Leitner and have been listening to him, unfortunately, for 29 years. If Leitner was saying any prayers this week, it was that it DOES happen here. The man lives for attention. His call of 755 and/or 756 will get him some of the national attnetion he has never gotten in 30+ years in the business. If Bonds does hit one or two this weekeend, I hope Jerry Coleman or Andy Mazur has the mic.

As I have said, Leitner's hatred of Bonds goes way, way back--he was all over Bonds long before BALCO, and long before Bonds left Pittsburgh. And, it is a little late for Ted to be worried about being a hypocrite. Bonds has hit more HRs against the Padres than against any other team, and Leitner has on many occasions pointed out that in his opinion the wins they generated are tainted. He has not, however, when I have heard him, pointed out that Ken Caminiti has addmitted he was on steroids in 1996 when he won the MVP and the Padres, led my Caminiti, narrowly qualified for the playoffs.

Lordy, but I do loathe Ted Leitner. He's the West Coast version of Hawk Harrelson -- clueless, talentless, and an unrepentant homer to the degree where, if you're a fan of the other team, Leitner will find a way to offend you.

Stay Classy, San Diego

Ted Leitner is a complete piece of beep and Matt Vasgersian isn't much better. There's no team whose combined radio and TV broadcasts I despise more than the Padres (and yes, that includes Harrleson, among others). It's a damn shame too, because the Padres should be a great team to follow - great park, likeable players, outstanding pitching... It's almost a joke that the Padres manage to be brought to the masses by two of the worst play-by-play men in the game.

Especially grating with all of this sanctimonous horse crap about not wanting to call Bonds's dirty homers is that, as robinred mentions above, they talk about Caminiti—Leitner especially—all the time as a stand-up guy and a true MVP with no sense of irony or shame. "Steroids have ruined the game of baseball, Bonds is evil incarnate, all Bonds's records should be torn up into itty-bitty pieces and set on fire, how bout that MVP Caminiti." I'm pretty sure, that according to Leitner and Vasgersian, Bonds is the only baseball player in the history of the sport to have taken steroids, as he's the only one they ever fixate on. (Even during games between the Padres and teams not named the San Francico Giants - Vasgersian is especially guilty of this, having done this during, if memory serves correct, at least one AL game on Fox Saturdays early this year.) I could not be happier that I'm going to all three games in person so I don't have to listen to these asshats ruin yet another game patting themselves on the back from atop their very high horses. Just call the ####### game; if I wanted a sermon I'd go to church (or kevin's house). If only they'd just team Mark Grant and Andy Masur for either TV or radio - it would be nice to have at least one broadcast that didn't make me want to throw things.

*"dirty homers" (Cause, I'm getting the old trusty 404 error when I try and edit)

I could be wrong, but didn't this guy make similar comments about not wanting to be the person to call #715?

Matt Vasgersian isn't much better.

"Hey, man--Matty, everybody wants you...Cubs want you, everybody...George Clooney, man...goin' to Darfur and take care of everything, man!"

Hey, maybe I'll send a link to this thread to the Padres. Would anybody who has psoted so far object?

I guess he can't make this call for #755: "Fly ball to right. Way back. God ####### Damnit. {silence}"

Please do robinred - anything that gets Leitner and Vasgersian a step away from calling games in the greater San Diego area is fine by me.

And, by the way....most likely the call to be used for "history" WON'T BE THE VISITING TEAM'S ANNOUNCERS.

I don't know about that ... I'm thinking the Giants' announcers will treat it as an event to be celebrated. If the visiting team's announcers throw in any talk about steroids, cheating, or shame, however discretely, I have no doubt that the media'll be playing that call quite a bit.

Ted Leitner is the sole reason I do not listen to Padre broadcasts on the radio anymore.
His annoying voice just grates on me.

Matt/Grant don't really bug me.

Matt/Grant were cool for a while on MLB.tv. But their style got old for me pretty quick. It's just an endless stream of

"I think I see a little bit of Val Kilmer in that fan we just showed on camera."

"Good call. Very good call. You're really on a roll tonight."

Please.

I hear Jon Miller had some choice comments about Leitner's "prayer" on the Giants radio pre-game. Among them:

"How about this Ted: DO YOUR JOB! IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!"

Not a Padre fan, but I like the Padre play by play guy (I assume Leitner is the guy with the odd voice). Maybe it's the random games I listen to, but it seems like he's more knowledgeable of statistics then other announcers (i.e., discussing OBP, SLG). I kind of like him...

To anyone, anywhere at any time who has ever applauded Barry Bonds.

You pinheads.

I love the game. I have always loved the game.

Over the years, I have seen some of the best who have ever played the game. I saw Johnny Bench catch. I saw Ozzie Smith do his back flip at shortstop. I saw Goose Gossage pitch. I saw Dave Winfield back when he was in that butt-ugly uniform the San Diego Padres gave him, #31.

I was sitting in the stands in Dodger Stadium when Reggie Jackson hit two home runs in a World Series game.

I saw the lean years of my San Diego Padres. Actually, most of their years have been lean. But I was there in 1984 when they beat the Chicago Cubs on a Sunday afternoon that sent them to their first World Series ever.

I also saw Pete Rose play. But Pete Rose is not in The Baseball Hall of Fame. He will never be in The Hall. Because Pete Rose broke the rules, his 4,256 hits are worthless.

But who is in The Baseball Hall of Fame? They’re not all angels. They’re flawed. They had their personal issues and demons to battle. But for the most part, they are there because they loved the game. Most of them would have probably played for free.

For example, look at the most recent inductees: Cal Ripkin, Jr. and Tony Gwynn.

Both gentlemen stayed with their original teams for their entire careers. Both men were pillars of their respective communities. There was never the slightest taint to any of their accomplishments. These humble men took the talent the good Lord gave them and then honed their natural abilities until they were razor sharp. And it showed.

I went to college with Tony Gwynn. When he received contract offers from both the NBA Clippers and MLB Padres, we thought he would play basketball. To be honest, he wasn’t all that great a baseball player. Yet.

He chose baseball and then he chose to make himself the best player he could be. He was one of the first players to really use video. He studied his swing and improved it to win eight batting titles. He worked on his fielding, his one weak spot if he had one, and was rewarded with five Gold Gloves. He is Mr. Padre and the people of San Diego are justifiably so proud of him, they could weep as one.

And then there is Barry Bonds.

Yes, he has natural ability. Hand-eye coordination cannot be taught and coming from the baseball family that he did, he knew what was required to play the game.

But he cheats.

I know you can bulk up on your own using weights. I know you can alter your diet to be a more effective athlete. But using drugs, of any kind and in any form, to improve one’s performance is a slap in the face to all who truly love the game.

If you have any doubt whatsoever that Barry Bonds uses steroids, look at a photo of him when he was a rookie with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Look at his head. Notice the size.

The human head does not really change its size too much over a lifetime. Once you are past puberty, you’re not going to change your hat size or get any taller. That is, if you’re human.

If you’re a chemically-enhanced freak, however, those rules no longer apply.

The bulbous pumpkin currently residing on top of Barry Bonds’ shoulders would make Ichabod Crane swoon. It is really all the proof one needs.

I know there are other players who also use steroids, too. They are cheaters, too. They should all be permanently banned from playing and they deserve all of the health consequences that they will suffer because of their substance abuse.

But to have Barry Bonds even mentioned in the same category as a gentleman such as Hank Aaron is just wrong. An asterisk after the number is not enough. The damage that Barry Bonds has done to the wonderful game of baseball should result in his being removed from all of the records and he should be permanently ineligible to enter The Baseball Hall of Fame.

He’s a disgrace.

www.lynetteisfunny.com

Lynette 2007

All Rights Reserved

Lynette is funny!

But using drugs, of any kind and in any form, to improve one’s performance is a slap in the face to all who truly love the game.

No gentleman like Hank Aaron would have ever used drugs, not of any kind nor in any form whatsoever. Never!

Once they throw out all the players who have cheated "in any form" there is really no one left to play the game.

Well, now...that didn't read anything like a cut-and-pasted blog entry whatsoever, did it?

www.lynetteisfunny.com

"Be more funny!"