As the Philadelphia Philles embark on what could be a phenomenal season it's time to address what has become an awful broadcasting crew. For Phillies fans, whom for decades listened to the likes of Bill Campbell, By Saam, Andy Musser, Richie Ashburn, Tim McCarver (when he was cogent), and the venerable Harry Kalas, listening to the current broadcast team is like reliving the collapse of 1964 (6 1/2 game lead with 12 to play; finished second) on a daily basis.
Growing up in suburban Philadelphia i had become accustomed to informative, entertaining and consistently good broadcasting crews for the Philadelphia Phillies. After the unfortunate passing of Harry Kalas in April of 2009 we have been subjected to an endless display of misinformation, gaffs and pretentious insight. The only saving grace being Gary "Sarge" Matthews for televised broadcasts and Larry Anderson in the radio booth (both ex-Phillies players).
It used to be when watching a national Phillies broadcast one would turn down the sound and put on the radio to listen to Harry Kalas and Richie Asburn. Not anymore. Joe Morgan can be a breath of fresh air when you become used to mediocrity.
Granted the play-by-play announcer for TV, Tom McCarthy, has some big shoes to fill in replacing the legendary Harry Kalas. His responsibility is to verbally describe the action as it occurs. His gaffs are too numerous to mention but suffice it to say that he is consistently incompetent (how he's won the awards listed on his bio is beyond me).
The main color guy is Chris "Wheels" Wheeler. This guy bleeds Phillies Red and has been associated with the Phillies broadcast team since 1977. In small doses he was barely tolerable. As the main color guy he fails miserably. His anecdotes reek of pretentiousness, seeing as how he never played an inning of baseball at the professional level. He incessantly guesses pitches and is seldom correct. It is sometimes laughable and most times agonizing.
To rectify this situation they need Gary Matthews in the booth as much as possible and when he's not in the booth they need Larry Anderson there. They need a new play-by-play announcer (anybody would be an improvement or bring back Scott Graham). And they need to relegate "Wheels" to his pre-1997 role at worst and his pre-1977 role (back to team public relations) at best. Let's get the Phillies broadcast team back to what the fans of the Phillies knew as the real boys of summer.
Who would you like to see in the Phillies broadcast booth?