So, top of the 4th tonight Rhadigan offers this confusing explanation of Colby Lewis' paternity leave:

"Colby (pause)...is the first pitcher ever to take paternity leave (pause)....although in some ways he didn't take it (pause)...the team did."

Still scratching my head over that one...

This was on the heels of his replay description of the Trumbo homer to left in the same inning...one that was typically "high in the air" until Rhadigan's the last guy in the park to recognize it going out.

Then, again on replay. he riffs on how in terms of fair or foul "it wasn't super close"...until the replay shows clearly that it was...then concedes "it was just a few feet fair."

It's like a cover band playing the songs you like but the lead guy can't stay on rhythm.

Rhadigan is bad enough as is, but during a blowout like last night, just awful.

I seriously don't think I can stand an entire season of him calling no doubt home runs "hit high in the air.......... snore......... cough.........fart............ crickets......... and gone".

Or then there is the old, "This one's hit to shortst...uh second baseman"

Or how about "Elvis hits this one to right center, left center field....."

If he can't judge the ball off the bat himself, why not listen to the crowd, watch the player reaction, something? Maybe TAG should give him a little nudge when the ball is hit, so Rhads can put some sort of enthusiasm in his voice while the ball is still in the air?

I don't know, I'm at a loss.

It just F'ing SUCKS!. You know I never had a problem with Josh Lewin, Of course he was a dork and drifted from random topic to topic BUT... I totally took for granted how good he really was at PBP. Rhadigan is so bad that I'm actually torn between excitement because it's 7:04 and the games about to start, and total disappointment when I'm reminded about the complete incompetence I will have to endure for the next 3 hours. And for those that suggest muting the TV, that's just stupid. Why should I have to? I ENJOY the sounds of the game. Not to mention I have 2 small kids that compete for my attention so a good bit of time is looking/playing with them while I "listen" to the game... It's horrible because I can't "WATCH" the game listening to his play calling (term used loosely). Between the inaccurate calls, clueless direction of the ball, unknown players at the bags, who's at the plate, or the stinking count, it's just a huge fucking disappointment... this coming from someone that watches literally EVERY GAME. I wish I knew what we could do to get the front office to listen (doubt it)

email the Rangers. Go to the Rangers home page and search for contact info. I sent them an email last week on the subject. If they hear enough, they might do SOMETHING?

I wonder if Lewin watches the games and laughs his goofy little ass off? Or cringes in embarassment.

I hope we see some line drives from Ian, Cruz and Elvis in the right left center gap tonight.

John Rhadigan is not a MLB Play-By-Play announcer. Clearly he does not understand the nuances of Baseball, he is overwhelmed at the volume of data he must assess and then articulate. I did not expect another Vin Scully, or Harry Carey or Joe Buck and I knew he would be bad. But I was completely surprised by how bad he is at calling the game.

Rhadigan is: Boring, Inaccurate and Lacks the Baseball Knowledge to continue as the PBP announcer. The Rangers have made a lot of good decisions recently, giving the job to Rhadigan was not a good decision.

To keep the momentum, excitement and to continue to build the fan base; Rangers, please, bite the bullet find someone with experience and make the change in the booth.

why is everyone mentioning Joe "that would have been a penalty if the same play (?!) happened in the NFL" Buck as a great baseball announcer?

You know things are bad when you treasure the games where Dave Barnett fills in!

Nolan doesn't like J.Lewin's style. He's not coming back. Get over it & move on. I thought the R.R. announcer was suppose to get the job.

Personally, I couldn't stand Lewin. His schlock had run its course early in year one. I always preferred Nadel. The Nadel-Rojas team I thought was excellent. Back to the present, Rhadigan is bad for different reasons. His lack of comfort in the booth and command of the game is palpable. There is nothing wrong with allowing the pictures do the talking (alah Jack Buck who I much prefer to Scully), but when you do open your mouth you need to have something to say of value. Rhadigan often doesn't say anything of value after long silences and doesn't utilize Grieve. Barnett is the obvious short term fix. His broadcast style is much more suited to TV than radio. Barnett on the radio is hard for me to take. Dolgin did very well paired with Nadel the other night to boot. Solve two problems at once.

Chris: This is so weird, I too feel the need to say the exact same thing in three different threads

Well played Ryan

Wow, tough crowd. I think Rhads has improved a lot in a short amount of time. This is a tough job, but he's learning from his mistakes, getting more comfortable and showing definite improvement. He's a pro.

Great point, T-Ranger. Maybe Rhads could even play a little centerfield for the Rangers on his off days. He could improve a lot with experience, learn from mistakes, and get more comfortable out there with each passing game.

Just like doing play by play, he has no prior experience, but maybe the Rangers can give him a shot, because he's a pro! Never mind that there are about a thousand guys more qualified....I say "let's play ball, y'all!!"

The Rangers seem not to realize that play-by-play announcing is a craft, not an activity. It takes experience and a certain amount of giftedness to be good. Rhadigan's on-the-job training thus far reveals that he has little feel for translating the visible action into words or creating a storyline. And often, he simply isn't paying attention, like in the Yankee game when Eric Chavez was removed for a pinch-runner and he kept calling the runner "Chavez" as he moved around the bases. He seems like a nice man, and may be reasonably knowledgeable, but it isn't coming through. There are 30 of these jobs in the world, and there is no way that he should have one of them.

This is not an "ON THE JOB TRAINING" position. The guy has no experience and should not be put on the air for a professional team. If he wants to be a play by play announcer, he needs to start at minors or high school games, at least maybe he would learn what he is talking about.

Here comes... There goes... Here comes... There goes... Here comes... There goes ...
I don't think Rhads has listened to much Baseball PBP, cuz he hasn't stolen anything or applied.
The Poker Announcers could call a better game. Fly by his pants is not in his Script.
Studio Guy all the way - BORING and unengaged, as a PBP- but nice guy.

I'm sorry but i just cannot allow this thread to die. It's just gotten that bad. Rhad is just.... just awful. The worst part is with Nolan watching every game in the owners box i seriously doubt he's even aware of the issue... not much that he cares.

now dont get me wrong, when Rhads was originally picked i was surprised but i was actually happy. He's a local guy, nice, good voice, and someone I grew up watching in sports for forever (i'm in my mid 20s so he's been pretty prevelant during my youth in the metroplex) i actually felt he earned the position. But he's just been such a disappointment and was completely overestimated and underqualified for the job.

I think this is strike two on giving like able guys, that are nice and have a good voice, and minimal experience a job their obviously unqualified for. Last time that happened I ended up having to pay taxes so my 24 yr old cousin can sit on my aunt and uncles couch all day and smoke pot and stay insured. (thats my shot of the day)

Regardless the broadcasts have been so unbearable. I'm catching myself actually listening to 105.3 just to get my Lewin fix (thats just drastic measures there).

However, it's not too late to make a change. For any Mavs fans out there look at the Ortegal situation that happened this year. Granted I was furious about that, I loved the knowledge of Ortegal, his personality,and he had a great vibe with Followil each game (speaking of which is it just me or is Followil like the Rick Astley of nba PBP... you look at the buy, and youre like where the F does that voice come from?) I digress, however they replaced him with an equally knowledgable and likeable commentator in Brad Davis/or Sharper when he fills in sometime. Point is they got someone well qualified to replace Ortegal.

The Rangers broadcasts have pretty much gotten to only enjoyable when McClemore and Busby step in for their inning.

I really would like to see a Mr. Ranger/Dr. of Defense broadcast team. That i would enjoy.

As much as we complain about Rhads though i just thank god every day they didnt pick Rick Renner

Don't worry DC Ag, this is the cockroach of all threads.

Nice Rick Astley reference...aggressive

Rhadigan is awful, and he's not improving in any significant way. It's true that other markets have some pretty awful play-by-play guys, but at least they know something about baseball. It's time to let Rhadigan do a morning show or something. That's where nice guys excel on television.

The Rhadigan call on the Moreland HR last night was terrible. This was a go-ahead homer and was clearly crushed when he hit it. But Rhadigan didn't seem to know that the ball was gone or care much that it was a game-changer.

Right now I'd take Jim Knox over Rhad. Hell.... put Emily Jones up there.

The whole Lewin situation just sucks. Everyone thinks Nolan had an issue with his "witty banter" and what not during the games, Nolan is straight up Texas and i'm sure he's never seen an episode of seinfeld (he's like the guys from the old Pace Picantes sauce commercials.... New York City????!!!) and maybe Nolan hated him and Tag's obsession with goodies, so yeah maybe he just didnt understand Lewin. But i dont belive that was the underlying issue.

From what I understand is they didnt like him "moonlighting" as the chargers announcer as well. They wanted him strictly Rangers, and Lewin called their bluff. It sucks because I really think ppl never truly appreciated the artistry and the chemistry that Lewin brought to each and every rangers game.

Your typical case of you dont know what you got til its gone.

But i swear to god.... when i die... i'm having "Ball Game!" engraved on my tombstone.

We miss you Josh

This shit is getting rediculous.

Do yourself a favor and shut the hell up about Rhadigan.

Turn on Nadel and stop posting up this obnoxious shit everyday.

WE GET IT. RHADS IS NOT A GOOD GAME CALLER.

You people clearly care too much about this. Give it a freaking rest and turn on Nadel.

RUDE!

this isnt the 50s. i'm not gonna put on little orphan annie for the after game show or possibly War of the Worlds....

The point is we dont spend thousands of dollars on a HDTV and surround sound and all that to turn on a freakin FM/AM radio for the game. Thats BS. If youre seriously doing that i'm sorry... that sucks. I'll listen to Nadel when I'm in my car. Otherwise they need to give us fans a better announcer. This topic will NEVER rest!

why is dave barmett on today? thought i would never say this, but Barnett is world's better than Rhadigan is when he does play by play. i think this is his third game of the year doing pbp..

trey

DCAggie,

Thanks for stating the obvious, I was going for a little bit worse than RUDE!

Look, your best case scenario is that Rhads will get let go at the end of the season.

THATS YOUR BEST CASE! Just get over it man. I don't know why you want to beat yourself over the head all year and potentially for even longer than that. But if you must I suppose no one can stop you and you are an Aggie after all.

Nadel is a badass and its awesome listening to him instead of the TV. I would do it even if Grieve had a totally competent partner because Nadel is that good, but I'm not moving home for another month or so so I can't yet.