MLB on TBS... Why?

It started as an innocent one-game playoff between the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers. It was simple, winner goes to the playoffs, loser goes home. It was an epic contest with both teams refusing to go down without a fight. It was a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the 10th when the first red flag was raised. Ryan Raburn caught a line drive for the 2nd out in the inning and threw out Alexi Casilla at the plate after he tried to tag up and score the winning run on the play. It was an incredible play. And, under any other setting, it would be a clip that would be replayed over and over by the folks at ESPN. But this wasn't any other setting. No, this was the start of another post-season of the MLB on TBS. This meant, of course, for some inexplicable reason, Chip Caray would be the play by play man for the event. So how did TBS's main (yes, Chip Caray is the #1 announcer for TBS baseball. I will now send in my application for the job.) guy call it?

"Line drive base hit. Caught out there. Runner tags. Here he comes. Throw to the plate on target and in time. A double play ends the tenth."

Just read that one more time. It would be one thing if Caray quickly corrected himself. Mistakes happen. We understand, you got a little ahead of yourself and wanted to make the great call on the game-winning base-hit that would have sent the Twins to the playoffs; but, it wasn't a hit. All it would have taken was a simple "NO! it's caught," and then proceed to the rest of your boring call of the play. Instead, Chip tried to play it off as though he didn't just call a line-out a "base-hit."

I know, I may be overreacting. But this is just a small dose of how terrible baseball is to watch these days. The entire first round of the playoffs aired on TBS, as will the National League Championship. Poor announcing isn't all TBS offers. In fact, I've made brief list of 5 things that TBS could change to ensure our viewing is less painful.

1.) Pull the plug on George Lopez (before his show even airs)
You did this to us last year with the OBNOXIOUS Frank Caliendo ads. We understand you want us to watch these moderately funny guys headline a show, but showing us their faces approximately 736 throughout the course of the game will only make us less likely to tune in.

2.) Actually, stop advertising your shows, period.
Don't fool yourselves, no one watches TBS by choice. The only people who ever watch TBS are the ones flipping through the channels who happen to see something they recognize and go, "hey, I'll watch this for a few minutes." So stop making us watch promos for Tyler Perry's 17 shows that are all about the same thing, and just run Plavix ads.

3.) Seriously, no more Chip Caray
See story above.

4.) Find at least one announcer with intensity of Gus Johnson
Seriously, if a guy could bring even half of the excitement of this, would anyone complain? The ideal situation would be to have Gus himself call the games, but unfortunately he is under contract with CBS. But baseball needs that type of excitement. It seems like the only announcers that are used nowadays are guys who a.) had daddies who used to be legendary announcers, and even though they aren't very good or exciting (yeah you, Chip Caray and Joe Buck) they still call every important playoff game, and b.) old athletes who, when forced with the decision of actually having to live with their wives and children after retirement or joining the broadcast booth, chose the latter. Yes, we want our announcers to be educated, but as long as the head play by play guy actually makes us feel like he's excited to be there, let the color guys give the 'insightful' comments.

5.) No more interviews with the managers
Come on, this is their job. They answer questions day and night when the games are over. Do we really need the extra two minutes of the same cookie-cutter answers over and over again? What do you expect them to say? I can honestly say that I have never learned anything from these interviews. This is a sample of the average mid-game interview with the manager:

TBS announcer: "So (manager name), what can you tell us about why (pitcher) is having such success out there on the mound?"

Distracted Manager: "Uh, well, he's throwing strikes and if he doesn't strike them out, then the defense is making plays."

TBS announcer (trying desperately to keep conversation alive): "Well, do you think he can keep it up the whole game?"

Manager: "I sure hope so (you dumbf%$#)"

And that's about it. Did you learn anything you wouldn't have known were it not for the interview? Me neither. Let them manage and ask them questions after the game.

There are plenty of other things that TBS needs to change. Ultimately, it comes down to the simple fact that this is the playoffs! Will we ever have a moment that will match Vin Scully's famous call of Kirk Gibson's 'impossible' (skip to the 7:00 min. mark. Everything after is surreal) home run in the 1988 World Series? Sadly, it seems unlikely with the way things work these days. What do we have to look forward to after TBS? Sure, Fox puts on a decent production and Joe Buck is good at what he does, but he certainly isn't great (That's the most excited you could get there? Imagine what Gus Johnson would have done with that one). The playoffs have become more and more focused on network appearances and less and less on the games themselves.

Again, this is about more than Chip Caray; it's about giving the fans something different than the same boring game they have been forced watch every October. Baseball needs that memorable moment, like the one that Vin Scully gave more than 20 years ago. Most of us weren't even alive for it but we know from the sheer excitement just how memorable that home run was. Please TBS, you don't need to dump Chip, but give us a moment; one that isn't tarnished by a botched call from the announcer. Do it even if for no other reason than for the fact that maybe then people will tolerate the ads. But until then, we will wait. Hopefully one of these days you'll give us something memorable as a token of your gratitude.

(But, honestly, it wouldn't hurt to dump Chip Caray)