Have You Caught Kelch?
Have you been listening to Jim Kelch, the Louisville Bats announcer working with Marty Brennaman on Reds Radio this week?
I think he's doing a good job. I've got to admit I miss the strong opinions of Jeff Brantley (and Thom Brennaman too). Never thought I'd say this, but I miss the Brantley-isms ("right down Broadway" ... "throw him a cookie" ... "that one's going all the way to the wall"...). Though I still miss the Ol' Lefthander's balls to right-left-centerfield too.
Kelch does fine on play-by-play. And he's a nice conversationalist with Marty. In terms of Reds Radio fill-ins, I've liked Dan Hoard (very well prepared; Scully-like storyteller) and Chris Welsh (wish he did more radio). And I'd rate Kelch way ahead of Steve Stewart. (Didt Steve LaMar or Andy Mac ever fill in on radio? Maybe in spring training?)
Kelch, in his 20th season at Louisville, will do games on Wednesday; May 30-June 1; July 18-19; and Sept. 2-4; and Sept. 18-20.
What do you think of Kelch? (And do you have a favorite Brantley-ism?)
posted by John Kiesewetter at 9:01 PM
20 Comments:
at 5/13/2008 11:05 PM 
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at 5/14/2008 7:05 AM 
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at 5/14/2008 8:14 AM 
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at 5/14/2008 9:30 AM 
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at 5/14/2008 10:00 AM 
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at 5/14/2008 10:54 AM 
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at 5/14/2008 12:44 PM 
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at 5/14/2008 1:07 PM 
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at 5/14/2008 3:48 PM 
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at 5/14/2008 4:17 PM 
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at 5/14/2008 8:18 PM 
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at 5/14/2008 11:04 PM 
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at 5/15/2008 11:06 AM 
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at 5/15/2008 12:44 PM 
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at 5/15/2008 1:02 PM 
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at 5/15/2008 2:56 PM 
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at 5/16/2008 9:46 AM 
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Post a Comment*Kelch is doing a great job! I enjoy listening to a change of pace from the announcing team every once in awhile. Hope he's back a few more times this summer.
Kelch - great job and is a GOOD baseball play-by-play person. But, it would not work here. Why? Because he is not corny enough. Why I dont know, but people seem to like the goofy crap that comes over the radio during reds games like the trivia, blonde headed women, right down broadway. That stuff is sooooooooooo corny and has nothing to do with the game. Sort of like when Martin and Joseph used to talk about their tomatoes! Dan Hoard is too loud and talks to fast. Sort of like Jim Scott in the morning!
Chris Welsh? Sorry, he's a good to great analyst, but as play-by-play, he stammers and stumbles way too much. His chemistry with Marty is great, but that's it. Welsh is BAD on radio.
Kiese...it's "Rat down broadway" as Marty likes to mimic JB.
Love Dan Hoard. Good guy. Good play-by-play too.
Andy Mac not only filled in but he had the gig for a year (maybe two) in the mid 80's. This was when they went with a plan to rotate Marty and Joe into the TV broadcast booth. This plan didn't go over well or last long so Andy's tenure in the Reds radio booth was short lived. Sad because Andy knew his stuff and was a class act...
Anyone know what Andy Mac is up to these days??
Kelch sounded pretty good. I hope they continue to rotate him into the mix. Also nice because he sees the Bats players day in and day out, so he had some interesting insights on the younger players, and those waiting in the wings in AAA.
Favorite Brantley-isms:
"Ma ah Goodnessss!" and
"Thankya Mahttee!"
Favorite Brantley-ism:
"How do ya like me nowwwww?"
No, I haven't caught Kelch on the radio. I'm still wading through the six-mile long post about the CW's fall lineup.
Kelch does a good job. I'd rather be listening to Marty, Thom, or Brantley.
Favorite Brantley-ism:
"Good night Irene"
Favorite Brantley-ism:
"Edwin Encarnacion is not a clutch hitter."
Jeff Brantley has definitely grown on me...he IS pretty funny. It's odd how Cincinnati Reds fans become attached to announcers with strong regional--Southern (Red Barber), Brooklyn (Waite Hoyt) as well as semi-unpolished (Nuxhall, Dick Bray) deliveries. I wish a recording of Harry Hartman existed. Brantley does have a predictable vocal pattern which gets a little old. He needs to vary dropping his emphasis at the ends of some of his sentences. Regarding Kelch...very smooth but he sounds so much like Marty, he's almost indistinguishable...I like the contrast of Brantley (like Nuxhall). Tom B. is great and works well with his dad, even though they're both play-by-play men. I never have liked Welsh because he doesn't understand the art of the "pause" and that you don't need to fill up every second of space with words. I like some pauses now and then--with just crowd noise--like Nuxhall and Hoyt (well, maybe Waite went a little too overboard at times) used to do. I don't like detailed descriptions about how the batter rubbed his hands before gripping the bat or how the pitcher tossed the rosin bag, etc.
You people are seriously starved for entertainment if Jeff Brantley is cracking you up, and you must not care about or understand baseball much if you think he's insightful.
Have not had a chance yet. I am still wading through the 48 page report of the new CBS fall lineup and 23 page report on CW new shows. Do we care about all that on May 14th?
Kelch is a pro, very easy to listen to.
But, I wish Dan Hoard had gotten the job that went to Steve Stewart. Hoard is a terrific announcer.
Right you are--23 page releases are a waste of time to plow thru, and if you really want to know, turn it on/watch.
Brantley has a delightful drawl, NYork???, sounds Southern and fun to spend time listening to.
Makes it good, even tho the Reds are awful.
Listening to Kelch last night, he sounded like a very slowed down Andy Furman. Irony of ironies.
Hey, 4:17, you stole my post!
Love, 12:44.
One general complaint -- Some famous baseball announcer had an egg timer in the booth with him and he would give the score whenever the egg timer ran out of sand... I would like to here the score a tad more often than at the end of the inning and also how about the tried and true "no runs, 2 hits, no errors, 2 left on" at the end of each half inning... Just a though from Anderson....
As a season ticket holder for the Bats here in Louisville, my opinion is biased- but Jim does outstanding work. I think it's almost easier to call MLB games than the minors. After all, the players are household names, and the audience generally has a good idea of each players strengths and weaknesses, so there is more time to talk about the esoteric stuff. In AAA and lower, the revolving door of players makes it much harder on the broadcasters to keep current and still give the radio audience a good show. Jim's broadcasts are vital here so that the fans know about all of the trades, personal bios of the players, stats, etc. It was finally time for him to show the people in Cincy how good we have it here. I can't wait to get him back!
Kelch is growing on me. He does a pretty good job. Chris Welsh is terrible on radio and not much better on TV.
I like Kelch a lot. He flows well.
Brantly seems like he is already getting complacent to me. Hence the lack of pitch change. And he made a fool of himself with the Edwin "he's not a clutch hitter" call.
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