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Tim McCarver Will Not Call ALCS Games 1 And 2 On Fox

DToTheJ

DToTheJ

McCarver is scheduled to have a "minor" heart procedure that will sideline him for the first two games of the ALCS. Replacing him is recently fired Red Sox manager Terry Francona. Tim is expected to return to the booth for Game 3.
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...oxs-tim-mccarver-out-for-alcs-games-1-and-2/1

How weird would it be for the Yankees to advance to the ALCS - the series would begin in The Bronx on Saturday. It's hard to fathom a Yankee game on Fox with McCarver absent (a Yankee game on Fox with Joe Buck in the booth, on the other hand, is quite easy to fathom). But it would be bittersweet considering the former manager of the Red Sox, a team the Yankees helped oust out of the playoffs this year, is going to be cutting his teeth on a high stage, the ALCS, at Yankee Stadium.

Or the Tigers will advance, and this will all be moot. ::)
 
Odd timing for a "minor" procedure.

You'd think FOX would have wanted to get someone who has experience broadcasting for the ALCS. Its not like there aren't dozens of regular MLB broadcasters who are on vacation with their teams out of the competition.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
Odd timing for a "minor" procedure.
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I just had a "minor" heart procedure a few weeks ago. Mine was precautionary; I didn't have any other warning signs, so I was able to postpone the procedure for about 6 weeks, but the cardiologist still warned me against stress. Broadcasting is much more stressful than my job, and I don't imagine McCarver was given an option to postpone.
 
Are you insinuating that working with Joe Buck for years and years can give a person stress? ??? :mad:
 
DToTheJ said:
Are you insinuating that working with Joe Buck for years and years can give a person stress? ??? :mad:
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Funny, but no - I was thinking about the job in general.
 
McCarver is probably breathing a sigh of relief now that the Yankees are gone. The ALCS is Detroit vs Texas - not exactly a matchup that Fox will be able to sell to advertisers outside of the midwest and Texas. Without the Yankees (attaboy, A-Rod, aka Mr. uh...October ::) ), I can't see a whole lot of national interest in this series - outside of hard-core baseball fans, of course.

I'm sure Joe Buck is all excited about calling this one. ;D
 
Agreed, Keith... Something tells me Joe Buck is going to have an "emergency surgery" today... ::)

Meanwhile, mgsports kinda makes a good point: You think any of Fox's other color commentators aren't incensed one bit that they're letting a mere booth neophyte in Terry Francona call the ALCS?
 
"You think any of Fox's other color commentators aren't incensed one bit that they're letting a mere booth neophyte in Terry Francona call the ALCS?"

Fox is getting some pre-game media attention for the ALCS from Francona's presence--something that, given the matchup and the absence of a marquee team in the AL (like the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox or LA Angels) it desperately needs.

If Philly doesn't make it beyond this round and Milwaukee hangs on against Arizona, you could wind up with a postseason fought within the Central Time Zone. If Philly loses, whatever Milwaukee and Arizona do, you'll certainly have a postseason missing ALL of the top five TV markets in America--bad news for baseball and for Fox. And it looks like it's going to happen. Ratings could be the worst yet.
 
Bob1370 said:
If Philly doesn't make it beyond this round and Milwaukee hangs on against Arizona, you could wind up with a postseason fought within the Central Time Zone. If Philly loses, whatever Milwaukee and Arizona do, you'll certainly have a postseason missing ALL of the top five TV markets in America--bad news for baseball and for Fox. And it looks like it's going to happen. Ratings could be the worst yet.
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The Cardinals have a national following going back decades. Folks in the Midwest (including market #3 Chicago) will also watch the Tigers and Brewers. The Phillies, Rangers, and D'backs generate little-to-no interest outside their own markets. The best thing Fox can hope for is a Cardinals-Tigers series. The worst is a D'backs-Rangers series.
 
blackgold said:
FACE the facts, folks! The Yankees are eliminated!
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Durn! No Yankees, no Red Sox. Too bad, so sad, bye bye. Sux to be Fox. ;D

The Tigers will be taking their place! I wish them well!
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I'm still pulling for the Diamondbacks in the NL, and I'd rather see the Tigers in the Series than the Rangers.
 
I think it's overly simplistic to equate the home team's market sizes directly to national ratings. It plays a role, sure, but it's not the be-all and end-all. New York, after all, makes up just over 6% of the total TV households in the country, and from that you've got to deduct the effect of the split fan base. Mets fans don't want to tune in to watch another Yankees series. Neither, I suspect, do a lot of the other 94% of the nation's TV households outside NYC; in fact, a nonstop string of Yankees Series appearances, as in the 1950s, could well dampen national ratings after a while.

As Keith noted, the Cards are among several teams still in contention with passionate followings far outside their home markets. Add downstate Illinois and most of Missouri and big chunks of Arkansas and Kentucky and Tennessee (and beyond), and you're probably approaching a market that's about the same size as the Yankees' portion of NYC. The same may well be true of the Tigers (all of Michigan, decent chunks of Ohio and Indiana) and the Brewers (nearly all of Wisconsin) and even the Rangers and north Texas.

As long as there's an interesting story to be told, there will be national interest in the Series. Look at the NBA: did the Finals suffer at all last year because it was market #16 (Miami) and market #5 (Dallas) instead of the Lakers or the Knicks? As long as the country had LeBron to despise, the ratings were fine.
 
I think I was wrong about a Cards-Tigers series being what Fox would want. They met in 2006, and it was one of the lowest-rated Series' ever. No matter who gets in, I don't see much of a big audience for this year's Series.

Last year's Giants-Rangers matchup was also a ratings disaster, despite the big-market teams being there.

Trouble is, there are few MLB teams with national interest. This isn't the NFL, the only true national sport in the US, where even a team from New Orleans, Indianapolis, Buffalo, or Green Bay can have a national following. The Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, & Cubs have the largest followings in baseball - both with fan (love 'em or hate 'em) and advertiser interest, and you don't ever mention "World Series" and "Cubs" or "Dodgers" in the same sentence. ;D

That leaves the Yankees and Red Sox. And they're both out.
 
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