Orestes Destrades

Stuttering more than Mel Tillis.

Get this fool off television now.

 

I thought this was a request for one of Nick3849's Bucco Busts.

 

And with all due respect to his Hall of Fameness, Destrades isn't nearly as wretched as Gammons. That's not bashing Gammons' knowledge. But it seems like the neuron's aren't firing correctly, unfortunately.

 

Orestes Destrade

 

As much as I love his online column, Gammons' TV work has decreased big-time in the past few years. So much so, that when he talks on Baseball Tonight, I mute it.

 

he stutters as much as Kruk sweats...

 

I like Orel Hersheiser and I think he brings a certain intellect in his analysis (akin to what Jim Palmer did back in the day), but Orel's painful facial contortions can make it difficult to watch him when he's on camera.

 

When listening to Gammons, count how many times he says "but" and "I mean." It's freaking brutal.

 

in the world of sports analysts, Orel is a god among insects. i could not care less about any facial contortions. i have not seen anyone in years, in any sport, who is as good as he is as at educating viewers on fresh, new details and nuances of the game.

 

Baseball Tonight has died a slow, painful death.

 

so what's the ideal pairing for baseball tonight? people bitch a lot about the former players-turned-so-called-experts and i hate a lot of them, too.

among the hosts, karl ravech is best. he has the least ego of any of sportscenter's talking heads. frankly, i don't know how he still has a job there, but i'm glad he does. among ex-players, i have grown used to kruk and harold reynolds and they are fine. so my ideal set up would be those three and maybe tim kurkjian, who is on TV with much less frequency now, or gammons. i agree that hershiser has a good perspective. i think steve phillips adds a good dimension. olney would seem to have potential but he's not there yet. the other players (destrade, martinez, brantley) could disappear tomorrow and the show wouldn't skip a beat.

for me, baseball tonight is by far the best show on espn. sure you get the inane ramblings of a destrade or martinez, but it's the most highlight-driven show around. i agree that gammons sometimes stutters and it seems like his brain is moving slower than it used to, especially when he feels strongly about something.