Vin Scully

I’ve been taking advantage of a free trial of MLB’s Extra Innings TV package to watch Pirates games when I have a chance. (Fortunately I didn’t have such an opportunity during the series where Milwaukee made the Bucs their Bitches for the Ages.) I caught at least parts of all four games from Los Angeles over the weekend, picking up the Dodgers’ feed, and Vin Scully.

No one else in the booth with him, Scully carries the entire game by himself. He talks a more than I remember, but I’d only ever heard him on national games before, with one or two analysts, so leaving empty space was more important. Frickin’ guy is 82 years old and still makes fewer errors than big-time broadcasters half his age. (And with half his skill.)

Listening to him over the weekend, I can see why he’s worn so well with Dodgers fans. Mellifluous voice, easy manner, interesting comments, and he knows everything about these players. I also picked up one other thing about Vin:

He doesn’t think much of how the Pirates are currently operated. This is not because of my highly attuned ear, sensitive to any slight; he makes no excuses about it. A new paraphrased examples:

And, for the first time in the series, Pirates manager John Russell has the pitcher batting ninth. He’s one of those who sees benefit of hitting the pitcher in the eighth spot, though, with the Pirates losing 99 games last year, you have to wonder what those benefits might be.

This is uncharted country for the Pirates, as they led the league in double plays in each of the past three years. Of course, much of that is due to opportunity—they allow a lot of baserunners—but their current situation has more to do with trading away both the shortstop and second baseman from those teams.

He dropped other morsels during the four games; those two stick out because he used them, or variations, several times.

He wasn’t picking on the Pirates. Scully went out of his way to compliment the history of the organization, and told the story about how Roberto Clemente became a Pirate after “the Dodgers owned his rights, but thought they’d get clever and hide him for a year up in Montreal. Well, the scouts knew all about him, and when the winter draft came along…”

The Pirates lost three of four and got blown out on Sunday, but I watched to the end. Spending Sunday afternoon on the couch listening to Vin Scully is as relaxing as a shady hammock and a warm breeze. Almost enough to make me watch Dodgers games, just to listen to him.

Almost.