Jerry Howarth and Gregg Zaun – A Winning Combination

Jerry Howarth and Gregg Zaun – A Winning Combination

Have got to say I have enjoyed Gregg Zaun’s turns with Jerry immensely.  I do like Alan Ashby, but he sure is serious and technical and humourless; he really does seem to be auditioning for a TV job, and not grasping at all the necessary familiarity of a radio role.  He probably could, but he clearly doesn’t want to; you can tell by his voice and incision that he sees himself on TV, not radio.

Pat Tabler, well.  Pat is a bit like Kelly Hrudey.  I cringed so much when I first heard and saw Pat that I felt bad for his family.  Pat’s gotten better, but I don’t imagine I’d be able to have a conversation with him in a lineup for free beer.

The flaccid, hopeless Buck.  How it is that Toronto keeps going to this fake-tan ‘man’ for every job going—what’s next, dogcatcher?  Fartcatcher?—poor Buck.  He’s so far out of his league in every league.  All he can think to do is hail the brilliance of terminators like Jon Rauch.  It’s too pathetic even to discuss.  I just feel bad for Buck.  He needs to reinvent himself.  Maybe he could try catching.

(Honestly, I am only being half ironic in typing that, really I am.  Buck has got to figure out who Buck is and be it, and quit being the hopeless genuflector he is.)

Sportsnet in Canada admittedly has limited penetration, so you can’t really get Blue Jays broadcasts in any kind of major centres, but even if Sportsnet did have a robust national profile, I’d still have to go with the paysite mlb.com I’ve got and get the radio with the superlative Jerry Howarth.

Jerry’s been making the Jays come alive almost since the Jays were born—for so many years, he had to work alongside the crude, rude, monosyllabic pill that was Tom Cheek.  Well, not to speak ill of those who are. . . but in the end I basically just tuned out Tom altogether and brought the volume back up when the descriptive and enthusiastic Jerry came on for his innings.

Jerry’s had a few partners since, and I think even Jerry doesn’t know what to do with Gregg Zaun.  I don’t know that Zaun is all that suited to the TV commercial-break role that sees him have to be stiff and spit out 8-word platitudes; he can’t use much of his spontaneous humour, or, more importantly, his rapidly felt and real and insightful thoughts and comments.  Zaun’s frank and real and humorous commentary probably isn’t so good for sterile tv.  He seems almost made for radio.  And if you think that’s a slight, when was the last time “made for TV” was a compliment?  Painting my garage, driving my mower, I’ve heard numerous nuggets and insights from Zaun; just out on the Oakland trip, Jerry called, “. . .and there’s a foul off now to the right, down the line, into those empty seats.  Only 12, 000 fans tonight!”  To which Zaun instantly riposted “Jer, Jer, didn you git the memo?  Iz green seat night tonight!”  Classic.  Zaun clearly has stuff he prepares, but he also can get in the spirit of things like a player and a fan, and no-one else with the Jays can do that, nobody.  Sure, Zaun brags a bit; sure, some of his self-effacing shtick is already old; sure, he’s so close to some buddies, like Travis Snider, that he makes errors in broadcast judgment—but he sure is a fresh gem in the Blue Jays’ history.  Even more, and crucially, he actually _brings out_  Jerry, something that has probably never really ever happened at all in Jerry’s generation-spanning career, certainly not with Tom, and not so far with Alan.  Jerry’s one straight Christian who’s never going to criticize so he’s never going to really let fans in much on the intricacies of the game, but still he does love the game and he’s been watching it and calling it long enough to remember some things.  Zaun asked him recently who Jerry thought was the most intimidating fastballer the Jays had ever had, and Jerry was actually so stunned that he never ever responded, not even in subsequent innings.  The Blue Jays have a resource in Jerry, and when you’ve got a guy who can bring just about everything to the table _and_ bring out Jerry, why, then you’ve got something just about any broadcasting executive would have to instantly kill because fans might enjoy it.

Anyway, Al’s back in the booth now, now that the Jays are home again, and Jerry has picked up his dour mood.  Last night Jerry was hectoring a fan who had apparently got onto the field or something—Jerry visiting his Christian outrage upon probably some over-exuberant fan.  That’s not Jerry, really.  He may be prim and pushin’ for the Lord above all, but Jerry does like the game and he has spent a long time around it, and a fellow lover of the game, with a sense of humour, like Zaun, is just what he needs.  If Zaun ever joins Jerry, that’s appointment listening for me.  Too bad Sportsnet has such tiny radio coverage in major centres in Canada, but I’ll pay mlb for that and the Ueck and Vin’s first 3 and so on.

Tune me in for sure when it’s Jerry and Gregg; tv or radio, Sportsnet’s loss is mlb’s gain.

zr