Cry havoc and let slip the little dogs of baseball! Fear the mighty Chi… Chi… Oh, get over it and
spit out. The era of the El Paso Chihuahua
600 AM KROD is running a promotion for the team’s first
“home” game. That’s in quotes because
the game won’t be in El Paso
since the stadium isn’t ready. Lucky
winning fans will be able to meet the team before the game. I can see that now.
Fan: “How’s it feel to be a Chihuahua ?”
Player: “It sucks, man. When I was kid I dreamed about being a
professional baseball player. I worked
hard in Little League and in school. I
got a scholarship. Worked harder. Made it into the minor leagues. Worked even harder and now I’m a freaking Chihuahua . I’m wearing a snarling little dog on my
uniform. I don’t even want to make it to
the Show now, the other big leaguers will make fun of me. I wanna stick my head in an oven.”
Maybe there’s a Cuban defector on the team.
Player (in Spanish): “I suffered through many hardships to
come to America . I dreamed of freedom and being able to make a
living playing the game I loved. Now,
I’m a Chihuahua . I want to go home.”
Have I finally gotten it out of my system yet?
One more comment. People
who own Chihuahuas
didn’t really want a dog, they just wanted a cat with a little more brains and
loyalty.
Okay, now I’m done.
Regardless of my misgivings about the name and the way the
team was brought to town, of course I’ve listened to whatever games I
could. It’s baseball! While my over-the-air reception of KROD in Las Cruces after dark is
nearly nil, fortunately, I was able to listen over the Internet while at work. The voice of the Chihuahuas features the pleasant, friendly
tones of Tim Hagerty. Certainly Tim has
the main characteristic that it will take to be successful in this position: he
can say “Chihuahuas ”
without any hesitation or embarrassment.
No, really, that is a big deal.
It allows me, as a baseball fan, to at least enjoy the game, and save my
cringing for whenever the team is mentioned outside of the games.
Tim is nice enough that I find myself immediately gravitating
to a first name basis. He’s done a good
job of not just calling the action, but also setting the scene and telling some
stories surrounding the game. My
favorite moment so far has been his description of the cold in Reno .
Tim asked for forgiveness from the fans for wearing a sock hat from the
other team so he could keep warm. Runner
up would be the related story of opposing manager having to buy tickets for
everyone who showed up to the game because he had guaranteed it would be
warmer.
I keep mentally saying, “Diablos,” whenever I’m thinking
about the team in a positive context, and saying “Chihuahuas ” whenever it’s negative. Comparisons are inevitable. While Tim is doing a good job, I do miss the
two-man booth from the old Diablo days.
I used to love the banter between Matt Hicks, now working for the
Rangers, and his co-broadcasters. I
still laugh whenever I think of the time he and Brett Pollack, after a couple
of irritating days in Shreveport ,
Louisiana
I was also surprised by the pre-game show. Namely, it was about two minutes long and
finished with, “And here’s the first pitch.”
The Diablos had like a full sponsored half-hour general sports talk/call-in
show and a 15-minute pre-game, all before the first pitch. They were on a different El Paso station and that was awhile ago. The dogs may have a different relationship
with KROD. But still, the Diablos were a
Double A club. I was expecting a bit more
with a Triple A club.
KROD has a lot more broadcasting obligations than the other
station. I’m surprised they’re even
agreeing to broadcast weekday afternoon baseball. I’m wondering what happens the first time
there’s a conflict with an ESPN NBA playoff game or a Cowboys pre-season
game. (I haven’t seen their
schedule. It may not be an issue.) I already know that they’ve canceled ESPN
baseball games, even when there isn’t a conflict. (Given how they were putting their
commercials on auto-pilot and constantly interrupting the games with them,
maybe that’s not much of a loss.)
On to the games themselves.
I was sorry I didn’t have a scorecard and have the time to fill it out
while listening to that first game. I
always like to do a scorecard at the beginning of the season to fool myself
into thinking that I actually know how to fill out one. The dogs’ opponents were the Reno Aces, they
affiliated with the Diamondbacks. Spring
is only a rumor in Reno
right now. Weather may have been affecting
the crowds there. The second game of the
series, where the dogs’ batting practice was cut short by snowfall, was played
quickly enough to remind one of a late season August game on a getaway
day.
Unlike Diablos games, where I would only recognize the names
of players after they had gone on to bigger and better things, I actually knew
a few of the players on the teams, Didi Gregorius, Jeff Francoeur, and Cody
Ross, a sparkplug that helped ignite the San Francisco Giants to a World Series
title. Unfortunately, much like the old
Diablo games, I didn’t get to listen to the end of them. Back then, it was because the station would
power down after sundown. Last week, it
was because I left work when I was done and didn’t get to hear the end. Oh, well.
Some things never change.
On Sunday, I had the reverse problem. I missed the beginning of the coverage to
listen to the Ranger game. Yu Darvish
looked good coming back from injury as the Rangers beat the Rays, 3-0. I joined the Chihuahuas in progress. Unfortunately, the dogs never showed up and
got clobbered 9-1. From listening to the
NMSU Aggie baseball team getting blown out regularly this season, I’m starting
to get used to it, but I think the dogs will bounce back, as they split the
series with the Aces (who at least come away with a better team name). I don’t know if there was a pre-game (there
was a live remote at a sports event in El
Paso before the game), but there was something of a
post-game where a recap and other baseball scores were given. No interviews or anything else however.
My main question about the broadcasts are this: Dick Enberg,
who broadcasts Padre games and who are the dogs’ parent club (pardon the pun),
does a little bumper promo during the game that finishes with, “Oh, my!” Is he doing a George Takei impression? And if not, does he know that he’s doing a
George Takei impression?
Any future posts about the team will hopefully not involve
talking about their name and will focus more on the game, the call, and the
players as we all get to know each other.
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