Friday, June 27, 2008

[TAMPA BAY RAYS MEDIA]
Media Approval Ratings: Dewayne Staats

C'mon, you guys knew this was coming eventually...There is a general sense amongst some of our readers that all we do is bash the Rays media coverage. The truth is we actually admire most of the working media and respect most of their work. We just get a sense that the Rays media coverage can at times be lazy. Just because the Rays were a second-class team for many years doesn't mean we as fans deserved second-class coverage. So while our frustration can manifest itself at times on this site, we want to know what you guys think of various members of the Rays media coverage. First up...Rays TV play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats
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Dewayne Staats has been broadcasting baseball games for a long, long time. Over 4,000 games. His voice is distinctive and as a play-by-play guy he seems OK to us. He doesn't really have a signature call, which is not a terrible thing. Many announcers try too hard with a signature call and end up with something ridunculous, like John Sterling of the Yankees. Every single home run call is "It is high, it is far, it is gone!" even if it is a line drive that just clears the fence. In the end all we can really ask of an announcer is that they not ruin the game for us. If they add to it, that is bonus, but we have never felt the urge to mute a Rays game in which Staats was announcing.

But of course what we really love about Staats is his perfect execution of the man-perm. The "merm", if you will. Staats has the best man-perm since, oh...we don't know. David Hasselhoff? The Great American Hero? Nope. We take that back. It is the greatest man-perm ever.

Anyway: Do you like the Dewayne Staats? And let's hear your reasons in the comments...



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16 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

LONG LIVE THE MERM!!!

12:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

what about Greg Brady?

12:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i agree that there is nothing bad about Staats. But he is just too boring for me.

12:47 PM  
Blogger DirtbagFan said...

I really enjoying listening to Staats, he isn't too much of a homer- which is usually what makes announcers annoying, and he does a good job of stopping Joe from talking about pitching the whole game.

1:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I grew up on Staats calling Astros games. I've always enjoyed his delivery but Magrane is the perfect counterpart for him.

1:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Give me Dwayne, Joe and Todd over that mess that the Marlins have. Jesus, they are terrible.

I actually enjoy listening to Staats and Magrane quite a bit. I think they're one of the stronger broadcast teams in MLB.

1:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like Staats and Kalas. Joe Magrane is a retard though and doesn't really say anything constructive. Just throws out predictions and random statements to try and get a laugh.

1:37 PM  
Blogger DirtbagFan said...

Anon:
Magrane has taught my son and I a lot about pitching fundamentals and how different pitches are thrown. He is quite informative (even if he is a 1 trick pony).

1:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i agree. i have a feeling these numbers will not be nearly as positive for Magrane

1:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Staats and Magrane are a very good duo. Throw Kalas in there and I believe we have one of the better broadcast teams in baseball.

People give Magrane a lot of crap, but I enjoy the knowledge he brings. His jokes can be cheesy, but they can also be very funny at times. Like when he said that Marlins pitching coach Mark Wiley was "creating a monster" while talking to Hendrickson...classic.

1:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

isn't Staats Dan Wheeler's father-in-law? If so, might that have helped the Rays get Wheeler signed to below-market rate? gotta keep the Mrs. happy.

that alone would be worth an "approval" vote

1:50 PM  
Blogger Sara said...

I love Dewayne and what I call his 70s anchorman perm. He is perfect as a play-by-play guy in that you don't even really notice him most of the time while he is calling, his calls just flow right along with your own thought processes during the game. He is great at steering Joe away from long-winded detailed explanations of pitching mechanics. I never hear the word "scrappy" come out of Dewayne's mouth and when Joe starts saying dumb stuff he quickly changes the subject. He also talks stats, REAL stats, which adds to my enjoyment 1000-fold. Plus he seems to love these boys as much as I do without being sickly homeric. Bravo, Staats.

2:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't get the Rays on TV up here in Bahston, but I remember him back in his Astros days and I think he's pretty good, or was back then.

Once we get to the radio guys, I'll be able to give an opinion from this decade.

3:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Magrane and Staats are such a great duo... there is so much innuendo and double-entendre stuff, so many inside jokes with those guys. I've seen all of them on mlb.tv at one point or another, and I think Dwayne, Joe and Todd are among the best in the business, if not the absolute best.

4:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

He is horrible..Like a librarian with a sinus infection. He also looks for any possibility to blame other teams payroll for their success. Until this season, what have the rays done with all the luxury tax they get from the sox (both colors) yanks and mets? They are finally selling seats (the same ones that promised discounted papa johns barf pizza if you attended)...if they do win it all it wont be because of staats stellar broadcasting..and they will just be another florida team that disbands and breaks the hearts of their fairweather fans..

12:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I knew Dewayne Staats when he broadcasted the Chicago Cubs. I always enjoyed when he was on the air. Back in 1989, when I driving home from work, I would turn on the radio. Every time I turned it on, I would always know who the Cubs were playing and if they were winning or losing. I always appreciated that!!

6:19 PM  

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