Critiquing Dave Barnett

by TedFord on Mar 8, 2009 5:29 PM CDT

I'm a bit disappointed so far in Mr. Barnett, although I have to allow him room to settle in since it's so early. I was thrilled like everyone else to have him move in next to Eric Nadel, but I sense some growing pains. His voice is ideal, the perfect announcer's voice. But frankly, right now he's too slow on the draw for me. His call seems to be a bit late...I'm hearing the action and cheers from the field and the lag is there before Dave tells me what's happening. And his style of speech is a bit too deliberate for me. I find myself silently urging him to speed up and finish his thought.

But, as I said, it's early. Either he'll improve or I'll adjust to his pace. For you old-timers, he reminds me a bit of Bill Merrill, one of the announcers from the early 70's. Merrill was a wonderful fellow, but so slow in his descriptions that I screamed a lot at the radio.

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These are my feelings also.

I think he’ll need a good year and a half to get comfortable.

Eric and Victor didn’t exactly get off to a great start themselves. Victor would take conversations so far away from baseball that you could tell it irked Eric sometimes. Of course, listening to them a lot last year, you can tell that Eric is a little more loose than he used to be.

by oc on Mar 8, 2009 5:39 PM CDT reply actions

Agreed

I haven’t listened a lot but from what I have it seems like Barnett and Nadel don’t complement each other well. They seem to speak in a similar tone/pace. I think Nadel should be paired with a little bit more youthful, energetic voice such as Vince Cotroneo or Victor Rojas.

by Agreen07 on Mar 8, 2009 6:07 PM CDT reply actions

I can't even remember what Vince sounded like.

by oc on Mar 8, 2009 6:17 PM CDT up reply actions

He does A's games now so if you have mlb tv or audio you can listen

by Agreen07 on Mar 8, 2009 6:44 PM CDT up reply actions

+1

I think you nailed the problem right there. Last year, having Victor and Eric switch on and off provided a nice change of announcing style and pace that helped keep your attention throughout the game – but Barnett and Eric combined can induce a monotone that lets your mind wander after awhile. It’s like hearing the same song over and over – no matter how good it is, sooner or later you get tired of it and stop paying attention.

"You can have such a massive impact on a game even when you're not getting ground balls hit at you." - Michael Young

by LSJ on Mar 8, 2009 11:52 PM CDT up reply actions

Do they still do the 3 inning deal?

I haven’t really cared for that since Holtz was no longer involved. I think they need Nadel to stick with PBP and get a color guy instead of another PBP guy.

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by LSBUser on Mar 8, 2009 6:56 PM CDT reply actions

I agree

I enjoy the interplay between two radio guys more than I do 3 innings of A, 3 of B, 3 of A.

Keith Law: (1:45 PM ET ) I think Michael Young should shut his mouth and move to third base.

by WestTxAg06 on Mar 8, 2009 8:38 PM CDT up reply actions

Amen to that

I’ve always preferred one main PBP guy.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Mar 8, 2009 9:18 PM CDT up reply actions

Agreed

Keith Law on Greg Golson, "He's similiar to Cameron and Hunter in that all three are black."

by boomer1 on Mar 8, 2009 10:05 PM CDT up reply actions

Not happening buddy..........

as long as eric nadel is with the rangers, there will not be another color guy.
i was told by a friend at krld that eric can’t do a full nine, his voice won’t hold up for a full nine.
that’s why you get guys like vince cotroneo, victor rojas, brad sham, not real color guys, but announcers that can do play by play.

by rhino baseball on Mar 9, 2009 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions

Agree on both points

IMO, DB seems to be trying to call baseball with a college football ponderous grandeur – the color and pageantry stuff has got to go.

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by shroomer on Mar 8, 2009 9:29 PM CDT reply actions

He should get better.

I think he just needs to get more acclimated to the pace of the game. That, to me, is the toughest thing about calling baseball: understanding the slower pace and having your announcing match that.

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by ghtd36 on Mar 8, 2009 10:16 PM CDT reply actions

Barnett has a good voice and nice working knowledge of the sport

but he’s going to take a while Ranger fans to trust.

Bill Merrill may have been a nice guy but he sucked as an announcer. DBarnett is waaaaaay ahead of Merrill.

With football and basketball announcers you know right away what you have but we don’t know what we have with Barnett.

"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."

by Josey Wales on Mar 8, 2009 10:57 PM CDT reply actions

I have thought this from the first broadcast...

The first game they broadcasted this year I was so pumped to hear a game. Then I started listening while driving and I almost fell asleep listening to him. I hope it gets better or the great times of listening to baseball on the radio is over.

by Ranger Capt on Mar 9, 2009 2:58 PM CDT reply actions

Just Okay

Dave’s voice is slow, but he is better than Tom Grieve. Why is he doing Color for Ranger Baseball? His voice is monotone and boring. I wish Tom Grieve was taken by the MLB network and not Victor Rojas.

by BearkatRangersfan on Mar 9, 2009 8:24 PM CDT reply actions