New Mets Radio Announcer

Adam Rubin at The New York Daily News writes about the Mets new radio voice:

Wayne Hagin is expected to be announced next week as Tom McCarthy's successor as Mets radio voice alongside Howie Rose. Hagin has called games for the Rockies and Cardinals. He once got himself in trouble for implying Colorado first baseman Todd Helton used steroids.

The Next Mets Radio Announcer

from MetsLifer.com
In case you haven't heard Tom McCarthy will be leaving the WFAN Mets radio broadcasting booth next year to return to his previous employer, the Philadelphia Phillies (commence booing). It's too bad because I like McCarthy and he eerily sounds exactly like Gary Cohen so it was quite nostalgic having him in the booth with Howie Rose.

So this opens the door for a new announcer to become one of the voices of the Mets on radio. For once, Mike & the Mad Dog had an intelligent and interesting discussion yesterday afternoon regarding who should be the replacement. Here were some of their recommendations, with my thoughts on the nominee.

1) Gary Cohen - Forget it. Cohen, Hernandez & Darling are a Mets fans' dream team on TV. Don't mess that up.

2) Ed Coleman - He'd be good, but to me Ed C is the Ahmad Rahsad of the Mets. A guy you want in the locker room, giving you interviews and inside news but not necessarily in the booth.

3) Chris Carlin - A Mets fan, but too brash to be an every day radio guy.

4) Sean McDonough - Good voice and capable broadcaster, but without Bill Raferty next to him it just won't feel right.

5) Dave Popkin - Who, you ask? Let me explain why this is the guy you want on the radio

Dave Popkin is an up and coming young broadcaster with a great voice and is extremely knowledgeable. He's been working side-by-side with Gary Cohen doing Seton Hall basketball games on the radio, so he's been learning at the feet of the master. Popkin has done minor league baseball games on CN8 as well as a ton of other sporting events as broadcaster for ESPN affiliated sporting events.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Dave Popkin on a few occasions and I can tell first hand that he is a class act guy. Popkin is someone who the Mets can have in their broadcast booth for the next 25 years. I grew up listening to Gary Cohen, and Popkin is someone who a new generation of Mets fans can grow up with. He's a young guy who can bring some fresh perspective and commentary. And he'll be working alongside Howie Rose who is a consummate professional to balance the broadcast.

Pretty soon we'll be in a new stadium, hopefully have a new pitcher named Santana, and I think it would be perfect to have a fresh new voice in the broadcast booth. Dave Popkin is the next Mets radio announcer.

If you want to take a listen check out his website at www.davepopkin.com and you can hear some of his commentary. I'm hopeful that MetsLifer.com will be able to get an interview with Dave Popkin in the coming weeks as he becomes a candidate to be the next Mets radio announcer.

Good luck, Dave. We'll be pulling for you.

Is Beltran Available?

From Ed Ryan at Mets Fever (Network Member):

I'm paraphrasing and he was totally speculating but Eddie C. (WFAN 660AM) during his report on the Mike and the Mad Dog show floated the idea of trading Carlos Beltran.

Eddie C. believes that after this season's debacle Omar will be very aggressive in pursuing trades. Beltran's still young but considered an established veteran and his contract is reasonable given the current market, which makes him a very big bargaining chip. The Mets have Chavez, Gomez and Milledge who could play center field. The idea he floated was something like Santana for Beltran type of deal.........

I'd love to have Santana and it sounds like he's going to be moved sometime this off season (if the reports are correct). The Mets were able to broker a deal this year for Castillo, so the teams have an established relationship. Beltran came up through KC and is familiar with the AL central, which would make him appealing to the Twins. The Mets have a glut of center fielders with Chavez, Milledge and Gomez. I'd prefer to give up one of the younger players because it's unknown what type of major league hitter they will become, while you know with Beltran your getting at least .275 with 30 HRs. If Beltran's gone and his replacement is only hitting .250 with 15 HRs, this offense is in trouble.......

Should Beltran be available or is he untouchable ?

Mike and the Mad Dog are the Ultimate Anti-Mets

from MetsLifer.com

I can't even talk about last night's loss because it's not even worth typing about it. But something else that got me aggravated last night was listening to Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN on my way home from work.

I turned on the radio just as they were playing back Howie Rose's call of Delgado's 3-run homer on Sunday. Howie Rose was obviously psyched to see Delgado hit one which gave the Mets the lead. But the thing that bothered me is how Mike Francesa and Chris Russo just started railing on Howie Rose for being that excited about a call. They were talking about how it wasn't a big deal and that this Mets win didn't mean anything because the Phillies had already lost.

Have these guys even been following the Mets? (probably not) What do you mean this win didn't mean anything? These guys get paid for this? Of course it was a big win. It gave us that 2 game cushion we so desperately needed. If we didn't win that game we'd now be looking at a 1 game lead. Morons.

Then they went on to further show their ignorance by talking about how Willie Randolph has done a great job this year managing the team. Whaaaaaaaaat? These are the same guys who question Randolph's move pretty much every other week and now they want to crown him manager of the year? Have they seen the substitutions Randolph has made. The bad double switches. The reliance on Guillermo Mota. The refusal to play Milledge at first.

That's it. I can't listen to the "Jerk and the Fatman" (as Imus used to call them) any more. As much as it pains me to say this, but Michael Kay is actually a more unbiased talk show host when it comes to the Mets. Now Michael Kay is a guy I've detested for a long time, but I got to tell you that Mike and the Mad Dog have lost all credibility when it comes to Mets baseball.