Our Daily Dread: Stick to writing. Please. Or don't.

From last week's media column on the train wreck of trying an inning of radio play-by-play for the Lancaster JetHawks (linked here) come these reactions/responses/revelations from those more in the know (and advice that could apply to some of those who actually do this for a living):

== Charley Steiner, Dodgers radio play-by-play man:

"Welcome to my world, where there is no delete key, you can't back space, and then hit enter. Oh and how did you like your cushy safety net. What safety net? 'Wolf's first pitch...taken for a ball." Fastball, slider, curve? High, low, inside, outside? I don't think I ever heard the location or type of a single pitch. Boy were you lucky. Three pitches, two outs. You kept the game moving. And then a home run! And you've got a home-run call to boot! Boo-yeah. Great sassy molassy. Someone lays down a bunt (who had a 13-game hitting streak, or didn't he?) Was the bunt back to the box, down the first-base line? Third-base line? Something about painting a picture. Poor old Barnes "rocks and throws" on every pitch? I was getting dizzy at the thought. But it sure is fun, isnt it? We both could be working for a living."

== Chris Roberts, UCLA football and basketball radio voice:

"Like you better as a play by play guy than an analyst. Sounded a little bitter about the horns in the stands making it more like a soccer game. Management wouldn't like that at all. Have never quite heard a home run described the way you did it. WOW! For the Inland Empire....."Honorable Mention." You had fun with it. That is good."

== Dave Caldwell, longtime Santa Clarita high school play-by-play man and current voice of Cal State Northridge sports:

"Well, well, well ... You finally got to get a taste of the dark side. I'm surprised you never got (or demanded) the opportunity to do play-by-play. I now feel like Pig Pen in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas': 'Sort of makes you want to treat me with more respect, doesn't it?' Of course the naturally curly haired girl replies, 'You're an absolute mess.' So now you know the secret."

== Spero Dedes, Lakers' radio play-by-play voice:

"I'm probably not the right guy to be giving feedback on a baseball broadcast, but I have to say, you seemed awfully comfortable for a guy who's never done it before. Or have you? Story-telling has never been my thing... Maybe you could give me some pointers in that department."

== Ken Levine, KABC-AM "DodgerTalk" co-host with experience calling games for the minor leagues as well as the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners:

"Kudos! You did great! My first time was into a tape recorder in the upper deck of Dodger Stadium and the usher who overheard asked if I needed a designated driver. You sounded engaging and conversational. You didn't bombard me with statistics (although I was wondering what the San Jose pitcher's WIP was), didn't resort to annoying slackercaster cliches like 'the bump,' had the beginnings of your own distinctive home run call (it screams out for embellishment -- just my opinion), and had there been a crowd you would have blended in very well with it. Now that you've mastered this, let's see if the Ducks announcer will let you do a period of the NHL Playoffs."

== Josh Sushon, KABC-AM "DodgerTalk" co-host with experience as minor-league play-by-play man:

"What I liked most was you didn't try to sound like Vin Scully or Joe Buck or a 'real' PBP announcer. You just said whatever came to mind. Ripping the horns. Saying a pitcher was annoyed by a runner at second base. Mocking yourself. Saying the wrong guy had the hitting streak. Advising the umpire to block a ball for a catcher. It was entertaining in the sense that, "this guy doesn't care. He's not trying to be smooth and polished. He's just saying whatever the hell comes to mind." ... The home run call was legendary. I literally laughed out loud. What I loved most is how it sounded like a routine flyball, but it was a home run. Ahhhh, welcome to Lancaster. It's like Arena Baseball there. It's the hardest ballpark in the Cal League, perhaps in all of baseball, to call a game. ... When I did my first PBP in college, I remember thinking the game flew by. It must have been two hours and five minutes. Actually, it was three and a half hours. The game was so fast when I first did PBP, even if it's dragging along at a painful pace. Once the game feels like the actual speed, that's when you settle in. This is another way of saying that your perception of the job would be totally different if you did all nine innings for a week. ...
It sounded like you had fun. It made for a good read. When I first started doing PBP, it made me appreciate how hard it is, and I gained new respect for some announcers. Once I felt like I got the hang of it, I didn't think it was all that hard, and I got extra annoyed by lazy announcers. Perhaps your two innings will have the same impact as your critique announcers. Either way, keep it up. We all need checks and balances."

== Lou Riggs, sportscasting instructor at Santa Monica College and personal trainer for many in the business:

"Well, Tom, good news...it wasn't worst I've ever heard...If you were really going to do this on a serious vein, I would have a lot to say...but, good voice...not using it much...in the sense that you let it drift up at the end of a play or thought. It should be more declarative. 'Bouncer to short, throw to first, in time!' One thing that bothered me a lot was lack of information...also, used nicknames of teams almost exclusively...Giants/Jet Hawks...It's not like the Giants and Dodgers...so, I would have ID'd the teams more frequently by city name...Also, needed more info on each batter...like the cleanup guy for Lancaster...kind of an after thought after he swung at 3-0 pitch, that he leads the league? in home runs? That should have been up front. 'John Jones, clean-up hitter for Lancaster, steps to the plate. Grounded to first in the first inning, but leads the league in home runs with 12...Last year, at Fresno (for example) he hit 25 home runs. So, power is his game. He's also hitting .325 for the Jet Hawks, who lead the San Jose Giants, 2-1, in the bottom of the third inning. Two out, runner at second.' ... Anyway, wasn't a bad effort for a first time outing. Your colleague was right. Sounded like a TV broadcast on a radio game. Did you ever hear Pat Summeral do a "radio" broadcast. He did TV broadcast on radio, which is basically worthless. Prep time is critical so you don't have to be pushing through mound of papers to find the note. Most of it should be organized in a way that it's at your finger tips. But, good try, all things considered."