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BEST 1972 IMITATION

 
Published Oct. 17, 2008|Updated Oct. 22, 2008

Did you see the headgear the TBS guys were wearing in the pregame show? Holy mackerel. I wasn't sure if they were getting ready to watch baseball or direct airplanes. We haven't seen those headsets since Monday Night Football when Howard and Dandy Don were calling games. With Dennis Eckersley'sBoogie Nights haircut and 'stache, the only thing missing was the boys wearing powder blue or yellow blazers with a big fat "TBS'' logo on the front pocket.

Best/worst second-guessing

TBS analyst Buck Martinez had a problem with Rays manager Joe Maddon switching James Shields and Scott Kazmir in the rotation. And then he didn't.

"I think what Joe Maddon has done has brought Boston's top three hitters (Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay) back into the series,'' Martinez said before the game. "I think Joe Maddon might have gotten this Red Sox team back into the series.''

But then in the second inning, Martinez explained Maddon's decision and seemed to defend it even better than Maddon himself did. Still, hard to jump on Martinez too much. He and partner Ron Darling have been superb.

Best line

"This is called the ALCS, but a Home Run Derby has broken out,'' TBS analyst Ron Darling after Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria went back to back in the third inning to give the Rays three homers and a5-0 lead.

Best hustle

Nice work by TBS to find former Rays GM Chuck LaMar, now a Phillies scout, in the Fenway stands and then have stories and a LaMar career profile set to go. That was followed later by an interview in which LaMar showed class and humility by giving credit to current ownership and management. By the way, good line by TBS analyst Ron Darling, talking about the Phillies scouts.

"Not much of a scouting report for Philadelphia (regarding Tampa Bay),'' Darling said. "Just say, 'These guys are good.' ''

Enough already

Okay, we know. Carl Crawford could've played football at Nebraska and basketball at UCLA. Let's retire that story, okay broadcasters?