Article:Rant: The Mets on Radio

...from The Ghost of Scott Kazmir...

If you have been following the Mets closely, aside from just the rumors and small moves that have happened over the course of the past few months, you'd know that ever since the departure of Tom McCarthy, the Mets have been in search of an announcer.

McCarthy, who was previously the color commentator for the Phillies, left the Mets to return to Philadelphia after this year's monumental collapse. That folks, is true, blue loyalty. He had been announcing from 2001-2005 with the Phillies, doing broadcasts along with post and pre-game shows.

Before that, it was another puppet, Ted Robinson, who was brought in to replace Bob Murphy, after his retirement, on the radio. You may know Robinson as the primary tennis announcer for three of the four Grand Slam events on the USA Network and CBS. He has been doing that for 19 years, and announced for the San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins for a collective fifteen years. Robinson, after four years with the Mets, has left.

Now, I applaud those in charge at SNY, who have brought three "Mets guys" into the booth, in Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling, not to mention Lee Mazzili in the studio. It's quite obvious how Hernandez and Darling are linked to the Mets; as for Cohen, however, this will mark his 20th year in the booth, either on the radio or on television, with the Mets.

It pains me to say that we have not seen a "Mets guy" alongside Howie Rose in the radio booth since Cohen and Murphy were there a few years ago.

Now not to say that Murphy can ever be replaced, but I want a guy we can call our own. There has been speculation of Todd Kalas from Tampa Bay. But why, why do the Mets and WFAN always pass over Ed Coleman, a man who has been a part of WFAN for almost twenty years and with the Mets as a beat reporter, post and pre-game host and occasional fill-in. And here's another nugget...in a season of disappointment last year and in the mid-2000s, Coleman is one of the only guys who will tell it as it is; not sugarcoating it to keep everyone happy.

It seemed he was a nice fit for when Murphy retired, but the Mets instead went with Robinson. It seemed as though he was a widely accepted replacement for Cohen when he left for the television booth. However, the Mets went with New Jersey native McCarthy.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's about time we gave Coleman as shot; he's definitely earned his dues, growing up in Brooklyn as a Mets fan, on WFAN and with the Mets for almost 20 years. Stop bringing in these lifeless, unloyal, bland voices, and give Coleman a shot, a true "Mets guy".