Major League Baseball

Rangers cut ties with Lewin

Published Oct. 12, 2010 10:16 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Strange timing Monday on the Rangers' announcement they have parted ways with TV broadcaster Josh Lewin after nine seasons.

Here they were on the eve of the most important game in the franchise's 39-year history and they took time to announce that Tom Grieve would be back in the booth for at least three more years while they were canceling Lewin.

Maybe they hoped the news would be lost in the advance hype for Game 5 of the ALDS in St. Petersburg, Fla. Maybe they just wanted to get word out they were hiring.

Know this: The parting did not happen Monday. The Rangers told Lewin he was finished before the end of the regular season. If you watched his final broadcast, he almost told you so when he thanked viewers for the time they had spent watching. He sounded sad.

The Rangers said Lewin asked them to wait. They said they obliged until now but want broadcasters around the country to know their switchboard is open and they are accepting applications. They don't want a good one to get away.

I used the phrase "canceling Lewin" for a reason: Because Lewin sometimes seemed more like a TV variety show host than a play-by-play voice. Sometimes it seemed as if he were spending as much time surfing the Internet for material as he spent watching the game in front of him. Some viewers loved him for that, especially in the dog days of most Rangers summers. Others could never get used to the shtick. He was a lightning rod.

It was clear last summer that the Rangers were debating whether to retain Lewin. His last contract expired after the 2009 season. Instead of handing him a long-term deal, as they have Grieve, they gave him one year with a one-year option.

I can't believe team president Nolan Ryan ever saw Lewin as his kind of baseball broadcaster. I know the Rangers never were fully comfortable with the idea of Lewin hiring on as the radio voice of the San Diego Chargers in 2005. That meant September Sundays with fill-in announcers.

Here is what Ryan had to say via press release on Monday: "After several discussions over the last few months, the Texas Rangers and Josh Lewin have agreed to end their relationship and move ahead in different directions. {ellipsis} We wish Josh the very best for the future." Lewin, who was always a good Rangers soldier and followed the company line, even contributed to Ryan's release.

"I would like to thank the Rangers for nine wonderful years," Lewin is quoted as saying. "I respect the team's leadership and vision and wish them nothing but the best as well."

He didn't return a telephone message seeking further comment.

The Rangers said there is no favorite to replace Lewin. Actually, there would be but Eric Nadel has no interest in leaving the friendly confines of the radio booth.

There aren't a lot of minor league broadcasters with television experience. Maybe the Rangers are hoping that Scott Franzke, who once worked their pre- and postgames on radio and has done excellent work in the Philadelphia Phillies' radio booth, will come home. Mike Capps, who has loads of TV experience, but in much different venues, works radio for the Ryan family in Round Rock.

The search is on. Stay tuned.

Cowboys win big in local ratings game

More than 3 1/2 times the number of Dallas-Fort Worth homes tuned in to watch the Cowboys lose to the Titans on Sunday afternoon than earlier in the day watched the Rangers lose to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 4 of their American League Division Series.

According to Nielsen ratings released Monday, the Cowboys' losing effort scored a 34.1 rating for the 3:15 p.m. game on CBS. The Rangers managed a 9.7 for their noon game on cable's TBS. Translated, that means 884,759 homes watched the Cowboys, and 251,676 homes watched the Rangers.

Some factors to remember: The 3:15 p.m. time slot on Sunday is primer than noon. Also, about 400,000 more homes locally have access to over-the-air CBS affiliate KTVT (Channel 11) than to cable's TBS.

Still, the difference of 24.4 ratings points between the Cowboys and Rangers was easily the largest gap between Sunday's six hometown NFL and MLB ratings. In all of the markets, NFL was over-the-air, baseball on cable.

Other series attract little local interest

In addition to producing the division series' lowest hometown baseball rating, Dallas-Fort Worth wasn't too keen on Sunday's two other games. Giants-Braves, which went head-to-head with the Cowboys-Titans, scored a 0.8. But that wasn't as low as the Phillies-Reds, which scored a microscopic 0.4 in prime time. ... Saturday's Game 3 of the Rangers-Rays series scored a series-high 12.2 rating in D-FW. Through four games, the series is averaging an 8.6 rating.

Sunday's hometown NFL vs. MLB ratings points gaps:

Dallas-Fort Worth Cowboys +24.4 over Rangers San Francisco 49ers +6.7 over Giants Cincinnati Bengals +8.3 over Reds Tampa Bay Bucs +4.0 over Rays Atlanta Falcons +7.4 over Braves Philadelphia Phillies +3.1 over Eagles

BARRY HORN TELLS you who's doing it right and what to watch for on our media blog. sportsmediablog.dallasnews.com

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball