Fox has a bird's-eye view

"Buck and McCarver talk too much. Why doesn't Fox muzzle them?"

"I can't stand McCarver. Why doesn't Fox hire Jerry Remy to call the World Series?"

The complaints are familiar and predictable. They've followed Fox play-by-play man Joe Buck and analyst Tim McCarver around the country since 1996 as they've called Major League Baseball's national games. Last night, Buck took the mike to start his seventh World Series and McCarver his record 14th.

All the hubbub makes Fox Sports bosses David Hill and Ed Goren smile. They've heard the complaints before and they'll hear them again at least through the end of the 2006 season when the present Fox deal with MLB runs out. They know baseball fans will tune in to the games because of the "laundry" -- the teams involved -- not because of the announcers. But if the Fox guys calling the games are creating a stir, too, so much the better.

It doesn't take long to find an unhappy viewer. The first Sox fan we came across yesterday, Cici Bennett of Reading, said, "I'll be watching and listening, but I just can't stand McCarver."

Bostonians who don't like the pair can add a "they're Cardinals fans" argument for this World Series.

But don't expect either to renounce his St. Louis ties. They run too deep, mean too much, and frankly add a personal touch to this Series that fans should savor because it should help the broadcasters tap into the passion that St. Louis has for baseball. "I came to learn just how thoroughly embedded the tradition and love of the game are with those fans," said McCarver.

Buck, born and bred to both the city and the broadcasting business as the son of legendary broadcaster Jack Buck, has called St. Louis games since 1991. McCarver spent the first decade of a major league career that spanned four decades (1959-1981) as a Cardinal, playing all seven games of the 1967 World Series against the Red Sox.

So where do they stand for this World Series? Squarely behind home plate and in the middle. "They've been criticized in St. Louis for bending over too far to be fair to the opposition," said Fox spokesman Tim Buckman.

However, they were so totally immersed in calling the ALCS games between the Sox and Yankees, there was little time to spend on the Internet researching the NLCS between the Astros and Cardinals. Friday was catchup time.

"I grew up in Memphis," said McCarver. "From a population standpoint, the Yankees and Red Sox may have had more fans, but in terms of land covered, no team stretched farther than the Cardinals in those days. You know their games were heard west to Denver, south to Louisiana, and east to the Carolinas.

"I had the privilege to play with the great Cardinal teams of the '60s and with guys like Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, and Stan Musial at the end of his career," said McCarver, who played in the 1964, 1967, and 1968 World Series, earning two championship rings. "I treasure and appreciate my connection with them, but broadcasting the World Series is a different thing. You try and be as unbiased as can be."

No matter how unbiased that might be or what he says, that won't cut it with some Sox fans. It's personal.

The marathon broadcasts during the Sox-Yankee series -- Games 3-5 ran, in order, 4:20, 5:02, and 5:49 -- took a toll on the duo. "I was fuzzy," said McCarver, whose "a walk is as good as a home run" remark had many viewers scratching heads and firing off emails.

"You just try to go one inning at a time," said Buck. "It's tough to separate yourself from the coverage and grasp the historical significance of what you're seeing. It all comes back next April when you go in and view the Emmy tape. You say, `My God, is that what happened?' Right now, it's all just a mess in your head."

"I'm still trying to figure out how the Red Sox won," said McCarver. "How did they win a series without Manny Ramirez driving in a run? Without Pedro [Martinez] winning a game? With their leadoff guy [Johnny Damon] getting as many hits in Game 7 as he did in the first six? Being down, three games to zero and beating the Yankees four straight? It's remarkable. Historic."

McCarver predicted the Sox wouldn't come out flat for last night's Game 1 as the Yankees did against the Marlins a year ago following the seven-game ALCS battle with the Red Sox.

"Game 7 against the Yankees may have been the most important win in the history of the franchise," said McCarver. "I don't think the team will do anything except feed off of that. I expect that. I know we see it in the regular season, but I expect an absolute frenzy at Fenway Park."