Astros broadcasters have created quite a following

Cool article about Bill Brown and Jimmy D. I hope to god they replace Bill Worrell on the Astros FoxSports games. Jimmy D puts him to serious shame. The DBell line in here is classic!


Astros broadcasters have created quite a following
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news_story.jsp?article_id=hou_20020325_battingaround_news&team_id=mlb

Five years have passed since Bill Brown and Jim Deshaies partnered up to broadcast the Astros television road games, and in that time, the two have created quite a cult following among Astros faithful throughout the state of Texas. With "Brownie" serving as the straight man/play-by-play announcer and "J.D." as his humorous sidekick/analyst, the two go together like peanut butter and chocolate. They mesh so well that is seemed sacriligious to interview one without the other, so instead, MLB.com brings the Brownie and J.D. variety hour right through cyberspace.

MLB.com: The two of you seem to work flawlessly together when you're on the air. Did that happen immediately when you started broadcasting together?

BB: No, what happened was I desperately needed help and rather than go to a psychoanalyst I went to J.D.

JD: It didn't happen naturally. It happened over time. It wasn't planned. There was no plan. When I first started broadcasting, I was so tight. I didn't know what to do. I took it much too seriously. That's why it took a while to get into it. Brownie's real good because even when I misfire he'll give me a token chuckle just to make me feel good for trying.

The depth of my analysis is usually "that's right Brownie" or "I'd agree, Brownie."

BB: But we're usually in trouble when you ask me a question.

JD: No, that's the beauty of it because with most broadcast teams, the color guy is supposed to provide analysis based on play-by-play guy's call. With this team, I can say "Brownie, what did this guy..." And I always get an answer.

MLB.com: But J.D., when you start talking about topics in today's pop culture, Brownie doesn't always know what you're talking about.

BB: That's true about 90 percent of the time. He has kids who know things and he's into that. I'm in trouble now because (owner) Drayton (McLane) wants us to talk about movies. Anything the kids are seeing.

J.D.: Our broadcasts this year are going to be cutting edge. We might not even talk about baseball. We might give the stock reports, an analysis of of the latest hollywood flicks, updates on what everyone's listening to these days. Hey, that might be a new thing this year: 'What's in Brownie's CD Player?'

BB: The broadcasts will be "How in the world could Robert DeNiro condescend to make a movie like Showtime -- there's a bases-clearing triple..."

MLB.com: You are famous for coming up with your "All-teams:" the All-body part team (Bill Hand, Ed Head, Elroy Face, Jim Bottomly), the all-mood team (Happy Chandler, Dan Gladden). What are some of your favorite on-air incidents?

JD: When we were in New York, we were doing an all-fruit team. And I never came up with (Darryl) Strawberry. I was coming up with Georgia Peach and Mellonhead Joe and completely forgot about Strawberry.

BB: That's how we get through long games and rain delays, by naming those teams. J.D. wins that contest every time. I don't know any of these people. I don't know who they are, I don't know any singing groups, so that's how he can buffalo me anytime.

JD: Brownie had one of the best lines when we were in Cincinnati going through the buffet line in the dining room. Brownie said, "Now we know the answer to the age-old question 'what came first, the chicken or the egg'. In the buffet, they had a big plate of fried chicken next to a platter of scrambled eggs. Brownie says "Now we know! The chicken came before the eggs!"

MLB.com: How would you like to be remembered when your broadcasting days are over?

BB: Ooh, that's heavy. Who was it that said "to be remembered at all would be quite a tribute"?

JD: I think my moment of glory has come and gone. With my keen powers of observation, I noted that the Cincinnati Reds were playing a 'Young Frankenstein' outfield. It'll never get any better than that. Dmitri Young was in left, Mike Frank was in center, Chris Stynes was in right. It was a Young, Frank 'n' Stynes outfield. That will never again happen again for me.

The first year I was on the air I called a Derek Bell home run before he hit it. I said "Brownie, he's going to go deep right here." First pitch, boom! Gone. I haven't made another prediction on the air since because I'm afraid I'll blow my record.

BB: That's where J.D.'s so good. We're saddled with all these sponsored elements and there's a sameness to them. He can give it a different spin than what we had yesterday or the day before.

MLB.com: Is it true that both of you are picking the Cardinals to win the NL Central title this year?

BB: I like the Astros team a lot and I like the fact that they're underdogs. I like underdogs so much that I'm going to make them underdogs, because I think it's a very positive way for a team to go into a season if they know they're good is to feel they're underrated.

JD: I was telling Brownie that when I left Houston come to Spring Training, the Cardinals were a superior team on paper. If I had to pick a division winner I would probably still pick them, but in my mind the margin isn't as wide based on what we've seen here. I was just talking with Jeff Bagwell about this yesterday. You're kind of skeptical about the team and then you come down to Florida and see (Carlos) Hernandez again and say "Oh, OK, that's right, this kid can do this" and you see (Roy) Oswalt and (Wade) Miller and you start to think. And with (Rick) Ankiel not working out in St. Louis and (Darryl) Kile being a little banged up still, there are more question marks there than I initially thought.

MLB.com: J.D., one of your old teammates, Larry Andersen, is also a fellow broadcaster for the Phillies. When the team is in Philadelphia, do the two of you have any sort of announcer showdown?

J.D: Of course. You know, no one has ever called Larry Andersen on the carpet for Bogarting all of Steven Wright's material. 'Andy's' always getting quoted for the "park in the driveway, drive in the parkway" jokes, and the "why is there an expiration date on sour cream." That's all Steven Wright.

BB: Who's Steven Wright?

JD: That comic with the curly hair who comes out and does standup completely deadpan. "Last night I came home, went to unlock my door, and I put my car key in by mistake. My house started up so I took it for a drive." That stuff.

The other one was "If we throw rice at weddings in the United States, do they throw hot dogs at weddings in China?" Andy uses that, and it's Steven Wright's. But I'm not going to be the one to bring the guy down. I'm not going to expose him.

BB: You just did.

JD: Oops.

MLB.com: Who are the broadcasters that you enjoy or admire?

BB: Jack Buck would be one because I grew up listening to him.

JD: From an analyst standpoint, Jim Kaat. I always thought he was really good.

MLB.com: J.D., give us the line of the week.

JD: Derek Bell is the perfect Pirate. He lives on a boat and he's stealing money.