Five months have passed since the dismissal of Angels broadcaster Rex Hudler and the signs that he is still inextricably linked with the franchise are everywhere. In a world of hoax FaceBook pages, one claiming to be Hudler last month created a media sensation with the claim that Rex wanted Fox Sports West peppered with pleadings from fans. Here at Halos Heaven, the mention of any announcing issues in a thread invariably bring out the Rex backers pining for their wonderdog. Are these lone voices? Check out our SiteMeter analysis of this site's recent visits from search engines after the poll...
Of our most recent 4,000 unique visits, more people came to this site from search engines looking for information on Rex Hudler and his dismissal than were searching for coverage of the coming All Star Game of Anaheim! I can attest that Hudler appears in our search engine sitemeter rankings every day here.
Other than one phone interview on AM-570, Hudler has laid low. The Angels broadcast booth has been fine without him as the team of Victor Rojas and Mark Gubicza have delivered professional quality telecasts.
But with AM-830 handing much of its programming reins over to ESPN, will bottom line bean counters feel beholden to last season's petty backroom broadcast squabbles? Will they be able to ignore the roar of a fan base who likes their commentary with homer-heavy cheese? Will ESPN's objective programmers who are not involved in a 2009 p*ssing match with a fan favorite be able to reinstate a sure-fire ratings boost? Whoever has a say so in any Rex Hudler retrenchment will likely have three years of job security ("an estimated assignment length from 4/2010 – 4/2013") as this ESPN-KLAA JOB LISTING indicates:
Executive Producer Position:
This person will oversee the day to day ESPN programming of the new ESPN affiliate in LA - AM 830 KLAA; including, but not limited to scheduling and overseeing the production of live, local and network programs, play by play events, creative imaging, and commercials
The right candidate will be; a creative force, big idea generator, clever writer, a passionate, proactive, extremely organized and communicative leader who is able execute a programming vision and work with partners and clients in an exciting, new way, and is constantly driving for results.
Anyone with an appreciation of the corporate bottom line, the dollars and sense of populism and the need for brand consistency should be able to answer this question: Is the Wonder Dog on his way back? The only question left to answer is: How much control over promotion of their product have the Angels handed over to ESPN in their radio affiliation deal? After dropping $50 Million on KLAA in 2006, Arte and Co look poised to walk away from their media mouthpiece, making the answer to that question either "Most of it" OR "All of it".
0 recs | 50 comments
Bring BACK REX!
I really don’t understand why you would dismiss him?! He was what really made me an Angels fan back when we were terrible. He managed to make even losing seasons bareable. I have a feeling a huge part of why I am so frustrated with the Angels this season is because despite playing okay baseball, their loses are that much more painful when you have the monotone duo.
Rex really was the heart and soul of the Angels organization for me. I’m very dissipointed that Angel’s fans didn’t do more to protest this offense. I’m sure if the Dodger’s canned Scully, people would be up in arms!
Lets go Halos do the right thing and bring back Rex!
robi s - April 27, 2010
"The Monotone Duo" is so spot on.
Though they seem to have curtailed their cackling back and forth to each other the last few games I have watched.
44FAN - April 27, 2010
there's a very good reason why the Dodgers would never "can" Scully
yeswecan - April 28, 2010
Rex for Pre and Post game would be okay...
Just keep him out of the broadcasting booth.
Doctor Wu - April 27, 2010
^This^
agent_99 - April 28, 2010
Well, that certainly backs up our poll results about Rex 2 months ago...
He had an 80% popularity grade from HH folk
Raaddad - April 27, 2010
That is a GREAT poll question.
I couldn’t even vote, both were inexplicably stupid.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. So dumb.
Forced to listen to Mark Gubicza. Such torture.
I just can’t vote.
bc56274 - April 27, 2010
those were not the question
The question never metioned the replacements of either the name or the broadcaster. They were worded specifically to emphasize was cast aside free form any discussion of what came to be the replacement.
Rev Halofan - April 28, 2010
I guess you're right.
But without the dismissal, there wouldn’t be a Gubicza. Well, not as much anyway.
Either way, it’s a tough call. My doctor was a huge Angels fan, had season tickets, the whole
shebang. And when they changed names, she quit supporting them.
I wasn’t quite THAT upset over it.
bc56274 - April 28, 2010
Which name change upset your doctor?
The one from LA to California?
The one from California to Anaheim?
Or the one from Anaheim back to the original. Such a stupid thing to get your panties bunched up over. Although, I was not happy when they went from Cali to Anaheim, I didn’t shed any tears over it.
Downing Rules - April 28, 2010
My doctor was pissed when they went from Cali to Anaheim...
my blood pressure went through the roof and he already has a hard enough time getting me to take my damn pills.
Wait a minute, that isn’t funny because very few, if any, of you know how old I am.
NoDakHalo - April 28, 2010
Anaheim to LA...
She now supports the Oakland A’s. I kid you not.
bc56274 - April 28, 2010
Let's not lose all reason here.
The Oakland A’s? Their own city gave up on them nearly 20 years ago.
They have averaged 21k fans a year since 1994, drawing an average of 17k for the past 16 years. During the Bay Area dot.com boom of the late 1990s, when EVERYONE in the Bay Area had a job and lots of coin, they drew about 26k per year. In 2002, they won the division and drew under 27k per game. They don’t deserve a team. God bless the franchise for trying as hard as they do, but that city is a ridiculous abomination. Move them to Las Vegas tomorrow.
LazorkoRules - April 28, 2010
Or Portland
Commander_Nate - April 28, 2010
She never was a true fan then, anyway...
Please offer an emphatic “good riddance” to her from me.
Downing Rules - April 28, 2010
Your doctor is a moron.
Don’t let prescribe meds or perform any procedures on you. You probably shouldn’t take any medical advice from her either.
How about instead of practicing medicine, you approach her about a career change that can inflict less damage on people. Maybe we can come up with a new line of work for her. I’d list some examples of a line of work she can go into but each suggestion I come up with would be an insult to the workforce of that particlar industry.
snowhor - April 28, 2010 via mobile
Bring back the wonderdog PLEASE!
Gubi and the other guy BLOW harder than Joe Saunders
big0lbad - April 28, 2010
I was about to make a very opinion-based,
over-generalized, and likely ridiculously irrational statement…..but then I realized that this issue is about three solid layers deep. I’m going to have to sleep on this one and attempt to put together my first Matt Welch style in-depth analysis tomorrow if I really want to address this question properly.
I should note that it is highly unlikely that this will actually happen, but I plan on going to sleep tonight with the full intention to screw studying for my Secured Transactions final tomorrow and working on my first halosheaven.com masterpiece.
NoDakHalo - April 28, 2010
And if Scioscia is so concerned with defense at the catching position,
why isn’t Jose Molina still on the team? How many Rays did that son-of-a-bitch throw out the other day?
Sorry, the picture got me to thinkin…
NoDakHalo - April 28, 2010
Rev left off part of the job posting:
Must be able to ask for dollars.
Match Day 5 - April 28, 2010
It all makes sense
The Angels crappy play this season is due to the Hudler Hex!
I did enjoy Rex BUT sometimes his over-enthusiasm for the team was a bit much. If the Angels were down 400 runs in the bottom of the 9th he’d still make claims that the Angels had a chance, that stuff killed me.
And no wonder why they stopped making Leprecaun horror films, he’s been hanging out with Hud and Moline (I kid).
Dontbatvlad4th - April 28, 2010
The Hudler Hex!
My wife’s been joking about that all season. Her joking made me look up somthing, though. Rex was the last of our broadcasters from 2002. Gubi was hired much more recently and the new guy is, well, new.
Our season is doomed by the Hudler Hex! LOL
thetooth - April 28, 2010
Hudler could do post-game calls
Hudler seems like the right kind of guy to host a post-game show. He’s relentlessly optimistic, and he’s willing to listen to all sorts of caller nonsense without calling people out.
He never struck me as a great play-by-play or color guy. But I was raised on Vin Scully, and Hudler is completely different kind of cat.
MartinGreen - April 28, 2010
IF das angels ask rex to come back
he should kindly tell them to pound sand.
clover_black - April 28, 2010
If the name change was a few months ago and Rex had been gone for ~5 years the results would be different.
brokenyard - April 28, 2010
The Answer
While there is something very wrong with finding it logically acceptable to rename your team “The Angels Angels of Anaheim” (yes, that is what our name is if you translate the entire thing into English), there is something even worse about firing an announcer who actually had a fairly large following among your fanbase for no apparent reason. I know FSN probably had more to do with that decision than Arte, but it was still more pointless than the name change.
Commander_Nate - April 28, 2010
Los Angeles de Los Angeles de Anaheim
red floyd - April 28, 2010
At a booksigning for Splinters, my dad asked Rex why he got fired
his answer: “They didn’t want to pay me I guess”
The_Legend_Of_Wilfong - April 28, 2010
or "The Angels Angels of Back Home"
if you want to translate “Anaheim” into English from its Latin/German roots
Quad Fin Rider - April 28, 2010
Interesting take on the ESPN/AM830 control issues...
I agree that Rojas and Gubicza have been quite professional this year, and I hope they will continue to get better as the season progresses. That being said, they are as bland as vanilla, and for those of us who are used to and/or like “homer heavy cheese” with random Hud-isms thrown in, the new broadcasts seem boring.
Why not bring in Hud for pre and post game color, commentary and interviews? I think most fans would be pretty happy with that compromise.
Now the big question: Can the ESPN folks ouster the obnoxious Roger Lodge and his non-stop yelling morning show?
hbhalofan - April 28, 2010
And "Ridin' Dirty".
And another KLAA complaint.
I thought KLAA was all sports now. So I’m driving down to Anaheim on Saturday for the game against the MFY, and I put on KLAA, hoping to get “Angels On Air” pregame.
Remember, this is a 1PM game
11AM – Some real estate investment informercial
12PM – Some other real estate investment infomercial.
And this is only 1 hour before gametime!!!! WTF is KLAA thinking?
red floyd - April 28, 2010
They only promised they were "No longer trying to cleanse you"
They still have beachfront property in Watts to sell you, though.
Commander_Nate - April 28, 2010
Who would want more Sports?
I miss all the shows they had previously…
Halos Heaven members like to complain about ESPN because they talk about the Yankees an Red Sox all day, but then when ESPN says the Angels are fan-friendly, everyone is super-excited. The ESPN partnership is nonsense…like we need more syndicated sports radio shows.
oasisman - April 28, 2010
I just wanted a f-ing Angels pregame call-in show.
red floyd - April 28, 2010
Bring Rex back!!!
Rojas and Guby are ok but they really blend in in the background and half the time I am not even listening to them. That was never the case with Rex. His enthusiasm was contagious and very much a part of Angel’s baseball.
And yes, why not bring Rex back and let him do the morning show? I agree that Roger Lodge is really anoying and I also do hate his non stop yelling!
xavier c - April 28, 2010
"714 - TICKETS! SEVEN-ONE-FOR-TICKETS."
44FAN - April 28, 2010
stop
eyespy - April 28, 2010
+1
If the point of that commercial is to make sure I absolutely NEVER use their services, it’s a success!
sothball - April 28, 2010
Same.
And it doesn’t help at all that the volume for the commercials is two ticks higher than the volume for the game broadcast when I listen on my iPhone… so I have earbuds in, turned up so I can actually hear the game, and then suddenly Roger Lodge is trying to be the last thing I ever hear in this world.
Just bought my 4th of July tickets on Stub Hub!
AlanFalcon - April 28, 2010
"stop" needs to be in all caps
Like “STOP!” You gotta yell over Roger, ya know. And that’s not easy. “SHUT UP ALREADY” works for me too.
hbhalofan - April 28, 2010
My ears are bleeding
red floyd - April 28, 2010
Hard to say which is more irritating...
that commercial or Pechanga Casino’s screeching “Take Me Away” song
Quad Fin Rider - April 28, 2010
LOL!!!!! nice 44!
SCHalo - April 28, 2010
I want Rex back!
chairmanofthebar - April 28, 2010
Rev,
Totaly off topic question. Was the photo of you with Hudler and Jose Molina from the Fan Fest of 2005?
billhune - April 28, 2010
Rex Hudler is a stud.
I quote Tim Salmon when I say “Hud was ADHD before it was even a thing.”
God, I miss him. I loved his excitement and his homerism. We had a true fan in the booth.
Teixeira Who? - April 28, 2010
Love Rex
But What about that guy in the middle?
Is he in the runnings for the most popular Angel?
Angelfan1983 - April 29, 2010
Isn't that Christopher Lloyd?
red floyd - April 29, 2010
pilot to bombardier
It’s about time we get Reb back!
xavier c - May 4, 2010
I mean
Rex! Good news to hears he is back, if only in a very limited basis.
xavier c - May 4, 2010
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