Posted by chicagomedia.org on June 19, 2008 at 09:30:05:
Cubs' TV tandem calls the best game in town
11:26 PM CDT, June 18, 2008
Grading the local baseball broadcast teams ...
Cubs TV: A- (last year: B)
Len Kasper and Bob Brenly
Brenly hit the bull's-eye when he said "you could throw a dart" in the Cubs' dugout and find a better defender than Alfonso Soriano. But it wasn't even his best moment so far.
How about the June 5 game at Los Angeles, when Kerry Wood kept firing wayward sliders at Juan Pierre and his sub-.330 slugging percentage?
Brenly gave us this: "That's about as much respect as Juan Pierre has ever got."
And this: "[Wood] is making this a lot harder than this has to be. Throw him a fastball up and out over the plate, let him hit a fly ball to left field [and] let's go home."
Then this, with an exacerbated voice: "Pitch him away. Play him away."
Wood walked Pierre on a 3-2 slider. Then he fell behind Matt Kemp before ending his at-bat—and the game—on three straight fastballs.
Brenly being 100 percent right was a dollop of whipped cream on a slice of cheesecake. It wasn't even necessary.
Brenly, surging with confidence in his fourth season, has found the perfect balance—bold but not mean, funny but not cheesy, willing and able to first-guess Lou Piniella's strategies.
He has been forthright enough to say Jim Edmonds appeared "lackadaisical" on a fly ball and to remark Soriano, after a drop, "looks totally lost out there."
During Soriano's hot streak, Brenly said: "You need oven mitts to high-five this guy."
Kasper calls a strong game and makes great use of his pregame interviews with players. I just wish he wouldn't try so hard to spin positive.
After a high throw by Aramis Ramirez pulled Derrek Lee off first base, Kasper's first instinct was to say: "I think the throw was going to be late anyway."
On Opening Day, Kasper said Felix Pie made a "good" throw to the plate even though it soared past the cutoff man. Brenly corrected him:
"It was a strong throw but not a good one."
Sox TV: B+ (last year: B)
Hawk Harrelson and Darrin Jackson
Each year Harrelson becomes more of a love-him-or-hate-him guy.
His critics despise his references to old-timers like Rocky Colavito, his tales of inventing the batting glove and his penchant for slamming the umpires.
Well, dadgummit, I think he's a treasure. Especially when his beloved White Sox are surging. When they're out of the playoff hunt, Harrelson can't fake his enthusiasm.
No one wants his team to win more, but Harrelson is a homer with a conscience. He'll rebuke even his favorite players if a replay calls for it: " A.J. [Pierzynski] didn't like the call. … Good pitch."
He always comes up with good lines, such as: "Experience is something you get when you don't really want it."
And I love his eye for detail and respect for the game's history. He pointed out that at the old Yankee Stadium, pitchers warmed up behind home plate before games.
His partner, Jackson, is underappreciated. He speaks with authority, he's funny and he's never annoying.
He and Harrelson might not always sound like they're having a good time together, but it is an enjoyable listen. Especially if you like a little Harvey Haddix and Clete Boyer sprinkled into your telecast.
Cubs radio: B+ (last year: A-)
Pat Hughes and Ron Santo
Asking Santo to change is probably as foolish as pleading with Soriano to take a walk. They are what they are.
And yet it's so tempting. If only Santo would describe what he sees while watching a replay, rather than saying: "Let's look at it again. ... Oh, yeah."
If only he would give us a pitcher's ERA, rather than saying that Glendon Rusch simply was 1-2 with San Diego. Santo then said Colorado had traded for Rusch, when in fact the Padres released him.
If only he wouldn't call so many players "he."
In past years, foibles like that rarely bothered me. Santo's partner, Hughes, would manage to cover them up, as if throwing a blanket over a coffee stain.
Hughes remains the best at what he does. His calls are like a perfect spring day—crisp and clear.
And he never lets Santo chafe him, despite the fact that Santo does his preparation and research while he's calling the game.
Hughes treats him like the Hall of Famer he deserves to be.
Sox radio: B (last year: D)
Ed Farmer and Steve Stone
Calling games with Stone is like being John McEnroe's doubles partner in the 1980s. Or teaming with Tiger Woods for a best-ball event.
If you can't work with Stone, you can't work with anyone.
It took Farmer some time to realize that the star of his broadcast team was sitting next to him. He apparently had grown so accustomed to trampling over Chris Singleton that it became a habit.
More and more, Farmer seems to get it.
Still, there's a reason baseball's best play-by-play men tend not to be ex-jocks. It can be hard for them to set up the pins, rather than knock them down. Especially when they have a vastly inflated view of their ability and popularity.
Farmer has made more of an effort to engage Stone and ask for his insights. And though Stone is verbose in real life, he makes his points sharply and succinctly between pitches.
Stone studies the game and its players. It's why he can tell listeners, for example, that Angels manager Mike Scioscia calls 70 percent of his team's pitches.
And he's unpredictable. After a catcher was nicked by a foul tip, his leg possibly going numb, Stone invoked the name of Barry ("Tryin' to get the Feeling") Manilow.
Too bad Farmer stepped on his punch line.