Loading ...1530 HOMER’s Lance McAlister is reporting that the Reds plan to hire current Phoenix broadcaster Thom Brennaman as their second man in the radio booth.
Thoughts:
- I like Thom, and think he does a very good job.
- But I don’t see what he adds. His style is different than his dad’s (a little less spicy), but I’m really not sure what having the both of them in there accomplishes for the listener. There’s no need to hire an ex-player just to have an ex-player, but there are some who do a very nice job, and bring a valuable perspective.
- My understanding was that Thom makes really good money in Phoenix, so Castellini must be prepared to open the checkbook.
- This is certainly the “least bad” option I’ve heard discussed (Dan Hoard doesn’t excite me at all, and Tracy Jones would make me break my radio).
They’ll swap innings, Marty will retire in three years (or so) and they’ll have their announcer for the next 20 years.
I live in Phoenix and see Thom regularly on Diamondbacks broadcasts. He’s always the consummate pro and has great energy, which is undoubtably why he routinely does playoff games each year. He has that ability to make every player sound like a stud, and every play sound exciting. But I think he’s a bit more relaxed on local broadcasts. If that’s really their plan — and this strikes me as one of those rumors that might be unlikely to happen — Thom would be an incredible addition and would go a long way to making the Reds feel like a more legitimate organization. -j
I agree with this being the least bad option, has anyone considered putting Tom Browning in there?
i’m with greg on this one, because like chris pointed out, it doesn’t seem like there’s enough difference in perspective between the two of them that Thom would be adding much. So if he’s hired, it’s probably a sign that marty is on the way out.
If that’s the case, i’d be happy with the decision, because while i like the bad boy, he wasn’t going to be the franchise, he’s the straight man to marty’s lunacy. Thom can hold his own.
As for players, the two that have impressed me the most have been leiter and herschieser (sp?), so i’d be down with looking for an ex-pitcher with some personality to hook up with Thom when the time comes. I also think it would be cool to get the latin american perspective on teh game, so maybe rijo?
I like Thom … I think it’ll be a good move.
Leiter is very impressive. Of course, I listened to a 1979 LCS game called by Don Sutton, and he was very impressive, too. Either guys run out of stories or they get lazy.
Tim Flannery is in his second season doing Padres games, and he’s absolutely great. Once he got the hang of actually broadcasting (and it was ugly at first), he’s been offering fantastic perspective on the game.
Finally, I’m not sure that Marty will be retiring any time soon. Vin Scully (78) , Jerry Coleman (81), and Milo Hamilton (78) are still calling games almost every day. Harry Caray was 84 when he died, and Ernie Harwell was 85 when he finally retired for good. Franchester Martin Brennaman (Franchester?) is only 62.
64. Told you I suck at math.
Though I liked Steve Stewart and feel bad that he is being pushed out, I think that his replacement offers a very good opportunity to give some contrast in the booth. Someone closer to the player’s perspective would be wonderful to get back in there, especially if he’s a former pitcher or catcher. Al Leiter has been fantastic as a color commentator on FOX – maybe there’s another one of him out there. Hershiser has been pretty good on ESPN the couple times I’ve heard him.
As for Brenneman II, I have to say that I’ve disliked him on FOX. Kind of intensely disliked him. However, I’ve never heard him on the radio, and I’ve never listened to his work for AZ. Consensus seems to be that he’s better there.
Chemistry plays a huge part in these things, and maybe Thom suffers from the FOX pairings in my perception of him. In his favor, I have to believe that in concept, chemistry doesn’t get much better than a father-son pairing.
No point in me speculating much farther unless/until the deal’s done. That could be very soon – I think that at the moment they gave Stewart his notice, the Reds must have had a very definite plan (and maybe a deal in principle) for what they were going to be doing.
Al Leiter!? The SAME Al Leiter who kept our beloved Redlegs from the ‘99 playoffs!? I think not!
Old grudges die hard.
Al Leiter will never work in this town, not under my watch anyway.
everyone on fox is bad. you would be, too, if you had to talk to a talking baseball and put up with all that extra crap.
i’ve seen d’backs broadcasts, and thom is great, much different than fox, just like joe buck is different than on fox. (mccarver can never be saved, though, even if he were to do local broadcasts.)
what will the reds do when thom has to do his fox games? no way marty will do the whole thing. think joe will fill in on saturdays?
F’ing Scooter – I had almost forgotten about that…thing. Every year I hope that someone gained some sense and 86′d it, and every year it turns up again.
Just to clarify, Al Leiter is not an option for a number of reasons – but he is one of the ex-players I’ve been impressed with in the broadcast booth. Bob Uecker is great, though one-of-a-kind. Mike Piazza and Orel Hershiser have also been decent in limited exposure. By contrast, I think ex-player color guys to avoid emulating would include Don Sutton, Keith Hernandez, and Steve Lyons.
Agreed. Don’t know if you Extra Inning or MLB.com guys can hear Matt Vasgersian and Mark Grant on the Padres games, but they are FUNNY. In a very good way.
I don’t mind the Brewers guys, either. Darren Sutton’s pretty decent.
sad as it makes me, because i love him as a player, joe morgan also belongs on the list of ex-player’s who don’t come off well in the booth.
Matt Vasgersian is great. It’s nice to see him having come far since his video game and XFL-only days.
Joe Morgan never came off particularly well as a player. He’s typically uninformed, heavily biased, and unwilling to listen to others opinions (like Joe Theismann). Some of his rants, such as the “steroids have made baseball a racist sport because there aren’t enough speedy black players anymore,” make him sound crazy and borderline senile. The fact that Jon Miller can pull off a listen-able game alongside him is only testament to how good Miller is at his job.
Can we agree that Chris Berman shouldn’t be allowed in a broadcasting booth?
Marty’s enough of a sourpuss that it wouldn’t surprise me if he wanted to retire at 70 and play golf full-time in Florida.
I want a real color guy. Someone with a sense of humor and can keep Marty focused on the ball game.
Why hasn’t anyone mentioned Welsh? He’s obviously acknowledged on this board as a darn good color guy, he’s local, a former Red pitcher, AND a homer. Sound familiar? (well, maybe not the good color guy part!)
Either way, why can’t he be what Joe was (at least a fraction anyway) for the next 25 years, assuming the Reds would pay him what he’s asking for compared to the FSN gig?
Then, down the road when Marty calls it a day, bring in Thom for play by play….alright, I’m probably dreaming, but that’s sounds alright by me.
AND, I don’t care IF Joe Morgan’s senile and/or crazy (probably). He’s a god in my book. One thing’s for sure, he’ll keep it interesting every night (not a knock on Steve – that’s pretty much the ONLY thing he doesn’t do well).
Hey greg, I’m sorry Marty is such a “sour-puss” for you to handle. He is just a hall of famer and one of the best there is in the business. Sourpuss, who even says that?
By the way, Marty and Tom would be great!
I have been surprised that Chris’ name hasn’t even been mentioned since this story broke. But I question whether he’s interested, with the increase in tv games, maybe he’s not interested in going to radio?
As a guy living far too far away to listen to Marty anymore anyway, don’t take Chris away from me on tv. His awkward silence after George Grande says something insane is priceless every night.
sad as it makes me, because i love him as a player, joe morgan also belongs on the list of ex-player’s who don’t come off well in the booth.
that’s an understatement. worst in the business, worse than even mccarver.
You guys are way too hard on George Grande. Personally, I like him, and the people with whom I usually watch the games pillory Welsh the same way this site does Grande.
If you don’t appreciate Grande, watch one of the games with Jeff Picoro filling in for Grande. Terrible.
Besides, who can honestly say they don’t enjoy hearing “Pull-holes” or “Prince Albert.”
“…and it’s gonna beeee……gone!”
Narron basher:
I’m the biggest Marty fan around. But the guy isn’t exactly, um, positive.
Marty has been an often unpleasant and morose announcer for years. The only time he sounded happy was when he and Joe were swapping stories about old friends they went out to dinner with. I’m not saying that I want a local announcer to be a cheerleader, but sometimes listening to Marty is more depressing than any game by itself could be.
I simply cannot believe you guys are bad mouthing Morgan. You are the first I have ever heard do that. You’re insane, or you just don’t get it. He has insight so many others don’t.
And you guys like people like Chris Welsh, and the idiots from Brewers telecasts….unbelievable.
I had been gone for a while, and I know you all have been too good to respond to anything I ever blog anyway, so see you cyber-nerds…never. Seacrest Out!
It’s this simple… Thom Brennaman loves Cincinnati (The Nati as he calls it) as much as his Dad, and I could think of noone better for the job. He’s great to listen to, but I thought he was doing Fox National broadcasts. (I saw him call the Reds-Braves series in Cinci where they displayed both him and Marty on split screen, Marty was the good looking one! He belongs calling for the Reds! Castellini a Nati Native knows this.
Narron Basher, I can’t say I’ll miss posts like that. But this board isn’t the first time someone has criticized Joe Morgan. I’m comfortable saying he’s a joke, among many, many baseball fans. Like this site, which I visit ever day.
The Enquirer today reports that that Marty denies that Thom is coming and says he hasn\’t even talked to the Reds. FWIW.
OK … while we’re talking broadcasters here, I’ve got a question. Why is Joe Buck so revered – at least it seems to be that way?
I believe it’s only because of his last name and that his daddy was one of the all-time greats in the booth. To me, I’d much rather listen to a game called by the duo of Harrellson of the ChiSox with is call of “you can put it on the booooooooooooooooooooaaaarrrrddd!!!! YES” and John Sterling of the Yankees and his “THHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEE Yankees win! THHHHHHHEEEEEEEE Yankees win!”
But with all the beer ads and all that he does and all the hyperbole out there about him in the ‘media’, it’s like he’s the present generation’s version of Curt Gowdy.
Chrissy,
Hey Chrissy,
Just back to say, big surprise you and other cyber-nerds feel the same. I meant I had never heard people who knew baseball put down Morgan.
Bon voyage, Narron basher. Hope you can find someone else that knows baseball.
About Joe Buck, I haven’t been impressed with him either, but I only heard him do baseball on the radio once, many years ago. More recently, I haven’t enjoyed listening to him on TV broadcasts, though it may just be the FOX effect. Or the NFL effect. Or the NFL on FOX effect.
Yeah … I can’t stand listening to any sports broadcasts on FOX … every other sentence is an ad for one of their shows.
“WOW!!! What a great diving catch by Ryan Freel!!! And speaking of great catches, you need to check out the women on the new season of the OC. Season premiers on Sept. 22 at 9 pm on FOX.”
Of course, ESPN isn’t any better.
Heck, games on the radio aren’t any better…”this call to the bullpen…” etc. It’s a fact of life everywhere…
“Hey meat.”
It is not going to happen, but the perfect reds color man would be Pete.