It must be said - Hawk Harrelson has to go

Steve9347 · May 29, 2012

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 29, 2012 -> 09:51 AM)

Maybe a revolving booth is the way to go. He sounded re-energized when Stone first joined the booth too.

Or - a 3 man booth with him as color man instead of pbp. Hawk does the one rest inning per game. That'd make sense and keep the entertaining Hawk (ie - Hawk when the Sox are on a 6 game winning streak) in the booth.

SnB · May 29, 2012

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 29, 2012 -> 08:50 AM)

Hawk actually seemed revitalized with Wimpy. I was loving that yesterday.

I definitely noticed that too. It was a fun listen.

Chisoxfn · May 29, 2012

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ May 28, 2012 -> 04:28 PM)

Today was very enjoyable. It's always fun to have Wimpy up there for a series.

Having Whimpy back made me enjoy Hawk. I like the two of them together.

Chisoxfn · May 29, 2012

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 29, 2012 -> 07:51 AM)

Maybe a revolving booth is the way to go. He sounded re-energized when Stone first joined the booth too.

In general, I've always liked Hawk. Once Stone joined the booth something changed. The chemistry between the two is horrible and I just don't like Hawk and Stoney together.

southsider2k5 · May 29, 2012

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 29, 2012 -> 10:54 AM)

In general, I've always liked Hawk. Once Stone joined the booth something changed. The chemistry between the two is horrible and I just don't like Hawk and Stoney together.

They don't seem to be having any fun together.

hawkjt · May 29, 2012

Long time Sox fan.

1. Hawk is an old school baseball guy,no doubt. But you know what? Baseball is the oldest sport in this country,and is one sport that is completely timeless, which is why stats are so big...every generation compares with prior generation,and comparable stat analysis is actually valid(cept for PEDs era).

That is why Hawks little antedotes are relevant. Nothing changes in this game...there is nothing really new either.

2. Fans that dislike Hawk have quit listening to him,imo. He has altered his game the last couple of years. With the advent of the strike zone box, he has almost completely quit complaining about strikes and balls...cept when the ump is missing outside the zone box....it is a big improvement on the telecasts,and I am sure that they producers did it with this intent in mind.

Hawk and Stoney have meshed better this year also. Some fans are inventing friction and this notion that Hawk talks over Stoney constantly....not true. Occasionally,sure,but those critics take a man who is on the air probably almost 500 hours a year and nitpick a handful of mistakes or misplays. WTF? Believe it or not, it is hard to be perfect 500 hours a year on national tv.

3. I do think that familiarity breeds contempt. Fans like me that watch virtually every game,either get sick of hearing the catchphrases or,like me, they just let it flow over them,concentrating on the pictures with the familiar rythmn of the backdrop of his normal calls. Sorry, but I still get excited over homers,even in the regular season....some seem to think it is ho-hum. Yesterdays homer by Dunn was huge,and Hawk knew it, the way that moore was pitching. People that know baseball knew that also.

4. Hawk is a homer....I like it. It does not define his whole broadcast,tho. He and Stoney have had some good discussions on air this year on the science and art of the game. Like Dunn hitting off of the catcher...I have never heard that before...guessing pitches off of the guy doing the catching vs the pitcher....good stuff. There have been a number of those kinds of discussions this year,and I have learned something new.

My vote....Hawk and Stoney forever.

Chisoxfn · May 29, 2012

QUOTE (Hawk09 @ May 29, 2012 -> 09:09 AM)

Long time Sox fan.

1. Hawk is an old school baseball guy,no doubt. But you know what? Baseball is the oldest sport in this country,and is one sport that is completely timeless, which is why stats are so big...every generation compares with prior generation,and comparable stat analysis is actually valid(cept for PEDs era).

That is why Hawks little antedotes are relevant. Nothing changes in this game...there is nothing really new either.

2. Fans that dislike Hawk have quit listening to him,imo. He has altered his game the last couple of years. With the advent of the strike zone box, he has almost completely quit complaining about strikes and balls...cept when the ump is missing outside the zone box....it is a big improvement on the telecasts,and I am sure that they producers did it with this intent in mind.

Hawk and Stoney have meshed better this year also. Some fans are inventing friction and this notion that Hawk talks over Stoney constantly....not true. Occasionally,sure,but those critics take a man who is on the air probably almost 500 hours a year and nitpick a handful of mistakes or misplays. WTF? Believe it or not, it is hard to be perfect 500 hours a year on national tv.

3. I do think that familiarity breeds contempt. Fans like me that watch virtually every game,either get sick of hearing the catchphrases or,like me, they just let it flow over them,concentrating on the pictures with the familiar rythmn of the backdrop of his normal calls. Sorry, but I still get excited over homers,even in the regular season....some seem to think it is ho-hum. Yesterdays homer by Dunn was huge,and Hawk knew it, the way that moore was pitching. People that know baseball knew that also.

4. Hawk is a homer....I like it. It does not define his whole broadcast,tho. He and Stoney have had some good discussions on air this year on the science and art of the game. Like Dunn hitting off of the catcher...I have never heard that before...guessing pitches off of the guy doing the catching vs the pitcher....good stuff. There have been a number of those kinds of discussions this year,and I have learned something new.

My vote....Hawk and Stoney forever.

I'd take Hawk, but they need to partner him with someone different.

Steve9347 · May 29, 2012

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 29, 2012 -> 11:14 AM)

I'd take Hawk, but they need to partner him with someone different.

Agreed.

Jake · May 29, 2012

They have put Stoney in charge of the pitch trax and thus he is now usually the only one to comment on the ball and strike calls.

flavum · May 29, 2012

Hawk09, good post. It's anecdotes, btw.

I like Hawk's catchphrases. But my problem with him is that he goes too far making it about HIM. Punctuating every call with a WOW! or a Mercy! because he knows that will be used on highlight packages. It's not a natural call. It's forced by him to make it about him.

If he just toned down the 60's references and the forced calls, I would still like Harrelson. And I think his chemistry with Stone is ok.

Edited May 29, 2012 by flavum

southsider2k5 · May 29, 2012

QUOTE (Hawk09 @ May 29, 2012 -> 11:09 AM)

Long time Sox fan.

1. Hawk is an old school baseball guy,no doubt. But you know what? Baseball is the oldest sport in this country,and is one sport that is completely timeless, which is why stats are so big...every generation compares with prior generation,and comparable stat analysis is actually valid(cept for PEDs era).

That is why Hawks little antedotes are relevant. Nothing changes in this game...there is nothing really new either.

2. Fans that dislike Hawk have quit listening to him,imo. He has altered his game the last couple of years. With the advent of the strike zone box, he has almost completely quit complaining about strikes and balls...cept when the ump is missing outside the zone box....it is a big improvement on the telecasts,and I am sure that they producers did it with this intent in mind.

Hawk and Stoney have meshed better this year also. Some fans are inventing friction and this notion that Hawk talks over Stoney constantly....not true. Occasionally,sure,but those critics take a man who is on the air probably almost 500 hours a year and nitpick a handful of mistakes or misplays. WTF? Believe it or not, it is hard to be perfect 500 hours a year on national tv.

3. I do think that familiarity breeds contempt. Fans like me that watch virtually every game,either get sick of hearing the catchphrases or,like me, they just let it flow over them,concentrating on the pictures with the familiar rythmn of the backdrop of his normal calls. Sorry, but I still get excited over homers,even in the regular season....some seem to think it is ho-hum. Yesterdays homer by Dunn was huge,and Hawk knew it, the way that moore was pitching. People that know baseball knew that also.

4. Hawk is a homer....I like it. It does not define his whole broadcast,tho. He and Stoney have had some good discussions on air this year on the science and art of the game. Like Dunn hitting off of the catcher...I have never heard that before...guessing pitches off of the guy doing the catching vs the pitcher....good stuff. There have been a number of those kinds of discussions this year,and I have learned something new.

My vote....Hawk and Stoney forever.

I will say some of the expectations are a bit high here. Baseball is a game of dead air. It takes more filler material than any other sport out there. You can't expect to have a detailed and pertinent discussion to be going on every time there isn't live game action going on. The discussion about hitting off of catchers was a fascinating one, and one I am glad I heard. I think those type of talks are way more valuable to a broadcast than rattling off stats. It brings life to the game that numbers just can't. It brings something that the 99.9999% of us who never played the game at a major league level would never know or understand.

One thing I do enjoy about this pair is that you have a hitter and a pitcher to compare stories and approaches instead of two hitters. DJ and Wimpy did a lot of agreeing and repeating, because they were coming from the same stations in baseball. Stone does give a different perspective in that respect.

The downside is they really don't seem to be having fun together. I don't know if Stone is just kind of a dry personality or what, but they don't feed each other well. I won't say they don't like each other, but they just aren't a personality fit, it seems.

Mr. Wedmesday · May 30, 2012

Why not go for the ultimate psycho-delic experience and pair Jimmy Piersall with the Hawk? That's entertainment!

ILMOU · May 30, 2012

QUOTE (11and1 @ May 29, 2012 -> 06:16 PM)

Why not go for the ultimate psycho-delic experience and pair Jimmy Piersall with the Hawk? That's entertainment!

A fight in the booth on the first night. Sure, why not?

kev211 · May 30, 2012

I cannot stand Wimpy and Hawk the last two days. All Wimpy ever talks about is how so and so is better than last year, and all Hawk does is reminisce.

kev211 · May 30, 2012

I cannot stand Wimpy and Hawk the last two days. All Wimpy ever talks about is how so and so is better than last year, and all Hawk does is reminisce.

LittleHurt05 · May 30, 2012