Sun Times says it’s time for the Schrif to move on

[WhiteSox2023]

1 hour ago, ewokpelts said:

and people forget that STONE likes/approves of him. i was a benetti guy, but it was obvious that steve was getting tired of his schtick. 

1 hour ago, ewokpelts said:

yeah, but he's the senior guy with the guaranteed contract. And the owner loved him more than hawk. 

Who cares?  Stone is basically coasting at this point and doesn’t even try.  Doesn’t make it any less of a poor decision.

Edited September 20 by WhiteSox2023

[chitownsportsfan]

To give an example of a couple TV teams I like I'd throw out the KC crew and the Mets' team. KC crew is a former low level minors guy, position player, dad played MLB ball so familiar with the game, but he also has a great voice and call; he's paired with another former player, forget his name, who was a pitcher so has a pitcher's perspective and those two can bounce things off each other naturally during a game.

Mets crew is the best mix of serious baseball and fun. It starts with Hernandez not taking himself so seriously even tho he's more of a legend in his home town than Stone will ever be. 

The more I consider it the more I think Stone is just as big of a problem in the booth as Schriffen. There's only one way to work with Steve and that's to kiss his ass and just ignore his sour puss inclinations while flattering his tired talking points. Really straight jackets the play by play guy.

[Snopek]

3 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Mets crew is the best mix of serious baseball and fun.

Big fan of the Mets, Phillies and Padres booths for this reason.

[Lip Man 1]

27 minutes ago, Snopek said:

Big fan of the Mets, Phillies and Padres booths for this reason.

And it helps a lot that those franchises have been winning games. As a broadcaster myself I can tell you there is nothing more difficult then trying to keep fans interested in a bad team/program as well as keeping yourself enthused and willing to put the work in over the course of a year.

As Charlie Finley once said of Bill Veeck's White Sox, "You can't ballyhoo a funeral..."

[chitownsportsfan]

14 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

And it helps a lot that those franchises have been winning games. As a broadcaster myself I can tell you there is nothing more difficult then trying to keep fans interested in a bad team/program as well as keeping yourself enthused and willing to put the work in over the course of a year.

As Charlie Finley once said of Bill Veeck's White Sox, "You can't ballyhoo a funeral..."

And I took that personally -- Late Stage Hawk Harrelson

[MikeKreevich]

2 hours ago, Snopek said:

Out of curiosity, what kind of broadcaster does not suck to you?

I've been lucky to have to have listened to Hawk, Harry, Jack  and Vince.

[nrockway]

43 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

To give an example of a couple TV teams I like I'd throw out the KC crew and the Mets' team. KC crew is a former low level minors guy, position player, dad played MLB ball so familiar with the game, but he also has a great voice and call; he's paired with another former player, forget his name, who was a pitcher so has a pitcher's perspective and those two can bounce things off each other naturally during a game.

Mets crew is the best mix of serious baseball and fun. It starts with Hernandez not taking himself so seriously even tho he's more of a legend in his home town than Stone will ever be. 

The more I consider it the more I think Stone is just as big of a problem in the booth as Schriffen. There's only one way to work with Steve and that's to kiss his ass and just ignore his sour puss inclinations while flattering his tired talking points. Really straight jackets the play by play guy.

co-sign the Mets crew. Their whole production department is top notch, maybe the best in sports. 

I think Stone is better this year than he has been in a while. The ass kissing is a little much but he gets some laughs out of me. Meanwhile over at the Bulls, Amin is constantly kissing the ass of a career backup. And Stacey hasn't gotten a laugh out of me in years. Is he still saying "gimme the hot sauce?" That was funny once. Now he says it to hawk his fuckin brand of hot sauce.

Enjoy that ironic sense of humor or whatever you wanna call it. Last year he just sounded like he'd rather be anywhere else. Not that I blame him I suspect Lip is correct in that it's hard to hype yourself up to do this job for a bad team 162 times a year (minus however many days the two of them miss for various reasons).

I figured he was going to retire before this season so maybe he had some contract anxiety hanging over him. I thought I might like Plesac but did not. Frank would be an awesome guy to get in the booth, he was pretty good on TV. It'd be cool if he could fill in some games. Beckham doesn't need to be around at all. 

[Sleepy Harold]

14 hours ago, nrockway said:

What was Benetti's experience before the Sox job? A little bit of KBO. ESPN3. Very similar to Schriffen except Schriff did work for ABC News. They both did radio broadcasts for their college.

"Experience" is kind of a weird argument. You're either good at the job or you're not, you don't need a 30 year track record to be "good". 

Mind you, while I think Schriff is actually good at being a commentator, I wish he knew more about baseball. Had actual takes beyond what he's told by producers. He's done it a couple of times this season where his 'eye' offered a little bit of insight. If he spent his free time researching baseball like Benetti obviously does, he could be really good.

It would be a shame to just fire him. McKnight isn't any better. Schriff's energy appeals to a non-boomer crowd. But it's like caulfield said, baseball fans can tell the difference between someone who knows what he's talking about and someone who doesn't. But baseball isn't rocket science, I suspect if he made an attempt to be better, he could be. Something that still sticks out to me from last season is him talking about how he wishes he had time to research the minor leagues. I think he should find the time. I listened to some semi-recent Tigers broadcast where Benetti was talking about the 'pitching lab' at his alma mater, Wake Forest...seemingly just random knowledge, but actually insightful. I think Schriff tries to be insightful about the players' personalities or whatever, but I think we would all like it to be about baseball.

He could be genuinely good at the job. But, like, management needs to light a fire under him a little bit. Contract year might do that.

Benetti had experience calling baseball games for the Windy City Thunderbolts, the Salem Avalanche (HOU Single-A affiliate in '06), and Syracuse Chiefs in addition to other gigs in various sports before landing the Sox job. He was far more experienced in calling baseball than Schriffdog.

[nrockway]

7 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

Benetti had experience calling baseball games for the Windy City Thunderbolts, the Salem Avalanche (HOU Single-A affiliate in '06), and Syracuse Chiefs in addition to other gigs in various sports before landing the Sox job. He was far more experienced in calling baseball than Schriffdog.

A little bit more experience. Schriff did KBO and Dartmouth baseball. Softball for ESPN. Schriff had more specific TV experience I believe.

Point being, neither one had some large resume compared to a guy who's been doing minor league ball for decades. Watching a bunch of our minor league affiliates the last couple of years, the guys are not very good. 

[Sleepy Harold]

1 hour ago, nrockway said:

A little bit more experience. Schriff did KBO and Dartmouth baseball. Softball for ESPN. Schriff had more specific TV experience I believe.

Point being, neither one had some large resume compared to a guy who's been doing minor league ball for decades. Watching a bunch of our minor league affiliates the last couple of years, the guys are not very good. 

Not how I would phrase it but to each their own. 

[nrockway]

19 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

Not how I would phrase it but to each their own. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_Major_League_Baseball_broadcasters

The point is to say that you can look at this list and pretty much every PBP announcer has a similar track record before being hired to do MLB tv work. Some of them, namely famous guys like Michael Kay and Dave O'Brien had no professional broadcasting before getting the call from MLB teams. 

Schriffen is a qualified candidate is the point I'm trying to make. He might not be any good, but he has 15 or so years of professional experience plus whatever he did in college. Did play-by-play/sideline work for CBS from 2015 and ESPN from 2020. He and Benetti graduated in 2006/2005 respectively and Benetti got the Sox job far earlier in his career than did Schriff.

[77 Hitmen]

17 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

It's not.  What experience did he have before he took this job that qualified him to be a major market PBP #1 guy?

Agreed.  Plus, I don't care what jobs Schriff had before he joined the White Sox.  I said he's unqualified, not inexperienced.  I don't care if he's finishing his 2nd season and is less bad than last year.  He was unqualified when he was hired and he's still a really bad announcer.   If the Sox fired him tomorrow, would any MLB pick him up as their PBP man?  I highly doubt it.  

[Chick Mercedes]

On 9/19/2025 at 8:36 AM, T R U said:

This post along with WestEddys about Schriffen bragging over a solo home run that brings a score to 7-1 are both excellent points on why this guy is so annoying.

You put off a lot of people when you are broadcasting to the fanbase like they are a bunch of idiots. 

 

[greg775]

I feel sorry for Schriff but he's not a dandy announcer yet. I love Stone (although I haven't listened to a game the last 2 seasons since the team blows). ... Lip as a broadcaster tell us bout Schriff. Grade him too. thanx.

[Highland]

I can't say how good or bad Schriffen was this year because I didn't watch. And I didn't watch because of how Schriffen was in his first year.  Stone should go, too. He doesn't like the fans (or anyone for that matter.)

[Dick Allen]

Reading Bob today, and Manfreds attempy at NFL level revenue sharing, I think we may be stuck with this dope another season unless they replace him with McKnight, which would be fine by me. At least he seems to have a clue about the game.

 

[southsider2k5]

5 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

Reading Bob today, and Manfreds attempy at NFL level revenue sharing, I think we may be stuck with this dope another season unless they replace him with McKnight, which would be fine by me. At least he seems to have a clue about the game.

 

Conner isn't good, but is stark how much better the broadcast is with him in the booth 

[Tnetennba]

On 9/20/2025 at 11:47 AM, WhiteSox2023 said:

And even as a Sox fan from Homewood, Illinois, Benetti learned that it doesn’t always pay to have your dream job.  The guy’s best career move was getting the hell away from cheapskate Jerry.

Shockingly, the Tigers don’t have a problem with their commentator getting more publicity by doing nationally broadcast gigs.  Jerry is a moron.

Neither do most teams who employ highly talented people who get national broadcasting opportunities.  

[Sleepy Harold]

On 9/20/2025 at 3:47 PM, nrockway said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_Major_League_Baseball_broadcasters

The point is to say that you can look at this list and pretty much every PBP announcer has a similar track record before being hired to do MLB tv work. Some of them, namely famous guys like Michael Kay and Dave O'Brien had no professional broadcasting before getting the call from MLB teams. 

Schriffen is a qualified candidate is the point I'm trying to make. He might not be any good, but he has 15 or so years of professional experience plus whatever he did in college. Did play-by-play/sideline work for CBS from 2015 and ESPN from 2020. He and Benetti graduated in 2006/2005 respectively and Benetti got the Sox job far earlier in his career than did Schriff.

My point is that I wouldn't deem him qualified for the position in the first place, but the Sox have (allegedly) hitched their wagon to him for another year.

[caulfield12]

On 9/21/2025 at 2:28 AM, MikeKreevich said:

I've been lucky to have to have listened to Hawk, Harry, Jack  and Vince.

Vin?  Not an Ernie Harwell fan?

[caulfield12]

5 hours ago, Tnetennba said:

Neither do most teams who employ highly talented people who get national broadcasting opportunities.  

Not to mention Benetti got a playoff appearance, playoff win and then all the stressful excitement of the last 2-3 weeks in Detroit.

[nrockway]

20 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

My point is that I wouldn't deem him qualified for the position in the first place, but the Sox have (allegedly) hitched their wagon to him for another year.

Qualified vs good at the job seems to be the disagreement. I think he's technically quite qualified based on, ya know, the resumes of pretty much every other pbp person in baseball; he just isn't very good. I really like Wayne Randazzo with the Angels, a Chicagoland guy who did not attend a prestigious university and has less of a professional track record than Schriffen. He's technically less qualified, yet better at the job than Schriffen. 

I just tend to think, in most aspects of life, 'experience' is not a very good indicator of future success. Kind of a whiff on Schriff, right, but he has room to get better. Again, studying baseball is not rocket science. He just has to do it and want to do it. I dunno if he has the desire to get better at the job. I hope he does. 

[Dick Allen]

Well, the hope is gone. From mlb.com:

 

“He’ll be back for 2026,” said Boyer of Schriffen. “John is enthusiastic. He’s sometimes, and maybe this could be a detriment, he’s in it with the guys. He has created good relationships with the players ... that’s part of what we have to do as an organization. You tell stories about these guys.

“So, I’m comfortable, confident that moving forward, he’s going to continue to do that. He has worked very hard at connecting with fans. Didn’t connect with fans as well last year as he did this year. That’s always a work in progress. When you look at our broadcast last year compared to this year, it’s a significant difference. I’m pleased with that.”

[BrittBurnsFan]

On 9/20/2025 at 12:44 PM, Snopek said:

Big fan of the Mets, Phillies and Padres booths for this reason.

The Padres booth is great...informative and an enjoyable listen!  

[ewokpelts]

On 9/20/2025 at 11:54 AM, WhiteSox2023 said:

Who cares?  Stone is basically coasting at this point and doesn’t even try.  Doesn’t make it any less of a poor decision.

who cares? the fucking owner.