2 hours ago, 2Deep said:

That's where we respectfully disagree.

I would like a PBP person to at least have a handle on some underlying nuance that an ex-player, or person who's been around the game a while would possess. I'm tired of the example of "do you give him the green light?", but that's the inanity we've been putting up with in lieu of, at the very least, a boring guy calling balls and strikes. Ian and James talked on the FutureSox Podcast last night about the minor league PBP guys, and for many, there's a good reason why they're working the minor leagues. They're cookie cutter and bland.

Chicago's a major market. I would imagine that with a playoff appearance, the FO will be inspired to reach for a bit of personality. Personality's a mixed bag in the current environment, tho. Social media and other message boards allow everybody an equal chance to call the guy dogshit, cringe, a brainy nerd, too glib, whatever. Any bit of inner-exposure will reveal gaffes, or opinionated content that can be parsed by various groups with bones to pick. "Hey, look, a group of girls texting!!" Lookout! Guess what surfs right at the crest of that wave and threads that needle (to mix metaphors)? Cookie cutter.

It's not just "woke warriors" and the various offended complaining who make broadcasts bland. Benetti was too glib and nerdy. Schriff was abrasive, cringe and unknowledgeable. I find Gordon Beckham appropriately bland, and people act like he's horrible. Plesac "talks too much". That's his job!! And for as much as people reminisce about Harry or Hawk, each weathered over a decade of solid bitching over speech slurring, anger issues, water-carrying, anti-social behavior, attitudes, repetitiveness, drifting, whatever. Everybody gets stiffies about Ernie Harwell or Vin Skully, but we'd pick those guys apart in their prime.

Say what you want about nerdy/corny Benetti but he was:

a true Sox fan, it wasn't forced

appreciative of franchise history/legends

more knowledgeable about baseball in general...

not too close to certain members of the team, so ultimately more objective

not as much a pawn/loyal cheerleader for the front office

"comfortable in his own skin" maybe overly so to a point, as he enjoyed more acclaim and added national btoadcasts as well as college fb and bb

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by caulfield12

As long as the team is good, I can put up with any announcer. But when they were bad, I watched less White Sox baseball than ever before, and some of it was because I didn't want to hear the Schriff trying to blow smoke up my ass.

21 minutes ago, GreenSox said:

Knight is Schriff without the “yeah buddy” schoolboy stuff. They can do better.

They CAN do better. They HAD better and decided they didn't like him for idiotic reasons. Then they decided they didn't want better, they wanted loyalty. They got it.

10 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

I would like a PBP person to at least have a handle on some underlying nuance that an ex-player, or person who's been around the game a while would possess. I'm tired of the example of "do you give him the green light?", but that's the inanity we've been putting up with in lieu of, at the very least, a boring guy calling balls and strikes. Ian and James talked on the FutureSox Podcast last night about the minor league PBP guys, and for many, there's a good reason why they're working the minor leagues. They're cookie cutter and bland.

Chicago's a major market. I would imagine that with a playoff appearance, the FO will be inspired to reach for a bit of personality. Personality's a mixed bag in the current environment, tho. Social media and other message boards allow everybody an equal chance to call the guy dogshit, cringe, a brainy nerd, too glib, whatever. Any bit of inner-exposure will reveal gaffes, or opinionated content that can be parsed by various groups with bones to pick. "Hey, look, a group of girls texting!!" Lookout! Guess what surfs right at the crest of that wave and threads that needle (to mix metaphors)? Cookie cutter.

It's not just "woke warriors" and the various offended complaining who make broadcasts bland. Benetti was too glib and nerdy. Schriff was abrasive, cringe and unknowledgeable. I find Gordon Beckham appropriately bland, and people act like he's horrible. Plesac "talks too much". That's his job!! And for as much as people reminisce about Harry or Hawk, each weathered over a decade of solid bitching over speech slurring, anger issues, water-carrying, anti-social behavior, attitudes, repetitiveness, drifting, whatever. Everybody gets stiffies about Ernie Harwell or Vin Skully, but we'd pick those guys apart in their prime.

Scully was great...even as he got into his 70s and early 80s.

He could simply paint a picture with words and simultaneously never left you wondering what was going on in the game, but seamlessly combined play by play with so many stories of the past about the legends and history of the game.

Paciorek and Hawk were great because they got along well and actually had fun together, like DJ with Farmer or Kasper. Camaraderie.

Stone and Benetti were not a good mix as Jason's confidence and national profile continued to grow. Two competing egos rubbing together like the San Andreas fault line.

Schriffen has simply never been accepted by Stone, or treated as close to an equal or partner. He obviously looks down on John and just barely manages to tolerate him without getting too frustrated.

(Don't want to hear the term "professional at bat" from Gordon ever again. Or about Miguel Vargas' April 23rd swing change.)

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by caulfield12

2 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Say what you want about nerdy/corny Benetti but he was:

a true Sox fan, it wasn't forced

appreciative of franchise history/legends

more knowledgeable about baseball in general...

not too close to certain members of the team, so ultimately more objective

not as much a pawn/loyal cheerleader for the front office

The one thing I didn't like about Benetti was the incessant "dad jokes". If he could just dial that back a bit, he's otherwise a great PBP guy.....and a home-grown guy too. That's irrelevant now because he ain't coming back.

Schriffen simply should never have gotten the job in the first place. Maybe Jerry wanted a him because he knew he'd be a great promoter of the franchise and of the front office as this team sunk to new depths on the field. Hired for his ability to shill, not for his ability to do PBP of MLB games.

To each their own, but "he's gotten better" and "he's not that bad" doesn't mean he's become qualified to be the PBP guy for a team in the 3rd largest market. "He's Grown on Me" calling games at There's Nothing Wrong with It Field. This franchise could and should do better.

3 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

The one thing I didn't like about Benetti was the incessant "dad jokes". If he could just dial that back a bit, he's otherwise a great PBP guy.....and a home-grown guy too. That's irrelevant now because he ain't coming back.

Schriffen simply should never have gotten the job in the first place. Maybe Jerry wanted a him because he knew he'd be a great promoter of the franchise and of the front office as this team sunk to new depths on the field. Hired for his ability to shill, not for his ability to do PBP of MLB games.

To each their own, but "he's gotten better" and "he's not that bad" doesn't mean he's become qualified to be the PBP guy for a team in the 3rd largest market. "He's Grown on Me" calling games at There's Nothing Wrong with It Field. This franchise could and should do better.

Yeah Buddy!

I said it in another thread but the Sox should hire from " within" their system and give the job to Matt Swierad who has been the Charlotte Knights pbp guy for almost 30 years.

To be honest, after reading most on here it doesn't matter who the PBP guy is because this board and most fans are going to find fault in that person anyway.

4 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

The one thing I didn't like about Benetti was the incessant "dad jokes". If he could just dial that back a bit, he's otherwise a great PBP guy.....and a home-grown guy too. That's irrelevant now because he ain't coming back.

Schriffen simply should never have gotten the job in the first place. Maybe Jerry wanted a him because he knew he'd be a great promoter of the franchise and of the front office as this team sunk to new depths on the field. Hired for his ability to shill, not for his ability to do PBP of MLB games.

To each their own, but "he's gotten better" and "he's not that bad" doesn't mean he's become qualified to be the PBP guy for a team in the 3rd largest market. "He's Grown on Me" calling games at There's Nothing Wrong with It Field. This franchise could and should do better.

100%

Not sure how many young fans Benetti actually brought into the sport or became Sox fans.

If you grew up in the 1980's or early 90s, most of his cultural references hit home.

If you enjoy movies tv shows literary references, history etc., he was also your guy.

But he left a lot of young fans and those in their 20s and 30s shaking their heads in frustration...when he just got to be too much of a performer and amateur comedian for his own good.

Football provides him sufficient dead time for stories, but the faster pace of basketball brings out his best play by play instincts, depending upon a pairing with the right analyst (not named Bill Walton.)

Edited 51 minutes ago51 min by caulfield12

8 minutes ago, HoosierSox said:

I said it in another thread but the Sox should hire from " within" their system and give the job to Matt Swierad who has been the Charlotte Knights pbp guy for almost 30 yeare.

That's just not going to happen...doesn't have enough advocates for him in the local Chicago media.

Also, think he started with the Hickory Crawdads in the mid 90s.

33 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

It's not just "woke warriors" and the various offended complaining who make broadcasts bland. Benetti was too glib and nerdy. Schriff was abrasive, cringe and unknowledgeable. I find Gordon Beckham appropriately bland, and people act like he's horrible. Plesac "talks too much". That's his job!! And for as much as people reminisce about Harry or Hawk, each weathered over a decade of solid bitching over speech slurring, anger issues, water-carrying, anti-social behavior, attitudes, repetitiveness, drifting, whatever. Everybody gets stiffies about Ernie Harwell or Vin Skully, but we'd pick those guys apart in their prime.

I like Beckham. I think he'd be a good color guy with a quality PBP guy (I liked DJ with Farmer, but when Kasper got there, he really blossomed). Stone is okay and is knowledgeable, but I think it's about time.
One place to look is at some of the sideline and/or studio reporters. Steve Gelz with the Mets might be really good. I remember when the Rays plucked Dave Wills out of the White Sox radio studio (and he was a really good PBP guy). That guy on MLB network in the late mornings is from Chicago and does some PBP (although I find him annoying on the MLB network). I think Dani Wexelman would be good (I realize that won't happen).

15 minutes ago, 2Deep said:

To be honest, after reading most on here it doesn't matter who the PBP guy is because this board and most fans are going to find fault in that person anyway.

This is true. Unless they somehow get Len Kasper to switch to TV PBP, I don't think it's possible to find someone who will make everyone happy.

Dodgers pbp guy Stephen Nelson is a huge Sox fan and has been on the Sox in the basement podcast a few times. Go get him. He gets pretty excited on home run calls and has more baseball knowledge than Schriff.

1 minute ago, HoosierSox said:

Dodgers pbp guy Stephen Nelson is a huge Sox fan and has been on the Sox in the basement podcast a few times. Go get him. He gets pretty excited on home run calls and has more baseball knowledge than Schriff.

There are guys out there. I suggested Aaron Goldsmith from the Marines broadcasts. He came up through the minors and radio and is now solid on TV PBP. He can keep it light but also knows ball having put in so much time.

11 minutes ago, HoosierSox said:

Dodgers pbp guy Stephen Nelson is a huge Sox fan and has been on the Sox in the basement podcast a few times. Go get him. He gets pretty excited on home run calls and has more baseball knowledge than Schriff.

Dude would be insane to leave LAD.

9 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

There are guys out there. I suggested Aaron Goldsmith from the Marines broadcasts. He came up through the minors and radio and is now solid on TV PBP. He can keep it light but also knows ball having put in so much time.

There are LOT of guys out there. This IS the third biggest media market in the US that you will be getting about 150 chances a year to feature yourself to this audience. People pay a lot of dues to get a job like the Sox could be offering. If they want some of the best people for the job, they will be out there. I do worry that there could be perceived turmoil between what Hawk said about getting forced out by Boyer, Jason being essentially thrown out, and then potentially Schiff getting non-renewed.

1 minute ago, southsider2k5 said:

Dude would be insane to leave LAD.

That's why I mentioned him being a huge Sox fan. Normally that would be insane but if you get a chance to do pbp for the team you actually root for has to be enticing. It won't happen because Jerry would lowball him.

Sox twitter is the worst. People are really trying to argue that John losing his job is some sad sack moment? GMAFB. In most universes that don't have an owner like JR, John is still doing slam ball and random Big East basketball games. He was over promoted. Oh well.

3 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Sox twitter is the worst. People are really trying to argue that John losing his job is some sad sack moment? GMAFB. In most universes that don't have an owner like JR, John is still doing slam ball and random Big East basketball games. He was over promoted. Oh well.

Is that just from a couple popular podcast groups & their followings?

14 hours ago, fathom said:

I can’t believe there are people that think McKnight is good. I get not liking Schriffen, but McKnight has just as many warts.

I can see how Connor is more like the platonic ideal of a "good broadcaster." I think he does a good job at what he does currently. He and Steve have zero chemistry, despite the fact that you would think Steve would have much warmer feelings towards a "standard broadcaster" type of personality. Yet Steve seems to really like Schriff. The secret sauce, IMO: you cannot approach Steve as an equal. His ego is too big and he will be cold to anyone that does not suck up to him. Schriff, who is at least 50% domesticated dog, badly wants to please people which very much includes Steve.

I'd be fine if the Sox want to replace Schriffen but I won't be impressed if they just hand it to Connor. That said, I have a strong suspicion that Steve is not that easy to work with so maybe I am not being totally fair to Connor given that I have pretty much only heard him call games with Steve (often on short notice).

8 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

Is that just from a couple popular podcast groups & their followings?

Just blue check Sox accounts. The algo is straight garbage to be fair. You like one tweet and suddenly your entire feed is that account or topic. It's maddening. I actually have stopped liking or retweeing certain things just because I don't want my entire feed to be flooded.