Why are baseball TV announcers so afraid to criticize baseball players (especially ours)?

[TexasAggieBrewer]

Is there some kind of unwritten rule that baseball color commentators and play by player announcers are not allowed to criticize players? It's not like the players are college amateurs. MLB players are pros getting paid to do what they love. Our FSN crew is so afraid to say anything bad about anybody like Yuni B, Casey, or Kotsay. It's as if they work for the Brewers. The other day the "ask the booth" question to the FSN crew was "What are the Brewers' weaknesses." Well, we all know what that is: the left side of our infield, Yuni B. Yet Rock answers with cream puff answer like "Well, there really aren't any weaknesses for this team. I would say depth."

I don't understand it, NFL and NBA crews have no problem saying what's really on their mind. The worst are guys say is "Well, he's struggling a little bit."

[chadomac]

They do work for the Brewers. Fox Sports and the Brewers work together to put out those broadcasts. It's not like this is some impartial 3rd party coming in and broadcasting Brewers games with no affiliation to the Brewers. Why do you think ex-Brewers regularly work the broadcasts? How else do you explain Davey Nelson still having a job?

[pitchleague]

yeah, I'm pretty sure Bill and Brian (or any of the other guys that do pre- and post-game show stuff) would be reprimanded for going off on the Brewers in a harsh way. Depending on the severity of their comments, they could be fired, too, I would guess.

 

Plus, you have to remember that these announcers are with these players for about 180 days of the year and have to interact with them on a daily basis. Why would they jeopardize their career and the good thing they have going just to say the same things that fans on message boards are saying?

[RockCoCougars]

Well, Steve Stone wasn't... that's why we get to hear Brenly on WGN. I used to love Caray because he'd let them have it as well.

[BuckyBrewer61]

If you don't think Bill and Brian can be critical, you're just not listening closely enough. Of course they're not going to rip anyone outright, they know who writes their checks, and quite honestly hearing someone super critical on a daily basis can get grating (see: Chris Collinsworth). But there are plenty of subtle "And Yuni swings away at the first pitch" or "Loe having a hard time finding the strike zone here...and no one warming in the bullpen" type moments that, to me, make it fairly obvious that Bill and Brian are voicing their concerns in a diplomatic manner.

 

I really don't understand the beef with Bill and Brian that it seems a lot of people have. Listen to any other local broadcast, or even some national ones (cough, Mitch Williams, cough) and you'll find that we've got one of the best announcing duos in the business.

[1992casey]

Bob Uecker, Brian Anderson, Bill Schroeder, and Davey Nelson are employed by the Brewers. Cory Provus is employed by WTMJ. I'd bet with a fair amount of certainty that because we've seen them on other FSN productions, Craig Coshun and Telly Hughes are employed by FSN. I don't have anything that confirms this, but I'm certain that Jeff Grayson is employed by FSN. The guys who do the WMLW pre-and post-game shows are employed by Channel 58. I'd have no clue about the rest.

 

I want the announcers to tell it like it is, but I don't want them to be so harsh that they're insulting people. (Well, someone like Carlos Zambrano deserves to be insulted, but that's an exception.) I think they're generally critical when it's warranted. Sometimes, I think they just miss the boat. As an example, I think that Brian and Bill truly believe that Yuni is a good defender.

 

I remember an interview with Merle Harmon years ago. He said that as a home announcer, he was much more likely to be critical of a good team than a poor one. I see a certain amount of sense to that. If watching a team is already unpleasant, adding a lot of unpleasant commentary isn't going to motivate one to stay tuned.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Sometimes during a bad season, or a losing streak, or when one player has been playing particularly bad for a stretch, you can hear a pretty unmistakable tone of disgust in Uecker's voice on the radio.

 

He doesn't come right out and make blatant critical comments, but it's not hard to discern the tone and meaning of what he's saying.

[Nottso]

I really don't understand the beef with Bill and Brian that it seems a lot of people have. Listen to any other local broadcast, or even some national ones (cough, Mitch Williams, cough) and you'll find that we've got one of the best announcing duos in the business.

 

^^^^that^^^^^

[endaround]

Because Bill actually detracts from the collective knowledge of baseball fans. Measuring defense by errors. Last night talking about how wins are the most important stat for Cy Young voting.

[fondybrewfan]

Because Bill actually detracts from the collective knowledge of baseball fans. Measuring defense by errors. Last night talking about how wins are the most important stat for Cy Young voting.

That isn't any different than 99% of the other announcers in the biz.

 

Almost all announcers dumb down to their viewers because most viewers aren't as knowledgeable as brewerfan.net people. Most fans do use errors as a good way to measure defense; same for wins for starting pitchers. Its just the way it is; it transcends all teams and all sports.

 

 

[PeaveyFury]

Last night talking about how wins are the most important stat for Cy Young voting.

 

Whether you feel it's correct or not, he's right in saying that it's what the voters look at first.

[endaround]

He's not saying that they do, he was saying that they should.

[Glennron]

Almost all announcers dumb down to their viewers because most viewers aren't as knowledgeable as brewerfan.net people. Most fans do use errors as a good way to measure defense; same for wins for starting pitchers. Its just the way it is; it transcends all teams and all sports.

 

I'm sure Bill dumbs it down a little, but I really don't think that's always the case. A couple years ago, one of the text to the booth questions was, "What's the WHIP stat, and what's a good number for it?" Bill's answer was "Somewhere between 1 and 1.5." We're not talking about some crazy advanced sabermetric stat here, I don't think it's that hard to come up with a number. That's like saying a good batting average is somewhere between .230 and .330.

 

Back on topic, I actually give announcers a lot of credit for limiting their criticism. Obviously some of these guys are huge fans of the team, it would be pretty hard for me to not get worked up about crappy players.

[BrewerTerp]

i live in new york and i can only watch games on mlb.tv. the feed is always through the home broadcast, so i get to listen to rock and BA have the time and other team's broadcasts the other half. i'll say this: brewer fans don't know how good they have it with FSNW. some of the other productions are absolutely horrible.

 

i really enjoy BA and i think rock does a fine job for what his analysis calls for. people need to remember that the hardcore fans on sites like brewerfan.net make up a very small percentage of baseball fans.

[Cyanogen5]

games on mlb.tv. the feed is always through the home broadcast

I live in Houston and also watch the games through MLB.tv. I am able to pick which broadcast I get (most of the time). I know it hasn't always been this way, but it is a nice new feature. I think I buy the highest level of MLB.tv though, so maybe that is why you are stuck with away feeds. I highly suggest upping the package next year.

[BrewerTerp]

you're correct, i just have the basic package. to be honest i kind of like being forced to watch the opponents feed for away games because it gives you a different perspective on the game. the DVR capabilities of the upgraded package are nice though.

[trwi7]

Last night talking about how wins are the most important stat for Cy Young voting.

 

Whether you feel it's correct or not, he's right in saying that it's what the voters look at first.

Is it? Felix Hernandez was 13-12 with a 2.27 ERA last year. Clay Buchholz was 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA and David Price was 19-6 with a 2.73 ERA. Greinke had a 16-8 record and 2.16 ERA in 2009 and won the Cy Young. Felix Hernandez was 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA.

 

Tim Lincecum was 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA in 2009 and won the Cy Young. Chris Carpenter was 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA and Adam Wainwright was 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA.

 

[nate82]

Last night talking about how wins are the most important stat for Cy Young voting.

 

Whether you feel it's correct or not, he's right in saying that it's what the voters look at first.

Is it? Felix Hernandez was 13-12 with a 2.27 ERA last year. Clay Buchholz was 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA and David Price was 19-6 with a 2.73 ERA. Greinke had a 16-8 record and 2.16 ERA in 2009 and won the Cy Young. Felix Hernandez was 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA.

 

Tim Lincecum was 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA in 2009 and won the Cy Young. Chris Carpenter was 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA and Adam Wainwright was 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA.

Well since it has only been two straight years where the writers have looked at more than just wins and ERA yes it is. There has been a change in the writers in terms of looking at more than just wins for pitchers but the commentators have not changed and are still holding onto the concept of wins are one of the more important aspects for a Cy Young winner.

[ELCABALLO45]

I don't have anything that confirms this, but I'm certain that Jeff Grayson is employed by FSN.

Last night during the Brewers pre-game show, They did a segment for the new "FSN Prep Zone" thing. And Grayson opened up with saying "My Boss, GM and senior VP of FSNWisconsin" Or something like that, so you are correct http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

And a lot of people forget that Brian and Bill are not talking to a bunch of Sabermetric Brewer fans, and probably 80 percent of Brewer fans who watch the game think wins are one of the most important stats for a starting pitcher in baseball.