Joe Block leaves to take Pittsburgh PBP job

[Mudville9]

Tim Dillard

 

Maybe they should do "guest" broadcasters this season. Let different people match up with Ueck for a series and then on to the next one. Bob would probably hate that though. It could be a good way to give different people a shot and see what the audience thinks.

[jerichoholicninja]

Dullness isn't Block's biggest problem. His biggest problem is that he is terrible at describing the action on the field and the context of what was going on. He brings zero insight to strategy, doesn't update people who are just tuning in as to the key moments that led to that point in the game and I could go on and on. The bottom line was if you tune in, it was hard following what was going on. He's made some progress, as his first year was unbelievably bad, but not enough. You are better off following the game on your phone or computer. At least you know what's going on. I never turned on the radio to listen unless I was driving and had no choice.

 

Are you sure you aren't talking about Uecker?

 

I was going to post the same thing. If you want to listen to a bunch of stories and a guy talk about how bad he was at baseball, then Bob is your man. If you want to actually know what's going on, then Bob not so much.

[DuWayne Steurer]

So many people say "Block was fine when he was with Hamilton". Or with Counsell, or with someone else.

 

Maybe the problem here wasn't Cory Provus. or Joe Block. The problem obviously isn't Bob Uecker......

 

But the format the Brewers Radio employs certainly isn't helping anyone.

[PlayerHader]

Personally, unless the game is mind-numbingly boring, I think Uecker is the one who makes a game difficult to listen to.

[jerichoholicninja]

I'd let Block go to Pittsburgh but we better get a PTBNL or cash in return.

[hawing]

Get someone young that can grow and become a staple after Uecker.

That makes a ton of sense...but I imagine that's what the Brewers had in mind for both the Provus and Block hires. Here are my handful of not-very-organized thoughts:

 

1. I think this puts me in the minority here (like I'm not used to that ), but I've been solidly on the Joe Block bandwagon since his arrival, and I was really bummed to see the Haudricourt blog post yesterday. I'd been looking forward to the possibility of his taking over for Uecker (figuring the chances of keeping him were better than they were for Provus). I've appreciated his relative openness on Twitter, and he's done a good job of making me believe that he's a Brewers backer, without being overly homer.

 

I do think he's stronger as a broadcaster when he's side by side with someone (whether as the #2 or the default #1 in Ueck's absence), but I like his voice and overall on-air demeanor. Since a lot of fans think he's boring, maybe that means I'm boring, but that's nothing I haven't heard before.

 

2. I wonder how successful the Brewers can be to retain any radio talent for long nowadays. Do the announcers all have trouble remaining patient for a chance to succeed Ueck in the booth? Or could it be more that younger people nowadays are increasingly less likely to stick with any one job for very long?

 

I say this realizing that there are personal-life issues that made Atlanta extremely attractive to Jim Powell, and appear to make Pittsburgh have similar appeal to Joe Block. (I'm not aware of a particular bond between Cory Provus and the Twins/Minnesota; I could see him trying to succeed Pat Hughes with the Cubs, just because he's personally a Cubs fan.)

 

We've been extremely spoiled by having Bob for most of the tenure of this franchise, and I'm not saying I expect his eventual successor to want to stay here 40+ years. I do wonder how soon it will be rare for the same broadcaster to be in place for even 10-20 years. I think that's the direction the working world is taking. I hope it does not mean turnover in the Brewers' radio booth every 3 seasons.

[recte44]

Tim Dillard

A million times this.

[superfly]

I thought Block was good at times, but yes, very dull. I've always supported him because I thought he became much better when paired with someone. The way the Brewers do things now, he was on his own too often, which made for very dull innings. Bring back Provus!

 

Fortunately I get all the Corey Provus all I want over here in Minneapolis! :-)

[pitchleague]

I'm available. And once I took the job I would (probably) never leave.

[And That]

When they do their next hire, they could always hire on contract. I'm sure someone would take a 10 year deal.

[1992casey]

These guys might have already been on a contract. But the last four hires (provided that Block goes) have all left for what amounts to a promotion. They've all gone from #2 in Milwaukee to #1 somewhere else, and two of the four went to much larger markets. Releasing people under those circumstances would be the fair thing to do.

[And That]

Well, a 10 year exclusive contract. I can guarantee that there are a ton of people out there who would jump at the chance to get in the door, even if it meant spending 10 years in Milwaukee.

[FVBrewerFan]

Can Bill Hall do play-by-play?

[AdvantageSchneider]

Never warmed to Block. I thought Jeff was pretty good in the little bits I heard him last year. I look forward to hearing him this year full time.

 

I don't get the provius love at all. Worse than Block.

[docduany]

If Joe leaves, eh? When you are lucky enough to grow up listening to Pat Hughes and Jim Powell along side of Uke, the Provus and Blocks don't stand a chance.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

Joe grew on me. I think he keeps Uecker more grounded. I get tired of listening to Uecker's stories where every comment is a joke. I like to hear about his career and the inter working of baseball. Joe is able to get a serious answer to most of Ueck's jokes.

[miggs721]

Doug Russell

[502 to Right]

I like Joe Block. Pretty vanilla, but I like that in a baseball announcer.

[Invader3K]

Doug Russell

I've never actually heard him do play by play. It would be nice to have someone with local ties in the booth again, along with Uke.

[hawing]

Well, local ties is probably one of the better ways to improve the chance of anyone staying more than a few seasons.

[TooLiveBrew]

This move is now official, and local ties (to the Pittsburgh region) are part of the reason Joe decided to move on.

 

Post-Gazette story: Pirates hire Joe Block as play-by-play man

 

Block’s wife, Bethany, is originally from South Park. They recently had a daughter, so moving closer to family was appealing.

 

“The opportunity for me to kind of expand what I was doing with the Brewers and do nine innings and do some television as well, professionally, there was that lure,” Block said.

 

Joe's farewell/transitional tweet

 

http://i.imgur.com/LDXNqNv.jpg

[liveforoctober]

This begs the question ... which is now more impressive, the Packers run of assistant coaches who are now head coaches/GMs ... or the number of Uecker disciples who are now head announcers around baseball?

[torts]

So glad he's gone, he was so boring to listen to, and tried too hard to carry on the "ueckerisms" we all love. I really enjoyed that boston guy they got last year who filled in as the PBP/color guy when Uecker didnt travel. I think Ueck and that guy will be pretty good!

[RobDeer 45]

Have there been any statements about who they are after now?

[ReverendBrewmeister]

Have there been any statements about who they are after now?

 

Unless I'm reading the article incorrectly, it looks like the Brewers promoted Jeff Levering to Joe Block's role and are now looking for candidates to take Levering's old position.

 

http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/163249600/brewers-promote-levering-block-to-pirates