Is Cal a former Oriole or Yankee?

[24fps]

Everybody was ready to sell this guy the franchise one year ago. Now he's a turncoat?

I think it's more likely he's a guy who's out of his depth in an environment that could, over time, damage an image he's spent a couple of decades creating. One or two tweaks and he's back to being Cal 'freakin' Ripken IMO.

[Mark70Z]

I listen to Cal the first game an just couldn't listen to him the whole game, especially after the Brooks/Beltre comment... Then this game I agree with some of you here he seemed to be more of a Yankees supporter than the O's. Again, couldn't make it the whole game listening to Cal...(loved him as a player; maybe he'll improve as an analyst).

Hope the O's come out with a win in Game 2!

[SerenityNow]

I just told my dog he was named after Billy.

[SouthRider]

I don't think Ernie Johnson is a YES guy, unless you were being facetious.

For some reason I thought I heard that name doing the Yankee/Red Sox games from YES last week, but I guess I am mistaken. Google says he works for TNT and has done some Braves games but not NY. Wow, I don't know what to say. He certainly sounded like a Yankee home broadcaster. I seriously thought he was based on his play calling, kind of like how Thorne does the occasional national broadcast of some sort.

[Barnaby Graves]

I think it's more likely he's a guy who's out of his depth in an environment that could, over time, damage an image he's spent a couple of decades creating. One or two tweaks and he's back to being Cal 'freakin' Ripken IMO.

I just think people need to take a step back and think about what they are saying. This guy played his entire career for us, worked his ass off, played hurt all the time, spent lots of time with the fans, was a genuinely decent person in an era of jerkoffs, brought positive attention to the Orioles and baseball, and is really just an icon for lots of things that are good about sports.

He's Cal Ripken Jr., guess what, he should be able to say pretty much anything he wants. He doesn't owe anyone anything, not anymore of his time, not allegiance, anything. He gave us 21 years of amazing baseball. If you have a problem with him slighting one great fielder for another great fielder or not kissing the Orioles' ass just because he played for them, I think that's on you. If his commentary sucks (and I dearly miss Thorne and Palmer), fine, but this whole House Un-Oriole Activities Commission routine is stupid.

[garethcoker]

This is going to be a rant. Apologies in advance.

The standard of the TBS broadcast is woeful. Cal included. Great players do not always make great commentators sadly. It also takes time to get good at this stuff.

As for the bias thing, I don't read too much into it. Bias or no bias, Cal simply isn't an engaging commentator. If you can't engage your audience, your bias or lack of it will be totally meaningless.

I remember at the beginning of this year a lot of posters - myself included - were complaining about Bordick's colour commentary on MASN. However, by the end of the year, he had developed a good rapport with both Thorne and Hunter. He's clearly become way more polished in his delivery and his choice of words.

The TBS broadcast on the other hand, is - like other posters have mentioned on this thread - a group of guys who don't appear to be into the game at all. Some commentators just have 'the voice' for their sport. You hear them and they just SOUND like a lot of people would expect a commentator to sound. My introduction to baseball broadcasting was with Jon Miller and as an Oriole fan ever since, we've been pretty lucky to have some absolutely fantastic commentators join MASN / WBAL. The TBS guys, frankly, none of them come even close to what Bordick offers, never mind Palmer or Thorne (even if Thorne does get a little raucous at times!).

The other thing about the TBS broadcast is the production value. It's just shoddy. Poor direction, the graphic overlays are..meh... and everything just honestly seems so half-hearted. I was flicking back and forth from Sunday Night Football (admittedly a higher budget show than whatever TBS has) to the O's game and it was like night and day. Given how far broadcasting technology has come, TBS should be embarrassed that they are not able to achieve a better experience for the viewer for what is supposed to be America's pastime. Frankly, I don't know what business they have broadcasting baseball anyway, when they barely cover no other major sports for the rest of the year (I may be mistaken here though).

For the final 4 innings of the game I turned off the TBS broadcast and just listened to Angel / Manfra. I felt more engaged through them than anything TBS had. Manfra was much better than usual tonight too.

I'm sure that TBS are trying their best, but I'm sorry, they are just not very good. Unfortunately though, what corporation broadcasts sports is not down to the quality of their broadcast, so it looks like I'll be enduring them for a little while longer.

EDIT: Sorry for veering off topic. TBS sucks. Cal rocks (just not as a commentator!)

[Prayin4Reign]

Whats he supposed to do? He can't be biased.

Have any of you listened to an O's/Yanks game involving Ken Singleton? NOW THATS BRUTAL!

In my eyes...this is more brutal. We're talking about Cal Ripken. Singleton is a Yankee employee, has been for the last umpteen years. He collects a check, has a job to do, big deal. Ripken and the Orioles go hand in hand. This is worse. Cal is overcompensating but I guess he's worried about being biased. As a fan though this is terrible.

[24fps]

I just think people need to take a step back and think about what they are saying. This guy played his entire career for us, worked his ass off, played hurt all the time, spent lots of time with the fans, was a genuinely decent person in an era of jerkoffs, brought positive attention to the Orioles and baseball, and is really just an icon for lots of things that are good about sports.

He's Cal Ripken Jr., guess what, he should be able to say pretty much anything he wants. He doesn't owe anyone anything, not anymore of his time, not allegiance, anything. He gave us 21 years of amazing baseball. If you have a problem with him slighting one great fielder for another great fielder or not kissing the Orioles' ass just because he played for them, I think that's on you. If his commentary sucks (and I dearly miss Thorne and Palmer), fine, but this whole House Un-Oriole Activities Commission routine is stupid.

I'm not sure if your post is directed at me, or if my post is simply serving as a point of departure for your thoughts on Cal's debut as a broadcaster...

If Cal's personality doesn't work on television, the 21 years of amazing baseball, etc., etc., etc will be consumed and rendered impotent so fast it will take your breath away. He is no longer on a baseball diamond where his skills are obvious to even the most casual fan. He is in an environment where Regis Philbin, Dr. Phil, Ellen DeGeneris and the Kardashian sisters are the Babe Ruths of this era. There is a reason for this and the people who understand that as well as Cal understood how to play SS in his prime are making the kind of money Cal made in his prime. Cal is lucky that most of the public's judgement will be restricted to what he says and that he's in the narrow backwater of baseball broadcasting. It's possible that Cal is intentionally distancing himself from the Orioles with a broader national broadcast presence in mind. I hope not, because he's a great HOF SS, but a bit too emotionally neutral (in other words low-affect) for sustained on-air success. The glare of the public spotlight is harsh indeed and IMO Cal has more to lose than to gain.

[Dr. FLK]

He also said Adrian Beltre was better in the field than Brooks. Not something I expected to hear him say.

[btownoriole]

It sounds like I'm in the minority here but I love listening to Smoltz and Ripken. Smoltz might be the best young analyst out there and I love hearing he and Ripken talk about their thought processes in certain situations. I honestly don't feel that Cal has been "pro-Yankee" or that he's overcompensating. But I didn't think Jon Miller was during the '96 playoffs either.

The one thing that gets on my nerves a bit about Cal is that he says "um" a lot. Other than that I enjoy listening to him.

[glenn__davis]

As an analyst, I actually think Cal's been pretty good. He's been right on the money every time he's guessed which pitch is coming up. Last night Hardy had 2 strikes and Cal said if he was a hitter there was no way he was looking for anything but the change-up. Hardy got it and grounded out weekly to 2nd.

But yeah, as so many others have mentioned, he's just trying too hard to not be biased. TBS really shouldn't have him doing the O's games, because I think he's not comfortable with it.

[TGO]

For some reason I thought I heard that name doing the Yankee/Red Sox games from YES last week, but I guess I am mistaken. Google says he works for TNT and has done some Braves games but not NY. Wow, I don't know what to say. He certainly sounded like a Yankee home broadcaster. I seriously thought he was based on his play calling, kind of like how Thorne does the occasional national broadcast of some sort.

Johnson is not on YES and I am pretty sure he never has been. He's been a national announcer for many years, mostly for basketball, though he's also done baseball, golf, tennis, college football, and I'm sure others.

As for why he may have seemed pro-NY, I think it is a national TV tendency to be enamored with superstar players, and we honestly don't have very many of them. Television also likes to create narratives, and the obvious one here is a sort of David vs. Goliath thing. Well, you have to tell everyone how impressive Goliath is to make that story work.

[Orange_Crush]

why cant he just be biased? works for hawk with chicago, lol

Hawk and John Sterling are not guys you want to be like.

[Orange_Crush]

I have to disagree. Obviously Cal is not vocally indulging in his Orioles rooting interest (and if you don't think Cal's heart is 100% on the O's side then I don't know what to say), but I don't see how his portrayal of the game is at all Yankee-sided.

Imagine if this same matchup was played out 10 years from now and Derek Jeter was a commentator on the O's vs Yanks series. People would be going nuts the first time Jeter revealed even a mild Yankee bias. I don't blame Cal for trying to avoid that and I think all the negative reaction here is because we're so used to picturing Cal as Mr. Oriole that to see him in any sort of neutral context is a bit unexpected.

I think players when they retire don't have an allegiance, they become true fans of the game and appreciate it.

[Uli2001]

I get that he is buddies with Jeter, A-Rod, Pettitte, etc. and is probably a stranger to the current Orioles. But would it be too much to ask just for neutrality?