Is Cal a former Oriole or Yankee?

[Prayin4Reign]

Yeah, that's fine. Maybe he does. Just all of the comments implying that he is tarnishing his legacy because maybe he's trying too hard to appear unbiased are completely absurd to me. This is CAL RIPKEN people. CAL RIPKEN!

Yeah, and he disrespected Brooks Robinson on national TV. BROOKS ROBINSON!

[Goop]

How many of you were great at your jobs the first time you started? I know I wasn't. Yes I'll admit that Cal is a better in studio analyst than he is in the booth, but for crying out loud people this is Cal Ripken, he's not all of a sudden just some run of the mill national Yankees kiss butt broadcaster. If anyone questions his loyalty then maybe you oughta step back and think about what you're saying for a minute.

[gallden]

I wish Billy was doing the color. He's fantastic.

[ledzepp8]

This stuff just goes to show that some people need something to complain about. The Orioles won 93 games so there wasn't all that much to complain about.

Yeah there was the Brooks vs Beltre thing but that wasn't that ridiculous or that big of a deal. I mean Cal isn't Jim Palmer in the booth but he hasn't been that bad. He's trying to be impartial. Sure he was a little over the top with the grass thing last night but he's also talking as a former infielder.

Bottom line is if this wasn't the Yankees people wouldn't be complaining.

For the christ's sake, the Os are tied 1-1 in their first ALDS in 15 years. That should be what we're talking about, not how much Cal Ripken hates the Orioles.

[Ruzious]

This stuff just goes to show that some people need something to complain about. The Orioles won 93 games so there wasn't all that much to complain about.

Yeah there was the Brooks vs Beltre thing but that wasn't that ridiculous or that big of a deal. I mean Cal isn't Jim Palmer in the booth but he hasn't been that bad. He's trying to be impartial. Sure he was a little over the top with the grass thing last night but he's also talking as a former infielder.

Bottom line is if this wasn't the Yankees people wouldn't be complaining.

For the christ's sake, the Os are tied 1-1 in their first ALDS in 15 years. That should be what we're talking about, not how much Cal Ripken hates the Orioles.

+1. And I'm completely fine with the Brooks/Beltre comment. Brooks and Frank are my favorite players of all time, ant that wasn't disrespecting Brooks, imo. It's okay to compliment Beltre - he's been an AMAZING defensive 3rd baseman for a lot of years.

[howboutthoseos]

This stuff just goes to show that some people need something to complain about. The Orioles won 93 games so there wasn't all that much to complain about.

Yeah there was the Brooks vs Beltre thing but that wasn't that ridiculous or that big of a deal. I mean Cal isn't Jim Palmer in the booth but he hasn't been that bad. He's trying to be impartial. Sure he was a little over the top with the grass thing last night but he's also talking as a former infielder.

Bottom line is if this wasn't the Yankees people wouldn't be complaining.

For the christ's sake, the Os are tied 1-1 in their first ALDS in 15 years. That should be what we're talking about, not how much Cal Ripken hates the Orioles.

+ a million

[ex player]

Bottom line is if this wasn't the Yankees people wouldn't be complaining.

For the christ's sake, the Os are tied 1-1 in their first ALDS in 15 years. That should be what we're talking about, not how much Cal Ripken hates the Orioles.

I'm not understanding your post. I don't think it would matter who they are playing. It's the way Cal is going out of his way to not seem partial to the O's. He's going so far out of his way that he is making up excuses for the other team when they make errors, even implying the way the grass is cut is causing them! lol.

Yes, we can talk about being in the ALDS after waiting 15 years, but that isn't the topic of this thread. There are plenty of other threads discussing that.

[Say O!]

Let's not let the evidence get in our way of dismissing Cal's grass comment -

• Tex error on a grounder
  
• Derek Jeter looking at the ground repeatedly after a routine grounder nearly hand-cuffed him
  
• JJ Hardy booting a ball between his legs
  

All three of these events in the same game point to something more than random or circumstantial. Maybe Cal does know what he is talking about.

[srock]

Thorne and Palmer have totally spoiled us. Any complaints I had about those two are completely washed away, lucky to have them.

*shudder* the though of crap team Fox Sports destroying my brain with there utter nonsense. Take that mccarver.

[fansince71]

Not sure what you Ripken haters are listening to:rolleyes: Cal is not the most polished analyst in the booth, but him and Smoltz have been great.

[MagicBird]

I'm not understanding your post. I don't think it would matter who they are playing. It's the way Cal is going out of his way to not seem partial to the O's. He's going so far out of his way that he is making up excuses for the other team when they make errors, even implying the way the grass is cut is causing them! lol.

Yes, we can talk about being in the ALDS after waiting 15 years, but that isn't the topic of this thread. There are plenty of other threads discussing that.

Cal's not making excuses for anyone. He's simply explained some aspects of the game that most fans have no clue about. Its kinda nice to hear his perspective. Would you all rather have somebody like Kenny Albert?

I thought the grass cut remarks were good stuff. Good insight you dont normally get. I dont care if Tex has an excuse or not for his misplaying the ball.

[crawjo]

Yeah this was just weird. He was like "I know this is going to sound stupid" love it when a guy says this to start off. "But the zigzag grass cut can make the ball take weird spins"...........................?

Frankly Cal I dont care if it actually does happen that way once in a while. It sure didnt look that way to me last night. I think the mighty toolbag Teix just muffed it. Much like Jeter muffed it. The Yankees make errors too. It isnt always an Act of God for one of those mercenaries to just not make a play.

So Cal just shut up.

Ripken has fielded countless ground balls in his life. If he has an unusual thought on why balls sometimes take funny bounces, I want to hear it. The man was a fielding genius and is incredibly smart. Maybe the comment was stupid, maybe not. People who are blasting him are just being overly-sensitive. Grow up.

[CA-ORIOLE]

He's not being paid to be an Orioles cheerleader or ambassador. He's there to provide insight an analysis. I don't think he's particularly great at it, but I don't think he's necessarily been horrible either. Brooks comment aside (which I didn't have much issue with) he's been fair to both teams imo. Some of the stuff has gotten ridiculous. I can't believe I'm defending Cal Ripken because I never really cared for the guy that much.

[Ross]

Let's not let the evidence get in our way of dismissing Cal's grass comment -

• Tex error on a grounder
• Derek Jeter looking at the ground repeatedly after a routine grounder nearly hand-cuffed him
• JJ Hardy booting a ball between his legs

All three of these events in the same game point to something more than random or circumstantial. Maybe Cal does know what he is talking about.

And Hardy is the only one he didn't make an excuse for. Just sayin'. I don't really care that Cal talks up the Yankees, its just that it was very annoying listening to a pro-yankee broadcast all night. I think Cal being the pro-yankee commentator is just the cherry on top for everyone.

[nate22]

I understand Cal's just trying look unbiased (and it doesn't really bother me other than he's a terrible broadcaster), but I think that if he added more insight from an Oriole's perspective it would actually add to the broadcast. He doesn't have to be a "homer" about it either. I'm pretty sure he knows things about this team that would be beneficial to the broadcast, imo.