MASN broadcast overhaul - Palmer, Thorne, others out

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, Yardball85 said:

Ben is great.  He's no Palmer, but when you have an A+ in Palmer, it is hard to beat that.

I like Garceau.  He's a Baltimore guy, he's been working in Baltimore for years.  But he just has no enthusiasm or excitement on his calls.  Throne or even Hutner would've been a lot of fun for the success we've been having.

To be fair to Garceau, there is zero atmosphere to draw off of.

 

[Yardball85]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

To be fair to Garceau, there is zero atmosphere to draw off of.

 

That is totally fair.  He works great with Ben.  Last night's broadcast especially was a joy to watch as the two of them interacted well.

[Sports Guy]

4 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

That is totally fair.  He works great with Ben.  Last night's broadcast especially was a joy to watch as the two of them interacted well.

It also has to be odd calling the game from a different stadium.

That being said, I believe your post would be accurate if there were a lot of fans though.  I don’t think Garceau will be that super excitable guy but I do think he will be more excitable, under normal circumstances, than he has been this year.

[canonfaz]

I've only watched/listened to the TV broadcasts. I'd give Ben an "A" and Garceau a "C+" (right in the meaty party of the curve).

Garceau is fine (and a million times better than Hunter), but he just doesn't bring enough enthusiasm, IMO.

 

[Yardball85]

1 minute ago, canonfaz said:

I've only watched/listened to the TV broadcasts. I'd give Ben an "A" and Garceau a "C+" (right in the meaty party of the curve).

Garceau is fine (and a million times better than Hunter), but he just doesn't bring enough enthusiasm, IMO.

 

Hunter is an acquired taste lol.

I did not have cable growing up, s Hunter's voice reminds of me of being seven or eight years old, coming home from day camp, and listening to an Orioles game in my room.  It's more of a nostalgia thing, but I like him.  Even though he's cheesy as hell.

[canonfaz]

6 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

Hunter is an acquired taste lol.

I did not have cable growing up, s Hunter's voice reminds of me of being seven or eight years old, coming home from day camp, and listening to an Orioles game in my room.  It's more of a nostalgia thing, but I like him.  Even though he's cheesy as hell.

Haha. To each his own!

Jon Miller is that voice for me when I was growing up and listening to games.

[Number5]

18 minutes ago, canonfaz said:

Haha. To each his own!

Jon Miller is that voice for me when I was growing up and listening to games.

Chuck Thompson.  Ain't the beer cold!

[MDK02]

I miss Gary...

[Yardball85]

40 minutes ago, canonfaz said:

Haha. To each his own!

Jon Miller is that voice for me when I was growing up and listening to games.

Ah, I like Miller too.  Great voice. 

My top announcers for the Orioles in my lifetime is still Palmer as color analyst and Thorne for TV and Angel for radio.

[LocoChris]

48 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

Hunter is an acquired taste lol.

I did not have cable growing up, s Hunter's voice reminds of me of being seven or eight years old, coming home from day camp, and listening to an Orioles game in my room.  It's more of a nostalgia thing, but I like him.  Even though he's cheesy as hell.

No he’s not. He sucks. 

[Yardball85]

2 minutes ago, LocoChris said:

No he’s not. He sucks. 

Riiiight, liking an announcer is completely, 100% objective, and there is no room for subjectivity in such an analysis!! 

[joelala]

56 minutes ago, canonfaz said:

I've only watched/listened to the TV broadcasts. I'd give Ben an "A" and Garceau a "C+" (right in the meaty party of the curve).

Garceau is fine (and a million times better than Hunter), but he just doesn't bring enough enthusiasm, IMO.

 

An ‘A’ for Ben?! I like him but don’t know if I can go THAT far. He is a master at stating the obvious and he uses the term ‘melted that ball’ at least twice a game. I’ll give him a solid ‘B.’
 

the more I think about it thought, the more I wonder if getting rid of Palmer and Thorne is a permanent move, perhaps at least requested by the FO. The whole Davis/Palmer beef had to have been deeply distracting for the team and Ben Macdonald is a much safer personality who will never go rogue like that. 

[joelala]

25 minutes ago, MDK02 said:

I miss Gary...

Me too

[Frobby]

26 minutes ago, joelala said:

the more I think about it thought, the more I wonder if getting rid of Palmer and Thorne is a permanent move, perhaps at least requested by the FO. The whole Davis/Palmer beef had to have been deeply distracting for the team and Ben Macdonald is a much safer personality who will never go rogue like that. 

I think the team necessarily was planning for an eventual transition, given that Thorne is 72 and Palmer 74.    They already had Joe Angel  and Fred Manfra both walk away (by their own choice, so far as we know) at age 70.    So, I think the plan was to have “tryouts” this year for several people, mix them in with the veteran announcers and then choose the ones who would eventually succeed the vets.    But COVID and the shortened season accelerated the process.    I don’t know if they’ll entirely dump Thorne and Palmer next year, but they might cut them back from their 2019 levels.    And, it’s also possible that either of them might decide they’ve done this for long enough and choose to walk away.   

[LTO's]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

think the team necessarily was planning for an eventual transition, given that Thorne is 72 and Palmer 74.

How old is Garceau though? He's certainly no spring chicken. I like McDonald, but SG has been pretty terrible behind the mic. Makes me honestly miss Jim Hunter *shudders*