Say goodbye to Jim Palmer and Kevin Brown for 2021

[SteveA]

If the Orioles don't score in the top of the 9th, Jim and Kevin are done for the year.

It will be Geoff Arnold and Ben McDonald on the TV broadcast tomorrow night, and then Scott Garceau and Ben McDonald for the final 9 games of the season.

[Just Regular]

Good battle between empty tank Kennedy and Mountcastle to finish on.   I was right there with Jim that Kennedy was pretty scared to throw a strike.

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

I got a heart attack for half a second reading that thread title and thinking Jim Palmer announced his retirement from MASN. 

[Frobby]

Philip is going to have a conniption fit when he reads this, but I think the broadcast crew has settled in nicely over the course of this year, both TV and radio.   Brown is really coming into his own and comfortable in his own skin.  He’s very good at including the color person in everything he does.   He calls a  good game and he has learned to convey excitement when things are exciting.  Arnold and Hollander are both solid pros.   Both Palmer and McDonald are engaging and insightful.  

That brings me to Melanie Newman.  Not gonna lie, she was awful on both PBP and color in the first half of the year.   But sometime around when she did that national broadcast on YouTube, she finally relaxed.   She got WAY better over the second half of the year.   I’m not going to go so far as to say she’s good, or even average, but she’s in spitting distance of average now, both in tone and substance.   And I see no reason she can’t keep improving.   

Finally, Garceau.   He’s not awful, he’s just not interesting to listen to.   He’s too low key and doesn’t convey that the game is interesting.   I don’t dislike his persona, but he’s not going to get better from here.  

Anyway, I still miss Thorne and Angel, but I think in 5 years the best of this group can be just about as good.  It takes time for these people to settle in, get comfortable with each other and their audience, and gel.  But I can see it happening, for the most part.   It’ll be interesting to see how they do when the team is actually competitive.


 

[HowAboutThat]

16 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Philip is going to have a conniption fit when he reads this, but I think the broadcast crew has settled in nicely over the course of this year, both TV and radio.   Brown is really coming into his own and comfortable in his own skin.  He’s very good at including the color person in everything he does.   He calls a  good game and he has learned to convey excitement when things are exciting.  Arnold and Hollander are both solid pros.   Both Palmer and McDonald are engaging and insightful.  

That brings me to Melanie Newman.  Not gonna lie, she was awful on both PBP and color in the first half of the year.   But sometime around when she did that national broadcast on YouTube, she finally relaxed.   She got WAY better over the second half of the year.   I’m not going to go so far as to say she’s good, or even average, but she’s in spitting distance of average now, both in tone and substance.   And I see no reason she can’t keep improving.   

Finally, Garceau.   He’s not awful, he’s just not interesting to listen to.   He’s too low key and doesn’t convey that the game is interesting.   I don’t dislike his persona, but he’s not going to get better from here.  

Anyway, I still miss Thorne and Angel, but I think in 5 years the best of this group can be just about as good.  It takes time for these people to settle in, get comfortable with each other and their audience, and gel.  But I can see it happening, for the most part.   It’ll be interesting to see how they do when the team is actually competitive.


 

I actually wrote a significant post detailing how everyone should be fired because they are all awful(so you’re correct) but deleted it.
Why bother. They are terrible, but The Powers have neither ears to hear nor eyes to see nor hearts to care.

Lets go see what Seattle is doing…

[wildcard]

I like Jim and Ben.  And Rob Long is good in the role he has.   The rest are...well....aaa.

[forphase1]

56 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Philip is going to have a conniption fit when he reads this, but I think the broadcast crew has settled in nicely over the course of this year, both TV and radio.   Brown is really coming into his own and comfortable in his own skin.  He’s very good at including the color person in everything he does.   He calls a  good game and he has learned to convey excitement when things are exciting.  Arnold and Hollander are both solid pros.   Both Palmer and McDonald are engaging and insightful.  

That brings me to Melanie Newman.  Not gonna lie, she was awful on both PBP and color in the first half of the year.   But sometime around when she did that national broadcast on YouTube, she finally relaxed.   She got WAY better over the second half of the year.   I’m not going to go so far as to say she’s good, or even average, but she’s in spitting distance of average now, both in tone and substance.   And I see no reason she can’t keep improving.   

Finally, Garceau.   He’s not awful, he’s just not interesting to listen to.   He’s too low key and doesn’t convey that the game is interesting.   I don’t dislike his persona, but he’s not going to get better from here.  

Anyway, I still miss Thorne and Angel, but I think in 5 years the best of this group can be just about as good.  It takes time for these people to settle in, get comfortable with each other and their audience, and gel.  But I can see it happening, for the most part.   It’ll be interesting to see how they do when the team is actually competitive.


 

Going to disagree here.  Thanks to MLB.TV I was able to catch probably 85% of the games this year, and other than Palmer and McDonald, the rest are poor at best, with Newman and Garceau being bad.  I'm hoping there are some changes next year, but I kinda doubt it.  

[Ruzious]

I think they're all fine - with Brown being a star in the making.  The one problem combo is Garceau teamed with Palmer.  There's just no chemistry there, and Garceau comes across as inept when they're paired together.  I get the impression Palmer would prefer not to work with Garceau, and Garceau knows it.  When he's with McDonald, Garceau appears much more relaxed.  Ben can work with anyone.   

[scOtt]

10 hours ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I got a heart attack for half a second reading that thread title and thinking Jim Palmer announced his retirement from MASN. 

Me too! Retire or contract not renewed...

 

I love Ben (not as much as Palmer of course.) And I like Garceau HEAPS better than Kevin Brown.

[BohKnowsBmore]

10 hours ago, Frobby said:

Philip is going to have a conniption fit when he reads this, but I think the broadcast crew has settled in nicely over the course of this year, both TV and radio.   Brown is really coming into his own and comfortable in his own skin.  He’s very good at including the color person in everything he does.   He calls a  good game and he has learned to convey excitement when things are exciting.  Arnold and Hollander are both solid pros.   Both Palmer and McDonald are engaging and insightful.  

That brings me to Melanie Newman.  Not gonna lie, she was awful on both PBP and color in the first half of the year.   But sometime around when she did that national broadcast on YouTube, she finally relaxed.   She got WAY better over the second half of the year.   I’m not going to go so far as to say she’s good, or even average, but she’s in spitting distance of average now, both in tone and substance.   And I see no reason she can’t keep improving.   

Finally, Garceau.   He’s not awful, he’s just not interesting to listen to.   He’s too low key and doesn’t convey that the game is interesting.   I don’t dislike his persona, but he’s not going to get better from here.  

Anyway, I still miss Thorne and Angel, but I think in 5 years the best of this group can be just about as good.  It takes time for these people to settle in, get comfortable with each other and their audience, and gel.  But I can see it happening, for the most part.   It’ll be interesting to see how they do when the team is actually competitive.


 

Agreed on SG. I think his demeanor was a really good complement to Jeremy Conn on their 1057 show (the only show I liked).

[LA2]

12 hours ago, OrioleDog said:

Good battle between empty tank Kennedy and Mountcastle to finish on.   I was right there with Jim that Kennedy was pretty scared to throw a strike.

 

Which is why Mountcastle should have laid off those high fastballs out of the strike zone, taken the walk, and given Hays a chance to drive in runs with the bases loaded. I couldn't believe he kept swinging at them, although at least he fouled them off and didn't miss them completely. Was so frustrating to watch, especially with Hays hot RISP bat on-deck.

Abad's change-ups in his inning of scoreless relief were impressive.

[Moose Milligan]

@Philip, you need to create your own website that critiques various announcing crews, as you fancy yourself as a broadcasting expert. It's high time you make your opinions and critiques known to a nationwide audience.

It's a million dollar idea, don't say I never did anything for you.

 

[HowAboutThat]

29 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

@Philip, you need to create your own website that critiques various announcing crews, as you fancy yourself as a broadcasting expert. It's high time you make your opinions and critiques known to a nationwide audience.

It's a million dollar idea, don't say I never did anything for you.

 

Actually that’s a very good idea. However the flaws to which I am referring Are incredibly basic. And they are immediately obvious to anybody who watches a game. Don’t need a website to point them out.

The most important part of a baseball game is the next pitch. How often do the broadcast guys talk about something else during a pitch, and then they finish their thought and only then do they talk about the pitch that just was?

Ive mentioned frequently interviewing somebody during gameplay, where the interview itself is more important than the gameplay, which is ridiculous.
The people aren’t watching a baseball game to hear an interview, they are watching a baseball game to watch a baseball game, and talking over the gameplay, instead of focusing on the game, is the best way to show the public that the game does not matter, is, in fact, so boring that only an irrelevant interview makes tuning in worthwhile. That’s just basic common sense and doesn’t require a website.

[jamalshw]

3 hours ago, scOtt said:

Me too! Retire or contract not renewed...

 

I love Ben (not as much as Palmer of course.) And I like Garceau HEAPS better than Kevin Brown.

Interesting. This just goes to show that different people like different things when it comes to announcers. For me, Garceau is by far my least favorite announcer and I don't have any issues with Brown. 

[spiritof66]

A problem I have with Garceau is that he seems to have little knowledge about baseball other than what's in the info he's been given for the game (and his strong recall of past Oriole games and players). It may be lack of confidence in what he says or awe for Palmer, but pretty much every baseball-related opinion or comment that Garceau offers is followed by "Right, Jim?" And I agree with what others have suggested that he doesn't seem to have much enthusiasm for the job or for baseball generally. Palmer seems to like Scott -- just a guess -- who appears to be a genuinely likeable guy, but to have no respect for or interest in Scott's takes or opinions. For me, that makes for an uncomfortable listening experience. 

Brown and Palmer are pretty good together, and I think got better over the season. They, and especially Brown, have a tendency to stray from the game too much for my taste, though that may be partly attributable to how bad the team is. And someone should tell Brown he's not as clever or as funny, on the air anyway, as he thinks he is.

I've heard a lot of play-by-play announcers over the years, and one thing I've observed is that virtually everyone I've heard and whose career I've had a chance to track -- especially ex-players, but broadcast professionals, too -- is not very good when he (or she) starts announcing MLB baseball. The job is a peculiar combination of reporting and shilling for the home team, and it's a lot harder than it seems. I did a little radio announcing in school, and while football is the hardest sport because of the fast movement of the ball and the spotlight among players, especially those on the unfamiliar team, baseball is really challenging, too. Much more than other sports, there is lots of down time, requiring announcers to decide what to talk about and how much of their baseball and non-baseball selves to reveal. Teaming an inexperienced announcer with changing partners probably makes the job harder (kind of like second basemen with a changing cast of shortstops, or vice versa). 

In my experience, most announcers get better in their first few years. Only a few don't. Among those who improve, some remain terrible (Suzyn Waldman). Some get much, much better (Ron Darling).