MASN adds La Canfora, Devereaux, and Brad Bach to their lineup

[Billy F-Face3]

Just now, Billy F-Face3 said:

Of all the extra people (that was Ben or Jim) MASN has allowed to do color commentary this season, I liked Greg Olsen the best. Roberts had a wealth of knowledge he was enthusiastic to share from a hitters perspective, which I liked, but I liked Greg's voice better.

With Mike Deveraeux, he seems to have thoughts he wants to say but then by the time it gets to his mouth he misfires and he tends to hesitate on what he's trying to say. Contrast that to Ben, and Ben is very talented at communicating the thought he has. 

Matter of fact, it was Ben McDonald who came up with the idea of giving Felix Bautista the nickname of "The Mountain".

(that wasn't Ben or Jim)

[RZNJ]

Devereaux seems more like a guest than a commentator.   Too soft spoken as well.  He’s got a lot of room for improvement.

[Otter]

26 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Devereaux seems more like a guest than a commentator.   Too soft spoken as well.  He’s got a lot of room for improvement.

Yeah, I agree and you're being gracious...Devo was my favorite defensive O's CF I've ever seen, but damn it's hard to listen to him...he seems so uncomfortable...

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, Otter said:

Yeah, I agree and you're being gracious...Devo was my favorite defensive O's CF I've ever seen, but damn it's hard to listen to him...he seems so uncomfortable...

Out of some of the players I’ve heard, Brian Roberts seems like more of a natural for the job.   Maybe he just has more experience and training.   

[Otter]

3 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Out of some of the players I’ve heard, Brian Roberts seems like more of a natural for the job.   Maybe he just has more experience and training.   

I agree.  I would assume before they announce in the majors they'd get some practice doing college games or on radio, but it really seems like Devo hasn't done anything before.  Ben does his best to try to get him involved in the conversation, but it seems so forced.

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

Devo got more comfortable as the weekend went along, but I don’t think he really added a ton to the broadcast.   He did have one insight about being aggressive on defense: “In order to catch the ball, you have to believe you can catch the ball.”   I think you see that all the time with players letting balls drop in front of them.  They don’t catch it because they don’t let themselves believe they can.  

LaConforta was with Melanie on the post-game show and was very talkative and animated.   Melanie was getting a huge kick out of it, grinning from ear to ear while he gesticulated wildly while making his points.  I actually really enjoyed that.  I don’t listen to Baltimore radio so I don’t really know LaConforta.  I’ve seen in this thread that he has many detractors, but in a small post-game dose I thought he did a good job. 
 

LaConforta's style is what bothers a lot of people. He's a screamer who's voice is like nails on a chalkboard for some. He's knowledgeable and opinionated about the Orioles so it's not like he's awful in this areas, but he rubs people the wrong way a lot of times.

He's also very open about his politics and brings that into his radio broadcast often and of course that aligns him with Angelos, but annoys half the listeners. 

I have a hard time listening to him on the radio because of his delivery of screaming his points when he gets fired up. Not sure if he plans to continue that approach on the pregame show or not. 

He's a hard listen for me, but I rarely watch the pregame show anyways due to it's constant wagering ads and comments about odds and so forth. 

Melanie though is very good typically in pre or post game mode and I'd rather see her paired up with a former player or even Ryan Ripken who has shown to be very good with analysis.

 

 

[Tony-OH]

48 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Devereaux seems more like a guest than a commentator.   Too soft spoken as well.  He’s got a lot of room for improvement.

That was my impression too. I don't want to be too critical because he was one of my favorites players back in the day and I've never heard anything bad about him a a person. Seems like a real gentlemen but he seemed like a 1 or 2 inning guest vs a true commentator.

Ben was constantly setting him when it came to hitting and defense and he little to add.

I know they are doing the three man booth because they are kinda trying guys out, but I'm not a fan honestly. 

I do think Briand Roberts and especially Greg Olson have been good in the past. 

I really wish they would go get Caleb Joseph away from the the Blue Jays. I know he would be good and have stories from the 2014-18 timeframe. Plus, you know he would be funny too.

[emmett16]

1 hour ago, RZNJ said:

Devereaux seems more like a guest than a commentator.   Too soft spoken as well.  He’s got a lot of room for improvement.

One of my favorites Os ever.  I have not been impressed.  He coaches an 11U team PG tourney team & helps at IMG academy.   Imagine he’s just here for a few weeks in the summer.  

[cboemmeljr]

On 6/30/2023 at 3:45 PM, Brian88 said:

The only logical reason I can come up with for bringing in LaCanfora is to take some of the heat off of Melanie. He’s awful.

I just do not see what he brings to the table.

 

[Mooreisbetter27]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

LaConforta's style is what bothers a lot of people. He's a screamer who's voice is like nails on a chalkboard for some. He's knowledgeable and opinionated about the Orioles so it's not like he's awful in this areas, but he rubs people the wrong way a lot of times.

He's also very open about his politics and brings that into his radio broadcast often and of course that aligns him with Angelos, but annoys half the listeners. 

I have a hard time listening to him on the radio because of his delivery of screaming his points when he gets fired up. Not sure if he plans to continue that approach on the pregame show or not. 

He's a hard listen for me, but I rarely watch the pregame show anyways due to it's constant wagering ads and comments about odds and so forth. 

Melanie though is very good typically in pre or post game mode and I'd rather see her paired up with a former player or even Ryan Ripken who has shown to be very good with analysis.

 

 

He also gets louder when someone disagrees with him and starts yelling.  He's that guy that thinks the louder and more aggressive he gets, the more right he is, I guess?

Definitely has the "I'm never wrong" complex.  He's brutal to listen to on radio.  Ken is okay for the most part, but listening to the two of them together was tough at times.  

[ChuckS]

Devo doesn't seem comfortable in there.  Almost as if he has no experience doing color (maybe that is the case?).  

He doesn't hurt the broadcast though.  Three is a crowd IMO, and I rather have the third commentator saying too little than too much.  

 

[vab]

Devereaux certainly had a rough start there but he should be given some time. Go back and listen to some of John Madden's first games in the booth. Not saying Devo will turn into that but it can take some time. I'm a LaCanfora fan even if I don't always agree with him. I like strong opinions in sports talk hosts. 

[Malike]

Ben McDonald was a robot during his first couple of broadcasts. He's come a long way. Devo was fine, in my opinion. Perfect? Nope, but he didn't hurt the broadcast or distract from it.

[NCRaven]

9 minutes ago, Mooreisbetter27 said:

Definitely has the "I'm never wrong" complex.

Should fit in perfect here.

[Moose Milligan]

14 minutes ago, Mooreisbetter27 said:

He also gets louder when someone disagrees with him and starts yelling.  He's that guy that thinks the louder and more aggressive he gets, the more right he is, I guess?

Definitely has the "I'm never wrong" complex.  He's brutal to listen to on radio.  Ken is okay for the most part, but listening to the two of them together was tough at times.  

I think that's why I don't like him.  And he was a d-bag when covering the Skins, too.  Quite a fall for that guy, WaPo, NFL Network and NFL.com, NFL Total Access, Schefter's replacement on the NFL Network...And now he's at MASN.  

I mean, what a dork.  He's from Baltimore and he used to be a Red Sox fan before switching to the Orioles.