Kevin Brown absence explained?

[Sports Guy]

3 minutes ago, CallMeBrooksie said:

Wondering if there's any linkage between whatever is going on with KB and Dan Connolly's sudden and quiet disappearance from the Athletic. 

JA sending a clear message for any media-types who cross his invisible lines.

Connolly got let go from The Athletic because they got rid of a lot of their best reporters.

[banks703]

1 minute ago, glenn__davis said:

(On a side note, I've enjoyed Brach's contributions thus far.)

So has JA's wife. 

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

2 minutes ago, CallMeBrooksie said:

Wondering if there's any linkage between whatever is going on with KB and Dan Connolly's sudden and quiet disappearance from the Athletic. 

JA sending a clear message for any media-types who cross his invisible lines.

The Athletic is cutting back and eliminating beat writers from smaller market teams. Also Dan Connolly was saying positive things about the Orioles attendance during the Yankees series in what seems to be an attempt to curry favor with team on the off chance he'll get hired to write for MASN.

[LookitsPuck]

1 minute ago, CallMeBrooksie said:

Wondering if there's any linkage between whatever is going on with KB and Dan Connolly's sudden and quiet disappearance from the Athletic. 

JA sending a clear message for any media-types who cross his invisible lines.

I don't think Dan Connolly's departure from The Athletic has anything to do w/ John. For one, that's a private publication, but also they had layoffs recently that included ~20 journalists. 

That said, this whole thing doesn't really pass the smell test. I don't put it past John to have thin skin, but that comment by Kevin was innocuous enough, and there's been so many other similar comments over the year. It's very possible that he is suspended, but also for something that we aren't aware of. 

[rm5678]

23 minutes ago, ledzepp8 said:

I'm guessing (if the rumor is true, I don't really believe it) that he was referring to wins at Tropicana Field. But even that I'm not sure is accurate as I don't feel like looking it up.

Has anyone checked to see if it's true for games at the Trop?

[rm5678]

6 minutes ago, CallMeBrooksie said:

Wondering if there's any linkage between whatever is going on with KB and Dan Connolly's sudden and quiet disappearance from the Athletic. 

JA sending a clear message for any media-types who cross his invisible lines.

I doubt they're connected, but hopefully Dan Connolly's sources can find out if the rumor is true or not.

[ledzepp8]

2 minutes ago, rm5678 said:

Has anyone checked to see if it's true for games at the Trop?

Fine I'll check .  He had to be talking about at the Trop. Because they're 4-2 there this season and were a combined 3-16 the previous two seasons.

[SilverRocket]

45 minutes ago, Malike said:

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that statement. Did he get suspended for it being false? As far as I can tell the Orioles are 6-3 vs the Rays this year and were 9-10 vs them last year.

This is all I can think of for getting in trouble. So maybe it wasn't true and he defended himself poorly?

Losing Brown would be huge. He's one of few who try to keep up with the changing trends like with analytics, and he makes all the other PBP announcers sound like they're in the stone age. He makes everyone around him better too... Ben McDonald has really taken a step forward with his analysis and I think KB has led him to open up more about his takes. You can nitpick about the pop culture stuff, but that's such a minor thing.

[rm5678]

1 minute ago, ledzepp8 said:

Fine I'll check .  He had to be talking about at the Trop. Because they're 4-2 there this season and were a combined 3-16 the previous two seasons.

That makes me even less willing to believe that he got suspended over that innocent comment, especially since they were playing at the Trop at the time and the comment was true for the games there.

[Moose Milligan]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

I think he's built himself up quite the resume to be disliked outside of just being Peter Angelos' spoiled, never accomplished anything but being a rich guy start. He's done one thing right so far. Hire Elias. 

 

Hired Kevin Brown too, though?

But we can agree to disagree.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a JA fan.  I think he's probably a bit of a jerk but he's not only hired Elias, it seems as if he's given Elias reign to do whatever he wants to right the direction of the franchise.  I don't think he's gotten in the way.  

And I know that could spark off a giant debate about whether or not Elias is allowed to spend money...people are going to act like they know for sure when they really don't.  

I'm probably not remembering some things but all I know for sure is that JA went media silent there for a few years after hiring Elias.  He had that dust up with Connolly earlier before the season started and that rambling mess of an impromptu media conference in Spring Training.  He's not media savvy and I don't hold that against him.  And fans on this board and elsewhere damned him for being inaccessible to the media...and then when he was, they damned him for what he had to say.

But hiring Elias, if that's the one thing he did right, that's enough for me to overlook anything else I've forgotten about him and haven't mentioned here.  

 

[CallMeBrooksie]

12 minutes ago, Fiver6565 said:

Why would you think Angelos has any sway whatsoever at the Athletic?  That site has dumped a ton of writers, no reason to believe the two things are remotely related. Plenty to criticize Angelos (any Angelos) about, no reason to make additional stuff up.

As a journalist covering the beat, you're flying close to the sun any time you critique an owner in the way that Connolly has. I don't think what Connolly did  was unwarranted or unprofessional, but it sure as hell made JA mad.  It's not unreasonable to say an MLB owner could make enough noise to put his relationship with the Athletic in question. Independence of private publications is sometimes very murky. Happens all of the time in sports.

I'm hearing from others that the Athletic laid off a bunch of other talent, so that probably makes more sense. Still don't think it's a crazy question to ask. 

[OriolesMagic83]

12 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

The Athletic is cutting back and eliminating beat writers from smaller market teams. Also Dan Connolly was saying positive things about the Orioles attendance during the Yankees series in what seems to be an attempt to curry favor with team on the off chance he'll get hired to write for MASN.

Writer, he might be a broadcaster.  He already possesses the essential skills, putting everything O's in a positive light and brown nosing Angelos.

[CallMeBrooksie]

1 minute ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

Writer, he might be a broadcaster.  He already possesses the essential skills, putting everything O's in a positive light and brown nosing Angelos.

Are you unfamiliar with Dan Connolly's work?

[LookitsPuck]

6 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

Writer, he might be a broadcaster.  He already possesses the essential skills, putting everything O's in a positive light and brown nosing Angelos.

Dan Connolly and brown nosing Angelos in the same sentence? Surely you jest. 

[lfallo1]

This is hilariously insane if true. fwiw, i do like KB calling games