ESPN.com – MLB – Rob Neyer Page
What a shame
Ouch.
That was my reaction Tuesday night, when I read that TBS and the Braves are dumping broadcasters Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren from the national telecasts. Skip and Pete have been two of the best in the business for quite some time, and unfortunately it’s their longevity that’s probably getting them bumped in favor of Don Sutton and Joe Simpson. Skip and Pete will still be available if you’ve got MLB’s Extra Innings package, but for only a few dozen games (at most). And I’m sure going to miss them.
AOL is really trying to run our favorite team into the ground. I hope they go bankrupt and have to sell the team to a real owner for pennies on the dollar.
Skip and Pete will truly be missed.
This is the most bone-headed move I have heard yet. Who’s gonna do radio? One guy talking to himself? It’s like your nieghbor, the one you liked, got transferred to Omaha. This stinks.
Skip and Pete will do the radio broadcasts when the game is on TBS. When on Turner South, Skip and Pete will do the on-air work with Joe and Don doing the radio.
The question I have is… who will do the radio when the games are on ESPN or Fox Sports South?
I live in Cleveland and have been a big Braves fan since 1982, so I lived through all the lean years in the 80’s. One of the pleasures of watching the Braves games was their announcing teams. From Ernie Johnson, Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren I and my parents had many enjoyable nights watching the Braves. For 2 guys who have worked for a total of over 50 years for the team, this is a shameful disgrace. I can barely pick up the games on radio and I cannot get Turner South, but I will tune into the radio whenever I can, just to shut out Don Sutton’s endless analysis, which is ok in small doses, but wears on you after awhile.
Good column by Tim Tucker:
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/sports/columns/tucker/index.html
And Bobby was less restrained than Skip in his comments:
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/sports/braves/0303/27braves.html
Colin
It took Don all of twenty-one minutes to say, “Not all hits are on bad pitches,” on Hillenbrand’s RBI single.
Truly awful, a sad day for the Braves fans around the country who regularly tune in to watch the team on TBS. TBS’ line about wanting to become a “national” baseball broadcast is pathetic – people watch the games because they want to see the Braves, and it just seems like a bad decision to take away the voices that have been such an identifiable part of the broadcasts. No one is going to tune into the games now because they suddenly think that this is just another baseball broadcast. It’s the Braves!
Let’s hope that they rethink this decision somehow…