White Sox Radio Broadcasts

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I just listened to John Rooney do the ALDS and was struck by how much more into the game he was compared his White Sox broadcasts. He brings energy and excitement, and calls the game in 'real time', rather than 10 seconds after the play because he was talking about golf with his partner.

 

I've always respected Buck Martinez but never liked him much before on the air. He is as dry as overdone toast. But, in this series he and Rooney are fitting together like a hand and a glove. Martinez doesn't need to comment after every pitch, he just pipes up when he has something valuable to say. With Rooney on top of the game, his comments are informative and lend a nice texture to the show.

 

My knee jerk reaction is to blame my fellow St. Rita Alumni Ed Farmer for the comparatively poor broadcasts of the White Sox games, but I think it runs deeper than just him. ESPN advertises the games as the Ed and John talk show, and plays clips of them talking about anything except baseball.

 

I surmise they have a vision that people will tune in just to listen to them rather than the game. Die hard fans like me will stay tuned despite the BS because we are into the game, but the idle patter might take some listeners from say, Jay Hood, across the dial. They might be right, but it sticks in my craw.

 

I understand that over the course of 162 games, there will be some clunkers where hearing that Ed uses water on his wheat chex is better than the game, but not as a rule. There were many times this summer where the excitement of the game itself was missed.

 

Rooney's performance in the ADLS is radio baseball at its best. I'd love to get a dose of it during the summer.