The state of sports journalism is sad, but nothing new. Still, there are few things I hate more than listening to some fart-happy jackass moralizing about sports players.

It's nothing new from Brantley either. I think he misses the spotlight of being an actual sports player.

"He's not a clutch hitter!"

Pickle weasel.

I thought the headline was "Weather upset by Reds announcer." This is a disappointment, let me tell you.

Brantley is a scum bag. Was it him who made a fool of himself after the Edwin walk off earlier this year?

Weathers has a right to be pissed but considering Brantley's MLB experience it is conceivable that Brantley's view on this is accurate and informed. He could know, or at least have first hand locker room accounts from ex-teammates, about the desire to win of some of the Red's players

Yep. I think he has a terminal case of foot in mouth disease.

I don't see what's wrong with what Brantley said.

Of course if Weathers cares about the team, then it stands to reason that he could care less than he does.

Of course it is amusing that Weathers is choosing to use a variation on "have you ever played the game?" on Jeff Brantley. Not that it makes Brantley any less of a joke.

Hmmm... players complaining about announcers, now where have I heard that before.

Brantley and Brennaman don't just hate the Reds; they hate baseball too.

He could know, or at least have first hand locker room accounts from ex-teammates, about the desire to win of some of the Red's players

The only current Red that Brantley played with is Kent Mercker, and that was for one season ten years ago. Maybe someone on the Reds is telling him about his teammates, but the ex-teammate buddy factor isn't strong.

Everyone complains about Weathers but no one does anything about him.

A particular Brantley experience the other night had him ragging on Dave Duncan's handling of the bullpen. Brantley was with the Cardnials in 1998, and started the year as one of several putative closing candidates. Brantley's claim was that Duncan didn't want bullpen pitchers to pitch inside, as it increased the risk of a homerun. Brantley said he disagreed, didn't follow the plan, and that led to them clashing. He still disagree's, and is still critical of Duncan's handling of the pen. Brantley's 1998? A 4.44 ERA, 95 ERA+, and 12 homeruns in 50 IP. It was also his last marginally effective year as a reliever. Maybe he should've listened to Duncan.

Brantley sounds like he's been pumped full of Oxycontin when he's doing his PBP.

The bigger story is Weathers playing the "then put on a uniform" card. As if the only people who can critique a team or sport are the ones who are currently playing it!

Brantley and every member of the media can/should critique players and make observations without worry of a pitcher on the DL getting pissed off.

http://sportslocker.blogspot.com/

The bigger story is Weathers playing the "then put on a uniform" card. As if the only people who can critique a team or sport are the ones who are currently playing it!

First of all, if you're going to spam this site with a link to your blog in every other thread, at least use the html tags. Secondly, considering that Brantley used to play, a "then put on a uniform" doesn't mean that Weathers thinks only current players can critique the team. He might, but it doesn't automatically mean that.

I will state the same thing here that I reference when speaking about Yost and the Brewers bullpen issues.

If the same d*mn thing keeps happening even though the folks involved change then someone needs to look elsewhere for the root cause. I think a search of the BBTF archives will list multiple articles about Reds talking heads criticizing the players. If it's not a Jeff Brantley it's a Marty. Or a Tracy Jones. I think, but can't recall, that the guy they hired from the Orioles was actually pretty sane and didn't he get dumped from the broadcast?

Doesn't that suggest that SOMEBODY in management WANTS this stuff happening?

Doesn't that suggest that SOMEBODY in management WANTS this stuff happening?

Well, we'll get a hint whether it comes from the GM.

Doesn't that suggest that SOMEBODY in management WANTS this stuff happening?

I think it all goes back to Marty. There is no way he's being forced out; there's also no way he's changing. He's moved from "brutally honest" to "grumpy old man" over the last few years"; now, others follow his lead and get away with it. I also think that the Cinci fans mostly agree with what's being said by these guys - you never hear a caller on WLW disagree with Marty & Co.

I think George Grande and Chris Welsh do an above-average job; however, with national names Thom Brenneman and Jeff Brantley around, their exposure has been reduced considerably.

I think, but can't recall, that the guy they hired from the Orioles was actually pretty sane and didn't he get dumped from the broadcast?

Steve Stewart. I though he was both abysmal at calling a game, and horrid to listen to. Other than that, he did a great job. (By the way, I feel the same way about Brantley. The OxyCotin comment above is valid.)

EDIT: To address the original point of the thread, I also think Brantley has no right to accuse guys of quitting. I don't care how much "access" he has; I've never thought guys outside of any team have any right to talk about the effort of athletes, especially on a public stage.

Yeah. Don't criticize an athlete who's done everything right. Come after ME. I'm FORTY YEARS OLD! COME AFTER ME!

The least he could do when saying that some players don't care about winning is to name names.