The icy relationship between Chicago White Sox broadcasters Ken “Hawk” Harrelson and color commentator Steve Stone have some believing that changes down the road are inevitable.
The on-air disconnect between the two partners, who have been broadcasting Sox baseball for four years, has led to some less than stellar broadcasts.
The bridge between the two veteran announcers became most apparent to viewers when Harrelson periodically shared the booth with former broadcast partner Tom Paciorek, who sat in for Stone on predetermined days off. Paciorek and Harrelson were broadcast partners from 1991-1999.
It was evident that Harrelson had more in-game discourse with Paciorek than he had most of the time with Stone during their broadcasts. At the end of the eighth telecast between the two former partners on Sept. 17, Harrelson said, “Well Wimpy, you were nothing but good luck for us this year. We were 7-1 when you were here.” That comment, although innocent in nature, was a red flag to some listeners. It showed Harrelson not only enjoyed his broadcasts with Paciorek but that he was keeping track of his former broadcast partner’s appearances.
...Sources told ESPNChicago.com that both broadcasters have met with Sox officials about putting out a better combined broadcast in the future. With the Sox in first place for most of the season, ratings were up on Comcast (2.3 rating in 2012 and 1.8 in 2011) and on WGN (2.4 and in 2.3).
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1. Don Geovany Soto (chris h.) Posted: October 11, 2012 at 10:21 AM (#4263391)Also, I'm perfectly ok with Brenly. He really sucked for his first half season or so, but he's got an easy enough voice, knows when to shut up, and has a pleasant banter with Len. Nothing about the TV broadcast bothers me, and I don't see any need to breakup perfectly good chemistry to bring back an old voice who used to be good. We might get stuck with another Pat Foley situation.
Stone remains my favorite color man, but he can tend to be a bit... preachy, I guess. Maybe I'm just over-remembering the final days when he seemed to be broadcasting more with a chip on his shoulder. When Stone was really good, he was just patiently explaining and suggesting - and he's actually pretty good at that. When he's not so good, he sometimes sounds like a BBTF thread on GMs -- "everyone is an idiot but me".
I guess I'm with Cabbage... I have no desire to see a booth change on TV. I suppose I haven't truly warmed up to my namesake on the radio side yet, but I would imagine that's a step down for Stone.
To be fair the GMs for the teams he's broadcasted for could easily fit the description of being an idiot.
I agree. I don't watch the Cubs as much now because they moved most of the games from WGN to their RSN, but I thought Stone did an excellent job with Harry. Especially toward the end, when Harry started to lose quite a bit off his fastball, I thought that Stone kept the telecasts from completely falling apart. Yes, I'm old too.
For the love of god, no. That curmudgeon's burned every bridge on the north side he could've (so I don't think he'd want to come back anyway), and he's an insufferable know-it-all these days generally.
Then again, I hardly ever watch Cubs games except on those increasingly rare occasions when I'm at the park, so what the hell do I care.
at minimum, though, he was great in his prime.
Particularly for Emma Stone, but that's not really a baseball decision.
If Bob leaves, I reckon Hollandsworth is next in line, who reminds me a lot of Brenly in his earlier days with the Cubs. He says a lot of super-obvious things and relies too much on locker-room cliche instead of analysis. Brenly's gotten away from that, and has learned to talk more about the actual perspective of being a player or coach, as opposed to repeating the same crap that players and coaches say when they have a microphone stuck in their face on a day-to-day basis.
Still pair him with the right pbp guy and he'd probably be good again. Arizona is probably his most likely destination.
Of course, he said it on The Score, and ESPN properties are loath to acknowledge another media source, so I wonder if this account is late/incomplete.
Yep, I was thinking the same thing. Stoney might have some inside info on Hawk. Hawk should be put out of pasture and I think this season took alot out of him. He was brutal in September, absolutely brutal, and I'm one of his biggest defenders.
I can see where they have Hawk work an extremely limited schedule, like 20 games, and find Stoney a new play by play guy.
I'm not a huge Stone fan, he's like vanilla ice cream but that's not exactly a bad thing when you have to listen to him 162 games a year.
As for the North Side, I hope everyone stays right where they are. Grace needs to get his life straightened out; coming back to Chicago might be the worst thing possible for him right now.
Plus, he's a really crummy broadcaster. Frankly that worries me more than his personal problems. Even if he sobered up and flew right, I still wouldn't want him doing Cubs games.
Please, not this.
Hughes is great, but I can't stand Moreland. And the inning where Pat takes off is unlistenable.
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