wow. is that really the general census?
I was looking forward to Francona doing it but I hated it... There were too many awkward moments and silences where Joe Buck was just looking for some help. Francona had no personality and seemed really dry to me.... Maybe it was just me that felt that.
I was looking forward to Francona doing it but I hated it... There were too many awkward moments and silences where Joe Buck was just looking for some help. Francona had no personality and seemed really dry to me.... Maybe it was just me that felt that.
With Tim McCarver undergoing a minor heart procedure, Fox Sports suits decided it was a swell idea to team Terry Francona with Joe Buck for - at least - Games 1 and 2 of the Tigers-Rangers ALCS.
No matter how you thought Francona handled Saturday night's Game 1, this is still a bad idea.
Think about it: The Foxies are putting Francona, a guy with exactly one game of baseball broadcasting experience, on the biggest of stages. And they're actually expecting him to give baseball fans what they deserve, a compelling, competent contribution to the telecast.
Please. This would suggest Fox cares little about its baseball audience. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
"I've only broadcast one other game in my life," Francona told the Boston Globe. "And that was in the Arizona Fall League about 13 years ago and it was on the radio and there were probably 12 people (listening) and I sucked."
No matter. Fox Sports brainiacs didn't need to listen to Francona's radio performance. There was no need to test his broadcast skills before his debut Saturday night, either. Competence? Just a minor detail, a trivial matter.
For Fox, the important thing is the buzz Francona will generate.
So what if he can't handle the gig? More important is the possibility he can attract added eyeballs.
After Boston swallowed September and choked on it, Red Sox Nation ain't in the mood to hustle to the tube en masse to catch Tigers-Rangers. But with Francona in the booth, they might just be curious enough to hear what he has to say about his former team and how he departed.
Seriously though, with the national following the Red Sox have (the Foxies have often mentioned Boston's ability to juice ratings), the presence of Francona in the booth might actually draw some viewers who were inclined to sit out this ALCS.
That said, it's doubtful Francona is going to get into some heavy first - or even second - guessing of Jim Leyland or Ron Washington. Francona's fresh off the field and not looking to offend managers or players.
This move to Francona stinks for another reason. Other than McCarver, Fox primarily used two analysts, Eric Karros and Mark Grace, during the regular season. Instead of the Foxies rewarding one of them with an ALCS assignment, they went off the reservation for Francona.
Both Karros (he does have a role on Fox's ALCS pregame show) and Grace have proven they are capable of handling the gig. Unlike Francona, they actually have broadcast experience. What they don't have is star power.
That's what the Foxies hiring of Francona is all about. For Fox, it won't matter one bit if he turns in a performance similar to the one his former team delivered in September.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...but_move_is_insult_to_fans.html#ixzz1aIQy6Uyb
No matter how you thought Francona handled Saturday night's Game 1, this is still a bad idea.
Think about it: The Foxies are putting Francona, a guy with exactly one game of baseball broadcasting experience, on the biggest of stages. And they're actually expecting him to give baseball fans what they deserve, a compelling, competent contribution to the telecast.
Please. This would suggest Fox cares little about its baseball audience. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
"I've only broadcast one other game in my life," Francona told the Boston Globe. "And that was in the Arizona Fall League about 13 years ago and it was on the radio and there were probably 12 people (listening) and I sucked."
No matter. Fox Sports brainiacs didn't need to listen to Francona's radio performance. There was no need to test his broadcast skills before his debut Saturday night, either. Competence? Just a minor detail, a trivial matter.
For Fox, the important thing is the buzz Francona will generate.
So what if he can't handle the gig? More important is the possibility he can attract added eyeballs.
After Boston swallowed September and choked on it, Red Sox Nation ain't in the mood to hustle to the tube en masse to catch Tigers-Rangers. But with Francona in the booth, they might just be curious enough to hear what he has to say about his former team and how he departed.
Seriously though, with the national following the Red Sox have (the Foxies have often mentioned Boston's ability to juice ratings), the presence of Francona in the booth might actually draw some viewers who were inclined to sit out this ALCS.
That said, it's doubtful Francona is going to get into some heavy first - or even second - guessing of Jim Leyland or Ron Washington. Francona's fresh off the field and not looking to offend managers or players.
This move to Francona stinks for another reason. Other than McCarver, Fox primarily used two analysts, Eric Karros and Mark Grace, during the regular season. Instead of the Foxies rewarding one of them with an ALCS assignment, they went off the reservation for Francona.
Both Karros (he does have a role on Fox's ALCS pregame show) and Grace have proven they are capable of handling the gig. Unlike Francona, they actually have broadcast experience. What they don't have is star power.
That's what the Foxies hiring of Francona is all about. For Fox, it won't matter one bit if he turns in a performance similar to the one his former team delivered in September.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...but_move_is_insult_to_fans.html#ixzz1aIQy6Uyb
