In the Toronto Star, Chris Zelkovich writes about Buck Martinez becoming the TV play-by-play man for the Blue Jays.
TMC
The first thing that came to mind Thursday when Rogers Sportsnet
announced it had hired Buck Martinez to call its 110 Blue Jays
broadcasts was: Great move.
The second was: What took so long?
Buck is back where he belongs, but this time in an entirely new role.
One of the best analysts in the business, the former Jays player,
manager and TV colour man will now be doing play-by-play.
"The opportunity to do something different came up and I think it's an
interesting challenge for me," said Martinez, whose contract as
Baltimore Orioles analyst expires at the end of January. "Obviously
it's a different role, but because I've been blessed with so many
great play-by-play partners – Jim Hughson, Tom Cheek, my good friend
Dan Shulman and all the guys at ESPN – I think I can take something
from all of them.
He'll replace Jamie Campbell, who is out after five years of learning
on the job.
If you find this move shocking, prepare yourself for the possibility
of more changes.
Asked who Martinez would be working with, Sportsnet production head
Rick Briggs-Jude replied, "We have to finalize that. Buck was the
building block and we'll grow from there."
Sportsnet's three-headed team of analysts – Pat Tabler, Rance
Mulliniks and Darrin Fletcher – are without contracts, and don't be
surprised if some or all don't get new ones.
Briggs-Jude compares the 2010 product to the rebuilding Blue Jays – a
work in progress.
"We look at this as a longer-term project that starts with Buck," he
said. "A revitalization is underway and it's great to have someone of
Buck's status."
As for candidates, how about FAN 590 radio analyst Alan Ashby, whose
cheques already are being signed by Rogers? That would make a pretty
good team, assuming Sportsnet wants a clean slate.
Whoever works beside Martinez – and one guy would be an improvement
over a rotating cast – Sportsnet already has upgraded its broadcasts.
"Buck brings such an expertise that we have an opportunity to do a
different kind of booth now with two baseball-grounded experts who
will give our audience a different perspective than we've had the
chance to offer before," said Briggs-Jude, who worked with Martinez at
TSN.
While Martinez is short on play-by-play experience – a couple of radio
games for ESPN and a couple with TSN way back when – there's no doubt
the former catcher knows what is required on a TV broadcast.
He understands that a baseball game is also entertainment, something
the previous crew never could quite grasp. There was a bland sameness
to Sportsnet broadcasts, though it wouldn't be fair to lay it all at
Campbell's feet.
Armed with only one game's experience, Campbell was thrust into a
heavy schedule accompanied by a revolving door of sidekicks. All are
good analysts, but Tabler lacks flair, Mulliniks talks way too much
and Fletcher has flair but doesn't appear to take the job seriously
enough.
Still, all might benefit from working with somebody like Martinez if
that's the route Sportsnet takes.
And it wasn't as if this was anything new: Jays broadcasts have
suffered from blandness since the team of Shulman and Martinez was
broken up.
Campbell took the news with class.
"It came as a surprise," he said. "But I can't argue with the move. At
the very least, I have to take some solace that the guy taking my
position is a guy with such a great track record."
Campbell will remain at Sportsnet, with his next assignment on
freestyle skiing and snowboarding at the Vancouver Olympics.
Still, he would have preferred to give it another season.
"The hardest part is leaving the game I love," he said.
Gary
SNIP
> Campbell took the news with class.
>
> "It came as a surprise," he said. "But I can't argue with the move. At
> the very least, I have to take some solace that the guy taking my
> position is a guy with such a great track record."
>
> Campbell will remain at Sportsnet, with his next assignment on
> freestyle skiing and snowboarding at the Vancouver Olympics.
>
> Still, he would have preferred to give it another season.
>
> "The hardest part is leaving the game I love," he said.
I only started following the Jays about four or five
seasons ago, and I enjoyed Campbell's laid back approach.
It seemed to suit a baseball game.
- Gary
KalElFan
news:08b4f687-fbb5-455d...@g22g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/mlb/bluejays/article/737540--zelkovich-sportsnet-hits-a-homer-in-landing-martinez
>
> The first thing that came to mind Thursday when Rogers Sportsnet
> announced it had hired Buck Martinez to call its 110 Blue Jays
> broadcasts was: Great move.
>
> The second was: What took so long? ...
>
> He'll replace Jamie Campbell, who is out after five years of learning
> on the job.
>
> If you find this move shocking, prepare yourself for the possibility
> of more changes.
Campbell seems like a nice guy and I'm glad he's still working for
Sportsnet, but "five years of learning on the job" doesn't really tell
the story. I recall when he first started five years back and he was
just brutally awful. I would have preferred that they make a move
then and realize it just wasn't working out, but they stuck with him
and after a couple of years he became tolerable to decent at it.
That's what makes the move somewhat surprising now, but I
think Martinez is a definite step up so it makes sense.
> Asked who Martinez would be working with, Sportsnet
> production head Rick Briggs-Jude replied, "We have to
> finalize that. Buck was the building block and we'll grow
> from there."
>
> Sportsnet's three-headed team of analysts � Pat Tabler,
> Rance Mulliniks and Darrin Fletcher � are without contracts,
> and don't be surprised if some or all don't get new ones.
I never liked the three-man rotation, and think Pat Tabler is
quite good and the best of those three. Unless they have a
replacement in mind who's clearly a step up, I'd like to see
them go with him.
As for who might be a step up, I can't think of anyone based
on merit behind the mike alone. But a former Blue Jay star
like Joe Carter might help ratingswise. Checking his bio on
Wiki I'm reminded he was a broadcaster / color man with
us and then the Cubs for a year in the early part of the
decade. The Jays drought extending as it has might make
him more of a ratings draw now. Carter's homer to win
the 1993 series will probably forever be the iconic Blue
Jay moment, and just as fans appreciated Gaston even
more by the time they made that move a couple of years
back, maybe a Martinez-Carter pairing in the booth
would be the same. It'd hark back to when the team
was good, and make it more palatable perhaps to watch
a game with younger and cheaper players who might
surprise over the next few years.
porkypine
<kale...@yanospamhoo.com> wrote:
>"TMC" <tmc...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:08b4f687-fbb5-455d...@g22g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>
>> http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/mlb/bluejays/article/737540--zelkovich-sportsnet-hits-a-homer-in-landing-martinez
>>
>> The first thing that came to mind Thursday when Rogers Sportsnet
>> announced it had hired Buck Martinez to call its 110 Blue Jays
>> broadcasts was: Great move.
The first thing is "he comes cheap". He's a bucket mouth like all
those guys. Don't you turn the sound down when those blowhards are
trying to earn their money? My God, I don't need those guys yammering
while I'm enjoying the game. The same old bullshit from all of those
yappers year in and year out. I guess you guys might miss some
TMZ-style gossip huh? I'm a baseball purist, I don't need somebody to
analyze every goddamn pitch. Do you? I guess if you guys are still
learning and you're star-struck then you'll grow out of it. But maybe
not. Turn the sound down and don't be neurotic about listening to the
"entertainers". Put on ET or something. The game IS entertaining, not
talking heads.