Will Stone return to the booth in '13?

[DickAllen72]

Originally Posted by Iron Dragon2

Wow, what'd he say??

He said something about the five worst words you can tell a hitter is "He has a good changeup."

[WhiteSox5187]

Originally Posted by Brian26

The one that exudes the least emotional stake in the team and could be replaced with a robot that would do a better job of selling the product?

I think he is better than the guy who sulks in total silence half the time and divides the fan base let alone new customers. What new customers does Hawk bring to US Cellular Field? Half of White Sox fans can't stand him.

[shingo10]

As long as Hawk is alive and in good health he will be broadcasting for the White Sox. Jerry Reinsdorf's extreme loyalty will assure that. I am the biggest Hawk supporter out there because he is the last of a dying (or maybe dead) breed. His old time stories and nostalgia he brings to the booth is what makes me so excited to watch Sox games. Also the passion he shows is unmatched by any other announcer. I always run to listen to his calls of certain key moments (either good or bad) in games.

That being said it's obvious that Stone is not comfortable embracing the Sox as "his" team. As Brian26 has said he just will not do anything to show support of the Sox brand and product and its inexcusable IMO. Hawk's unique style works with anybody who also cares that the Sox succeed. It doesn't work with a national style broadcast which is what Stone tries to bring.

Like I said I'm extremely biased towards Hawk and would be devastated if he was ever forced to leave...the game with Stone and Huff was painful to listen to. Lacked the excitement that a Sox game should bring. Just my two cents.

[Lip Man 1]

You never say never but the chances of Dave coming back are pretty remote. He's liked in Tampa, they have a good thing going (save for attendance) and from what I've been told some folks in the Sox front office where never able to get JR to sign-off on him.

I think Dave is pretty good myself and there's no question he's a Sox fan but apparently the connection with the owner never happened and it appears that's part of the deal to get the job.

Lip

[TaylorStSox]

Originally Posted by shingo10

As long as Hawk is alive and in good health he will be broadcasting for the White Sox. Jerry Reinsdorf's extreme loyalty will assure that. I am the biggest Hawk supporter out there because he is the last of a dying (or maybe dead) breed. His old time stories and nostalgia he brings to the booth is what makes me so excited to watch Sox games. Also the passion he shows is unmatched by any other announcer. I always run to listen to his calls of certain key moments (either good or bad) in games.

That being said it's obvious that Stone is not comfortable embracing the Sox as "his" team. As Brian26 has said he just will not do anything to show support of the Sox brand and product and its inexcusable IMO. Hawk's unique style works with anybody who also cares that the Sox succeed. It doesn't work with a national style broadcast which is what Stone tries to bring.

Like I said I'm extremely biased towards Hawk and would be devastated if he was ever forced to leave...the game with Stone and Huff was painful to listen to. Lacked the excitement that a Sox game should bring. Just my two cents.

I'm on the complete opposite end of the scale. I'm at my breaking point with Hawk. My passion for White Sox baseball will always be there, but I'm not going to subject myself to Hawk anymore. Stone does his best to keep Hawk in check. If the Sox replace him with an enabler, I can't see myself watching White Sox games until Harrelson retires. Stone doesn't act like a fan because he tries to bring some sort of balance to the broadcast. He keeps his composure. I appreciate that he remains a professional despite the way the Sox are playing. Hawk pouts. He bitches and moans. He worsens the mood. I watch games for entertainment. Hawk fails in that regard.

[LoveYourSuit]

Bad baseball = Bad broadcast

[Nellie_Fox]

Originally Posted by KingXerxes

Precisely.

Can you imagine your job being a person who is supposed to compliment the conversations started by the guy sitting next to you, and you never have any clue as to what he's going to say next?

It's got to be exhausting.

First of all, I think it's better to complement rather than compliment your partner in this situation. Second, I've heard many instances this year where Hawk dropped a statement that was clearly designed for Stone to expand on, and Stone started talking about something else entirely; either deliberately ignoring what Hawk had said or not listening to him. There's times when I've felt an "I'm too good to be stuck in the booth with this guy" attitude from Stone.

Originally Posted by tstrike2000

Besides the childish behavior, do you think it's just time for him to do something else based on the fact that he's also too emotionally tied to the team? It's almost like he's crossed that line where now it's just too much of a conflict of interest.

How in the hell can the home-team announcer have a "conflict of interest" by being "emotionally tied to the team?" What interest is in conflict with what other interest?

[RCWHITESOX]

I don't know who might be available as a broadcaster; but something has to be done. I've allways enjoyed Steve Stone; but Hawk Harrelson has just been terrible over the last few years. Being a homer is one thing but he has become more of a cornball than a professional.

[MARTINMVP]

Would it be out of line to move Hawk to the radio broadcast?

[LITTLE NELL]

I'm a Hawk fan and for all I care Stone can go back to the Cubs.
I can't remember in his stint here so far saying things like ''we need a hit right here''. When the Sox hit a homer all he does is tell you what number HR it was and how many RBIs the guy has, he shows no emotion at all. He is exciting as white bread. If he wants to leave, good riddance.

[harwar]

Everyone has different tastes is suppose and mine lean in the direction of Hawk retiring .. i didn't listen to Steve Stone during his cub years very much just because i don't watch cub games that often, but i did hear him quite a bit when he worked for espn .. he was a totally different guy .. animated .. talkative .. joking .. full of baseball insight .. it was that insight that first drew my attention to him .. when he came here he just changed like someone threw a switch and i know it's because he shares the booth with hawk .. i was at a loss to understand why he signed that contract,knowing full well what he was getting into, but i guess that maybe he thought that if he could work with Harry then he could work with Hawk .. Hawk just isn't the kind of pbp guy that anyone can have a running conversational type broadcast with .. he tells the stories and who ever is next to him has to agree and also i think that people forget how he used to bully Wimpy all the time .. they weren't always buddy buddy like they are now .. i have always loved Hawk because he lived and died with each pitch the same as me, and because i'm of the same age bracket,but he has really gone downhill the last few years and often i will listen to the other teams feed just to get away from him .. i would love if he retired and a polished,intelligent and articulate pbp man would be brought in, maybe even letting Stone have a say on the replacement .. i feel a bit like a traitor talking against Hawk like this,but enough is enough .. on the radio side, it is what it is .. i would love to have Dave Wills on the radio side doing pbp and keep Farmer or DJ as color guy, but how is that ever going to happen when he has a pretty good setup in florida ..

[MARTINMVP]

I thought Stone showed some emotion the day Joe West called those two balks on Mark Buehrle. Stone wasn't whiney or animated, but the emotion in his voice seemed that he was not happy.

Stone used to joke more when working for the Cubs, but he didn't go out of his way to show more enthusiasm or make it obvious he was cheering for the Cubs.

[102605]

Keep Stone and fire everybody else. Time to clean house.

[tstrike2000]

Originally Posted by Nellie_Fox

How in the hell can the home-team announcer have a "conflict of interest" by being "emotionally tied to the team?" What interest is in conflict with what other interest?

By letting his emotions get to him to the point where he's not doing his job of announcing the game to a listening audience. I think the same could be said in times where Hawk has to make sure everyone knows how much he knows (or thinks he knows about a subject) or just his rants about something. In those times, it's not announcing, it's a pissing contest.

Everyone here who listens to Hawk knows his emotions and for the most part I've enjoyed them. However, if he's going to let things affect him to the point where he shouldn't be in the booth, maybe it's time for something else.

[slavko]

Originally Posted by LoveYourSuit

Bad baseball = Bad broadcast

Brevity is the soul of wit (Hamlet). And this thread, as well. We're starting to attack ourselves. When the battle is over, I hope we don't eat the remains.

None of these guys ever sold a ticket to a game. I include Rooney, who gets greater every year in the eyes of some of you. Harry sold tickets but he was one of a kind.