Thread Breakout: The *Official* Fire Tom McCarthy Thread

Website · by **Wolfgang622** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 14:49:00

I just feel like this is where this was going anyway, and now we have a semi-official response from the Phillies to work with, from Brantt by way of GMAN:

Brantt wrote:Didn't see this posted over here yet. GMAN called the Phillies and talked to Rob Brooks this morning..........here is his report:

GMAN
The Loose Cannon

Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: The Jersey Shore
Posts: 36,989

I just had a 10 minute conversation with Rob Brooks. Here is a quick breakdown:

Franske and LA don't want to do TV. On radio they can just do their thing and talk about whatever thwey want. On Tv they have to work more with the producer as opposed to doing things on the fly.

If they would have listened to fans the first 5 years Harry was here, they would have fired him. You have to give an announcer time to grow his roots.

TMac works so hard and he just needs to find his comfort zone. Before he only had 3 innings to get his stuff in, but with 9 he can now slow down a little.

The game today is just called didfferently and Tmac is part of the new generation of announcer. He also said other teams have their TV guys on for all 9 innings, but Harry wanted an inning to do radio and 2 innings to smoke.

He kept hammering away how fans hated Harry, LA and even Whitey when they first started, but the announcers need time to develop a connection with the fans. He also said he gets email for Scott Graham, yet Graham was a Mets fan to.

He also said he does not notice the lack of emotion from TMac when the Phils do something well, nor does he hear excitement when the other team does something well.

The bottomline is TMac is here for a long time and there is nothing we can do about it.
__________________

Reading this over a second time, it has all the hallmarks of spin to me. Franzke and LA don't want to do television? I suppose they also don't want to get paid more.

Let's just start recording all the T-Mac atrocities here. IT seems pretty obvious they have someone monitoring this board, so now we can keep a nice, ever-present thread title right on the front page, so they know how we feel.

by **phatj** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 14:54:44

Yeah, that's spin from beginning to end.

"You have to give an announcer time to grow his roots?" Never mind that this is McCarthy's seventh year working for the Phillies.

If Graham was a Mets fan, he did a fantastic job of concealing it. Instead, he sounded like a hometown fan, while still maintaining enough professionalism to call the games.

Website · by **Wolfgang622** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 14:57:00

phatj wrote:Yeah, that's spin from beginning to end.

"You have to give an announcer time to grow his roots?" Never mind that this is McCarthy's seventh year working for the Phillies.

If Graham was a Mets fan, he did a fantastic job of concealing it. Instead, he sounded like a hometown fan, while still maintaining enough professionalism to call the games.

Right. I don't care that Graham grew up a Mets fan, because it appeared that he had converted to the Phillies by the time he was working for them. If that was just an act, it was a damn good one.

Harry Kalas didn't grow up a Phillies fan, and neither did Scott Franzke. Or Larry Andersen. But once they were being paid by the team to BE Phillies fans, consarnit, they were.

T-Mac.... not so much. Seven years on.

by **CFP** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 14:58:47

LYLE OVERBAY

IT'S LOOOOOONG GONE

WOW

INTO THE UPPER DECK

Website · by **Wolfgang622** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 14:59:39

I think an interesting thing to watch will be:

1) When is the first time they will let Tom McCarthy be the master of ceremonies for any regular season type event at CBP (keeping in mind Harry was given that job right away at the Vet, and excluding Harry's funeral)?

2) Will he be booed? I would put the odds at 4:3 he gets booed.

by **Putt Putt** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:04:02

Gargano took a call about this on WIP today & tap danced through the whole conversation. Talked about how great Franzke & LA are - comparing them to the vibe that Harry & Whitey once had, but constantly kept interrupting himself & throwing in "Tom McCarthy is a real pro" though...

Bottom line - this situation almost feels "Eaglesque" where Phils management is going to dig in their heels no matter what & TMac is their guy....regardless of what the fans want.

by **phatj** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:04:26

mozartpc27 wrote:2) Will he be booed? I would put the odds at 4:3 he gets booed.

Maybe, but my sense is that most people don't care about this as much as the folks on this board.

by **danrosz** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:04:32

Not to be that guy... but the firing thing seems a bit harsh. By all accounts, he is a nice guy and he does have four kids and a wife. I hate to see a nice guy lose his job. How about relegating him to three innings and some sideline work? Good enough?

by **Woody** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:06:36

There is no way he's going to be fired, this is getting a little silly at this point. As annoying as we may find him, he's not an objectively bad broadcaster. Do we really think they're going to get rid of Tom McCarthy because he said Mike Piazza territory? Please, once a Phillies employee, always a Phillies employee.

Website · by **Wolfgang622** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:07:44

danrosz wrote:Not to be that guy... but the firing thing seems a bit harsh. By all accounts, he is a nice guy and he does have four kids and a wife. I hate to see a nice guy lose his job. How about relegating him to three innings and some sideline work? Good enough?

If people want me to change it to "DEMOTE," or "MOVE T-MAC TO LEHIGH VALLEY", I'm all ears.

Website · by **Wolfgang622** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:08:17

Woody wrote:he's not an objectively bad broadcaster.

This is precisely where I disagree.

Website · by **Wolfgang622** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:09:10

Putt Putt wrote:Gargano took a call about this on WIP today & tap danced through the whole conversation. Talked about how great Franzke & LA are - comparing them to the vibe that Harry & Whitey once had, but constantly kept interrupting himself & throwing in "Tom McCarthy is a real pro" though...

Bottom line - this situation almost feels "Eaglesque" where Phils management is going to dig in their heels no matter what & TMac is their guy....regardless of what the fans want.

Yeah, that was my call.

by **jerseyhoya** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:09:43

Maybe we should try and convince TMac that Ryan's nicknames are Big Brown and Pig Nose, and then we can get Al Sharpton involved.

by **Woody** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:11:04

Hometown broadcasters generally display a bias for the home team, but it's not like they're "supposed to" openly root for them. McCarthy clearly tries to play it right down the middle, but doesn't always succeed, at least not in our eyes

Website · by **Wolfgang622** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:15:22

I should perhaps be clear about something: I am open to the notion that T-Mac might improve. If all this noise out on the internet and on talk radio and in emails to Scott Palmer or whomever else causes T-Mac to make a more concentrated effort to be the PHILLIES broadcaster and not just a baseball broadcaster, then I think it will have been worthwhile.

That said, I think T-Mac is objectively bad at HIS job, which is to call PHILLIES games. Just listen to his call of Ibanez's GS last night and then Franzke's back to back. Franzke destroyed T-Mac in every conceivable way. I don't know how having your radio broadcaster that much more invested, excited, and exciting than your television broadcaster is a sustainable situation for a team whose fan base is used to the combination of quality and hometown excitement we got from Harry Kalas for thirty-eight years.

Website · by **Wolfgang622** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:16:15

Woody wrote:Hometown broadcasters generally display a bias for the home team, but... McCarthy clearly tries to play it right down the middle

Precisely.

FAIL.

by **FTN** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:16:59

Raul Ibanez is the Spanish Jim Thome.

In fact, I'd prefer "Ibanez" be replaced by Spanish Jim Thome in the board filter.

by **Woody** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:23:59

mozartpc27 wrote:That said, I think T-Mac is objectively bad at HIS job, which is to call PHILLIES games. Just listen to his call of Ibanez's GS last night and then Franzke's back to back. Franzke destroyed T-Mac in every conceivable way. I don't know how having your radio broadcaster that much more invested, excited, and exciting than your television broadcaster is a sustainable situation for a team whose fan base is used to the combination of quality and hometown excitement we got from Harry Kalas for thirty-eight years.

Just because you don't like his style, or think he did a worse job than the radio announcer on a given call, it doesn't mean that he's bad at his job.

And of course it's a sustainable situation, don't be retarded. You're getting too carried away here. He's annoying and we don't like him. That's about it. Finally, I can't believe you put me in a position where I have to defend Tom McCarthy. I feel like this is the Burrell/Abreu effect kicking in

by **smitty** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 15:39:44

phatj wrote:
mozartpc27 wrote:2) Will he be booed? I would put the odds at 4:3 he gets booed.

Maybe, but my sense is that most people don't care about this as much as the folks on this board.

I think this is 100 percent correct. I don't remember anyone ever getting all worked up regarding announcers the way this board does. To me, McCarthy is a generic announcer guy, like 90 percent of the guys out there.

I grew up with Bill Campbell, By Saam, Whitey and later Harry. I was definitely treated to the best of the best. Since then, only Jack Buck, Dave Niehaus and maybe a couple of others compare to those guys. Aside from them, pretty much all the other guys are the same. When I'm watching/listening to a game, who the announcer is doesn't matter all that much -- especially on TV. I barely even notice who the guy is. I don't count on him for great analysis or insight. If he is funny that's good sometimes but it doesn't really matter all that much.

I'm certain I'm in a minority on this here board -- at least amongst those who post on this topic. But I wonder if I'm in the minority over all. I know when I'm home and I'm watching to a game no one I'm with cares all that much who is announcing. And when I'm watching or listening toa game her no one much cares. And I know for a fact that I don't much care.

As for McCarthy, he doesn't bother me. I don't pay all that close attention to him.

by **philsfan1979** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 16:03:59

Not that it's a big deal, but Scott Graham was not a Mets fan. He was a Yankees fan growing up. I remember him mentioning it a few times, but it's also mentioned in this book co-written by the "Phanatic's best friend," Tom Burgoyne.

http://tinyurl.com/cs3pda

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Thread Breakout: The Official Fire Tom McCarthy Thread

Thread Breakout: The Official Fire Tom McCarthy Thread