If Saying 'Lovable Loser', Do You Think About Anybody Else?
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:24 am
Lovable, laughable, lousy, lacking,losers. All these words describe the Chicago Cubs.
However, since the radio and tv days started, the Cubs have been winners. In the broadcast booth.
Jack Brickhouse.
Harry Carey.
Harry Carey and Steve Stone.
Len Kasper and Bob Brenly.
Pat Hughes and Ron Santo.
There have been others before, in between, and after for the Cubs.
These broadcasters had magic.
One has to be different to be a Cubs broadcaster. Smoothness of delivery is a back burner option.
Chip Carey, Harry's grandson, has that modern day smoothness, that makes most broadcasters sound alike.
He fit the Cubs like James Bond fits Arkansas.
To be a Cubs broadcaster, a combination of cheerleader, local pastor, and child-like hope is needed. Those qualities must be combined with getting across to Cub fans, subtly, that they will probably lose.
When done right, the combination is entertainment at the highest.
Harry Carey started the ball rolling. He was the perfect broadcaster for a losing team.
Carey cared. And wore his heart on his sleeve. When Harry groaned, Cub fans did too.
It was made even better with Steve Stone by his side. Stone is a color man who tells it straight along with a dry sense of humor.
While Stone seems dominated by Hawk Harrelson in air time for the White Sox, his reparte with Carey was brilliant.
On the radio side, Pat Hughes and Ron Santo made it ok to lose.
Like Johnny Carson after his writers wrote a bad joke, it was funnier to see the response of Hughes and Santo after the Cubs pulled a boner on the field.
Santo's loud, "ARRRGGGHH" elicited delight with Cub fans, even though their players had once again pulled defeat from the jaws of victory.
Hughes and Santo could have 15 minute conversations about what had happened to them earlier in the day and Cub fans didn't feel cheated.
Whatever they did earlier in the day was probably more interesting than what the Cubs were doing on the field.
We've lost Carey and Santo. Cub broadcasters till death.
Stone's loss was due to differences at the time between him and past Cubs Management.
And now they've lost Bob Brenly.
Brenly worked great with Kasper.
He wasn't a cheerleader for the Cubs as much as he was the Pastor at the Cub fans Church of Hope. He fit the Cubs mold well.
Brenly was like Stone in having a knack of foretelling a pitch or play. Along with the added bonus of telling listeners what he would do if Managing the Cubs.
I wax on about these broadcasters because of change.
Keith Moreland replaced Santo on the radio side.
Moreland tries, but he doesn't have any qualities suitable to be a Cubs broadcaster.
His voice rarely gets lower or higher and his delivery becomes almost robotic.
Cubs fans, at the least want to suffer along with somebody.
They're like the kid who has a monster under their bed. They want the parent to come sleep with them.
Comforted, but at the same time, knowing that if the monster comes out, they're perishing together.
And now, Brenly is leaving the tv side. If replaced by somebody Moreland-like, the Cubs will have lost a big part of what makes the Cubs the lovable losers that they are.
Cubs Management has to look for somebody different to replace Brenly.
Somebody that's not smooth or mechanical.
Somebody far from polished.
Dan Plesac, Rick Sutcliffe, and Eric Karros have been mentioned as names to replace Brenly.
Of the three, Plesac has the best chance at succeeding.
He's different, while being in the Brenly-type mold.
Passing on Sutcliffe and Karros should be easy.
Whoever the Cubs pick, it should be done with care.
I avoided Cubs radio games last year.
Partially because of Moreland, but mostly because no matter who replaced him, I wasn't going to hear the ongoing agony of Ron Santo.
WGN is still shown on most tv systems across the U.S.
The Cubs have a chance to not lose viewers with the right choice.
The team on the field will still be losers. Still lovable.
The Cubs have a charisma that most other franchises would die to have.
If they hire broadcasters that are like other teams, they could fall into the trap of losing that charisma and becoming just another team.
However, since the radio and tv days started, the Cubs have been winners. In the broadcast booth.
Jack Brickhouse.
Harry Carey.
Harry Carey and Steve Stone.
Len Kasper and Bob Brenly.
Pat Hughes and Ron Santo.
There have been others before, in between, and after for the Cubs.
These broadcasters had magic.
One has to be different to be a Cubs broadcaster. Smoothness of delivery is a back burner option.
Chip Carey, Harry's grandson, has that modern day smoothness, that makes most broadcasters sound alike.
He fit the Cubs like James Bond fits Arkansas.
To be a Cubs broadcaster, a combination of cheerleader, local pastor, and child-like hope is needed. Those qualities must be combined with getting across to Cub fans, subtly, that they will probably lose.
When done right, the combination is entertainment at the highest.
Harry Carey started the ball rolling. He was the perfect broadcaster for a losing team.
Carey cared. And wore his heart on his sleeve. When Harry groaned, Cub fans did too.
It was made even better with Steve Stone by his side. Stone is a color man who tells it straight along with a dry sense of humor.
While Stone seems dominated by Hawk Harrelson in air time for the White Sox, his reparte with Carey was brilliant.
On the radio side, Pat Hughes and Ron Santo made it ok to lose.
Like Johnny Carson after his writers wrote a bad joke, it was funnier to see the response of Hughes and Santo after the Cubs pulled a boner on the field.
Santo's loud, "ARRRGGGHH" elicited delight with Cub fans, even though their players had once again pulled defeat from the jaws of victory.
Hughes and Santo could have 15 minute conversations about what had happened to them earlier in the day and Cub fans didn't feel cheated.
Whatever they did earlier in the day was probably more interesting than what the Cubs were doing on the field.
We've lost Carey and Santo. Cub broadcasters till death.
Stone's loss was due to differences at the time between him and past Cubs Management.
And now they've lost Bob Brenly.
Brenly worked great with Kasper.
He wasn't a cheerleader for the Cubs as much as he was the Pastor at the Cub fans Church of Hope. He fit the Cubs mold well.
Brenly was like Stone in having a knack of foretelling a pitch or play. Along with the added bonus of telling listeners what he would do if Managing the Cubs.
I wax on about these broadcasters because of change.
Keith Moreland replaced Santo on the radio side.
Moreland tries, but he doesn't have any qualities suitable to be a Cubs broadcaster.
His voice rarely gets lower or higher and his delivery becomes almost robotic.
Cubs fans, at the least want to suffer along with somebody.
They're like the kid who has a monster under their bed. They want the parent to come sleep with them.
Comforted, but at the same time, knowing that if the monster comes out, they're perishing together.
And now, Brenly is leaving the tv side. If replaced by somebody Moreland-like, the Cubs will have lost a big part of what makes the Cubs the lovable losers that they are.
Cubs Management has to look for somebody different to replace Brenly.
Somebody that's not smooth or mechanical.
Somebody far from polished.
Dan Plesac, Rick Sutcliffe, and Eric Karros have been mentioned as names to replace Brenly.
Of the three, Plesac has the best chance at succeeding.
He's different, while being in the Brenly-type mold.
Passing on Sutcliffe and Karros should be easy.
Whoever the Cubs pick, it should be done with care.
I avoided Cubs radio games last year.
Partially because of Moreland, but mostly because no matter who replaced him, I wasn't going to hear the ongoing agony of Ron Santo.
WGN is still shown on most tv systems across the U.S.
The Cubs have a chance to not lose viewers with the right choice.
The team on the field will still be losers. Still lovable.
The Cubs have a charisma that most other franchises would die to have.
If they hire broadcasters that are like other teams, they could fall into the trap of losing that charisma and becoming just another team.