CAN WE CUT THE BS OUT? This utter crap known as "On Assignment" perpetrated by the Giants' announcers is at best, unprofessional and at worst, scandalous. This is a byproduct.How bad has the situation become? The Giants' big boss, Larry Baer has become mildly livid over the gross absenteeism by the likes of Jon Miller and Dave Flemming, and soon, Duane Kuiper's impending "on assignment" bull. At least Mike Krukow has a legitimate excuse.
Some Background: before the season a master plan existed of those broadcasters who would be taking time off during the season. Krukow's schedule was already reduced to about 120 games because of his existing health malady. Flemming's gig would be shortened by ESPN commitments.Miller's games status was a bit more complicated and up in the air. Have you noticed Miller has missed a ton of games lately? Baer has and he's none too thrilled. He's obviously not gone public with it but it's a known fact among insiders. A little background: When Miller was doing ESPN Sunday Night games, he would broadcast Friday night games and leave (for a real assignment) Saturday and Sunday games. It was good for both he and the Giants who saw it as a promo for the team and Miller who liked the massive pay (about $1M) not to mention time off from his Giants' gig. Only a conflict soon evolved.
When Miller was fired from ESPN he asked for more money (quietly) from the Giants telling Baer in essence that since he would be doing more games he'd deserve extra pay. No word on the outcome but I doubt Baer capitulated.Which brings me back to this garbage "On Assignment." Giants fans deserve better. This ridiculous charade needs to be called out. It is not worthy of a major-market and by extension, a major-market MLB franchise like the SF Giants. It may be cute but cute went out the door a long time ago.
"On Assignment?" For what? Why not just, "Dave Flemming is doing the Little League World Series for ESPN?" How difficult is that ? (Oh, wait, Baer's pissed on that too.) "Duane Kuiper is taking the weekend off." Instead the broadcasters decided they would pull this stunt and it is just that: a stunt. The boys in the booth might think it's funny but fans in the Bay Area regard it as an absurdity which is perfectly understandable.
Just wait until August with the onset of Pro Football and 49ers games...I'm sure the "On Assignment" BS will be just grandly received by the booster club and Larry Baer. Can't wait.
"The boys in the booth might think it's funny but fans in the Bay Area regard it as an absurdity which is perfectly understandable." What "fans" really care? Sounds like you are the one that has an issue. Does it matter what they call their absence? They are announcers for a form of entertainment. It is not like Jon is the President and refuses to say where he is going on Saturday mornings, oh wait, Trump doesn't tell us either. Maybe you should focus on that.
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY. Who gives a flying fuck about what they call their absences? Rich - for one. They have negotiated days/series off in their contracts. Give it a rest, Rich!
DeleteFor the posts at 11:59 and 5:47, the Giants amen club has come out in force.
DeleteLet's see, were you also part of the left field bleacher bunch known as the Melk Men?
A long time ago, when baseball was a RELEVANT sport, the announcers were there for EVERY game. No excuses. No bullshit. The players didn't get a day off, why should they?
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of prima donnas. They're not that good. Everyone has been drinking the Giants Kool Aid, so everyone's brainwashed.
Then again, this team sucks. The retinas are burned. The stories are old. The jokes are stale.
BRING BACK LON SIMMONS!!!
Sadly, Lon is on permanent assignment.
DeleteWhy the Giants want their PBP to go away and do ESPN,is hard to figure. It just gives them bigger heads-right?
ReplyDeleteAs far as missing games? Its called overpaid. Radnich doesn't even go to games...
Do these guys work autonomously? If not, who's approving all the time off?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's time to give Doug Greenwald a call-up to the show. Bet he'd be happy to work ALL the games.
Have you listened to Doug Greenwald lately? He never stops talking, giving information about what grammar schools the players attended, their favorite teachers there, etc. Besides, he's now working for the Houston Astros Triple-A team, not the Giants team in Sacto.
DeleteI'll wait and see what CNN has to say on this matter .....
ReplyDeleteGiants fans _are_ getting what they deserve. Anyone who roots for a team owned and run by douchebags and assholes deserves garbage, on the field and in the booth. Same goes for 49ers fans. lol.
ReplyDelete12:05 I'd love to see Lon Simmons be brought back!
ReplyDeleteHe's been dead, yeah--but it would be cool to see skeletal remains sitting in a chair, wearing headphones.
Hey,I was listening to Bill King on Luries show..and it could have been live. Its baseball.Nothings changed and he mentions "Billy". Funny feeling.
DeleteSeeing the ghost of Lon Simmons would be way better than listening to FatSo, Phlegming and the two boner suckers.
DeleteSomewhere in this mess there's got to be some Russian collusion....say a Martini or two??
ReplyDeleteDo the Giants pay the announcers salaries? If they have a problem with the announcers being away on assignment I am pretty sure they can stop it. The Giants have some of the best announcers in the business. If you don't believe it just try and listen to the current group of replacements.
ReplyDeleteYou should try and listen to announcers in other cities for other MLB teams. I do-have the TV package, Extra Innings and SiriusXm, in which I get all the radio play by play from other cities. Most are horrible. I'll take Fleming, Miller and Kuiper doing the games any day of the week. Krukow now a bonus when Giants are home and playing the few select cities he's able to travel to. Lighten up all-you have no idea how bad it is out there in other MLB cities.
ReplyDeleteSo true. There are some really bad announcers out there, the Bay Area is pretty lucky, both teams have good play-by-play and color guys. I love the MLB.TV app for this reason, you get a good sampling of what else is out there. The Nationals, Orioles, Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Red Sox and Reds are up there too.
DeleteRich, why the obsession with the absences of Flemming and Miller? Because those are the only 2 that have time off besides Krukow, who has a very serious disease as you mentioned-I'm amazed Kruk is doing 120 games a year and shows who is the real Warrior!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Baer has bigger worries than his announcers, since the team has totally tanked this year (despite all of the pre-season hype). He probably wishes he had Bob Myers rather than Bobby Evans! So my meaningless opinion is just give your "on assignment" whine a rest-"nobody cares" to quote the local KRON douchebag.
"Adios, pelota!"
ReplyDeleteRich, I won't be able to read your blog tomorrow, I'll be on assignment.
ReplyDeleteI watch every game and as long as one of the 3 pxp guys are there, I rather enjoy having some different voices, opinions, and stories to go with them. I know for a fact that several of my die-hard Giants buddies feel exactly the same so take your rant and use that energy to get the intentional walk back or limit replay, hell, put this effort into getting Trump impeached. You're obviously not a Giants fan so don't pretend to speak for us with blanket b.s.
ReplyDeleteI'd be surprised if enough people are listening these days to have even noticed the absences.
ReplyDeleteI honestly never notice except when they say they are swapping TV and radio guys after an inning. And I don't really care. If you are getting worked up over guys being on assignment, you need to get out more. And the only time we should take notice is if the same person is "on assignment" for a week or longer.
ReplyDeleteBut what you should really be giving a shit about is Kuiper appears to be off, a lot. I can't remember him being fooled so many times by balls hit to the outfield. Balls that he thinks are crushed are routines cans of corn and vice versa.
Jon Miller is also an historian of the game. We are fortunate to have his knowledge, especially of the Giants, but of MLB, in general.
ReplyDeleteThe Giants are the worst team in baseball. Tired, boring, uninspired play. You'd be "on assignment" too, as often as possible, if you had to cover this team.
ReplyDeleteI think the Giants broadcasters are excellent - with winning teams - but now, all I can hear is Fleming ending every other sentence with a hard consonant on its last like "...with a runner stranded on thir-DUH" this is a tick of Jon Miller's that I believe infected Fleming... are they aware that they do this?
ReplyDeleteI give kudoos to Fosse who when replaced on the television games instead of taking the time off, found a place for himself on the radio games. I think the good broadcasters keep a scorecard as well.
ReplyDeleteI hate this crap. Been a fan 60 yrs and look forward to Kruk and Kiper. Not a tv fan of Miller/Fleming. I tune out and watch a different channel for 3 innings. If they are not loyal and not the only possibilities. Tv K&K 9 innings every game period!
ReplyDelete