Baer Fumes Over Excess 'On -Assignment' Giants' Broadcasters; Closed-Door Meeting; Cincy Event Was Boiling Point; 415 Media Exclu

Larry Baer

THERE IS NO JOY IN GIANTSVILLE ON THE FIELD; Now, according to a source I spoke to, there is no joy either when it comes to the team's broadcast set-up and the big boss has had enough of the shenanigans …

415 Media has learned Giants' President and CEO, Larry Baer, recently had a closed-door meeting with team officials over the many, lengthy, broadcasters non-Giants activity, commonly referred to as "on-assignment" duty.

The meeting last week saw Baer fuming and angry to the point of him (Baer) having to call off the sit-down and retreat back to a conference room to personally vent. The meeting consisted of at least two, high-up, team employees who were not named but heard the brunt of Baer's frustration.

Keep in mind, it was Baer himself that signed off to the schedule before the season knowing the arrangement but apparently was still angry over the current trend of repeated off time for the bulk of the season, especially late in the '18 campaign.

Baer's temper hit the boiling point in mid August; immediately after the LA Dodgers' series, the Giants took to the road in Cincinnati where three of the regular broadcasters; Jon Miller, Dave Flemming, and Mike Krukow were absent both on TV and radio. Adding insult, Miller not only missed the entire Reds series but the first game in NY too (against the Mets) --Furthermore, Miller was already in NY the prior Thursday and had dinner that night (with his wife) with a friend, Herb Cohen.

Left to Right: Dave Flemming, Jon Miller, Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper

Flemming took a sabbatical to broadcast Little League World Series for ESPN; Krukow doesn't cover any games east of Colorado (due to an ongoing medical issue) but the broadcasts on TV still looked and sounded rather empty. At least Baer seemed to think so.

The Cincy broadcasts were left to Kuiper, ex-Miami Marlins broadcaster, Rich Waltz, and Javier Lopez.  Not helping matters, the Giants were swept by the last-place Reds and the entire series amounted to a perfect metaphor for the 2018 season. Whatever the case, Baer was unhappy.

And still is today.

All current broadcasters are under contract for the 2019 season.

Baer's anger might be muted when the season comes to an end but don't be shocked if someone off the current roster were to retire or take a permanent break.

KRON's Catherine Heenan Bay Area's Most Underrated TV News Anchor; Giant's Brass Peeved By Announcers Excess Absences; PIX 10 PM News Show Debuts Tonight; Drakes Bay Oyster Saturation Coverage; Monday Opener

 It's almost as if we take her for granted--and, come to think of it we do: Catherine Heenan, the veteran KRON anchor who has been at 1001 Van Ness since seemingly the beginning of time, is the most underrated anchor in the Bay Area TV News scene.


Heenan just shows up to work and does her job, effortlessly, gracefully, no matter the extraordinary circumstances that exist at the unpredictable environment called the KRON studios.


We've acknowledged that element recently.


Heenan is especially effective and no-nonsense on screen as she prepares for a personal milestone: she will turn 60 this October, usually a minefield for women TV news anchors. Not the case for Heenan whose presence on the SF TV airwaves goes back to the days of Evan White, Pete Wilson, and Bob Jimenez.


What I most admire about Heenan is that she's never changed. She's always been the same which in the news business is your greatest compliment. While some other anchors subliminally try to inject phony nuances into their presentation, Heenan has always been Heenan which is just right. And to KRON's benefit too we appreciate seeing her work particularly if there's a legitimate breaking news story--when her ad-libbing helps and when her news acumen is in full force, thank God.


NOTES From the Weekend--


*The Giants executive broadcast brass won't say so publically but many were none-to-happy over Mike Krukow missing Sunday's game in Miami where the team was playing the Marlins. Turns out Krukow missed a flight from Reno. He's scheduled to be back on the air Monday night in Philly where the Giants play the Phillies.


EXTRA Note: Have you too noticed, lately, the amount of absences from the team's broadcasters? It began in early July with Duane Kuiper who missed a week's worth of broadcasts due to an illness--not Kuiper's fault, but the Giant's front office felt Kuiper could have returned much sooner. He missed nearly seven games.


Soon after, both Jon Miller and Dave Flemming also missed games--Flemming, due to illness and Miller, who took some time off as he's done in recent years. No issues there due to the length of the baseball season, everyone needs a break, but combined with all the others absences, Giant's broadcasts have seen notable cracks in the routine and a few team officials are a bit annoyed.


*KPIX unveils its youth-oriented Bay Area Night Beat on its CW sister station tonight--this could either be truly ground-breaking or a monumental joke. PIX wants to try to gain some younger viewers with a newscast that's supposed to look unconventional --they'll be the usual news conduits like weather and sports but heavy emphasis on "social media" entities like Twitter and Facebook. I can only imagine the possibilities: "We'll get back to the scene of the fire at 4th and Market momentarily but we see once again, Justin Bieber trending heavily on Twitter..." Don't laugh and dismiss --that's the early speculation from the 855 Battery boys.


*This whole Drakes Bay Oyster Company story is beginning to reach to the depth of enough already! Granted, the idea of the Feds trying to dislodge the famous eatery and its oyster farm is important enough to warrant the attention of Bay Area media but there comes a point where saturation coverage has entered in to the equation--we've reached that here and then some.


*Follow me on Twitter


Note: Rich Lieberman and 415 Media are not responsible for comments or opinions expressed by others on this website.


*To receive 415 Media free in your e-mail box every morning simply e-mail me: Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com


*ADVERTISE! on the Bay Area's #1-read media site: 415 MEDIA! Over 750,000 validated monthly page views; over 200,000 documented unique visitors; great A25-54 demos and a wide array of readers from the media/tech and PR world--Reasonable Rates: Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com

Mike Krukow Makes Fun of Padres Pitcher Using Safety Cap on KNBR Morning Show

 See this guy?  He was the subject of a dumbass comment from Giants and KNBR house commentator, Mike Krukow.

Listen to this dumbass Krukow on Wednesday's "Murph and Mac" show beginning at 08: 30 after. Mind-boggling.




Alex Torres, who pitches for the San Diego Padres, saw his teammate take a line drive off the head a year ago in Tampa. It scared the bejesus out of him. He decided to wear the MLB-approved safety hat. It may look goofy but it could also save a life.


Too bad Krukow didn't get the memo:


"I don't care if I had 6 or 7 concussions, I wouldn't wear it," said Krukow. (cackling in background).


Dumbass.









*Follow me on Twitter

Rating the current SF Giants Broadcasters

It's real easy now, after a couple of World Series victories, to give this current crop of SF Giants' broadcasters an A+ on all counts.

Wrong.

Not even close, in fact.

Let's start by stating that the very BEST Giants play-by-play broadcaster was Lon Simmons. Period. End of story.

Hank Greenwald was a master wordsmith too, on radio especially where his style and delivery suited the format. Greenwald, like Simmons, preferred radio over TV.

Let's go broadcaster to broadcaster:

*Jon Miller is a very accomplished baseball PBP broadcaster, no doubt about that, but he's not even close to Simmons nor even Greenwald. Miller has HOF and numerous industry awards but he's also, at times, too much in love with himself and his voice.

On technique, Miller is strong. He obviously knows the game of baseball and his nuances are just fine but frankly, on one count, he's dreadful. Miller, and the rest of his team, have a bad habit of NOT giving the score. Yes, I'm anal on this subject because if  you're driving around and don't know the score and the announcer fails to mention it, it drives you crazy. Ken Korach, over in Oakland, gives the score, on average, every three minutes. Miller, at times, is more interested in telling stories.

Sometimes, the endless Vin Scully impressions get stale and old. The "Adios Pelota!"call each time a Latin player hits a homer is starting to grate too. Just my opinion. Maybe Miller thinks it's unique and a trademark. I think it sounds gimmicky.

*Mike Krukow: Krukow has the love of the fans and is considered God so even remotely criticizing him here is tantamount to blasphemy, but I'll try.

Krukow also, by virtue of playing the game, knows his stuff, no doubt. But his constant bickering on umpires is getting tired. And yes, Krukow is a homer. A good homer, but the rampant, Timmeh has good velocity, just needs location, is repetitious and banal. I know he works for the Giants but seriously...and the trifecta, Grab some pine, meat!...gamer babes....ownage is forever uber-annoying even to the most loyal Giants fans.

*Duane Kuiper: In my opinion, the weakest link. Kuiper's dreadful, OUTTA HERE! home run call is loud and highly overrated. It is nowhere near the vaunted Simmons, "Way back, Way back--You can tell it goodbye!"nor even close to Greenwald's exciting "It is gone!" staccato simplicity.

*Dave Flemming: I saved the best for last.

Flemming, in my opinion, is the best out of the bunch and that's remarkable given the fact that he's perceived the "kid" in the foursome. Flemming gives the most consistent, on-point, excited-when he-needs-to be--objective account of the action. He's fluid, he has a great delivery and he's quick to point out subtle aspects of the play, the game, that the others simply ignore or are too busy trying to be cute. In addition, I like the fact that Flemming has a no-nonsense approach, both in style and substance. He doesn't need any gimmicks--he just broadcasts the game. What a concept.


*Follow me on Twitter