The End Of An Era (cont.)

No, I'm not referring to anything resembling ceding the division crown to the Mets. The series at Shea began with a loss, too, and a couple of days later we were feeling pretty good. A fickle mistress is baseball fandom -- a powerful and uplifting presence when things are going well, but as brittle as parchment in the sun. Kinda like Cliff Floyd. So Brave-O-Matic cedes nothing (and besides, I didn't see the game).

Anyway, it's a lot easier to write about a topic that raises my ire than one that just depresses me, so let's return to the FOX decision to go with Bob "Yawn" Rathbun and Jeff Torpor on Turner South broadcasts beginning Monday.

The AJC has a longer article today about the decision. There are some important differences between this decision and the aforementioned TBS New-Coke-style "rebranding" a couple of years ago. Whereas TBS essentially fired Skip and Pete before public outcry brought them back, FOX is simply going with the announcers they already have under contract. According to the article, "(Retaining the TBS announcers)...would have required an additional financial arrangement between Fox and Turner, which pays the announcers."

OK, I understand that Joe Simpson's contract was probably not on the agenda during the purchase negotiations. What this means, though, is that a similar public protest of the decision is far less likely to have any impact -- FOX owns the house, and if they want to replace the rose bushes with monkey grass, that's their prerogative. Not to say that we shouldn't voice our displeasure, of course.

You can always depend on Skip Caray for a money quote:

It's disappointing, but our input wasn't requested or needed.

Skip may be a grouch (as anyone who has listened to his pregame call-in shows can attest), but he's also a classy guy:

It hurts me to say this from a personal viewpoint, but they're doing the right thing...they should be loyal to their people.

Then:

I worry more, frankly, for the people who are not as well paid as we are -- people who have done such a good job all these years.

One last quote before we violate fair use -- this from Jeff Genthner, VP and GM of FSN South:

There were many considerations -- the view of the fan was obviously a major consideration, but also the contractual relationships that various announcers have with various companies, the brand of Braves telecasts on TBS and the brand of Braves telecasts on Turner South and Fox...

Ah, branding. I used to work for a company that licensed images to ad agencies and marketing departments, and "branding" is right up there with "touchpoints" in the pantheon of BS marketing non-words that "mean" whatever you want them to "mean". But what the hell, everyone says "branding" now -- that particular linguistic battle is over.

But if you're going to use it, at least use it in a context that bolsters your point. Please allow me to illustrate, in the form of a trivia question:

How long has Bob Rathbun been calling Braves games for FSN South?

a) Two years
b) Three years
c) Five years
d) Seven years

And the answer is....



e) Ten years!!

Did you know that? Did anyone out there have any idea that Bob Rathbun has been a Braves announcer for a decade?? I have nothing against the guy, but any assertion that he represents the face of FSN South is a serious misapprehension on two levels: one, his approach is too bland and "professional" for the viewer to develop an attachment to him; and two, FSN South is, purposely, faceless. As for Torborg (who is okay, and a vast improvement over Paciorek), he's been here all of a month. His "brand" is "itinerant one-year hire between his managing gigs".

Here's a sampling of reactions from around the blogosphere (AKA the prestigious Brave-O-Matic link list):

From the consistently great Rowland's Office:

From a business standpoint, it makes sense (haven’t we heard that already this week?); from a lifelong fan’s standpoint, it’s a gut-punch...At a minimum, attendance should increase because watching the game on television will be too painful.

A call to action in the comments at Braves Journal from "Patrick":

I'm sure everyone has heard about the horrible move that Fox has made taking Skip, Pete and the rest of the team off of their broadcasts. If anyone else is as pissed as I am about this and want to get them back, e-mail the president of Fox South and speak your mind. Here's his e-mail:
jgenthner@foxsports.net

And lastly, over at Tomahawk, a brilliantly concise summary that, had I emulated it, I would have already gotten my backyard mowed today:

Awful.