Hey-hey! Cubs hit a homer with Len Kasper
As you’ve probably heard by now, Cubs TV guy Len Kasper has been given a contract extension that’ll keep him in the Wrigley booth through 2011.
Now I know TV/radio is the domain of the Daily Herald’s critic, Tex Cox, but I’ll add my own two cents here and say this is extremely good news for Cubs fans. Len and analyst Bob Brenly are hands-down the best TV duo in major-league baseball, and it isn’t even close.
I get to hear Len and Bob on the weekends, when I have a couple days off from the beat. The best word on can use to describe them is “comfortable.” When I put on a Cubs game, I feel comfortable listening to Len and Bob. It’s like being at the bar or in the stands and talking about the game. They talk with each other and with the audience and not “at” each other or “at” the viewers.
As a former manager and player, Bob has a wealth of knowledge about the game, and he’s not afraid to offer pointed criticism when he feels it’s warranted. Len knows he’s working TV, and he lets the pictures do the talking when that’s all you need. Here’s something else: Len is a fiend for preparation. When the clubhouse opens three and a half hours before the game, Len is there with the writers, and he has his own notebook out, and he asks questions.
The other thing I like about Len is that he’s well in tune with the baseball stat science called “sabermetrics,” and that makes us kindred spirits. As I try to do in the Daily Herald, Len also tries to do on TV. That is, he’ll give you stats like on-base percentage and OPS (on-base plus slugging), but he’ll explain them for the casual viewer, and he won’t beat you over the head with them. Baseball is a game fans can enjoy on any level, and Len speaks to the stat head and to the casual fan alike.
When Channel 9 did its throwback telecast this past year, Len played it perfectly with his “Hey-hey” and “atta boy, Jimmy,” when Jim Edmonds hit a home run. It was priceless.
It’s also a lot of fun to talk rock music with Len, who’s up on the new stuff and the classics.
The chemistry between Len and Bob has developed into something special over the years. Let’s hope they have a lot more time together.
Paul Sullivan made some rumblings the other day about the Cubs nontendering Chad Gaudin. They wouldn't do that, would they?
They've been talking about him taking up some of the slack left by Howry's departure. If there's still an issue with the back, they might. When the Cubs traded for Michael Barrett in December of 2003, they non-tendered him. Then they re-signed him the next day.
We'll see. If you lose Gaudin, you have Gregg, Marmol, Samardzija and maybe Wuertz from the right side.
Will always have a special place in my heart after his warranted chastising of Soriano after he missed played a fly ball against ST. Louis because he didn't want to go to the minors. The verbal assault of how fly balls in the night time compared to day time kept me laughing and took away most of my anger that night. Throw in the swinging at 1st pitches, and the staring at fly balls that one hop the walls, and Brenly SHOULD/BETTER be Piniella's successor.
Somehow some way, the Cubs need to get a leadoff hitter. I don't care who it is, but it has to happen. I also would like to see Piniella start having guys bunt the ball with a guy on 2nd or 1st and nobody out. Game 2 of the playoffs Soriano was on 2nd, only to have Theriot not move him along, and prove how badly this team is at manufacturing runs. How do you avoid going cold all at once? How about manufacturing some runs? I despise Ozzie Guillen, but all his guys can bunt and hit behind guys very well. The Cubs think they're playing 16" softball most of the time.
Finally, if they do land a decent left handed stick who can hit in the power spots, I'm all about moving D-Lee either to the 2 hole, or down. Him batting 3rd is a joke considering his power numbers. This isn't 1986 with Tommy Herr hitting 3rd for the Cardinals.
Steve,
Yeah, Brenley's well deserved verbal assault on Soriano about his defense (throwing a random dart into the dugout and hitting someone (anyone) who can play better defense) was priceless. And..he never backed down from those comments either.