Jason Benetti = Mario Impemba

[Edman85]

32 minutes ago, holygoat said:

It's wild. I feel like people think I'm saying Shep is better than Benetti, when it's clearly the opposite of that.

I wasn't really saying that. I was just pointing out he's really good at basketball. He often gets paired with Bill Raftery or Robbie Hummel, so he gets somebody good and entertaining to do games with.

[oblong]

13 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

I wasn't really saying that. I was just pointing out he's really good at basketball. He often gets paired with Bill Raftery or Robbie Hummel, so he gets somebody good and entertaining to do games with.

and isn't that the source of his history with Bill Walton?

 

[CMRivdogs]

15 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

I wasn't really saying that. I was just pointing out he's really good at basketball. He often gets paired with Bill Raftery or Robbie Hummel, so he gets somebody good and entertaining to do games with.

That may be the bottom line. Pairings matter, the PBP guy may be adequate but a poor "color commentator" could actually bring down a broadcast. Monroe was bad both on TV and the few radio broadcasts I listened to. Unfortunately Gibson's health contributed to his ability to perform up to even his own standards (I listened to the old Locker Room on WXYT with Gibson, Gary Danielson and Eli Zaret) plus his early TV Tigers stuff.

Shep isn't strong enough to enhance a sidekick

Edited August 22 by CMRivdogs

[Edman85]

35 minutes ago, oblong said:

and isn't that the source of his history with Bill Walton?

 

I think so? Not the last few years since Benetti moved to Fox (and Walton passed away last year). Walton's primary partner at ESPN was Dave Pasch. I can go into the archives to see how often they worked together... I do know Walton guested for a couple games with the White Sox when Steve Stone was out.

Edit: I found about 10 games in The506 Archives where they worked together from the 2018 Maui Invitational to when Benetti moved to Fox in 2022.

Edited August 22 by Edman85

[oblong]

When he was at ESPN they did Pac 12 games together.  At the 2:50 mark they bring up Torkelson. 

 

[Edman85]

5 minutes ago, oblong said:

When he was at ESPN they did Pac 12 games together.  At the 2:50 mark they bring up Torkelson. 

 

They did a couple Pac 12 games. Most of their work was early session Maui Invitational work (including the years the Maui invitation wasn't in Maui)

[gehringer_2]

4 hours ago, Edman85 said:

I wasn't really saying that. I was just pointing out he's really good at basketball. He often gets paired with Bill Raftery or Robbie Hummel, so he gets somebody good and entertaining to do games with.

Note those are not ex-players. To me that was Shep's hang-up/downfall. There were a few times when Shep worked a Tiger game with another media person and he was way better - acted like a real person with a real brain. But put him with an ex-player and he always went all lap-dog. It's just not a good broadcast to listen to someone doing that. 

[papalawrence]

12 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Note those are not ex-players. To me that was Shep's hang-up/downfall. There were a few times when Shep worked a Tiger game with another media person and he was way better - acted like a real person with a real brain. But put him with an ex-player and he always went all lap-dog. It's just not a good broadcast to listen to someone doing that. 

I found Petry was a bit like that with Benetti at first. Just piggy-backed and went along. This year he seems to be interjecting more of his own thoughts and ideas. 

[Edman85]

15 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Note those are not ex-players. To me that was Shep's hang-up/downfall. There were a few times when Shep worked a Tiger game with another media person and he was way better - acted like a real person with a real brain. But put him with an ex-player and he always went all lap-dog. It's just not a good broadcast to listen to someone doing that. 

How dare you besmirch one of my favorite Boilermakers?

[guy incognito]

On 8/22/2025 at 5:29 AM, RandyMarsh said:

to me when it comes to baseball on TV I really don't pay that close attention to the lead announcer. I notice the color/analyst way more cause they are the ones that are trying to provide the inside information. 

One of my theories is that TV really doesn’t even need play-by-plays, especially nowadays with graphics giving you so much information. It’s a medium for analysis.

Conversely, I believe analysts are superfluous and possibly even detrimental on radio, which is much more of a medium for play-by-play description. I love listening to old Ernie/Paul broadcasts, where for the most part it’s just one guy talking during his innings. That way they could concentrate on keeping the listener apprised of what was happening instead of trying to maintain a conversation. It also allowed the broadcasts to breathe much more; during lulls in the action they’d lay back and just let you enjoy the sounds of the ballpark.

[gehringer_2]

5 hours ago, guy incognito said:

One of my theories is that TV really doesn’t even need play-by-plays, especially nowadays with graphics giving you so much information. It’s a medium for analysis.

Conversely, I believe analysts are superfluous and possibly even detrimental on radio, which is much more of a medium for play-by-play description. I love listening to old Ernie/Paul broadcasts, where for the most part it’s just one guy talking during his innings. That way they could concentrate on keeping the listener apprised of what was happening instead of trying to maintain a conversation. It also allowed the broadcasts to breathe much more; during lulls in the action they’d lay back and just let you enjoy the sounds of the ballpark.

both very true. I actually don't like radio PBPs who betray emotional involvement in the game. That's one of the things that Harwell (and Carey as well) had such a genius for. You could never guess the score of a Tiger game listening to Ernie's tone or delivery - (though he made sure to tell you regularly - I think he once said that early in his career he keep an egg timer in the booth to remind him how often to give the score). The value in that is that it's a lot easier to listen to the losses!

Edited Thursday at 02:19 AM by gehringer_2

[chasfh]

22 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

both very true. I actually don't like radio PBPs who betray emotional involvement in the game. That's one of the things that Harwell (and Carey as well) had such a genius for. You could never guess the score of a Tiger game listening to Ernie's tone or delivery - (though he made sure to tell you regularly - I think he once said that early in his career he keep an egg timer in the booth to remind him how often to give the score). The value in that is that it's a lot easier to listen to the losses!

Most broadcasters, and also beat writers, took their jobs as journalists far more seriously 40 or more years ago. They have evolved to become part of the team these days, because access is far more precious now than it used to be.

We are lucky in that Dan Dickerson is kind of a throwback to the time when broadcasters weren’t total company men. You can hear it in the live reads and drop ins he is obligated to do: he rushes through them to get them out of the way as quickly as possible, unlike Pat Hughes of the Cubs, who practically makes babies with ad copy.