In Praise of John Flaherty

[Gehrig'sGhost]

Thought I’d posit that John Flaherty is turning into a pretty damn good announcer/color guy. He has good insights and a surprisingly measured tone for someone who hasn’t been doing this very long. IMHO, he is SO MUCH BETTER than Al “Cigarette” Leiter that it just isn’t funny. I cannot stand Al’s whiny, “I know it all”, “How many times do I have to say this”, “I’m saying this so this is the way things are” tone. I know, I know, some will say that he gets frustrated with Kaye, but the person who ultimately suffers is the listener. While Leiter does have good things to say on occasion, I really cannot take his ego-filled, condescending tone for another season. For everything about Leiter that rubs me wrong, and there are many (not the least of which is the rumor that his presence is why Kitty has retired for good), Flaherty is the exact opposite. Here’s to hoping they use him for more and more games.

[Bern51]

I agree, my ideal broadcasting team right now would be Singleton, Girardi and Flaherty. The chance of a 3-man booth (including 2 former Yankees catchers) without Kay around however are slim to none.

[yankeebot]

I really like Flaherty, Girardi and Leiter along with Singleton, of course. Now if we could just find a way to get rid of Kay.....

[aayankeesfan]

i miss Jim Kaat.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Kay is getting worse. Although the only other announcers I see are the espn ones so I give him some slack.

But yesterday I watched a Met game because my roommate was, and while their announcers are all over the place and go off on tangents I will admit it was more entertaining, less pretentious, and overall more enjoyable.

[Gehrig'sGhost]

I agree, my ideal broadcasting team right now would be Singleton, Girardi and Flaherty. The chance of a 3-man booth (including 2 former Yankees catchers) without Kay around however are slim to none.

Yes, I fully agree on Girardi, but figure he is but a fired manager away from getting another kind of call.

[Gehrig'sGhost]

i miss Jim Kaat.

Me, too. Big time

[dont_ya_know24]

they should get john sterling to broadcast.
that guy is da bomb, although i won't be able to listen to him anymore, cus i don't have yes.

[dont_ya_know24]

i like paul o'neill, cus he neer says anything

[Panamaniac42]

Kay is getting worse. Although the only other announcers I see are the espn ones so I give him some slack.

But yesterday I watched a Met game because my roommate was, and while their announcers are all over the place and go off on tangents I will admit it was more entertaining, less pretentious, and overall more enjoyable.

It's weird, watching the game yesterday on mlb.tv, I was surprised how much the Twins announcers sucked. I didn't even realize Bobby Abreu had hit a homerun, I thought they were broadcasting a funeral. That being said, I don't care for "SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEYA....A LOOONG HOMERUN FOR DAVID ORTIZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" It's a fine line and a tough job I guess.

[flymick24]

alex rod-driguez

[Bozidar]

He was good, but i can see how his stories are going to become a little less interesting as time goes by. The life of a backup catcher.. it's not a fabulous one.

I liked him last night, but i've got an itch that he won't last.

[mrmike98]

He's a much better listen than Leiter.

[Bozidar]

He's a much better listen than Leiter.

Yeah but neigher of them compare to Katt. That dood RULED.

[susieb8020]

Does anyone know why Michael Kay still has a job in broadcasting?

[ace]

I must be Michael Kay's only fan.

[Bozidar]

I must be Michael Kay's only fan.

GET HIM!!! !! !!!! !!! !

[dont_ya_know24]

GET HIM!!! !! !!!! !!! !

[justtxyank]

High fly ball, fairly deep to right field. See ya!

The pitch to David Ortiz...driven DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP to Right field....CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC-YA! A TWO-RUN HOMERUN FOR DAVID ORTIZ AND THE RED SOX LEAD 5-3!!!!!!!!!!shift1!!

I can't stand Kay as a broadcaster. He's actually very intelligent about the game though.

[BillBuckner]

I like him. He's got a nice voice, personality, and he actually knows what he's talking about. The only thing he could improve on is that he sometimes speaks too softly and unassertively.

[Gehrig'sGhost]

He's a much better listen than Leiter.

Can I get an amen?!

[Jen19]

I think Flaherty has been great to listen to also. I do miss Jim Kaat though...

[Sam18]

High fly ball, fairly deep to right field. See ya!

The pitch to David Ortiz...driven DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP to Right field....CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC-YA! A TWO-RUN HOMERUN FOR DAVID ORTIZ AND THE RED SOX LEAD 5-3!!!!!!!!!!shift1!!

I can't stand Kay as a broadcaster. He's actually very intelligent about the game though.

Lol last night's game he creamed himself when the twins were scoring.

[Seth]

Lol last night's game he creamed himself when the twins were scoring.

I noticed that too. I think Kay is so concerned that he's percieved as a homer, that he tries too hard to objective like he did during the bottom of the 8th inning last night. It really gets ridculous when they play the Red Sox. I think Kay gets more excited when the Red Sox do something good than the Red Sox annoucers do.

[PeteRFNY]

I generally like Flaherty, but for some strange reason he spent the whole Twins series addressing a litany of things that he didn't like when he was a player. This guy doing this, that guy doing that. It became very tiresome after a while. It was like listening to that obnoxious guy behind you at the game complain about everything. Enough already.