Last year when the White Sox organization moved Darrin Jackson (or DJ Clue-less) over to 670 The Score to do the radio analysis and put Steve Stone back on TV, I thought to myself, "Great, now the White Sox are only one broadcaster removal away from me being able to watch the game without muting the television and blasting The Strokes, Room on Fire CD in my parents' basement." That one man left to remove is of course, the inept flounder of a broadcaster-- Ken "Hawk" Harrelson. I know some White Sox fans may claim to adore listening to Hawk in a 'senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose' kind of way, they really are just covering up their annoyance toward him any way they can. In reality, there is no way fans can possibly enjoy his incoherent musings on his .239 career batting average, 8 second silence spells, or constantly uttering unintelligible tag lines like "this ballgame is....OVAH!!!" 150 some-odd times per season. The only job Hawk Harrelson should have ever received in baseball was the role of the discordant broadcaster on Bull Durham who was vocally equipped with the same southern drawl as Harrelson. He should have taken the fame achieved from inventing the batting glove in the early 1960's (true story) and the dangling loose skin hanging from his chin and went back to South Carolina with all the other bumbling once-upon-a-time-major-leaguers.
Now I don't dislike hawk because he is a homer, or care that he blatantly shows his allegiance towards the White Sox on the air, he is simply a BAD broadcaster. If you don't watch the White Sox regularly, you have no clue as to what he could be talking about on a given play. With his assortment of southern pet-names for baseball plays he learned in some tobacco field, some listeners don't know whether he's talking about professional baseball or the woman's suffrage movement in South Carolina. In a good play-by-play analyst, you need to have someone with an affectionate baseball voice (think: Costas, Buck, Scully) rather than having some 65 year old man screaming "HE GONE" after every strikeout like he just left the set of a Lil John music video.
Don't get my point wrong in this blog and think that I dislike him because he is a southern, old man who has put down more Johnnie Walker Black Label in his life than Waylon Jennings, because that is not the case. I have no problem with teams letting their long-time broadcasters virtually dying in the television/radio booth. If they're good broadcasters, you can cremate them in the booth for all I care because they have dedicated their entire life to that particular baseball franchise. But in Hawk's case, he needs put the mic down and retire. Especially now that the White Sox have put themselves in a competitive division race and Cub nation is drifting faster and faster into complete indifference towards NL baseball every single day, the White Sox might get more viewership than they have had the last couple of years. However, for the White Sox to keep that viewership and have people enjoy their exciting and fundamentally sound ball club, Hawk needs to "strap it on and hunker down" at a tolerable and comprehensible level. That's all I ask--"THIS BLOG IS OVAHH!!!!" and no, Hawk nobody is "bleeping you", that's just the way people feel. If you don't believe me, visit www.heavethehawk.com
As for pick of the day, when Pulse Man promoted the Reds/Cards as his pick of the day, he didn't realize he was predicting a bench-clearing brawl with his baseball betting tarot cards. And since he's under the .500 mark at 8-9 after last night's loss, he has less self-confidence than a teenage mom on the Tyra show. Either way,since he is going to be in attendance for the White Sox/Twins game tomorrow, he seems quite certain that his mesh,White Sox visor can lead the Sox to victory at the Cell. So, he's taking the White Sox on the money line tomorrow at (-110). Look for him on TV either streaking through right field like he did at the powder puff game in high school, or attempting to start the wave passionately in upper deck section 332.
Pick of the Day: Twins @ White Sox. WHITE SOX- moneyline (-110)
Record:(8-9-0)
Those who can do, and often those who can't announce. Just look at Bob Euecker, awful major leaguer but entertaining announcer. Skill has little factor on credibility in my opinion. Two words--Chip Caray. Go Sox!
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