McDonough may exit Sox' booth

[Mike]

McDonough may exit Sox' booth (http://www2.bostonherald.com/sport/sports_columnists/baker12072002.htm)

[zimm0who0net]

This sucks. I always like McDonough way better than Orsillo

[John Corn]

I had always enjoyed McDonough, but over the course of last season I grew weary of Sean. There were too many times when he wouldn't let go of some criticism (either of the opposing players or the umpires) and blew things out of proportion. It was like listening to a grouchy old man ... it's funny for a while, but ...

I do like Orsillo and I think he'll continue to improve.

[Maniacal1]

John, Sean *is* a grouchy old man, which is quite a feat considering he just turned 40. I'll be sorry to see him go. He and Jerry Remy have a very nice rapport that wears nicely during the long course of a season.

[zimm0who0net]

I always liked it when Sean ripped into the umps when they blew a call. He would occasionally harp on a particularly bad call, but I like this FAR better than Orsillo's tendency to never say a bad word about anyone.

Of course you might take my comments with a grain of salt given that I LOVED the Ben Affleck announcing this past season (die hard sox fans will know what I'm talking about)

[Rusty]

I've always enjoyed hearing Sean McDonough call sporting events. Back in the mid 1980's I really thought that Sean and Jack Norton did a first rate job on college Hockey telecasts on NESN.

[Mike]

Sox voice McDonough talks Mets (http://www2.bostonherald.com/sport/sports_columnists/baker12112002.htm)

by Jim Baker
Wednesday, December 11, 2002

Sean McDonough declared before and during his WWZN radio show yesterday that if the New York Mets' pitch to call 80 games on the Madison Square Garden Network and the Red Sox' offer for only 30 on Chs. 38 and 4 remain the same, ``I think I'll take the Mets.''

McDonough, the popular 15-year Sox TV voice on four stations, hosted his show with a cell phone close by as agent Sandy Montag continued to negotiate with the Sox, or more particularly with Rick Abbott, operations director of NESN, the cable jewel owned by the Sox.

``We're waiting on one last call from them,'' he said, then told his radio audience there was ``no news, we're still conversing,'' but he did ``not want to turn this into a daily thing on the air.'' Yet he added that he told the Mets he would have an answer for them by last night.

``It's up to the Red Sox now,'' he declared on the air.

McDonough called 70 Sox games with partner Jerry Remy on Fox-owned Ch. 25 last season, but WFXT has lost the contract after three highly rated seasons. NESN, which will air 125 games next season, has offered McDonough only about 30 WSBK-WBZ telecasts, mostly Friday nights on Ch. 38. Ed Goldman, Viacom's Ch. 4-38 chief, is not involved in negotiations.

McDonough, who was making about $5,000 a game, indicated during the broadcast that his father, Globe columnist Will McDonough, is ``pro-Mets. He's not real happy about what's been happening here,'' Sean said.

Abbott issued a polite ``no comment'' and said he would not negotiate through the media. In an earlier conversation, he pointed out that McDonough did not work for NESN last season, that Don Orsillo and Remy were NESN's Sox duo.

Yet the new Sox and NESN officials must know they have yet another ticklish public relations problem. They should not want the perception that they're pinching pennies when it comes to Sox broadcasts or retaining players on the field.

Orsillo has not returned calls for several days. McDonough said he had spoken with Sox co-owners John Henry and Tom Werner with Henry offering some encouragement. Ch. 25 did have a presence, but only with Levan Reid in WWZN's studio to cover the story of McDonough's fate.

McDonough acknowledged the radio show is a factor - that if he went to the Mets and lost the WWZN gig, ``it would not be a lot better deal. The Mets have said they could set me up with a radio show there,'' but he might not be interested.

``A lot of people in our business want the biggest market and to make the most money, but I have the baseball job I wanted,'' he explained. Or at least he had the job before the Sox presented a 60 percent cut.

``This is the most difficult decision I've ever had to make,'' he said.

McDonough, indicating 28 messages awaited him upon his return from a one-day Florida golfing commitment, said his New York knocks during Sox telecasts was ``all in fun.'' He laughed in remembering he and Remy were sent miners' helmets, which they wore, after joking about how dark it was during a Fun City telecast.

He also addressed reports that the Sox deem him too negative. ``I've heard that they think that, but I'm not going to change my style,'' he said.

And why should he? Being frank about the Sox and umpires, along with a smooth call and versatile talent, has made him highly regarded around his hometown. And that's another big point the Sox must mull: This is a network-quality, well-entrenched Hub talent they might be chasing out of town. Can they afford the dark image?

``I've been going over and over this and a couple of times, I flipped a coin,'' McDonough remarked.

And how did that come out? ``The Sox won both times,'' he said, clearly showing he does not want to leave.

But even though he has ESPN (college basketball) and ABC (college football) deals, the financial consideration is clear. Coin flips will mean nothing.

[Unthinkable]

I liked Sean McDonough in the broadcast booth plenty fine, but in all fairness to the duo, Jerry Remy is the genuinely irreplacable diamond from a Red Sox standpoint who can consistently predict plays unfolding in advance better then most in the sport. Over the past few years, Sean's ever increasing tendencies to veer off on really wild extended tangents during games from broken air conditioning units in the hotel rooms at night to favorite restaurants in the local areas etc... have been a bad influence imo on Remy's calling. I realize you can't expect 3 full hours of nothing but pure baseball talk from your hometeam announcers in this day and age, but I don't necessarily have to like that fact. Good luck to him wherever he lands though.

[Mike]

McDonough to remain Sox voice (http://www2.bostonherald.com/sport/sports_columnists/baker12122002.htm)

by Jim Baker
Thursday, December 12, 2002

Sean McDonough confirmed late last night that the New York Mets and Madison Square Garden Network have been informed that he has turned down their offer to call about 80 games next season in order to remain a Red Sox TV voice with a greatly reduced package of games compared with last season.

``I am going to stay,'' McDonough said after another long day of talks with Red Sox-owned NESN over a package of about 30 Chs. 38 and 4 telecasts (mostly Friday nighters).

``It was an incredibly hard decision. The Mets made a great offer and made me feel it was important that I come with them. Everything about them was first class. It's the only other package I thought about. They're quality people.''

The 15-year Sox voice on four stations exhaled no superlatives about Sox negotiators who presented him with a 60 percent cut - from last season's 70 games on Ch. 25 to the 30 at about $5,000 a game. He said the Sox never boosted his number of games, but they did improve their pitch from about half his 2002 pay rate to ``very close to the same rate,'' though a Sox official last night said McDonough was offered the same per-game amount.

Asked why he decided to stay for far less money, McDonough replied: `It came down to being home, where I like to be, and this is where my family and friends are.''

Further, now he can retain his WWZN radio show, for which he's reportedly paid $500,000 a year. MSG and the Mets had said they could arrange to get him a New York radio gig, but he clearly preferred staying in his hometown.

NESN will beam 122-125 Sox games next season, a huge jump, and it's believed Don Orsillo, their two-year caller who worked 86 games last season, will handle the action with Jerry Remy, the iron-man analyst who also should be back with McDonough on Chs. 4 and 38. Remy said negotiations continue with him. However, he'd like to work all the games again. But the Sox may introduce another analyst for some games.

McDonough's decision, after saying on WWZN and in interviews that he wanted a fairer share of Sox games, scraps another story that was building yesterday - that the Sox were interested in Gary Thorne, whose Mets job he would have taken.

Thorne, in emceeing the Sox writers' dinner several years ago, indicated calling Sox fortunes was a dream job of his while growing up in Maine. Thorne is ESPN's lead hockey announcer who may end up again calling baseball there.

[Maniacal1]

I'm glad to hear that Sean is staying. I'm a little surprised because the Ch. 4/38 schedule is almost entirely Friday games (all 26 of them). I expect that will interfere with Sean's ability to take weekend assignments for other jobs, since most now require the announcer to be there the day before.