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Skip Carey on Atlanta Braves Radio Network

  • Thread starter Goodtimesandgreatoldies
  • Start date

G

Goodtimesandgreatoldies

Guest
:p :-\ :'( : Has anyone noticed that Skip Carey seems to decline on-air while his partner of 32 plus years-Pete Van Wieren only seems to improve with age?
 
Skip has indeed had some life threatening health issues in the past but as of now he is doing well. Others may disagree but I've noticed a decline in his voice. He sounds tired some of the time and the "edginess" that makes Skip interesting seems to have faded. I wouldn't count him out by any means but this isn't 1976.
 
I grew up listening and watching Skip. Don`t get me wrong, I have always thought that he is great. But, I too notice now that his voice sounds different. He made no bones about how angry he was at TBS and Time-Warner for not putting him on their telecasts of baseball post-season last year. Has this still got him upset? I thought that he was going to be on all of the Peachtree TV 17 telecasts. However, most of the time his son Chip is on there. Why has Chip replaced his daddy Skip on these telecasts. Chip even replaces Skip sometimes on the Braves radio network. Pete Van Wieren still is going strong and is on all 162 regular season Braves radiocasts.
 
Maybe Skip has gotten burned out on explaining the infield fly rule and the "nutgrinder" pitch. ;)
 
Skip sounds tired and worn down. Maybe his heart is not just in it anymore as far broadcasting. Seems like his role keeps getting reduced by The Suits at Time Warner. Maybe Skip should retire before he gets shown the door by Time Warner.
 
RTibbs said:
Time Warner?
Click to expand...

Who signs Skip's paycheck(s)? I'm guessing it's Liberty Media (as owner of the Braves and, presumably, the Braves Radio Network), and Time Warner (as owner of Channel 17/PeachtreeTV), and News (as owner of FSN and FSPSO).
 
I've noticed a decline this year in Skip's performance also.

What this reminded me of, though, was Skip's dad, Harry Caray. Harry apparently was a great broadcaster in his younger days. But I started watching him toward the end of his career. Talk about a decline. Wow! But WGN-TV let him keep his job until the end.
 
RoddyFreeman said:
I've noticed a decline this year in Skip's performance also.

What this reminded me of, though, was Skip's dad, Harry Caray. Harry apparently was a great broadcaster in his younger days. But I started watching him toward the end of his career. Talk about a decline. Wow! But WGN-TV let him keep his job until the end.
Click to expand...
WGN "let" Harry keep his job because the entire country watched Cub games for Harry. When I lived in Chitown, there were three reasons to see the Cubs:
1) Wrigley Field
2) Harry Carey
3) The visiting team

One year their marketing plan was "Harry-polooza" the next year it was Harry Un-plugged. The Trib made gobs of money off Harry. How much has Liberty made of Skip? When was the last time you said, "I can't wait to watch the Braves coz Skip is doing the game"? Has Skip every mispronounced "Jair Jurrjens" and gotten a laugh? Has he pronounced it backwards yet?
 
Skip certainly isn't his father on air and never claimed to be. In his prime, Skip brought a unique flair to the microphone. His quips deriding FOX Sports for long commercial breaks or his complaints about the bizarre starting times of playoff games rang true with the "common man." He was never and still isn't afraid to
say exactly what he thinks. Having worked behind the scenes with the man, I can tell you he is proud to be the son of a broadcasting legend. That is exactly how it
should be.
 
Still amazed me how Skip knew what city/town a fan was from who was sitting in the stadium. "Foul Ball caught by a Fan from Canton, GA." I also remembered when Skip did his call in show just before the games on WSB AM. Sometimes he was interested. Other times he just phoned in the show. Depended on the mood that day. I do know that he, Pete, Don, and Joe did a lot and kept it interesting for us especially during the lean years. I also know it takes a lot to work 162 games (and spring training) a year on radio and television and stay prepared as they did.

Remember how we were all concerned about Don Sutton's baby daughter after she was born. These guys had home lives, and they were still there traveling throughout the year with the Braves. And as you recall, Skip worked for TNT sports also doing other sport genres (basketball, Pan AM games, and Turner's version of the olympics).

Yea, I know he does not sound as good, but he has put in a lot over the years.

What is his best call for the Braves? Was it the Bream call in the playoff's in 1991?
 
tlyle said:
What is his best call for the Braves? Was it the Bream call in the playoff's in 1991?
Click to expand...

That was actually 1992, but that had to be one of them.
 
As I recall Don and Joe were not a part of the Braves radiocasts during "the lean years". They joined about Ernie Johnson Sr. retired from full time in 1990. The year Don and Joe joined, the Braves went to the World Series! Skip, Ernie and Pete were the ones that made it through the lean years!
 
Skip was great on the mic back in the day, but now he's lost that edge and the boozing stories. I think he and Don Sutton together were as good as baseball broadcasting can get: knowledgeable and funny.

As an aside: who the hell thought Mark Lemke was worthy of a MLB announcing gig? Seriously. Happily the Clear Channel curse continues/ the Braves suck so there's no reason to listen to him too much anyway.
 
I always thought Don Sutton was very insightful and interesting to listen to. I'm not sure why he was released, but the Nationals are lucky to have him.
 
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