Is Youk the right man for the job?
NESN and the Red Sox are inseparable. This is true not only on the balance sheet, with both entities rolling up to John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group (though Jeremy Jacobs’ Delaware North also owns 20% of the network), but in each of our homes. The Red Sox game is the meal and NESN is the chef. So how’s the chef doing?
Today, we continue our multi-part examination of Red Sox broadcasts, taking a look at the color commentators.
Kevin Youkilis
I have nothing nice to say here! Youkilis is one of the most useless color commenters to ever hold the job. Not only does he rarely add anything insightful, but the constant little league remarks of “Oh, good try” or “Wow, he almost had that” and “Tough one, but we’ll get ‘em tomorrow,” are beyond grating. This isn’t the try hard league; this is the do well or farewell league. On plays where it’s his job to tell the audience what went wrong and why a player screwed up, you get excuses and intentionally obtuse commentary.
In addition to those shortcomings, he’s just nowhere near as dialed in or up to speed with the game as he needs to be for somebody sitting in that chair. On a near weekly basis, he’s on there openly asking about a rule as a situation unfolds. Dude, you’re the color commenter! You’re supposed to know the rules and inform the viewers!
If you visit his Twitter page, there’s virtually nothing about Red Sox baseball related on it, which is just another sign that he’s not as passionate about the product as somebody in his position needs to be. He’s there to collect a paycheck, hang out amongst people and friends he’s fondly familiar with from his playing career, and not ruffle any feathers. That sucks!
— Matthew Gross
Nostalgia isn’t a good enough reason to keep him around. He has very little insight to offer, unless it’s an off-the-cuff memory, but he’s not charming enough to get away with doing (seemingly) zero prep. That’s immature (for a professional) and simply not fun to listen to. I’m exhausted by his repetitive old-man complaints over players who show emotion, and his “back in my day” nonsense. Recently, he offered this “insight” against the Blue Jays: “Can’t let that fifth run get across.” This is the kind of thing that makes people yell at their TV.
When Youk was in the booth during the Women’s Celebration Day, it was a little bit shocking (if not insulting) how much talking he did, leaving little space for female broadcasters Emma Tiedemann and Rylee Pay, who’d been brought up from Double-A Portland for the special broadcast. A more gracious mentor may have given them more air time, and it’s not as though his anecdotes were so vital that he couldn’t have made room for other voices. In the same broadcast, he called professional female athletes “girls” (on Women’s Celebration Day? Come on…) and seemed to take pride in mispronouncing an opposing player’s name. Somewhere during this game, I came to believe that instead of a proud, freewheeling doofus (which seems to have its charms for some?), he may actually be a narcissist who loves the sound of his own voice, no matter what it’s saying. Ugh.
I’m exhausted just by thinking of him running wild over the broadcast with inane comments. He needs to go.
— Maura McGurk
When Youkilis first started in the NESN booth he told a story about how he was trying to get into coaching and had worked with Terry Francona and sorta kinda almost landed a hitting coach job or one adjacent to it. This move to the broadcast booth was, I guess, the fallback. I don’t know Youk but I’m guessing he doesn’t need the money. So he must want to be around the game. He’s not a pure nostalgia play; although his contributions to the Red Sox dynasty are considerable. I think he’s doing a good enough job though he’d have to up his game to overtake Merloni. If he really does want to have a share of the booth I think he can find a percentage of games that works for everyone. If he’s still interested in coaching I hope he gets a shot at that too.
— Mike Carlucci
I was very hopeful about Youk as the color guy. He speaks well, he has personality, and, having gone to college, played overseas, and then started a small business after retirement, it’s clear that he has interests outside of baseball. All of those ingredients, I thought, would make for an excellent addition to the booth. But overall I’m finding him underwhelming, mostly because he doesn’t seem all that excited to be there.
— Dan Secatore
I disagree wholeheartedly with my Over the Monster brethren here — Youkilis is as good as it gets for a lighthearted color commentator, especially when, in the age of O’Brien, we demand people not take themselves too seriously. This is a guy who played in Japan because he wanted to learn the culture, runs a brewery and, during a recent game, referenced Toonces the Driving Cat, a bygone SNL skit. Especially when paired with Obie, I can’t imagine a better fit. Should he do every game? No. Of course not. But there’s no danger of that. The baseball season is too long to take seriously enough to hate on Youkilis. He gets it. If you have a problem with that, maybe you don’t? Sorry not sorry, friends!
— Bryan Joiner
Lou Merloni
Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images
Merloni is not only a consistently solid analyst, but also the best one they currently have in rotation for the role. While I’m rarely wowed by him commentary, he’s well researched, has on-field experience to draw from, and does a good job of generally staying on topic. I do wish his criticisms were a little bit sharper, but he’s still providing more in that department tan anybody else they have in house. This leaves him as a B+ color commentator, and among this group, that’s top of the class.
— Matthew Gross
I’m a fan. I find his insights to be solid and on-point. As a bonus: living 3,000 miles away, I love when Merloni’s in the booth because his accent makes me feel like I’m home.
— Maura McGurk
The good thing about Merloni is that he’d be around even if he was awful at this; he was a right time, right place Sox local, and it was inevitable he’d end up in the chair. That he’s good and seems to want to get better is a testament to him, especially because this is plainly his life going forward.
— Bryan Joiner
Similar to Dave O’Brien but on the color commentary side rather than play-by-play, Lou Merloni is a solid choice. Personally he sounds bored a lot. I don’t know if that’s just me, the state of Red Sox baseball, his speech style, or something else. That said I’m not in a rush to get rid of him.
— Mike Carlucci
Just give him the job for 162 already.
— Dan Secatore
Will Middlebrooks
Middlebrooks, I think, really wants to be part of the broadcast team. He’s integrated himself quickly into the NESN family after his whirlwind Boston playing career and seems very comfortable in front of the camera. He’s less story driven than some color guys, though maybe only five MLB seasons cuts back on that. I don’t think it would be nuts for him to become a play-by-play broadcaster. I hope NESN keeps him around for a bit.
— Mike Carlucci
I’ve been charmed by Will Middlebrooks. He’s prepared, he doesn’t rely on schtick, and he brings more enthusiasm to the booth than any other regular option. And well-placed enthusiasm, I think, is sneakily the most important trait an announcer has — if it seems like the announcer doesn’t want to be there (cough, John Smoltz, cough) then why would we want to watch?
Quite simply, Middlebrooks simply seems to really respect the job. This is in stark contrast to more famous former players who often treat it as little more than a semi-retirement side hustle, and I have to assume this stems from being married to an actual television professional.
— Dan Secatore
Kevin Millar
Photo by Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Look, Kevin Millar was a solid contributor on my favorite team for a historic moment. And he can be an entertaining presence. His stories about the 2003-05 Red Sox are great. Being in a booth during the game isn’t his strongest suit though.
— Mike Carlucci
The less Millar, the better, except “no Millar” is bad. Once a month would be just fine.
— Bryan Joiner