After
Matt Thornton, the subject I was probably next most wrong about this year was the choice to hire Chris Singleton to replace John Rooney.
Granted, I'm not sold on the long-term feasibility despite the strides made by Singleton as a broadcaster. Singleton's voice doesn't have the gravitas of a play-by-play guy, and even if he develops the chops it'll still be lacking something. Ed Farmer, even though slightly less dour, is still draining to listen to at lengths. I suppose I'm used to him only calling an inning at a time.
I was wrong in
going after Singleton guns-blazing, though. At least for this season, the Singleton hire was a good decision, if only because it was different enough from Rooney that it lessened the longing. My initial thought would be that they'd hire a professional play-by-play retread like Wayne Hagin, a former Sox employee. He has the chops, but he's generic and would feel like a cheap knock-off in comparison.
Nothing about Singleton reminded me of Rooney, and strange as it sounds, it had its advantages -- though not in the play-by-play department. Singleton's call was often choppy, he struggled to prioritize to listeners in the correct order and was easily distracted/interrupted. He made vast improvements in all these areas, but he's no Rooney.
I knew that he'd be raw in terms of game-calling; I was more concerned about his rapport with Farmer. Rooney and Farmer sounded like guys who fished off the same pier every morning -- they could finish each other's sentences, rattle off canned one-liners and change subjects seamlessly on the fly. When you're listening to somebody for long stretches at a time over a long season, this stuff is important.
Singleton's on-air relationship with Farmer had a twist. Being a younger guy, his random references were a bit more current, and he also enjoyed needling Farmer. In game situations, they'd play batter versus pitcher; on off-topic stuff, Singleton would try his best to help Farmer lighten up.
When Jon Garland was going into the ninth inning of his last victory, Singleton said, "....thanks to Jon Garland, who has pitched BRILLIANT!" in the same tone as the cut-outs in the Guinness commercials. Singleton then asked Farmer if he liked those commercials (of course, Farmer said "no"), but Singleton didn't give up.
Reviewing his scorebook, Singleton said, "And you have this paper! And you use a pencil to track the events of the game!" Farmer said, "I suppose you want me to say 'brilliant,' right?" Of course, Farmer didn't, but I laughed listening to Singleton try his best.
Singleton did, however, achieve as far as getting Farmer to talk about "Pimp My Ride." I couldn't tell if Farmer actually watched the show, but he was at least aware of what it was about. I consider that a victory in de-stodgifying Farmio.
He's still rough, but he's a decent analyst -- worlds better than Darrin Jackson, that's for sure. He's also good for at least one laugh a ballgame, and he doesn't have to try as hard as mimicking the Guinness commercials to get 'em.
Part of me still wishes that Dave Wills had stuck around one year longer instead of taking the
radio job in Tampa. Wills did a great job dealing with the fans on the White Sox post-game show, and had a great, energetic voice, to boot. I don't think he foresaw Rooney leaving one year after he did.