Larkin leaves MLB Network, joins rival

[cinreds21]

Former Reds shortstop Barry Larkin has left MLB's flagship station, MLB Network, for the world-wide leader in sports ESPN, according to a tweet from USA Today's Bob Nightengale.


Booo. I heart MLB Network

[OnBaseMachine]

That sucks. I really enjoyed Barry on MLB Network.

[cinreds21]

At least we still have Millar. lol

[Strikes Out Looking]

I didn't even realize that ESPN still covered baseball.

[CarolinaRedleg]

I didn't even realize that ESPN still covered baseball.

Only if you count Bankees vs. Sawkees.

[Tommyjohn25]

Well that's stupid.

[Eric_the_Red]

I would wager that ESPN pays more than MLBN, and it also reaches more homes = more exposure. For the casual baseball fan, I think Baseball Tonight and MLBN are comparable. If Barry wants to be a broadcaster/analyst as his second career, it is hard to fault his choice, whatever you think of ESPN's coverage.

[alexad]

He wants to be able to talk. Reynolds talks way too much. WAY TOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

[Joseph]

He needs to get back to the 'nati.

[alexad]

Nati can not pay him the amount of money he wants.

[membengal]

Not just BBTN exposure, but likely will get occasional time on SC not to mention spots as an analyst on espn radio shows every so often. Makes sense to me.

[Mario-Rijo]

He wants to be able to talk. Reynolds talks way too much. WAY TOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

Not to mention he wants to actually be on TV, for gods sake it seems every time I turn it on it's Host/Reynolds/Ripken/Rosenthal.

[Reds1]

Bummer - 1st year with Direct tv and MLB TV - I was looking forward to this!

[Unassisted]

I can watch ESPN on any of 5 TVs in my house. I can only watch MLB Network on the one TV at my house that has a cable box connected to it. I'm sure my household is not that unusual and there are probably plenty of houses that can't watch MLB Network at all.

IMO, Barry's moving to a higher-profile media outlet.

[Blitz Dorsey]

Nice, I don't get MLB Network. ESPN needs more guys like Lark on their baseball side of the operation. This is great news for me.

[cinreds21]

Questions to people who do have MLB Network:

Do you watch ESPN?

[Redsfan320]

Questions to people who do have MLB Network:

Do you watch ESPN?

Not really, usually only on Monday mornings for football highlights. I watch far, far less than I did before MLBN.

320

[919191]

Questions to people who do have MLB Network:

Do you watch ESPN?

Rarely. I'll watch Baseball Tonight occaisionally as I like Kruk. Not saying he's good, just like him. I much prefer MLB Network. I will tune in to see Larkin once in a while maybe.

Wonder which of the 2 teams he'll cover?:)

[RedsManRick]

ESPN has made some serious moves behind the scenes to beef up the quality of their coverage. MLB continues to flounder in an odd programming model where they specialize on the sport and yet only produce content that appeals to the lowest common denominator. They really have not done much to capitalize on their opportunity to try new things and be substantively different.

The off-season programming was basically just a bunch of Top X shows and mind-numbing "hot stove" shows which were neither timely nor insightful. I was really looking forward to the channel, but short of it's nightly show which hops from game to game during the season, I've seen no compelling reason to watch it. It simply does not provide much programming that's better than what I can find elsewhere.

[blumj]

Questions to people who do have MLB Network:

Do you watch ESPN?
Almost never.

[TRF]

always. my cable company doesn't carry MLBN.

[Tommyjohn25]

Questions to people who do have MLB Network:

Do you watch ESPN?

Not even a glance.

[Cyclone792]

ESPN has made some serious moves behind the scenes to beef up the quality of their coverage. MLB continues to flounder in an odd programming model where they specialize on the sport and yet only produce content that appeals to the lowest common denominator. They really have not done much to capitalize on their opportunity to try new things and be substantively different.

The off-season programming was basically just a bunch of Top X shows and mind-numbing "hot stove" shows which were neither timely nor insightful. I was really looking forward to the channel, but short of it's nightly show which hops from game to game during the season, I've seen no compelling reason to watch it. It simply does not provide much programming that's better than what I can find elsewhere.

MLB Network shines during the season, not so much during the offseason. What I especially like is MLB Tonight during the season with the live look-ins, because I don't have a dish where I can pull up any game in any market. During those weeknights when the Reds have a night off (or played during the day), MLB Tonight is a meal ticket for checking out action around the league. It's also particularly nice during pennant chase time.

[edabbs44]

I wonder if the HOF had anything to do with it.

[blumj]

ESPN has made some serious moves behind the scenes to beef up the quality of their coverage. MLB continues to flounder in an odd programming model where they specialize on the sport and yet only produce content that appeals to the lowest common denominator. They really have not done much to capitalize on their opportunity to try new things and be substantively different.

The off-season programming was basically just a bunch of Top X shows and mind-numbing "hot stove" shows which were neither timely nor insightful. I was really looking forward to the channel, but short of it's nightly show which hops from game to game during the season, I've seen no compelling reason to watch it. It simply does not provide much programming that's better than what I can find elsewhere.
I've really been enjoying MLB's 20 Greatest Games. They're only up to #14 and I already wish they'd chosen to do more than just 20.

[Roy Tucker]

I just think it was money and exposure. ESPN's market share is much greater than MLB's. Probably bigger bucks too.

I just wish the Reds could get Lark in the front office or the coaching staff. Barry is an intelligent, personable, and motivated guy.

[bucksfan2]

ESPN has made some serious moves behind the scenes to beef up the quality of their coverage. MLB continues to flounder in an odd programming model where they specialize on the sport and yet only produce content that appeals to the lowest common denominator. They really have not done much to capitalize on their opportunity to try new things and be substantively different.

The off-season programming was basically just a bunch of Top X shows and mind-numbing "hot stove" shows which were neither timely nor insightful. I was really looking forward to the channel, but short of it's nightly show which hops from game to game during the season, I've seen no compelling reason to watch it. It simply does not provide much programming that's better than what I can find elsewhere.

:thumbup:

I have found MLB Network to be somewhat disappointing.

Just strictly my opinion but Baseball Tonight is still the best baseball highlight show on TV. Now I would much rather listen to Peter Gammons than Buster Olney but I usually turn into ESPN to get my baseball highlights.

[_Sir_Charles_]

*grumble, grumble* :thumbdown

It's gotten to the point where I don't even watch ESPN anymore. I get my sports online or from MLB network.

Say it ain't so Barry! Say it ain't so!

[_Sir_Charles_]

Wonder which of the 2 teams he'll cover?:)

Well played, Mauer. :p:

[Heath]

Hey, more Sean Casey and less Billy Ripken.

I like Al Leiter, Joe Magrane, Dan Plesac, and Harold Reynolds. I watch MLBN pretty much all the time.

[Redsfan320]

I like Al Leiter, Joe Magrane, Dan Plesac, and Harold Reynolds.

Speaking of which, I haven't seen any Joe Magrane since the season ended. He's still listed on MLBN's website though (Larkin's already been taken down from there).

320

[MrCinatit]

Questions to people who do have MLB Network:

Do you watch ESPN?



Extremely rarely.
However, there is room for improvement.
When the network first began, they showed quite a few classic games (and some forgotten classic). Gibson's 17 K's in 1967. Game 6 of the 1975 series. Koufax's dominance in 1965. A slug fest between the Cubs and Pirates in 1991.
This off-season...not so much. In fact, the only full game I can name off the top of my head is Game 7 of the 1960 World Series - a treat, but not enough. Too often now, it is replays of the Hot Stove and home run derbies. Heck, they didn't even show any Caribbean baseball during the winter, a huge disappointment.

[reds1869]

Heck, they didn't even show any Caribbean baseball during the winter, a huge disappointment.

That's because The Monster Mouse (ESPN) owns the broadcast rights. You can catch winter ball on ESPN3 if you have access.

[Strikes Out Looking]

Questions to people who do have MLB Network:

Do you watch ESPN?

Not for baseball news, I go to MLB Network first.

[Yachtzee]

ESPN is pretty much dead to me unless they've got a USMNT soccer game on. I get my sports news online and will watch MLB Network during the season. They did pretty good during the World Cup, but their tendency is to drop soccer like a bad habit when the big tournaments end.

[_Sir_Charles_]

Speaking of Ex-Reds taking new jobs...Junior just took a front office job with the Mariners. Good for you Ken.

[Sea Ray]

Speaking of Ex-Reds taking new jobs...Junior just took a front office job with the Mariners. Good for you Ken.

Nice catch on the fresh off the press news

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/2014231461_mariners_president_chuck_armst.html

Glad to see Jr's pout fest is over. We all figured this was the way it would go

[_Sir_Charles_]

Nice catch on the fresh off the press news

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/2014231461_mariners_president_chuck_armst.html (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/2014231461_mariners_president_chuck_armst.html)

Glad to see Jr's pout fest is over. We all figured this was the way it would go

I'm watching the MLB network right now. Greatest games..."touch 'em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger HR". Classic game. Even better, they've got Carter & Mitch Williams watching it together. Funny stuff.

I'd forgotten just how SICK that Blue Jays' lineup was. Wowsers!

[Sea Ray]

I'm watching the MLB network right now. Greatest games..."touch 'em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger HR". Classic game. Even better, they've got Carter & Mitch Williams watching it together. Funny stuff.

I'd forgotten just how SICK that Blue Jays' lineup was. Wowsers!

As I recall Mitch was horrible that night. I think the Blue Jays were going to win with or without that HR

[_Sir_Charles_]

As I recall Mitch was horrible that night. I think the Blue Jays were going to win with or without that HR

That was the way Williams ALWAYS was. One extreme or the other. Fantastic & unhittable.....or a human batting tee.

[Sea Ray]

That was the way Williams ALWAYS was. One extreme or the other. Fantastic & unhittable.....or a human batting tee.

He was pretty much a human batting tee by that point in his career. He never had an ERA less than 6.75 after that HR and saved a mere 6 more games. Amazing he was even in the game at that point

[_Sir_Charles_]

He was pretty much a human batting tee by that point in his career. He never had an ERA less than 6.75 after that HR and saved a mere 6 more games. Amazing he was even in the game at that point

Not sure I'd go THAT far. When he was bad he was VERY bad, but he was good more often than not. That season (1993) 3.34 ERA in 60+ innings, 43 saves, 44 bb, 60 k's. It was ugly often, but at the end of the day he usually got the job done. Kind of reminds me of David Weathers his last 2 years with Cincy. Always walking a tightrope...but ends up pulling a Houdini.

Now FOLLOWING that season....yes, he plummeted off the proverbial pedestal. Kind of like Brad Lidge did after giving up the Pujols HR in the playoffs. Lidge was younger though and had more time to rebound.

[Sea Ray]

Not sure I'd go THAT far. When he was bad he was VERY bad, but he was good more often than not. That season (1993) 3.34 ERA in 60+ innings, 43 saves, 44 bb, 60 k's. It was ugly often, but at the end of the day he usually got the job done. Kind of reminds me of David Weathers his last 2 years with Cincy. Always walking a tightrope...but ends up pulling a Houdini.

Now FOLLOWING that season....yes, he plummeted off the proverbial pedestal. Kind of like Brad Lidge did after giving up the Pujols HR in the playoffs. Lidge was younger though and had more time to rebound.

He didn't have a bad year in 1993, I agree. But I was watching that game live and he was horrible. Very little velocity and falling behind the hitters. Basically that night he looked like he did in subsequent seasons. Cito should have gotten him out of there. As I recall pitching was scarce in that series. The 15-14 game in game 4 set a record for runs scored in a WS game

[_Sir_Charles_]

He didn't have a bad year in 1993, I agree. But I was watching that game live and he was horrible. Very little velocity and falling behind the hitters. Basically that night he looked like he did in subsequent seasons. Cito should have gotten him out of there. As I recall pitching was scarce in that series. The 15-14 game in game 4 set a record for runs scored in a WS game

All very true. But during the MLB network replaying of that game, Williams (and Carter) were there and chatted quite a bit about that game & season. In the process of that Williams dropped a little nugget there that simply stunned me. When Ricky Henderson got on base, the coaches sent out instructions to Mitch to switch to a slide step delivery (which he did so the remainder of that inning), and he commented on the fact that it was the VERY FIRST TIME he'd ever done that in a game. For a guy whose delivery was so over exaggerated with limbs flying all over the place...altering his delivery in even the slightest way, was a bad idea IMO. Just a surprising fact to me.

As to his struggles in subsequent seasons...one part age, one part mental, one part lack of command coming back to roost. I still love the guy on MLB network. Freaking hilarious. :O)

~sorry for sidetracking the thread. Back to Barry. *grin*

[_Sir_Charles_]

Speaking of changes to MLB Network's lineup...Jerry Hairston Jr.'s just joined the team apparently. Did he retire?

~edit~ No, he's signed a 1 year deal with the Nats. I wonder why he's working on MLB Network instead of working out at Nats spring training. Odd.

[Redsfan320]

MLBN is getting desperate for content. Last night on Hot Stove they spent over 10 minutes on "The History of Hair in MLB" and a game show of sorts that, as I was informed of by Matt Vasgersian so many times, was called "Name that Mane". :rolleyes: Wow.

320

[blumj]

MLBN is getting desperate for content. Last night on Hot Stove they spent over 10 minutes on "The History of Hair in MLB" and a game show of sorts that, as I was informed of by Matt Vasgersian so many times, was called "Name that Mane". :rolleyes: Wow.

320

This is really frustrating because they haven't been showing any classic games, like last winter, and they easily could.

[mth123]

MLBN is getting desperate for content. Last night on Hot Stove they spent over 10 minutes on "The History of Hair in MLB" and a game show of sorts that, as I was informed of by Matt Vasgersian so many times, was called "Name that Mane". :rolleyes: Wow.

320

Did they mention the Reds rotation? Arroyo, Volquez and Cueto may make up the group with ugliest heads of hair in this decade.

[MartyFan]

MLBN is getting desperate for content. Last night on Hot Stove they spent over 10 minutes on "The History of Hair in MLB" and a game show of sorts that, as I was informed of by Matt Vasgersian so many times, was called "Name that Mane". :rolleyes: Wow.

320

It is amazing to me just how UNinteresting a network can make the only game I love.

[Chip R]

This is really frustrating because they haven't been showing any classic games, like last winter, and they easily could.

They are going to have an hour show on this afternoon called "The 50 Most Unbelievable Throws in MLB History."

I wonder if it's cheaper to put these kind of shows on than showing old games?

[jmcclain19]

I wonder if the HOF had anything to do with it.

This.

I think it's a terrible decision personally - ESPN is a cesspool that I'm glad to avoid watching at all costs. But it's still the beating cold black heart of sports journalism today.

Here is hoping his deal with the devil gets him into the HOF.

[OnBaseMachine]

From the Cincinnati Enquirer:


Larkin will debut on ESPN in early March after spending three years on the MLB Network.

"Baseball Tonight" airs at 3:30 p.m. weekdays on ESPN2 through spring training. On Opening Day it moves to 10 p.m. and midnight.



http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110217/SPT04/102180364/Reds-become-TV-s-darlings?odyssey=obinsite

[Tony Cloninger]

He didn't have a bad year in 1993, I agree. But I was watching that game live and he was horrible. Very little velocity and falling behind the hitters. Basically that night he looked like he did in subsequent seasons. Cito should have gotten him out of there. As I recall pitching was scarce in that series. The 15-14 game in game 4 set a record for runs scored in a WS game

Why would Cito take out Mitch when he was the manager of the Jays?

Is there anywhere to e-mail them to find out why they do not show the old games like last year? There are at least 2 Reds-A's games from 1972 that they have never shown and Sports Classic station before ESPN bought it and bastardized it....actually showed those games.

[Sea Ray]

Why would Cito take out Mitch when he was the manager of the Jays?



:thumbup: Good point!

[Redsfan320]

Larkin will debut on ESPN in early March after spending three years on the MLB Network.

Wasn't it just 2 years? Didn't they just launch 1/1/08?

320

[New Fever]

Wasn't it just 2 years? Didn't they just launch 1/1/08?

320

They launched Jan. 1 2009.

[_Sir_Charles_]

Why would Cito take out Mitch when he was the manager of the Jays?


:p: LOL. I didn't even notice that in SeaRay's original post. I totally overlooked it. :O)

[BoydsOfSummer]

I keep watching and hoping that waterhead Mitch Williams will finally bobble-head his way into something stupid and be gone. Harold Reynolds talks too much...really? I'd rather hear Harold on a loop. Give me Harold, Plesac and Leiter all day please. I'll barely miss Lark sad to say.

[BoydsOfSummer]

I keep watching and hoping that waterhead Mitch Williams will finally bobble-head his way into something stupid and be gone. Harold Reynolds talks too much...really? I'd rather hear Harold on a loop. Give me Harold, Plesac and Leiter all day please. I'll barely miss Lark sad to say.

[Redsfan320]

They launched Jan. 1 2009.

LOL, 2 years like I thought. Ironically, and confusingly, I then posted the wrong date "08" which makes it three years. Typo.

320

[Big Klu]

Except for the fact that Larkin is an ex-Red, I don't see what the angst is about. I thought he did a nice job with MLB, but he didn't really stand out, and he said a lot of things that would have made the Illuminati here at RedsZone cringe had it been someone else (like Harold Reynolds or Mitch Williams) saying them.

[OnBaseMachine]

Your future Reds manager? :)


When Larkin played for the Reds I once asked him if he would like to manage when his playing days are over and he answered with an emphatic, “No.”

Apparently that has changed. Former teammate Aaron Boone, an ESPN broadcaster, was in Surprise Friday checking out the Reds.

When Larkin was told that Boone was spotted in Surprise, Larkin said, “He needs to get back on the field, man. He does a great job in the booth, but he needs the field. I asked him, ‘If I get a job managing will you come with me?’”



http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/cincinnatireds/entries/2011/03/12/reds_shut_cueto_down_for_two_d.html?cxtype=feedbot

[OnBaseMachine]

From the Cincinnati Enquirer:


Karl Ravech will host the 7 p.m. Sunday show with analysts John Kruk, Orel Hershiser, Bobby Valentine and Larkin and reporters Buster Olney and Wendi Nix.

The Reds play two national Sunday night games - at home against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 24 (ESPN), and at the Atlanta Braves May 29 (ESPN2).



http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110317/SPT/103180342/ESPN-keeping-Larkin-busy?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Reds

[Unassisted]

Larkin's loving his new TV team (http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110421/ENT11/304210090/Larkin-s-loving-his-new-TV-team?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s)

Each week, Larkin shows viewers an unusual aspect of the host ballpark. He toured Yankee Stadium’s outfield monuments last Sunday.I'm amused by the irony of how this ESPN role coincides with Larkin's last appearance in a Reds' uniform, when he did his valedictory speech from the stands.

[hebroncougar]

I haven't seen Lark since he left MLB. I refuse to watch ESPN and their baseball coverage.