The name Ken Rosenthal is synonymous with baseball in this area. He has been covering the game in print and on other media for more than a decade.
Now in his role as the Senior Baseball Writer for FOX Sports.com, he has been added to the network?s Emmy Award-winning national baseball coverage. He serves as a “baseball insider” on the FOX Pre-Game Show, and then is on-site at one of the regional Game-of- the Week telecasts, serving as an in-game reporter.
Rosenthal, a former Baltimore Sun beat writer and columnist, has been a great addition to the FOX baseball coverage, and has established himself as one of the top “baseball insiders” in the business.
His style compliments the work of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in the booth, or the pre- game crew of Jeanne Zelasko and Kevin Kennedy back in the L.A. studio.
I talked to Rosenthal about his new job, and got some insights on the Orioles.
Jim Williams: Can the Orioles be contenders?
Ken Rosenthal: “Not with the present plan in place. Cleveland, Detroit, Texas, Toronto and even the world champion White Sox all have taken a couple of steps back, got rid of some big names, trading them for lots of prospects along with keeping a few good core players. So not only have they all comeback as contenders, they have re-stocked their farm systems. I would have liked to have seen the Orioles trade guys like Miguel Tejada, Melvin Mora and Kris Benson to get a number of top prospects, keeping core players like Brian Roberts, Jay Gibbons, Nick Markakis, and Erik Bedard. I don?t see the present ownership changing their way of doing things. I know they feel trying to get some name free agents and attempting to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox is what fans want. Their hearts may be in the right place, but until there is new ownership Orioles fans could be in for the same old, same old. Unless the O?s take a long look at building up their farm system, and growing their own players and then keeping them like the Braves and Oakland have done, they will be doomed to a constant fight for third place.”
You can catch Ken Rosenthal at wwwfoxsports.com and each Saturday, on FOX 45, The FOX Baseball Game of the Week.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. You can reach Jim at [email protected]
