OK MASN Nationals color analyst Rob Dibble does not see eye to eye with the way the team is handling star pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Some bloggers and message board people are blaming the team or MASN for his two game absence saying that the team does not want to hear the truth. It should be noted that in some cases these are the same people who have accused Dibble of being too much of a “homer.”
Here is the statement of MASN:
“Rob is taking some time off that every broadcaster is granted during the course of a long season. He asked for a few days and was given them, just like any other announcer.
“MASN’s broadcasters may work anywhere from 35-150 games per season, while the alternate personality may be in the booth for the remaining games. From time to time, other commentators from MASN’s deep bench of talent are brought into the broadcast, to offer their perspective and inform the game.
“Ray Knight will provide expert color analysis with Bob Carpenter for the next few days.”
As for Nationals President Stan Kasten he has been angry at his broadcasters in the past but has not set any announcer down. He does have a sense of humor when he remarked about Dibble’s absence:“Rob asked for some time off. Perhaps he’s not feeling well. But I’m not a doctor, nor have I seen his records. So I shouldn’t say anything more about it.
The late Skip Caray, was a favorite of both Kasten and Ted Turner and like Dibble accused by some of being too much of a homer. But over the years Caray often told me he relished in the freedom that he had to criticize Turner, Kasten and for that matter any member of the Braves team if he felt they were not doing their job either on or off the field. It was that freedom he felt made him a popular broadcaster. Caray would say”Did I get Ted, Stan, the players or the fans mad me for what I said? Yes, but they never told me to not go on the air and they never told me to not speak my mind. They often QUESTIONED my state of mind but that is another story for another day.”
A former Turner Executive told me “I would be very surprised if Stan took Rob off the air. Back in the TBS days Skip was never told what to say about the Braves. I should know because there were a number of times what he said on the air was killing us from a sales and promotion level but both Ted and Stan had his back.”
So where is Dibble?
He is not a shy person and he would likely make a comment of some kind but he has said nothing.
I have many times seen talent clash with the teams executives, or network brass over the years. Most of the time people do not need to be told to sit out a game.
Perhaps Dibbs just thought he needed a couple days rest and since today is Bryce Harper day at Natstown he did not want to be a distraction.
I really feel that taking the days off was Dibbs choice and that he was not forced by anyone to do so.
Doing baseball for a team that is not in contention is a grind and it takes its toll on broadcasters just as much as it does players. So taking a a couple of days off just to get away from the game is a good idea.
I think that the Nationals broadcast crew of Bob Carpenter and Dibble are among the best local announcers in all of baseball period. I know that this feeling is shared by the vast majority of Nationals fans however there are a small minority of malcontents who find refuge on the message boards and enjoy ripping the MASN duo.
Look I have no problem if a fan does not like Carpenter and or Dibble we certainly are not all going to like the same things but it should be done in a civil manor.
A local broadcast of any sport including Major League Baseball is a three hour infomercial for the team aimed squarely at the fans.
I have done well over a 1,000 live broadcasts and I know Dibble is called a homer.
He is the perfect homer. He is openly happy when things go right and clearly upset when things go wrong. Ted Leitner in San Diego calls the team he broadcasts “My Padres.” In Chicago Ron Santo openly cheers from the booth for the Cubs, and “Get up! Get up! Get outta here! Gone!”is Bob Uecker‘s signature call of a Brewers home run. These are just a few examples of the homers in baseball.
All of these men are local legends and long time fan favorites for doing what they are paid to do making the team they broadcast their own in a way the listener can identify with and enjoy.
Carpenter and Dibble’s job are to get fans to like the players on the team, to know them and most of all to want come out to Nationals Park to see them play. They spend 200 days a year with these players, more time then they spend with their families. You become emotionally invested in the team so if Dibble says come on “dig, dig, dig” when Ryan Zimmerman runs to first it is because he cares.
Broadcasting a team that is coming off a 100 loss season and showing signs of getting better is a challenge. Some nights is a joy to do the games while other nights the announcers are just as angry and frustrated as the fans when a bone head play is made but Carpenter and Dibble are always entertaining and that is not as easy as they make it look.
