Joe Castiglione Cutting Back

Max Power

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Jul 20, 2005
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joe dokes

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McD without Joe gives McD free reign to tool on Flemming, as he did somewhat mercilessly last year.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Red Sox voice Joe Castiglione to reduce number of games called for WEEI; Lou Merloni to join booth - The Boston Globe

Joe is only going to do half the games this year. That probably means Will Flemming for the full 162 with some Sean McDonough mixed in. Ideally it would be Dave O'Brien for the full 162 with Sean going back to the TV booth, but the NESN guys seem to want to make the broadcast as boring as possible.
As much as it might be NESN's choice, I doubt very much that McDonough is interested in doing 150+ games a year on TV or radio.
 

Kliq

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Mar 31, 2013
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Man, I am pumped for this Red Sox season. Towards the end of last season, I was just thinking about how great an experience following the Sox would be if we just had no Eck, no X and less Castiglione.
 

jimv

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iirc Castig is 75, have to start cutting back at some point
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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I listen to a lot of Sox on the radio and Castig is for sure in the bottom of the 9th with a couple outs. He just mis-speaks a lot and seems to get confused. No disrespect intended at all - I love the guy - but it seems really hard for him to do the job now.

As for Will Fleming, he could never do the job. Hoping he’s not really the heir apparent. The man lives in hyperbole.
 

SinkingLowe

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I didn't listen to a lot of games on the radio last year, but the ones I did catch with Flemming on the call were not fun. He just struck me as not a student of the game. Not that a PBP guy needs to be a historian, but it seemed like every time there was a dialogue about something that happened more than five years ago, he came across as clueless. He also lost me during a game shortly before the Pan Mass challenge when he went on a tangent about "why do cyclists need to wear spandex and those clicky shoes?"
 

Ale Xander

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Oct 31, 2013
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I hope that leaves time for Castig to do some shifts as a cashier at Shaw’s.
 

mjs

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Mar 30, 2020
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Let's hope he doesn't squander his free time.

But seriously, I think Joe still calls a good game and I prefer him to any of the others. His civility is greatly appreciated in my earbuds. Sean McD is a great broadcaster, but to me he is too much the quipster and just needs to not say every funny thing that comes into his head. Fleming has a great voice and is a pro, but I agree is prone to hyperbole and tends to overdramatize. My impression is that he is the chosen successor. We could do a lot worse.
 

Milktoast

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Jun 21, 2021
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Joe C has been trained to broadcast EVERY pitch. There is an extremely small vocal minority that absolutely goes BALLISTIC when a pitch is missed as it messes up their scorecard they keep at home. I heard that back in the 80s the switchboard would be lit up with apoplectic calls. Letters were written to John Harrington detailing the one ball Joe didn't report in a random April game.
 

joe dokes

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Man, I am pumped for this Red Sox season. Towards the end of last season, I was just thinking about how great an experience following the Sox would be if we just had no Eck, no X and less Castiglione.
It's all a ploy by management to make watching or listening so unpleasant that you'll choose to go to the game.
 

bankshot1

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Given the Sox recent guidance and preferences on firing/hiring options in the broadcast booths this seems to open a clear path for Felger's hot calls on balls and strikes.

Mercy!
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
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Who knows...Lou might be able to curb Flemming's worst tendencies. "Top of the 9th here at Fenway, Sox lead 8-1. First pitch, ball 1. YOU CANNOT THROW A FIRST PITCH BALL WHEN LEADING 8-1. NO ONE WARMING YET." (Hopefully) Lou: "Dial it back a notch cowboy."