ajcsportstalk

By Sane Jane

December 18, 2006 10:41 PM | Link to this

Skip works my nerve. I’m sorry, he just does.

First, woo!

By John Crawford

December 18, 2006 10:41 PM | Link to this

This is just sad, very sad. I do not like the direction of anything that the team seems to be doing right now…

By kenny d

December 18, 2006 10:43 PM | Link to this

i am going to go and kill myself now after hearing this news

By scooter

December 18, 2006 10:44 PM | Link to this

Even on radio I still wouldn’t touch downed power lines

By Royce Brown

December 18, 2006 10:47 PM | Link to this

I don’t know why Skip and Pete put up with this mess. They are to of the premire broadcasters in the history of baseball yet the Braves keep treating them like castoffs.

Looks like I’ll be listening to the games on radio even if I do watch the video on tv.

By Pimp Dee

December 18, 2006 10:50 PM | Link to this

Good riddance to Skip! 10 games is 10 too many. I agree with Sane Jane, he works my nerves, too.

By First to Worst

December 18, 2006 10:51 PM | Link to this

TBS had a bunch of baseball announcers and no place to put them. The number of telecasts are decreasing, as are the number of sports telecasts produced by Turner Sports. So what to do? Farm out Skip and Pete to radio. Well good for Pete and Skip, at least they will be heard by Braves fans around town. Will the last person to leave TBS please turn off the lights?

By scooter

December 18, 2006 10:54 PM | Link to this

It will be the same as a UGA game, TV volume down, radio volume up. Whatta got Lorne?

By RC 35

December 18, 2006 10:56 PM | Link to this

Is there ANYTHING left to alienate the fans that the Braves haven’t thought of? We had a good thing going, and now it’s gone.

By scooter

December 18, 2006 10:58 PM | Link to this

Remember when TBS was WTCG and I could watch all the Gilligans Island and NWA Wrestling I wanted? Good times, good times. As Buford T Justices said, “What the hell is the World comin’ to?”

By Sane Jane

December 18, 2006 11:02 PM | Link to this

Although Rich Eisen’s Skip impression always left me in a fit of giggles.

Did you ever hear Kornheiser’s account of Eisen telling the Bea Arthur joke?

Now that, people, is great radio. TK is the greatest radio host ever created. He’s the anti-Rome.

LOVE him.

By BOB

December 18, 2006 11:03 PM | Link to this

SKIP IS VERY RUDE, HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPLACED A LONG TIME AGO. HE WAS VERY NASTY ON TALK SHOW

By Dave

December 18, 2006 11:14 PM | Link to this

I’m outside of radio range, and will miss hearing Pete’s calls terribly. Skip, um, not so much. Skip had one great call on Sid Bream’s slide, but otherwise I’ve never been a fan. Chip is okay, a little bland and forced. Joe announces like he played — solid but unappreciated. I actually liked Don when he was teamed with anybody but Skip. Together, they were awful but they certainly seemed to be amusing to themselves.

By Okiedawg

December 18, 2006 11:18 PM | Link to this

How about someone post a TBS execs’ email address so we can give them the spam treatment?

By modestd

December 18, 2006 11:18 PM | Link to this

I always wondered why I would fall asleep watching the games at home and not at the Ted. It was not the amount of beer I was drinking because that was the same. Its those damn announcers. They do have a lot of knowledge of the game which is good, but some times it is just to much. I will just watch the games at home and send the volume of my home stereo way up rocking out to indie music…my neighboors hate me. GO BRAVES! SCREW THE NEW OWNERS! We are gonna be so awful this year.I hope we arent but I have a feeling that we will be.

By fungirls

December 18, 2006 11:20 PM | Link to this

Skip Caray is the voice of the Braves. He tells it like it is and has no compulsion to be politically correct. It’s absolutely insane not to use him more instead of less. Someone contact the folks at TBS and see if the lights are still on up there.

By Mark

December 18, 2006 11:24 PM | Link to this

I all but turned off the Braves telecasts last year, but now I’ll just disregard entirely. The Braves wonder why attendance is down, why fans are upset at the direction of the team, and the growing dislike for everything Braves. This is why. They are tearing down any links to the last 20-30 years.

JS is slowly dismantling the team that won through the last decade, but even more, he is dismantling any resemblance this franchise had to its foundation. Why not just eliminate everything — change the uniforms, change the name, and move on. That is apparently what JS and TW want to do anyway.

Not sure why Pete and Skip just don’t walk away — like Curry did at Alabama. Don’t subject yourself to these jerks in charge anymore.

By Rocky B

December 18, 2006 11:25 PM | Link to this

As long as smarmy Joe Simpson is nowhere on the radio or TV dial, I’m happy.

By Michael

December 18, 2006 11:39 PM | Link to this

After 30 years I am done with the Braves. I have no idea what direction the Braves are going in. This is just one of the problems when a team is owned by a corporation and not an individual.

By MLB

December 18, 2006 11:41 PM | Link to this

I can’t believe this! Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren have been calling Braves games on TBS for over 30 years.

This is the last year on TBS, so you’d think they would keep them around to say goodbye.

Skip will get a few games, but we’ll never see Pete again.

Braves Baseball is the reason TBS became the successful network it is today! You’d think they could show Skip & Pete the respect they deserve.

By David

December 19, 2006 12:04 AM | Link to this

This is a pure shame. Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren ARE Braves baseball. More than Andruw Jones, more than John Smoltz. They were there in the lean times and they were there through all the successful times. Braves TV has already begun a severe backslide in the last couple of years. This will be the point where it goes from normally annoying to just plain bad.

By tony

December 19, 2006 12:11 AM | Link to this

As someone who grew up watching Skip and Pete, I am disgusted with th edirection the Braves & TBS have taken. THey are icons of baseball announcing and as synonomous with Atlanta as the Big Chicken and Buckhead. I won’t watch them if that is what it takes to change this decision.

By Ripme

December 19, 2006 12:18 AM | Link to this

Great! Its about time we get some new blood. Same bs gets old. Maybe Liberty will get some new blood to replace BC.

By Jeff

December 19, 2006 12:39 AM | Link to this

This is absolutely absurd. The Braves have ped on Atlanta fans over and over for several years - I’ve had about enough. Now TBS is joining the crap-on-our-fans parade. God Almighty, TBS, quit assuming you are a national network! Nobody in Seattle or San Fransicso or Phoenix probably watches, nor will they ever! Atlanta Braves games have been on TBS for 30 years, and Skip and Pete have called them. It’s called tradition, Braves and TBS… have a clue. Quit trying to be everything to everybody - it DOES NOT WORK! P off enough fans in Georgia and the Southeast and nobody will watch your pathetic network. God, Seinfeld re-runs and a horse-* comedy about a grocery store? You think that makes you a national network? Oh, and diminishing the emphasis on the Braves and trying to show other MLB games? You make me sick. You and the Braves and Clear Channel broadcasting can jump off a building for all I care. I won’t watch you, listen to you or support you in any way. Sad to see a wonderful decades-old tradition swept away by some obvious idiot-savant from New York who has never even watched the Braves on TBS. Goodbye Skip and Pete… I’ll listen to you on the radio if I can ever find where you are (your bosses keep shifting you around like musical chairs). TBS… good riddance. I’ll watch the Movie Channel or History Channel or something else while you beat tired pathetic shows like ol’ Sex and the City to death. And if you are an advertiser and you spend money with TBS or the Braves? You’re as dumb as they are. Come on Atlanta, let’s take back our media - and OUR baseball team - from these f* corporate idiots who now try to control us. ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Jeff

December 19, 2006 12:40 AM | Link to this

This is absolutely absurd. The Braves have ped on Atlanta fans over and over for several years - I’ve had about enough. Now TBS is joining the crap-on-our-fans parade. God Almighty, TBS, quit assuming you are a national network! Nobody in Seattle or San Fransicso or Phoenix probably watches, nor will they ever! Atlanta Braves games have been on TBS for 30 years, and Skip and Pete have called them. It’s called tradition, Braves and TBS… have a clue. Quit trying to be everything to everybody - it DOES NOT WORK! P off enough fans in Georgia and the Southeast and nobody will watch your pathetic network. God, Seinfeld re-runs and a horse-* comedy about a grocery store? You think that makes you a national network? Oh, and diminishing the emphasis on the Braves and trying to show other MLB games? You make me sick. You and the Braves and Clear Channel broadcasting can jump off a building for all I care. I won’t watch you, listen to you or support you in any way. Sad to see a wonderful decades-old tradition swept away by some obvious idiot-savant from New York who has never even watched the Braves on TBS. Goodbye Skip and Pete… I’ll listen to you on the radio if I can ever find where you are (your bosses keep shifting you around like musical chairs). TBS… good riddance. I’ll watch the Movie Channel or History Channel or something else while you beat tired pathetic shows like ol’ Sex and the City to death. And if you are an advertiser and you spend money with TBS or the Braves? You’re as dumb as they are. Come on Atlanta, let’s take back our media - and OUR baseball team - from these f* corporate idiots who now try to control us. ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Deb

December 19, 2006 12:57 AM | Link to this

Well of course. Let’s get rid of the last vestiges of anything that resembles the Braves organization we grew up with. Skip and Pete hung with the Braves when NOBODY cared. What will management do…outsource them to India no doubt.

By Coleman

December 19, 2006 01:15 AM | Link to this

For me, it’s just not a Braves game without hearing Skip calling it. Let’s face it guys, he’s the voice of the Braves every bit as much as his dad was the voice of the Cubs.

By Mylastnerve

December 19, 2006 01:29 AM | Link to this

For many years it seemed as if Skip thought he could, without consequence, be a jerk on the radio insulting and mistreating a majority of those who dared to call in. I am thrilled to see him FINALLY go - however - I’ll miss Pete - he’s been a class act.

So long Skip!

By Jeff

December 19, 2006 01:41 AM | Link to this

Hey Mylastnerve…. did you ever LISTEN to the talk show? My god, if I had to listen to some of the dead weight that called in, night after night, 162 times a year, for 20-plus years, I MIGHT be a little rude too! They tell you if you call in “Don’t ask how he’s doing, just ask your question”… yet what do the trained monkey callers do? “Duh, Hey Skip, how are you?” And the questions! “Skip last night when it rained in the sixth inning, why did they call it a complete game and not just postpone it? Skip how come a guy can’t go back in the game after a pinch-hitter comes up for him? Skip how come the Braves don’t sign Albert Pujols? blah blah blah” 90 percent of the people who call these pre-game time-fillers are idiots - the 10 percent who had a legit question, he answered or gave his frank opinion. You wanna blame somebody? BLAME THE @#$%^* RADIO NETWORK FOR FEELING THE NEED TO WASTE AN HOUR OF OUR TIME 162 TIMES A YEAR TO SELL A FEW MORE @#$%^* ADS! It was a dumb part of the broadcast anyway - we could do without it! Quit downing Skip - he is synonomous with Atlanta Braves baseball (see Coleman and Deb’s comments).

By JMar

December 19, 2006 01:44 AM | Link to this

I guess I’ll have to do like I do with UGA football games - mute the television and turn on the radio.

By Petey

December 19, 2006 01:51 AM | Link to this

Ratings and demographics rule the roost boys and girls. Skip and Pete skew to an older crowd. That’s the business. Advertisers want the 18-45 audience and to them it doesn’t matter if the Braves are any good.

If the Braves take a dip in ratings along with a dip in the standings it’ll take them years to acknowledge the connection. Skip and Pete are lucky in a way.

Somebody will come calling and it’s not like they won’t still be in the majors. They still have terrific jobs. Maybe more people will actually go out to the park now and see the game in person and bring their radios. Novel concept I know but I hear that it’s possible.

By Ken Stallings

December 19, 2006 01:53 AM | Link to this

It seems the suits at Time-Warner are determined to destroy everything special about Atlanta Braves baseball before they finally sell the dried out skeleton to a new owner!

This is like UGA firing Larry Munson! Some announcers earn the right to stay with the team until they decide it’s time to go.

To the fans, Skip and Pete ARE the Atlanta Braves! As far as I am concerned, the reasons for being a 35-year fan of this team are quickly being destroyed by a corporate ownership bereft of common sense and proper stewardship of this team.

By Jeff

December 19, 2006 02:09 AM | Link to this

Ken Stallings and JMar are right on target! And sadly, Petey is… to a point. But Petey, advertisers are idiots… they want 18-to-45? I’ll bet a lot of people who are unhappy with this are like me… we ARE in the 18-to-45 crowd! And still many years away from the 45! Why screw anyone over 25? Heck, I don’t know why advertisers covet teenagers… when I was in college, I had no money to spend! Now that I’m a professional and own a house, I’m more likely to notice an ad for Home Depot or a computer or a car or a travel web site. College kids? no money and most of ‘em are preoccupied with school, parties, dates, beer, etc. to worry about patronizing advertisers. AND… the point we’re all missing… WE AS CONSUMERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Call TBS, call the Braves, call their advertisers and complain like h… they WILL LISTEN if more than a dozen people complain about something (the morons in advertising might think it’s a “trend” and they can “capitalize” on it.) Let’s put heat on the suits at Time Warner, the Braves front office, and the laugh-addicted brain farts that run TBS… and maybe they will realize that ping off an entire class of fans in Georgia MIGHT not be such a good idea… Unfortunately, though, Petey is probably correct… idiot suits who run things like this are so thick they probably couldn’t put 2 and 2 together for several years…

By Jeff

December 19, 2006 02:18 AM | Link to this

Been fun blogging with you folks, but I need to turn in and get some rest… BUT, anyone have any ideas on how to band together or connect en mass to put some heat on the powers that be? If several people approach them in concert they might perk up and listen. Post any ideas you have and let’s tell these suits we WILL NOT stand by idly while they trash our traditions….

By Bill

December 19, 2006 02:22 AM | Link to this

Why should they get this right either?

By Ron

December 19, 2006 02:49 AM | Link to this

I can handle the Braves stinking, I remember the late 70’s and mid to late 80’s. I can handle that. This is just wrong though. TBS had the most watched team in the majors, with fans in every state, and they cast off baseball over the past few years letting us down with those Fox announcers. My senile grandfather would do better than the FOX guys. But now, you take the most knowlegable guy in the booth about the Braves and you dump him off TV. Then you take Skip, as many have said, the voice of the team, and give him a cameo performance. And then you let Sutton, a hall of famer who brought a lot to the booth go all toghther to keep Simpson? Joe is solid, but he is by far the less of those four. Chip is ok, good story and all, does a good job, but he is not his dad. Seems like par for the Braves of late. You have a good team, and you will not do what it takes to stay at that level with the payroll. Then you butcher the TV broadcasts that built TBS, and now you spit on the announcers who not only were there for the run, but we also there when there were 700 people in the stadium and about 2,500 watching on tv. Guess Time Warner wants us back to those days.

By Najeh Davenpoop

December 19, 2006 03:28 AM | Link to this

As is the case with nearly everything the Braves have done in the last 5 years, I don’t like it. But as usual, I’ll probably mute the TV and put on the radio while watching Braves games.

By VikingSouth

December 19, 2006 05:51 AM | Link to this

This is just another reminder of how coldhearted corporations can be and another part of the Braves past that is dying. I guess if it doesn’t hurt Skip and Pete that much, the rest of us should at least feel a little better. I’ve been watching these two since the days of Biff Pocoroba, Darryl Chaney, and Eddy “Buddy J.” Solomon. Skip and Pete’s reassuring voices have been something I could rely on in a changing word. There is something comforting in hearing them call a game exactly as they did when I was a kid. I really miss Ernie Johnson and his eternal optimism: “The Braves are only thiry games out of first, and they’re hoping this twenty game road trip will put them right back in the division. What do you think, Professor?” Gotta love that.

By Greg

December 19, 2006 05:52 AM | Link to this

The really sad thing is that now that the Braves are going to stink again, we won’t have Skip to tell us the truth. He was so funny in the ’80s when all you could do when watching the games was hope to see some spark of .500 potential. The Braves are going to stink for a long time with their hard budget of $80 million and no money to even keep and trade a potential star player, and we won’t have Skip to make wry comments about it.

By Blaney

December 19, 2006 06:07 AM | Link to this

Old school announcers are out. You gotta have young, big mouthed, know-it-all, rude, in your face, self-absorbed, punk talking, a-holes, wearing suits that any pimp would apporve of. Oh yeah, with lots of distracting graphics and volumes of statistics. Don’t forget the zillion camera angles for endless replays. Last but not least commercials, lots and lots of commericals. Do they still show sports contests or is it completely about production?

By VikingSouth

December 19, 2006 06:16 AM | Link to this

Greg, you’re absolutely right. I don’t hink we’ll get one of Skip’s “honesty compels us to report”s out of the mannequins who will replace him and Pete. As a comparison, did the WGN ever replace Haray Caray, Skip’s father, a Chicago insitiution? No, they had the good sense and decency not to.

By dale in newnan

December 19, 2006 06:49 AM | Link to this

I HATE TIME WARNER AND REFUSE TO BUY, READ OR LISTEN TO ANY OF THEIR HELL-SPAWNED PRODUCTS. mR BLANK SELL THOSE ETERNALLY WORTHLESS FALCONS, AND PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL ATLANTA SPORTS FANS BUY THE BRAVES.

By KC

December 19, 2006 07:06 AM | Link to this

THIS SUCKS!!!!!!!

By oldguy

December 19, 2006 07:14 AM | Link to this

We like what we are used to. I liked Milo Hamilton. We WAS the voice of the Braves. I was used to him. Now Skip and Pete. Disappointed? Yes. But remember, the game is still the game. The game is why you watch or listen (or even, go). Watch. listen, go. I’ll miss Skip and Pete. I missed Milo. But baseball is still baseball (except for the raised mound, the DH, the hitting gloves, the baggy pants, the bling,the steroids, etc..).

By missin skip

December 19, 2006 07:38 AM | Link to this

Gonna really miss Skip. He and Joe are my favorite tandem. We love ya Skip!I’ll have the radio turned up!

By Jeff

December 19, 2006 07:52 AM | Link to this

Can’t stand Skip. He’s rude to all the callers and makes me sick….and he can take his son with him…….

By Chazz

December 19, 2006 08:02 AM | Link to this

..They could’ve & Should’ve gotten rid of Skip a long time ago!Don’t need him at all.Would much rather have Ernie Johnson & Pete call all the Braves games..

By BH

December 19, 2006 08:18 AM | Link to this

That is it. I am done with the Braves. I moved here in 1983 and have been a fan since that time. It seems that all they want to do is mess everything up. Bring back our announcers and bring back Julio Franco and I may care again, but at this point, I just don’t care of the Braves win, lose, or don’t show up at all. Braves owners…garbage. TBS owners…garbage. Clear Channel…Garbage!!!

By Chazz

December 19, 2006 08:20 AM | Link to this

..They could’ve & Should’ve gotten rid of Skip a long time ago!Don’t need him at all.Would much rather have Ernie Johnson & Pete call all the Braves games..

By Earl Hensley

December 19, 2006 08:22 AM | Link to this

I have watched Braves Games on WTBS for as long as the have been broadcast. I have enjoyed pete and skip very much during that time. It is sad that they are treated this way after so many years. I cant pick up braves games on radio from Atlanta I guess Ill have to get XM.

By T-Town Dawg

December 19, 2006 08:28 AM | Link to this

I’m gonna miss Joe, Don and Pete. Skip, what an a$$. Good riddance.

By Tom

December 19, 2006 08:28 AM | Link to this

jack buck, harry kalas,vin scully, harry caray, skip caray,some of the all time greats. they are slowly leaving us now, not by there own choice it would seem.

By Tom

December 19, 2006 08:36 AM | Link to this

I’ll really miss Skip and Pete on tv but thank goodness they are together on radio. The two of them are the best combination and are the “real” Braves announcers in my opinion. TBS this is not “very funny”!

By dave

December 19, 2006 08:42 AM | Link to this

Why don’t they just hand a microphone to the first two fans that come through the gate and let them do the broadcast - think how much money they could save!! No, wait - hand out gloves and uniforms to the next fifteen or so, and then they can trade away the whole team and really save money!!!

By yellowblood

December 19, 2006 08:43 AM | Link to this

I don’t like it but Skip made the key point himself. You have to bring in younger talent. The whole thing has gone downhill since the WSB deal sank ( AM750). You can’t pick up these other stations if you are 50 miles out of Atlanta and if you live in South Carolina, you’ve been told to shove it by both the Braves and the NFL. The saturday night game between the Falcons and Dallas was not broadcast in SC because the NFL says we now have to be Carolina Panthers fans. Why not just take down the bridges over Hartwell ?

By jack Tankersley

December 19, 2006 08:43 AM | Link to this

Typical of Time-Warner, since they took over the braves, in my opinion they have tried to destroy the braves, so their New York based company could promote the New York teams. Pete and Skip have been a TV tandem for many years and I don;t think anyone could do any better. As I said though Time-Warner continues to sell off their companies,(Turner South)more recently so I am not surprised,”We want Ted Back”.

By Sam

December 19, 2006 08:44 AM | Link to this

This is just sad. It’s a pitiful state of affairs when Braves fans, unlike any other in baseball, have their announcers determined by forces outside the team. The idea that we have to watch announcers because they are more likely to be enjoyed by fans of other teams is just insulting. Where have you gone Ted Turner?

By Lance

December 19, 2006 08:47 AM | Link to this

Another Crappy decision by a lousy management team at TW. Maybe it was better when the “CRAZY” guy owned the Braves!

By GT

December 19, 2006 08:48 AM | Link to this

Skip is such a sullen monotone individual that makes me feel like I am imposing on him if the game goes to extra innings. Pete will be missed.

By Porkins

December 19, 2006 08:52 AM | Link to this

To those who think Skip is rude, an a**, or whatever else: You have no personality or any sort of understanding of humor or what it means to love Braves baseball. Skip is the best in the business: he knows his stuff, he loves his team, and he calls an entertaining game with honesty and wit - something you will never get out of these yankee, yelling trash announcers of today’s sports.

By PT Whitley

December 19, 2006 08:55 AM | Link to this

Skip Carry has absolutly no feelings, or compassion at all.His reading of the Aflac trivia question, or lack thereof, comes to mind.Hey Skip, do they pay you for the least amount of words you say during a broadcast. I thought a good broadcaster (which you aren’t)was suppose to be lively. Pete, on the other hand, well if Skip is the glume of night,then Pete is the true voice of the Braves.

By chipdip

December 19, 2006 08:57 AM | Link to this

time warner equals CLEVELAND STEAMER!!!!

By Toby Burrell

December 19, 2006 09:02 AM | Link to this

Wow, the end of an era, how sad. TBS the little station trying to be something, little did you know that you were something to many of us. But that has all changed. Now that the Braves are gone from TBS I have no reason what-so-ever to tune in. Back-to-back-to-back reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond and Seinfeld now thats orginal programming. As for Chip, Pete, and the whole gang - thank you for 20 plus years of great memories. You have defined baseball for me and made me a Braves fan. Wether it was your rambling rants over the game or simple calls of great plays, or just your witty banter it was all beautiful to me. It, as much as the play of the Braves (and for a few years despite the play of the Braves), kept me tuning in. Oh Ted, where have you gone, I long for the old days already.

By JJMB

December 19, 2006 09:04 AM | Link to this

Joe Simpson is the man!

By Sout GaRebel

December 19, 2006 09:09 AM | Link to this

Forget TBS. I’ll be muting their broadcast and turning on the radio. Skip and Pete have been broadcasting longer than I’ve been alive. Why tweek what works? I’m in a personal boycott of AOL/Time Warner AND TBS now. They reduce the number of Braves broadcasts by half and now they get rid of Pete & Skip…Tuck FBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Peter Brawley

December 19, 2006 09:12 AM | Link to this

Pete and Joe have been my fave baseball announcers period. Skip I can do without, and his son grates, big time.

If TimeWarner execs mean to destroy fan loyalty to the Braves, they’re doing a magnificent job of it. What a shame.

By Braves Fan in VA

December 19, 2006 09:13 AM | Link to this

I’ll miss Skip and Pete on TV, but I can hear them on MLB.com. I wish they had sent Joe Simpson to Siberia!

By DONK

December 19, 2006 09:13 AM | Link to this

Business is business, but the guys upstairs are doing a great job of making this organization into a mess of *%!%… where’s Dale Murphy when you need him?

By james bannister

December 19, 2006 09:24 AM | Link to this

never really cared for skip. keep the van!!!

By dave

December 19, 2006 09:27 AM | Link to this

I don’t care about Skip, but with Don Sutton gone, and Pete off TV, I may not watch a game this season, and I will listen less.

By Lezader

December 19, 2006 09:34 AM | Link to this

Where are Atlanta’s and Georgia’s great civic leaders today? Where is their outrage at the trashing of this franchise we were so thrilled to receive in 1965 and have supported for 40 years? It will take political clout and money to affect any change in this stripping of our team. Where are the leaders with the goods and civic pride to stop this madness?

By Betty Cheek

December 19, 2006 09:42 AM | Link to this

I am unhappy with all that TBS is doing. The Braves made TBS. Everyone was looking at Amereica’s team. Now they are doing away with most of the televised games and our announcers. I have always been a Brave’s fan and I guess I will still be but I am unhappy with the way TBS is treating them.

Thank You Betty

By Ron

December 19, 2006 09:51 AM | Link to this

Hey, stuffed shirts at Time Warner and Fox - get your heads out of the sand! Just listen to the fans! Are you so ignorant and stubborn that you refuse to open your eyes to what the team’s fans want? We want Skip and Pete! Wake up!!

By Jay K.

December 19, 2006 09:53 AM | Link to this

And the tale of the Atlanta Tax Write-offs continues. Ah, how soon we’ll be reliving the glory days of the late 70s and 80s.

By Ron

December 19, 2006 09:57 AM | Link to this

TBS. Very Funny.

By Ron

December 19, 2006 10:03 AM | Link to this

Right on, Lezader! Where ARE our civic “leaders”? Mister we could use a man like Ivan Allen again. Ms. Franklin, what do you have to say about all of this? HELLO?! Our civic “leaders” are silly, impotent fools. Atlanta is once again being run from the outside by carpetbaggers. Hey locals, let’s revolt! Mr. Blank, Mr. Marcus, SOMEONE, let’s buy back the Braves and TBS, please!!

By Bob

December 19, 2006 10:13 AM | Link to this

I guess I will have to add 94.9 back to my push buttons. Just took ‘em off yesterday after the music change. Why do we need another country station?

By Ron

December 19, 2006 10:17 AM | Link to this

I’ve read a lot of comments from Skip haters here. Yes, he was rude to callers - he didn’t feel he had to pander to or dumb-down to the ignorant simpletons who called in to ask about the infield fly rule just to get on the radio. Big deal. Skip is an expert not just on baseball but especially on the Braves. His insight is actually insightful. Chip? Please. If I have to listen to someone chatter throughout the game, I want to hear from someone older than me, who has been around the team longer and knows more than I do. I don’t want to hear some young guy telling me what I already know, that which he learned sitting on his daddy’s knee. Skip and Pete are simply the best, period. And by the way, you can’t turn down the sound on TV and listen to the radio. The stuffed shirts on TV have fixed that. Their is about a five second delay on TV. So if you listen you will know what is going to happen before you see it happen. Face it. The Braves owners are not Braves fans. They are corporate fat cats sitting in a board room in New York. They are Yankees and Mets fans. We are being screwed.

By chgordon

December 19, 2006 10:23 AM | Link to this

For some years now I have been turning off the sound of TV and listening to all the Braves announcers on radio except for the rare TBS broadcasts. Guess now I’ll just plan to do this for all broadcasts. Skip and Pete ARE the voices of the Braves. Skip and Pete, as well as Joe Simpson, are never afraid to tell it like it is and I have always liked their honesty. It was a sad day when Ted Turner sold out to Time-Warner and then left the TBS corporate picture. To lose the voices of Skip and Pete is unthinkable to me. Wish someone at TBS would wake up and return more Braves broadcasts and Braves announcers. Bob Rathbun and the sidekick of the year may be OK announcers, but they’ll never be Braves announcers.

By Chris

December 19, 2006 10:26 AM | Link to this

I’ve got no problem w/ this. Skip and Pete are great on radio, and now they’ll be there consistently.

Times change. Look around the league, there is usually more longevity in announcers on the radio side. TV just changes too much.

Chip Caray isn’t horrible. Most people like Joe. Those of you determined to listen to the radio feed while watching…good luck w/ that. Hope the pause button on your tivo works well.

By Olde Guye

December 19, 2006 10:28 AM | Link to this

Anyone who thinks Ted Turner bought the Braves out of his love for the game probably also thinks Jimmy Carter is being fair and impartial in his support of the Palestinians. Turner picked up the Braves for one reason: to fill time slots not being used for “Andy Griffith” reruns on his trailer park TBS television station. He pretty much treated the team like a party joke until his medication kicked in after 15 years or so and he let the pros run things for him. TimeWarner or whoever is no better or worse then Turner. Blame the Skip/Pete thing on changing market demographics dictated by the young, modern corporate type’s percieved need to keep the modern young consumer stimulated with lots of talk and graphics. At least we can hear Pete and Skip on the radio without all the overblown production of modern sports TV broadcasting, at least until the young a-holes find a way to ruin that as well.

By mcdawg

December 19, 2006 10:29 AM | Link to this

Once Again:

F*&^ AOL/Time Warner

By John

December 19, 2006 10:33 AM | Link to this

It just plan sucks. I know change sometimes is required, but these guys are the best! It is like the whole oraganization is getting ready to go down the toliet. I remember what it was like sitting in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1987. I guess the Braves don’t. Is Russ Nixon still around? I just hope Obi is ready next season to play third just to make the new reality complete. It is just awful to see this true classy model of an organization go down. The low ratings are not because of Skip and Pete. They are because we are not idiots. Spend money and put a winner out there. Pay for it and we will come. Doing this to Skip and Pete (and Don) just plan sucks. I really hate this.

By paul02085

December 19, 2006 10:34 AM | Link to this

I am glad that smart a* Skip Carey got his. Now just get him off the radio too.

By Expert Wanna Be

December 19, 2006 10:35 AM | Link to this

O.K. - I totally respect Pete,Skip, Don, Chip, (and Ernie Johnson) for their hard work and dedication. However, I get so tired of hearing Skip talk to fans like they are garbage on the radio show, oh yeah - I can even detect some rudeness toward his fellow broadcastors. Even if he is the most knowledgable of all broadcasters, which I doubt, it does not give him an excuse to lash out at fans who really ask what they deem - “valid questions”. Fans are fans - they are not experts. Yes - I hate to see them go.

By Chuck

December 19, 2006 10:37 AM | Link to this

I’ll miss Pete on TV, but Skip has a voice and face for radio — although I wouldn’t miss him on TV or radio if he were fired altogether.

By doverel

December 19, 2006 10:41 AM | Link to this

I worked at Turner for a few years and this does not suprise me. Everyone there that calls all the meetings is from someplace else. They have no sense of history about Atlanta. They think that all locals are nuts anyway. If you like the radio then go spend the $150 for a DelayPlayRadio box. It is expensive but works great. By the way, if you want a real baseball experience go to see the Cubs. You will see how corporate the Braves games have become. Pray for some minor league baseball in Gwinnett.

By Matt

December 19, 2006 10:51 AM | Link to this

Yeah, great move…is it just me, or is the name of the new radio station fitting? The Bull! It’s too bad that we’re not going to have a local owner who actually gives a rip about what the fans think.

By T.J.

December 19, 2006 11:00 AM | Link to this

I agree with those who complain that it seems Time Warner has done everything possible to destroy any resemblance of tradition the team has.

First they turn WTBS’s “home town” broadcasts into “national broadcasts”, making the announcers avoid any home team bias. Odds are if someone is watching baseball on WTBS they ar ea Braves fan and like the announcers “home team” bias.

Then they basically remove all baseball from WTBS, the station Braves fans have watched the Braves on for most of their lives. I remember a time when the Braves were “America’s Team”. All over the country people became Braves fans thanks to WTBS, including places like Alaska.

Now the Braves are basically stuck on FOX Sports net regional coverage and no longer have a nationwide audience.

Not only have these moves alienated fans across the U.S., they have turned the Braves from being “Atlanta’s team” to just being a team that plays in Atlanta.

I wish Ted still owned them. Selling out to Time Warner was probably the worse move he could have made. Looking how his worth was also depleted by AOL’s stock controversies, I’ll bet Ted agrees.

Sure Skip is a pompass a*, but he is OUR pompass a*. I loved him on Braves telecasts as well as Pete, Joe, and Don. FOX games with Torborg and the other guy just won’t be the same.

I feel that Time Warner’s actions regarding the Braves is more responsible for the attendance and local support of the Braves than any playoff loss (which their thriftyness is also responsible for).

By Wayne

December 19, 2006 11:12 AM | Link to this

This is what happens when bean-counters who have no local ties to the community take over civic institutions.

By Gary T.

December 19, 2006 11:13 AM | Link to this

THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE- I BLOGGED THIS LAST YEAR. BANKRUPT TIME WARNER.GIVE THEM NO MONEY . DO NOT WATCH THEIR TV, DO NOT ATTEND THEIR TEAM’S GAMES. THEY HAVE SABOTAGED ANOTHER YEAR BY NOT SELLING THEM. THEY ARE NOTHING MORE THAN LEGAL PROSTITUTES.

I GREW UP LISTENING TO SKIP CARAY AS AN ATLANTA CRACKERS FAN, AND HIS DAD, TOO, FROM KMOX ST. LOUIS.

THESE ANNOUNCERS ARE THE BRAVES, AND REPRESENT ATLANTA EXTREMELY WELL. THIS WHOLE THING HAS MAJOR SIGNIFICANCE FOR ME , SINCE I LIVE IN TAMPA, AND DEPEND ON TV FOR THE BRAVES, NOW THAT WSB DOES NOT BROADCAST THEM.THE FOX ANNOUNCERS I HEARD ARE NOT GOOD AT ALL.

TIME WARNER MONOPOLIES AND LIARS, INC, DOES NOT CARE. YOU GUYS UP THERE MUST RUN THEM OUT OF TOWN ECONOMICALLY.

By dredd_one

December 19, 2006 11:18 AM | Link to this

This shows how much we need a LOCAL ownership of OUR sports franchise. We paid for the building after all. We buy the tickets. We buy the food, programs, keepsakes, jerseys, etc. We have 30+ years of listening to Skip & Pete calling the games and even that is taken away from us?! Heck, they are practically like family. Seems like people worried about KEEPING a fanbase would actually give a rip about the fans input on who we want to see and who we want to call the games. Who cares about what transplants want that will be here for all of 3 - 4 years and root for other teams anyway. TBS used to be about the Braves and FAMILY oriented programming and now it has taken away the only two reasons to really watch them anymore. Good job morons. You too will become irrelevant, but Atlanta and Braves fans will remain. Just not supporting your network, advertisers, or corporate stiffs. Enjoy!

By Pamela

December 19, 2006 11:18 AM | Link to this

Yes, I agree. The have managed to make negative commentary spoil the game

By Cylindricine

December 19, 2006 11:19 AM | Link to this

Skip, you’re one of the most colorful announcers in the game today. as long as you are calling something in atlanta, i’m sure your listeners will tune in.

By T.J.

December 19, 2006 11:19 AM | Link to this

I feel that Time Warner’s actions regarding the Braves is more responsible for the attendance and local support of the Braves than any playoff loss (which their thriftyness is also responsible for).

I meant: I feel that Time Warner’s actions regarding the Braves is more responsible for the lack of attendance and local support of the Braves than any playoff loss (which their thriftyness is also responsible for).

By Sam

December 19, 2006 11:20 AM | Link to this

Olde Guye - you’re the best. I was so hoping someone could take this and turn it into a political issue. Thank goodness you found a way to bring Jimmy Carter into it. Bless you Olde Guye, we really need more folks like you. Merry f’in Christmas you jerk.

By Pamela

December 19, 2006 11:25 AM | Link to this

Whew, first Sutton, now Skip & Pete that’s what I call progress. Those announcers did not represent the modern Atlanta fans and others did watch around the country.

By Pamela

December 19, 2006 11:29 AM | Link to this

Gary, is that why the devil rays and buccaneers are losers in Tampa?

By br618

December 19, 2006 11:36 AM | Link to this

keep skip and fire chip…”chucky james” he belongs on wgn

By Randy Howard

December 19, 2006 11:39 AM | Link to this

Sorry you got caught up in this Pete, you do a great job. Skip, it’s been a long time coming; you have been very rude to the fans in Atlanta for many years. Your condescending attitude your radio callers has finally caught up with you. Despite what you might think, you are no Harry Carey, see if you can find a spot at your next gig for Chip as well, he is indeed a Chip off the OLD block.

By CHDtbdm

December 19, 2006 11:41 AM | Link to this

To many fans, Skip and Pete ARE the Braves. They taught us about the game of baseball. The suits obviously don’t get it.

By Jimbo

December 19, 2006 11:43 AM | Link to this

The only two worth keeping are Pete and Joe. Get rid of everyone else especially Skip and Dip.

By Pete

December 19, 2006 11:44 AM | Link to this

Dump players, dump annoucers, dump radio station, raise ticket prices… Are they trying to more the Braves to another city? Is there anything else they can do… wait they haven’t traded Andrew or Chipper or Smoltz yet. I guess they are next. Makes me want to buy a ticket, or try to listen to a game (their home station doesn’t broadcast a signal that is heard past 285).

By Ky in Idaho

December 19, 2006 11:55 AM | Link to this

Having been born and raised in Idaho, I grew up listening to Pete and Skip. they were really my only connection to MLB baseball, because ESPN wasn’t huge yet. I will never be able to watch the Braves the same way…can you pick up their radio play by play on XM?

By Ahmad

December 19, 2006 12:10 PM | Link to this

As much as Skip and Pete mean to braves baseball, I have to admit that they are a pretty boring. Old college friends of mine in Florida (who aren’t braves fans) would poke fun of how bland they were. Not so much the content, but the monotonous tone, and their way of talking themselves into awkward silences and erratic transitions. Yes, it is sad but lets move on. I’d be disspointed if we didn’t see someone with close Braves ties in the booth. How about Neal Boortz, HAHAHA. Just Kidding. I always liked hearing Ron Gant. He’s got a great voice and I think he works well as an analyst. Don’t know if he’d be good for play by play though.

By don

December 19, 2006 12:15 PM | Link to this

Carey and VanWieren are undoubetly the worst homers in all of broadcasting. Good riddence.

By JasonInMaine

December 19, 2006 12:19 PM | Link to this

Pete and Skip are the Braves’ telecast. I will not watch games on TBS anymore. MLB.TV will get my subscription.

By T.J.

December 19, 2006 12:27 PM | Link to this

After reading the posts, one brought something to my attention.

At one time I used used to watch a lot of programming on WTBS. Two programs I used to always watch was Braves Baseball and Georgia/World Championship Wrestling. These two programs would also introduce me to other WTBS shows I would watch.

Well Time Warner done a wonderful job running Atlanta based World Championship Wrestling out of business. They basically brought in an outsider from Minnesota, Eric Bischoff, and then had him destroy any vestage of tradition WCW had.

They took staples of WCW like Sting, Ric Flair, Luger, ect. and threw them to the side while bringing in old washed up WWF/WWE retreads. The left the NWA to form their own “WCW Champion”. They fired the traditional announcers and Bischoff put his own guys in. They moved the flagship show from Saturdays on WTBS to Mondays on TNT. Basically everything WCW fans had of WCW tradition was gone. So WCW fans just quit watching and WCW went bankrupt and Time Warner sells what is left to the WWE. All thanks to outsiders hired by Time Warner, who came in and changed things because they felt they knew better, tradition be damned.

Well let’s look at the Braves. Outsiders with no sense of tradition are running the team. They are changing the traditional media outlets by switching stations on television and radio. The traditional announcers are being let go. Key members of the team like Glavine, Maddux, Furcal, ect are being let go because they won’t pay to keep them.

Watch out, the actions taken by Time Warner on the Braves organization seem eerily simillar to the actions they took with WCW. It also seems to be heading in the right direction. If MLB ever starts talking contraction again, us Atlanta fans should start getting nervous.

Oh yeah my point which I got distracted from and went on a tangent. Since Time Warner took over Turner Broadcasting, I have gone from watching TBS and TNT a lot (almost all my TV watching) to now barely ever watching them if any. Why? Except for Braves Baseball, they basically don’t offer any programming anymore that I care to watch.

By Trevor

December 19, 2006 12:41 PM | Link to this

One if the things I’ve come to love over the last couple of years was Chip and Skip doing games together - that’s probably what I’ll miss the most.

Other than that, there won’t be much change for me. Like others have said, I’ll just be listening to the radio broadcast while watching the games on TV. I grew up listening to these two and owe much of what I know about baseball to them.

By enough

December 19, 2006 12:44 PM | Link to this

To hell with TBS, Joe simpson, and the current and future corporate owners of the braves.

Did I mention Joe simpson sucks

By don corleone

December 19, 2006 12:51 PM | Link to this

I certainly won’t miss Skip. In my opinion, he is far to arrogant. He seems to think he is more important than the fans - he is always dissing the wave, for example, really gets under my skin. The game is for the fans, not for him. Also, I get tired of listening to him talk with his mouth full of food. Can he not wait until between innings to take a bite of food? A game usually lasts 3 hours. Can he not eat before a game or wait until it is over rather than slurping his food while trying to talk?

On the other hand, I really like Pete, a true gentleman in my mind. I will miss him on TV a lot. I have moved from Atlanta and won’t be able to watch games on TV and listen to Pete on the radio.

Don’t get me started on Joe Simpson, please!

By mad as hell

December 19, 2006 01:04 PM | Link to this

BOYCOTT TIME WARNER AND TBS!!!

By Richard

December 19, 2006 01:10 PM | Link to this

The Braves foursome of recent years — Skip, Pete, Don, and Joe — was one of the best around. Their knowledge of the Braves and of the game of baseball was acute, their personal interplay was genuine, and their voices were a soothing balm to the heart and soul of Braves fans around the country.

I think it is really a tragic turn of affairs for both TBS and the Braves. I was very frustrated by it last season and didn’t watch very many Braves games on TV (I listened to quite a few on the radio.) Like most of the others commenting here, I am befuddled by the recent decisions made by this organization.. both with player personnel and with ancillary elements. ‘Tis quite sad!

By Jeffrey

December 19, 2006 01:20 PM | Link to this

This is going as I feared it would happen. Coaches leaving, announcers reassigned or leaving, and players leaving. Schuerholz and Cox both have contracts that expire this year. I think it is highly probable that 2007 will be their final year. We know Andruw will be gone after 2007. Smoltz, Hudson, Hampton, and others may well follow. At this time next year, the Braves could be the equivilent of an expansion team that none of us even knows.

By KC

December 19, 2006 01:21 PM | Link to this

I want to see Skip and Pete remain on TV, not because I’m resistant to change, but because… frankly, they’re better at what they do than most. Skip and Pete are good for different reasons.

Pete is a truly great announcer. He’s a consummate pro in every way. Skip brings a lot of personality to the table. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed hearing him and Joe Simpson together over the years. They are sarcastic and humorous, and you just don’t find that in sports commentators. Most sound very sterile and canned in their commentary (unless you get a few too many beers in Rick Sutcliffe).

I remember one game in particular when a rookie umpire had the worst night in the history of umpiring. I can’t remember the guys name, though I would know it if I heard it. Anyway, this guy made a series of inexcusable (for a MLB umpire) calls that night, and Skip and Joe made (light hearted) sarcastic remarks all night. It was hilarious! You’re not going to get that kind of edge or personality from Bob Rathbon.

By JJMB

December 19, 2006 01:29 PM | Link to this

I can’t believe some people don’t like Joe Simpson. I think he is pleasant, funny, knows when to let the action speak for itself.

Oh well, I guess you can’t please everyone.

By Doug

December 19, 2006 01:43 PM | Link to this

KC, if I had to guess the umpire you’re referring to, I’d say C.B. Bucknor. I’ve heard the announcers rag on him more than once.

Anyway, regarding the topic, I have been a Braves fan and watching my whole life. I’ll never forget Skip’s (or was it Pete’s) call when Gene Garber struck out Pete Rose to end his hitting streak back in 1977. These guys were legends, and still are.

This is just another example of a bunch of suits putting too much of their corporate stamp on the Braves, which is making our announcers as cardboard and vanilla as possible. Political correctness has reached a new low.

Personally, I love Skip’s sarcasm. I’d say he deserves that right as a broadcasting institution here as long as he’s been around. Pete is pure genious and his wealth of information is always meaningful; he’s not just spouting info to sound like a “know-it-all.”

By Donald Igwebuike

December 19, 2006 01:53 PM | Link to this

Glad he’s being “phased” out…He’s a conceited douchebag….Adios…

By SICEM

December 19, 2006 01:54 PM | Link to this

Seeing as to how Time Warner is trying to screw the team up as much as possible I guess they figured the broadcast team needs to be horrible also.

By okidawg

December 19, 2006 01:54 PM | Link to this

For immediate assistance with Turner Sports information, please contact Jeff Pomeroy at 404-827-4786 (jeff.pomeroy@turner.com).

For Atlanta Braves information, contact Beth Marshall at 404-614-1336 (beth.marshall@turner.com).

By Spider29

December 19, 2006 02:14 PM | Link to this

I dislike the move. But then I liked the old rotation of Pete, Skip, Don and Joe. As I do with UGA games, I will continue to turn off the TV sound and turn up the radio volume! My family and I thank the Braves broadcast team for all the years of terrific calls!

By BamaBrave

December 19, 2006 02:17 PM | Link to this

Truly the end of an era… Sad to see them go. Skip seemed to have one foot out the door anyway. But let’s face it, if the team somehow regains it’s winning ways, I won’t care if Pee Wee Herman and Jessica Simpson do the TV.

By Ron

December 19, 2006 02:22 PM | Link to this

For those of us who actually use proper English and appreciate others who do, this is a sad state of affairs. Skip, Pete and Joe are the best, because they are intelligent and have a command of the English laguage, but we are being left with Chip, Don and Bob Rathbun. Chip, please stop adding a “y” to the end of everyone’s name - Chucky James, Kenny Ray, Tommy Glavine, etc. Don, if we must be stuck with you, can you please lay off the old cliches, or at least come up with some new ones? “That was right down Broadway, he’ll make a u-turn and get a new piece of lumber, he had a cup of coffee in the big leagues, that’ll put a lid on it.” And Bob, please quit saying “to date.” A hitter doesn’t have two hits “to date” in a game. That doesn’t make sense. And stop telling us of every relief pitcher who enters the game that “his job right here is clear cut - hold ‘em right where they are.” We know that already. Boy, the stuffed shirts who make these decisions for the Braves obviously don’t watch as many games as I do, or else they would know who the intelligent announcers are.

By Guy

December 19, 2006 02:27 PM | Link to this

When you need to correct the encyclopedia of the Braves , Pete and Skip are the absolute authority. Very few others even come close.I doubt Bobie Cox knows as much as they do.If it comes to watching the games without them , the mute button works very well and bless radio. It may not be synchronized but it will be better.Chip does not have what Don, Joe Pete and Skip have and will not for many years.

By Olde Guye

December 19, 2006 02:55 PM | Link to this

Sam@11.20, bite me. If you are the kind of person who actually hopes to find political statements in a sports blog then you are going to find one regardless. My Carter reference was only mildly political at best and only intended to illustrate that people can be fooled by public appearances. By the way, I’ve never known of anyone who used f$$$ing to describe a religious holiday. Your mother must be proud of you.

By RLU

December 19, 2006 03:27 PM | Link to this

Good grief!! What is the world coming to. I have read a few of the other comments and just don’t agree with those who thought Skip & Pete were not THE best!! I love the dry wit comments and sarcasm. And come on, give me a break, they do know the game!! Unfortunately, nothing stays the same. I will miss them terribly and have never been a fan of listening to the radio while watching TV but it looks like I am going to have to. I have been a Brave fan for 34 years or so and will continue to be even if they make changes I don’t agree with. They are my team. Skip, Pete, Don, Joe & Chip…I have enjoyed listening to all of you. Good luck!

By RLU

December 19, 2006 03:37 PM | Link to this

Oh, one more thing, anyone who doesn’t think Skip is funny just doesn’t have a sense of humor! He makes me laugh and I for one need more laughter in my life, not less. It has been a good ride.
Nothing stays the same forever. The good, the bad and the mediocre all change eventually.

By Sam's Mom

December 19, 2006 03:39 PM | Link to this

Too much TV will strain your eyes. Listening to a game on the radio requires you to use your imagination, just like Big Bird says.

By kent

December 19, 2006 03:42 PM | Link to this

This should have been done decades ago. You needed No Doz to listen to Pete and Skip. A more boring duo would be hard to find.

By tiftwiz

December 19, 2006 03:42 PM | Link to this

T=totally B=bull S=shat

TBS hasn t been the same since Ted sold out and never will be.The idiots in charge have just taken another step towards their demise.BOYCOTT!!!

By Jeff

December 19, 2006 03:53 PM | Link to this

I will never have the sound unmuted or watch another commercial during the games-cliche ridden idiots are a dime a dozen-gee, maybe that’s why Skip, Pete, and Don and all their knowledge are gone. Or, perhaps, market research is favoring drunks with an eigth grade education.

By Mark Biles

December 19, 2006 03:57 PM | Link to this

Pete Van Wieren is a baseball expert and the new stiffs at WTBS don’t deserve his expertise anymore anyway. I will really miss him on TV, but it’s nice to know I can still hear him on radio. End of an era— again. Oh yes, Skip, we’ll miss you on TV too (just not as much as Pete).

By mLn

December 19, 2006 04:03 PM | Link to this

i can’t live without Skip and Pete. They’ve made watching the Braves special. What a terrible way to treat two loyal and long-time employees.

By Brian

December 19, 2006 04:06 PM | Link to this

I’m sick of generic Fox/ESPN soundalike announcers.

Why does everything have to sound exactly like everything else these days?

By Scott

December 19, 2006 04:15 PM | Link to this

I don’t know who is in charge of all of the changes the Braves are making but when everything is over that person will be able to author a book on how to screw up a really good professional baseball organization.

By Jimmy

December 19, 2006 04:16 PM | Link to this

They should put Skip and Don Sutton on one of the SAP alternate audio channels like they do with Pete Manzano and Fernando Palacios. That way those who want generic automatons (Chip Caray) can have them and the rest of us can still get our daily transmission from Weirdsville. Man oh man, but I miss those Weirdsville transmissions.

By Ronnie

December 19, 2006 04:28 PM | Link to this

Doesn’t it seem like we have this conversation EVERY year?

I do like the SAP idea, though. Just repurpose the radio broadcast. Let everyone vote with their remotes!

By johnny

December 19, 2006 04:30 PM | Link to this

What is wrong with baseball? Time Warner, Bud Selig, Barry Bonds, free spending owners, cheap owners (see Time Warner), expensive tickets, expensive beer, expensive popcorn, and a total lack of respect for the fans of the game. Signed, As of today, A Former Braves Fan

By Rob

December 19, 2006 04:31 PM | Link to this

What did Chip Carey do to get thrown out of Chicago, and could he please do the same thing here?

By Question...

December 19, 2006 04:32 PM | Link to this

Has anyone listened to the Espanol SAP announcers? Do they call a good game? Are the funny? Is their broadcast worth me learning Spanish for?

By ToldYaSo

December 19, 2006 05:07 PM | Link to this

Detroit did the same injustice to beloved announcer Ernie Harwell and they paid dearly for years with Tigers fans. Those in the Braves organization making bonehead broadcasting decisions have no idea how many viewers are drawn in by familiar, beloved voices — or how many viewers tune in during losing seasons just to commiserate with long-time announcers who have proven that they love the team as much as we do. If TBS thinks the ratings are bad now, wait until the Braves have a losing season AND new announcers. Yeesh.

By steve

December 19, 2006 05:18 PM | Link to this

Good Riddance!

By steve

December 19, 2006 05:29 PM | Link to this

I love listening to Skip and Pete. All good things must come to an end, however, this should not end until Skip and Pete decides it is time to retire.

The great thing about listening to Skip and Pete is that you feel like you are sitting in the bleachers watching the game with good friends. I like Joe Simpson and Chip is okay, but they have a completey different vibe about them.

I guess I will be turning down the tv volume and turning up the radio.

By BG33

December 19, 2006 05:38 PM | Link to this

Skip, come on back to the Cubbies, we’ll get Steve Stone and it will be just like old times. Maybe now that the Tribune company is selling, you can actually act a little like journalist instead of fans. And who cares b/c we will never win, but we’ll draw fans unlike these ungreatful Braves fans.

By BG33

December 19, 2006 05:41 PM | Link to this

Woops, typo meant come on back Chip.

By Gary

December 19, 2006 06:19 PM | Link to this

The mute button on my TV will get a lot of use in the years to come. The voices and antics of Skip and Pete will be remembered long after TBS is forgotten.

By Brian

December 19, 2006 06:29 PM | Link to this

This is just another example of the way that the Braves are falling apart. The “executives” running the show for the Braves are a complete joke. The roster sucks and now we are expected to listen to Bob Rathbun?

Let’s get an ownership that cares about the Atlanta community and what “we want!”

By Gayle Abbott

December 19, 2006 07:05 PM | Link to this

A team with no heart or passion, management that has no mandate to do anything but field 9 players, a stadium that is more Six Flags than a baseball park, it is only fitting that the voices that made so many of us fall in love with this team are exorcised as well. Turn out the lights,please?

By Mike Darwin

December 19, 2006 07:07 PM | Link to this

This is another serious mistake by the misbegotten fools who now own America’s baseball team. In every city in which I have attended conferences, consultations, vactions, family trips, etc. I always found local folks who followed the Braves on TBS. Last year I heard complaints about the shortage of the Braves on TBS since they don’t get Turner South or Fox South Sports outside of the southeast. Clearly someone in the TimeWarner bunker has failed to grasp America’s love for the Braves.

I will not enjoy the Braves nearly as much with “my” guys on TV, I suppose the TV sound will be turned off and I will just listen on my beloved XM Radio.

By Navigator

December 19, 2006 07:54 PM | Link to this

Please tell my company that I should also work there until my eighties. Get over it people, no one last forever. Everything is bottom line related, and the the owners feel that those two don’t appeal to the youth. It’s like the Cadillac marketing decision, when the average age of their customers was 56, they decided to change directions.

By ROBERT STRAWN

December 19, 2006 08:02 PM | Link to this

I DO NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT.I WILL MUTE MY T.V.AND TURN ON THE RADIO.

By mark

December 19, 2006 08:18 PM | Link to this

I like don and joe,skip is ok and so is pete but chip is awful!! he never shuts up i can’t stand him and i’m a uga fan and a 25 year braves fan and listen or watch 150 games a year the thought of having to listen to chip in the future makes me sick!sorry chip!you stink.

By Brave in Pa

December 19, 2006 08:21 PM | Link to this

Will miss Skip and Pete on TBS, but that’s why I invested in XM last year. I love Skip’s dry wit and sarcastic remarks and Pete’s wisdom..TBS isn’t going to cut it with Major League broadcasts with Fox and ESPN doing the same thing, not to mention competing with DISH and Direct Tv Major League Packages..but what do we know

By tom

December 19, 2006 08:34 PM | Link to this

The less Skip the better. I quit listenting to all broadcasts he was on long ago. I found him to be very rude to callers on the radio show and personally think he is one of the worst announcers in the sport. Pete, sorry for his loss.

By The Governor

December 19, 2006 08:36 PM | Link to this

Apparently Clear Channel now owns the Braves too! My friends, Enjoy the Braves on free T.V. while you can.

By Chris

December 19, 2006 08:44 PM | Link to this

Any time I tune in the ESPN or FOX and have to listen to some pompous, ignorant jackass like Joe Morgan, I appreciate how well done the Braves’ TBS broadcasts were. You could watch 150+ games a year with announcers who knew the league and the team. Great camera work. I’ll miss Don the most. I always learned something new in every game with him. It was a brilliant business model put together by Turner. Hell, by the ‘80’s the Braves had more fans across the country than any team save the Yankees, and that was with a team populated by Ken Oberkfells. Clearly, the team is being dismantled. It reminds me of the end of the Milwaukee dynasty. This sucks.

By braves fan

December 19, 2006 08:59 PM | Link to this

So, I am a 21-year-old college student—supposedly the “target demographic”—and this really upsets me. I grew up listening to Skip, Pete, Joe and Don as the Braves announcers. If the suits at TW would actually use their brains, they would realize that basically everyone in their desired demographic grew up with them too (if they watched baseball, of course.) Thus, getting rid of some of the most familiar faces (and voices in this case) associated with the Braves is not a good marketing decision. It leaves the team with no identity, and frankly, it leaves me with a very foreboding feeling about the future of the Braves, especially with the sale pending. And everyone knows how fickle college students can be. That’s why we’re such a coveted demographic—we have no loyalty. We will switch brands in a heartbeat, if we think the other brand is better. All this change is going to do is alienate the Braves fans that are already in the target demographic, and I guarantee those bland replacement announcers won’t bring in any new ones. My friends and I are really mad about the way TW is treating this respected franchise. It’s disgusting and unacceptable. I have already been boycotting FOXsports and Turner South for their removal of Skip, Pete, Joe and Don. Looks like I’m going to have to add TBS and the other TW networks to the list.

Also—Turning down the TV volume but still watching on TV does nothing. Last time I checked ratings were only based on how many people watched a show, not how many listened. If you really want to send a message, don’t watch the games on TV at all. Just listen to the radio.

By Steve Adelman

December 19, 2006 10:20 PM | Link to this

I think it is terrible, but very typical of an organization that doesn’t really care anymore. They won’t spend on keeping good players, getting new players or even keeping the best announcers in baseball. Even the number of games televised is shrinking.

By leviinalaska

December 19, 2006 10:43 PM | Link to this

Sad news. Sad news. I’d imagine I’ll be listening to Braves games instead of watching them next season. Oh well…it’ll save money on my mlb.com subscription…

By Bill Haywood

December 19, 2006 10:54 PM | Link to this

I say this is a huge mistake. I have watched the Braves for years even before they were a great team. Love Skip & Pete. Great play by play and humerous stories. But nothing surprises me anymore. It seems like all the decisions being made by Time Warner are completly stupid. Not spending enough money to keep up with the top teams anymore. Hey as much money as I have to pay for time warner cable & they don’t have any money to feild a top team any more. Come on Ted Turner buy the Braves back and save Americas Team…

By Jim

December 19, 2006 11:56 PM | Link to this

Sorry, Skip. Even Ernie Harwell was canned.

By Bart

December 20, 2006 07:23 AM | Link to this

Long,LONG time fan,listener, watcher and follower of the Braves. To me, Skip and Pete are an extremely important part of why I have stayed such a long time fan. Since I live in Florida, outside of the local signal, I am pretty much shut out of their future broacasts. 10 games of Skip? I know that isn’t a popular decission around my area. I guess I can’t speak for the Atlanta area… I know many of us in Central Florida are very disapointed. We like and apprieciate Chip and he does and will do a fine job. However, Skip and Pete are the icons. The ones who helped the fans through the 80’s and got to get excited with in the 90’s. Rethink TBS…

By Jeff R

December 20, 2006 09:25 AM | Link to this

Broadcasting is a tough business. Change is pretty much the standard. That Pete and Skip were able to stay on top of as long as they did makes them super curve busters.

My only regret is that the Braves didn’t trade them for pitching and a broadcaster-to-be-named later five or six years ago when their market value was higher.

By Ron

December 20, 2006 09:30 AM | Link to this

This is beyond sad, it is just sickening. It feels as if a family member has died. Why, TBS? What good can come from this? Can you not plainly see the majority of the fans’ reaction above? You truly suck, TBS, and you can go to he… er, back to New York, where you belong. I NEVER watch your stupid network unless the Braves are on. Do you hear me? NEVER!! Sex and the City? Friends? YOU SUCK!!

By Mike

December 20, 2006 10:28 AM | Link to this

Skip Caray is the best period! TBS has lost it’s mind. Why would I want to watch the broadcast of the Kansas City Royals or the Texas Rangers or any other team in baseball unless they are playing the Braves? Rest assured that I will tune into other programming during this insanity. To dump Pete and Skip is rediculous and I wonder why the inmates are now running the asylum!

By don

December 20, 2006 10:47 AM | Link to this

I cannot believe that over 85% of you htink these guys are good. Apparently, you haven’t heard anyone else. Skip and Pete were/are the worst “homers” in broadcasting. Never, ever would they say anything critical of a Brave player or of management. Pitiful

If you want a real broadcaster, listen to Marty Brennaman. He isn’t afraid to call out a loafer, a nonproducer, or a malcontent and the Braves have had plenty of all three- in uniform and wearing suits and ties.

By Bob Barrett

December 20, 2006 11:14 AM | Link to this

It is just another example of the owners not understanding that the announcers are just as much a part of the team identity as are Murphy, Niekro, Arron or the Jones Boys. Sutton and Simpson are gone and we have Chip who has seen no Brave history from an announcer’s view. Time Warner has now made baseball a game of the week status and completed the rape of the Braves,No money,no winning, no announcers and worst of all NO IDENTITY I for on will miss JOE,DON,SKIP and PETE, I hope new owners take over before the Braves become a soccer team and anymore damage is done. Bob Barrett Clearwate, FL

By Mike Darwin

December 20, 2006 11:38 AM | Link to this

Another point: if the owners of “turnersouth” think their new style is going to fly, then they need to get some hard data. From the trashy video and sports that are meaningless to only a small minority of sports buffs the new “style” of SportsSouth or whatever it is called is going to be a failure. I hope they run the viewing trends by hour and show from before the shift with the new shows. I suspect they will find a negative trend since the shift and I predict they will not find the demographic set of viewers they want. I know my wife will never turn it on again…though she did watch it a few times a week for some of the movies. Of course, movies will be in even shorter supply with the blackhole that TBS has been thrown into.

Ain’t big business wonderful? They really undestand their customers and care about them.

By barbara

December 20, 2006 02:13 PM | Link to this

The Fox announcers are stiff and plastic andthe booth appears on the TV picture too often; the sportscast is cluttered with unnecessary replays and now this. I have tuned out TV broadcasts since we lost Turner South to listen to the REAL Braves announcers whichever pair that may have been on the radio. Even that was had since WGST seemed to disappear at 8:15 and I could only tune the 96.1 on a couple of my radios. I sure hope the new 94.9 will be easier to access. I love the Braves, but the management is making it harder and harder.

By BamaBrave

December 20, 2006 03:09 PM | Link to this

Whatta world we live in… Skip, Pete, Joe and Don get the boot - while a big-haired, loud-mouthed, knocked-up Jeannie Zalasko becomes the face of playoff baseball. Oy vay.

By Henri Friendly

December 28, 2006 12:07 PM | Link to this

What about Atlanta’s ABA team? Excellent Basketball - Poor coverage! Get with it AJC! The head trainer for the officials lives here in the Atlanta area - if you need to know the “score.” Some excellent rules - don’t let your readers miss this basketball!