re: Hanigriff's Call of Ochinko's HR...

I didn't hear it. I did hear Charlie's call of Ochinko's first grand slam, and I had mixed feelings about it.

My gut tells me Charlie is trying hard to give people want they seem to want -- more emotion -- but that sort of thing has to be natural to sound natural, and on that home run it sounded forced. I give him points for trying, but it works for some announcers, not all, and it doesn't really work for him.

I can see people's point about his usually monotone voice, but I don't have a problem with that. Because it's baseball, I'd rather a guy set the scene for me with knowledge and understanding of the game situation. If he can do that, I can manufacture all the drama I need by trying to guess what will happen next. Bunt? Steal? Hit and run? First-and-third pickoff play?

That said, I understand that a lot of people just want a cheerleader. That will never be Charlie, and if he goes down that road, it will not sound good. He's the best LSU's ever had in terms of understanding the game (and I'd put Patrick Wright right up there too), but it's not natural for him to call it with emotion. His best assets are more understated, for better or worse.

But you can tell he's taken the criticism to heart, because he's trying to accommodate those who want him to make it more emotional. I'll never get used to Mike Tirico trying to sound excited when he calls a football game, and I'll never be comfortable with Charlie raising his voice for effect doing baseball. Maybe the call last night sounded genuine. I don't know. But the slam I heard had a forced call, and that's just not good for anybody.

Bottom line: I like Charlie, and I hope he does baseball for a long time.