Len Kasper named White Sox radio play-by-play announcer

Here's the biggest surprise of the offseason so far: Longtime Cubs TV announcer Len Kasper is moving to the South Side. He will become the radio play-by-play voice of the White Sox on ESPN 1000.

Kasper will join Darrin Jackson as the permanent replacement for Ed Farmer, who died April 1 at age 70. Andy Masur filled in throughout the 2020 season, and I figured he was the front-runner for the job. 

Not so. Turns out, Kasper says he sought the Sox out because he's always wanted to work on the radio. Interesting. 

The general rule of thumb is TV jobs are better and more high profile than radio jobs, and certainly, there are few TV gigs more high profile than the Cubs. But hey, if Kasper wants to work on the radio, welcome to the South Side, Len!

Sox fans have said for years that the radio booth could benefit from a true play-by-play voice, and Kasper is that. I can't say that I have a strong feeling about Kasper's ability one way or the other -- I don't watch many Cubs games -- but I do like that the Sox are adding an experienced broadcaster to their booth.

It's better than hiring a former player, or some other "Reinsdorf favorite" for the job. Like most Sox fans, I look forward to the day when the phrase "Reinsdorf favorite" is put into retirement.

In any case, Kasper won't exclusively do radio work. We'll see him in the TV booth on NBC Sports Chicago for 20 to 25 games a season. He'll fill in alongside Jason Benetti when Steve Stone takes a few games off.

Kasper and Benetti are friends, and word is they will be creating "several multimedia projects" throughout the year. Not sure what that means, but I'm intrigued, and I'll be listening. It sounds as though Kasper and Benetti are planning to start a podcast as well. Once again, I'll be listening.

And I guess that's the point, to get people to listen, right?

Yoan Moncada is back with the White Sox; ESPN to televise Sunday's game

The White Sox became a better baseball team the minute Yoan Moncada walked into the stadium Thursday.

Just as I started to wonder whether Moncada would be back anytime soon after a positive COVID-19 test, the third baseman was at Guaranteed Rate Field after testing negative twice and being cleared to return.

Thank goodness, Moncada did not have severe symptoms. He described losing his sense of taste and smell while he was quarantined, but he was otherwise fine. And both he and manager Rick Renteria seem to believe he can be ready in time to face the Minnesota Twins in the season opener July 24.

Fingers crossed.

Pitcher Jose Ruiz, the other positive COVID test for the Sox, also has been cleared to return to baseball. He reported to Schaumburg to join the taxi squad.

Upcoming 'preseason' games

I'm watching the Sox's intrasquad game as I type on Thursday night. It's fun to see baseball of any sort -- and Dylan Cease looked really, really good against his teammates, eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings. And Edwin Encarnacion homered twice off Carlos Rodon.

But, it will be more exciting to see the Sox test themselves against other clubs before the season starts. That will happen Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. The Sox will play the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday night. Then they will host the Cubs on Monday before the Milwaukee Brewers come to the South Side on Wednesday.

And here's a twist: The Sox will be on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball when they play the Cubs. Can you remember the last time the Sox were on Sunday night? Me neither.

Nevertheless, I'll be watching the home team call on NBC Sports Chicago with Jason Benetti and Steve Stone. Unlike the ESPN broadcast team, Benetti and Stone are knowledgeable about the Sox, and we won't have to listen to a Cubs lovefest from Rick Sutcliffe.

Regardless of what channel you watch, doesn't it help the soul to have baseball back?

Charlotte Knights blow opportunity to go to Triple-A playoffs

If you've been watching White Sox games lately -- and you deserve a medal if you have -- you have probably noticed that the TV broadcast team of Jason Benetti and Steve Stone has been touting the potential benefits of a deep playoff run for the Sox's Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights.

It was hard not to feel as though Benetti and Stone were preparing fans for the inevitable -- the fact that top prospects were not going to be called up for September, and that "going to win a championship together" would be ideal for the better players on that Charlotte roster.

Well, guess what?

Charlotte lost eight of its last nine games and blew a four-game lead in the wild-card race over the last 10 days. So, I guess you might say the Knights had the experience of "choking together," and we can only hope the players involved will deal with the situation better should they receive such an opportunity again.

The losing streak was characterized by a three-game sweep at the hands of the Durham Bulls, the team that ultimately took the playoff spot away from Charlotte. Here's a true story: Manny Banuelos and Carson Fulmer basically blew it for the Knights.

Banuelos made a rehab start Aug. 27 and got shelled for seven earned runs over four innings. He gave up seven hits, including three home runs, as Durham beat Charlotte, 10-6.

The very next day, the Knights took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, only to see Fulmer come on and allow three of the four batters he faced to reach base -- two on walks and one on a hit. Two of those runners ended up scoring as Durham topped Charlotte, 3-2.

If the Knights win either of those two games, they are in the playoffs, Durham is not, and the season continues for two of the Sox's top prospects -- Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal.

Instead, Robert and Madrigal are going home without a September call-up -- money and service time are most important, you know? -- while Fulmer and Banuelos hysterically were the only two men the Sox called to the big leagues on Sept. 1.

Both these two failed pitchers were seen on the mound Monday, giving up runs as the Sox lost, 11-3, to the Cleveland Indians. With the defeat, the South Siders (60-77) tied their season-worst losing streak at seven games. Will these guys ever win a game again? It doesn't seem like it.

For the record, the Sox did make some call-ups on Tuesday now that Charlotte's season is over. Zack Collins is back, as he should be, and Danny Mendick is rightfully getting a shot. With Jon Jay going on the 60-day injured list with a hip problem, Mendick was added to the 40-man roster.

Let's hope both Collins and Mendick get some playing time from manager Rick Renteria. It would be nice to have more information on these two players going into the offseason. Can Collins be on this roster as a catcher in 2020? Is Mendick a viable option as a utility infielder? I don't know, but now is a good time to see what we can learn about these two guys.

Outfielder Daniel Palka and pitcher Dylan Covey also were recalled, in two moves that we need not get excited over. Let's just hope we don't see Covey back in the starting rotation, and let's hope we don't see Palka getting at-bats ahead of Collins.

Mark Liptak's conversation with new White Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti

It's Tuesday afternoon, and the White Sox haven't played since Sunday afternoon.

So, while we wait for the six-game homestand and tonight's game against Boston to begin, here's a link to an interview with new White Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti, who recently chatted with SoxNet's Mark Liptak.

http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/05/a-conversation-with-jason-benetti/

White Sox name Jason Benetti new announcer, settle questions about TV booth

Jason Benetti (left) has been added to the White Sox broadcast team.

The White Sox on Wednesday named Homewood-Flossmoor High School graduate Jason Benetti their new TV play-by-play announcer, while at the same time extending the contracts of Ken Harrelson and Steve Stone.

Benetti, 32, will call 81 games alongside Stone this season. The local product grew up as a White Sox fan and has called college basketball, football, baseball and lacrosse at ESPN since 2011. He also previously served as the radio play-by-play man for the Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

"Jason is one of the top up-and-coming voices in sports television," White Sox vice president of sales and marketing Brooks Boyer said in a news release. "He is a homegrown talent who will mix a love for the game with a deep knowledge of the White Sox and an informative and entertaining style. We believe Sox fans will immediately connect with his humor, intellect and personality."

"Joining the White Sox television team of Ken Harrelson and Steve Stone -- with the chance to work with Steve on home games -- is truly a dream come true for a kid who grew up in the south suburbs watching Sox games during the 1990s," Benetti said in the release. "This is beyond exciting for me."

The 74-year-old Harrelson will begin a reduced schedule this year. Like Benetti, "Hawk" will work 81 games, 78 of them on the road, plus Opening Day at U.S. Cellular Field and the two home games against the Cubs.

I like the move to bring Benetti on board for a few reasons. First, he's a professional broadcaster. He already knows his way around a broadcast booth, and he has earned this opportunity through his previous work. Those things seem like they should be a prerequisite for the job, but that's not always been the case with the White Sox -- who have inexplicably tried to force former players into the booth in the past. Darrin Jackson has improved through the years, but he really struggled when he first started with the team. And Chris Singleton's time in the Sox radio booth was a disaster. With Benetti, there shouldn't be any sort of learning curve that makes the broadcasts an awkward listen. He'll be ready to do the job from day one.

Secondly, Benetti is a guy who grew up in the area, so he's familiar with White Sox history, the Chicago market and the fan base. That institutional knowledge can only help as he works to build a connection with the fans in his first year. I'm optimistic his broadcasts will both entertain and inform, regardless of whether the White Sox are winning or losing. Too often, the Harrelson-Stone TV booth has had fans reaching for the mute button -- if not the off button -- in recent years. Benetti hopefully can provide a change of pace that makes Sox baseball more fun.

And, lastly, I think the reduced schedule will be beneficial for Hawk Harrelson. He has sounded terrible at times during these past few seasons, perhaps beaten down by the Sox losing a total of 264 games the last three years. His extension is a multiyear deal, but he admitted this could be his last year if the 2016 Sox stink it up.

"It’s a contract, that, as I told [Brooks Boyer] and [chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf], it might be at the end of the season where I say 'Hey, I’ve had enough,' " Harrelson told the Sun-Times Wednesday. "I hope that’s not the case because that means our team didn’t do well again. If I have to go through another season like we did last year, that would probably be enough -- no, you can count me out."

Hawk has been a polarizing figure throughout his career, even for Sox fans, but I've always said this about him: He's great when the team is doing well, because his passion for Sox baseball shines through on the broadcasts. But when the team is doing poorly, as has been the case for three years, he becomes completely miserable and makes the broadcasts hard to listen to for even the most diehard of fans. I think the combination of bad play and grumpy Hawk has caused a lot of people to change the channel away from Sox baseball.

Hopefully, the Sox play well this year, and it all becomes a moot point. But if they do play poorly, it will be better for Hawk's health and demeanor if he doesn't have to watch the team flounder every day, and it will be more tolerable for fans if they don't have to listen to Hawk grump every day.