TUBE TALK: Rantin' on the Radio: With team in shambles, Padres postgame hosts feel fans' venom
By JOHN MAFFEI - Staff Writer | ∞
Long-suffering Padres fans aren't taking the team's poor start well.
Just listen to the postgame show on XX Sports 1090, if you don't believe it.
The calls range from logical to upset to downright venomous.
Fire the manager! Fire the coaches! Lynch club CEO Sandy Anderson! Send owner John Moores packing for not spending more money on players! Trade the players! Bring the kids up from Triple-A Portland! Ship Trevor Hoffman out! Add some speed! Add some power! Blow up the bullpen!
Every night ---- usually for two hours or more ---- John Kentera and Ernie Martinez have to talk callers off the ledge on the Padres' postgame show.
"With the club off to a difficult start and the way last season ended, this is our most difficult year," Kentera said. "The fans are vicious, but they have passion."
Kentera, who has done postgame shows for the Chargers and San Diego State football, is in his fifth season talking about the Padres.
His first partners were ex-Padre and fan favorite Tim Flannery and former big-league pitcher Bob Scanlan.
Flannery tried to liven things up, change the direction of the show, by bringing in musical acts.
It didn't work.
Early in his second season, Flannery simply faded away.
"I couldn't take it," said Flannery, who is now coaching third base for Bruce Bochy and the San Francisco Giants. "It was the same thing every night.
"The callers were different, but the questions were the same. It drove me crazy. I loved working with John and Bob, but I was going nuts. I had to get out."
Scanlan and Kentera were great together, but Scanlan gave up the radio to work for Channel 4 San Diego.
Last year, Kentera ---- who coached high school and college ball for nearly two decades and was a big-league scout ---- was then paired with Martinez.
"I'm more the technical guy now, and Ernie gives you more of a fans' perspective," Kentera said. "And it works well.
"Because of my background, I think I know the game pretty well. I don't just look at box scores. I think I know strategy and personnel."
Still, knowledge doesn't make the job easier when fans call and are irate with the team's play.
"Is this the toughest job in radio?" Kentera asked. "It could be. But I love talking baseball. And I've always been a glass-half-full guy instead of a glass-half-empty guy."
Kentera said he has noticed the fans' frustration over the last two or three weeks.
And he gets criticized for defending the ballclub.
"Oh yeah, the people are complaining," Kentera said. "Not everyone likes what I say, but I never try to fool the listeners.
"If you ask me a question, I'll answer it as honestly as possible.
"I know a lot of players, scouts, club executives and the manager listen to the show on their way home. So I have to be honest."
Years ago, Dave Campbell was one of the radio voices of the Padres and a darn good one.
He was open and honest on the postgame show.
He would tell the fans that bad ballclubs stunk. His honesty got him fired.
"Never again," Campbell said of doing postgame shows. "I learned my lesson. I'll stick to play-by-play."
Campbell is now the lead baseball analyst on ESPN Radio's national game broadcasts.
"I know of Dave's situation, but I've never gotten feedback from the ballclub or management at the radio station," Kentera said. "To keep your credibility, you have to be critical of the team at times.
"But I never try to hammer on a player or coach. I try to be fair and honest.
"I think I have a good relationship with the Padres ---- players, coaches and front office. And while doing the show is difficult now, I'd rather do postgame than pregame.
"In the postgame, I have the opportunity to watch the game and break it down.
"Plus, you never know what the next call will bring. And we have full phone lines every night. So we know people are listening. And they listen because they like baseball, like the team, and because we let them talk."
Vent might be a better word than talk. The Padres slid to 12-23 after Thursday's loss to the Braves in Atlanta.
Kentera and Martinez do the longest postgame show in baseball ---- two hours most nights, and sometimes more.
The Dodgers and Angels will do about an hour, sometimes more, depending on when the game ends.
But two hours is a marathon in the postgame business.
"Some nights, the postgame show is longer than the game," Kentera said. "We take the show to midnight for home and West Coast night games.
"But I love doing this because I love baseball. And because I'm prepared, know my stuff, I don't get flustered.
"Ernie and I pretty much have an open forum. We let the fans talk.
"The only time we cut them off is if someone swears.
"That's when they're designated for assignment."
More Padres
The on-air folks at 1090 deserve some credit.
Unlike Matt Vasgersian and Mark Grant on Channel 4, radio play-by-play announcers Jerry Coleman, Ted Leitner and Andy Masur have been open and honest on game broadcasts.
The team is bad right now, and they'll say so.
In addition, Darren Smith and Bill Werndl on the midday show have been critical ---- but fair ---- about the team's play.
That's to be applauded.
Vasgersian and Grant while being critical at times, can wear you out with their begging. Last Sunday's telecast was the worst. They begged for every call. Their play-by-play was as bad as the game.
Hey guys, it's not the umpire's fault this team is in the toilet, so quit begging for calls.
I've come to the conclusion that while Vasgersian and Grant are among the best play-by-play tandems in the business, they struggle when the Padres are losing.
No Tiger? Big problem
Last week's PGA Tour Wachovia Championship on CBS ---- without the injured Tiger Woods ---- was down 53 percent from last year when Woods won the event.
That isn't a good sign for NBC, which has coverage this weekend of The Players Championship.
NBC officials hope that a field with 49 of the top 50 golfers in the FedEx points standings ---- including defending champion Phil Mickelson of Rancho Santa Fe ---- as well as a challenging course and some production gimmicks will attract viewers.
The Players Championship is played on the TPC Sawgrass course with its par-3 "Island Green" at No. 17. So NBC has planted 15 "Splash Mics" around the green to capture balls as they plop into the water.
NBC's announcing crew includes Dan Hicks and analyst Johnny Miller, who is among the best in any sport, Gary Koch, Bob Murphy, Roger Maltbie, Mark Rolfing and Dottie Pepper. Bob Costas will contribute with interviews and commentaries.
Coverage ---- with limited commercial interruption ---- begins at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Wall-to-wall lacrosse
All 15 games from the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament will be carried on ESPNU, ESPN2 or ESPN.
All eight of this weekend's first-round matches will be on ESPNU, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
ESPNU has next weekend's quarterfinals with the semifinals on ESPN2 and the championship game on ESPN at 10 a.m. May 26.
The 16-team field includes No. 1-seeded Duke, No. 2 Virginia, No. 3 Syracuse and No. 4 North Carolina.
Local notes
-- Longtime Padres radio voices Jerry Coleman and Ted Leitner will be the guest speakers at the San Diego Hall of Champions "Sports at Lunch" series on May 21.
Check-in starts at 11:15 a.m. with lunch at noon.
Coleman will have copies of his book "An American Journey" available for purchase.
Cost is $30 for just lunch or $45 for lunch and a copy of Coleman's book.
For reservations, call (619) 699-2309 or visit www.sdhoc.com.
-- The NFL Network has a replay of the Week 9 Chargers-Vikings game as part of a five-game package that starts at 10 a.m. Sunday. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson ran for an NFL record 296 yards in that game.
Samaritan's Feet
TNT's "Inside the NBA" announcers will go barefoot on Sunday's show after the 5 p.m. Hornets-Spurs telecast in an effort to raise awareness of Samaritan's Feet, a charitable organization whose mission is to help outfit 10 million needy children worldwide with shoes.
TNT announcers Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will participate, along with Samaritan's Feet founder Manny Ohonme.
A shoe company founded by Golden State Warriors players Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington, as well as Turner Sports and NBA Cares will make donations.
The numbers can dance
-- NBC's coverage of the Kentucky Derby was the most-watched Derby since 2004 and the second most viewed in 17 years. The race drew an 8.8 national rating, a 21 share of the audience and was seen by 14.2 million viewers ---- up 3 percent from last year.
NBC officials hope the ratings continue to climb next week for the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.
-- Ratings for the NHL playoffs on Versus have taken a dramatic upturn as fans are finally learning where to find the games.
Game 4 of the Rangers-Penguins conference semifinal on May 1 drew a 1.0 rating and was seen by nearly 1.2 million viewers. Overall, ratings for the conference semifinals were up 50 percent.
-- ESPN has seen a 28-percent increase from last year in its NBA playoff ratings. ABC's NBA ratings are up 18 percent.
-- TNT's NBA playoff telecasts are up 10 percent.
AFL spices it up
In an effort to liven up its coverage of the Arena Football League, ESPN2 will have limited commentary for its 5 p.m. Monday game between Philadelphia and Georgia.
Instead, the network will place microphones on both quarterbacks, both head coaches, two defensive players and a referee.
The idea is to give fans an inside view into the game.
Softball in spotlight
The U.S. national softball team will compete in 62 games during a tour against top NCAA Division I college teams, regional all-star teams and international opponents.
Saturday at 9 a.m., Team USA plays Michigan with an 11 a.m. game against Virginia Tech. Both games are on ESPN.
Sunday at 10 a.m. on ESPN, Team USA plays DePaul. Tuesday at 4 p.m., Team USA plays Michigan and on Wednesday at 4 p.m. the team plays Tennessee. ESPN2 has the latter two games.
For softball fans, Saturday is a big day with several conference championship games on CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV) with other games on the mtn. and FSN.
Around the dial
-- ESPN2 and ABC have several segments of the Indianapolis 500 time trials on Saturday and Sunday.
-- Saturday's major league game of the week on Fox is Diamondbacks-Cubs. Kenny Albert and Mark Grace will call the game that goes to 37 percent of the country. The Los Angeles area gets the Yankees-Tigers game.
-- CBS has taped coverage from three weeks ago of the NCAA women's gymnastics championships at noon Saturday.
-- CBS has a golf special ---- "Jack Nicklaus' Toughest Holes of the Majors" ---- at 11 a.m. Sunday.
-- HBO Sports, NFL Films and the Dallas Cowboys will collaborate on "Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys" in August. The five-episode series kicks off Aug. 6 and runs the next four Wednesdays, taking a look inside the Cowboys' training camp at what it takes to make an NFL club. HBO plans to send a crew of 24 to camp and estimates it will shoot 700 hours of video. The Cowboys have granted HBO unencumbered access to the players, coaches, meeting rooms, training rooms, dorms and practice fields.
-- The Golf Channel announced an agreement that gives the network exclusive rights to the early rounds of the Senior PGA Championship through 2011.
-- Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson ---- one of the best in the business ---- has been out of action after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.
-- Rodney Peete and Rob Dibble have been dropped as regulars on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."
Staff writer John Maffei's TV/radio column appears every Friday. He can be reached at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.
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