By Jeff Moss
DetroitSportsRag@GMail.com
February 10, 2014
It has been 18 months since this website broke the news of the dysfunction in the Detroit Tigers’ television broadcast booth. Or, more specifically, the genuine dislike between commentators Mario Impemba and Rod Allen.
In the time since I posted that exclusive story (by the way, one of the most read in the 12-year history of this blog) there has only been one follow up to my report that the team’s play-by-play man and the color announcer barely speak to each other off microphone.
And that was by me.
Things had gotten so bad between Impemba and Allen last year that Fox Sports Detroit executives started attributing a ratings decline to the pair’s lack of chemistry.
That feeling led to FSD creating a three-man booth with Jack Morris for certain games in September — an experiment that did not thrill the executives, according to my sources.
Anyway, the Tigers’ television partner announced today that they will be utilizing three color announcers in 2015. In addition to Allen, two ACTUAL members of the 1984 team — Kirk Gibson and Morris — will be added.
It seems as though the trio will appear with Impemba on a rotating basis, which is a huge slap in the face to Allen and a clear demotion. And that is exactly what this is … the phasing out of Rod Allen.
Who orchestrated this upheaval? Well, FSD management was a willing participant in the decision — remember the ratings decrease — but I have been informed by a source inside the Fox compound that this move has Impemba written all over it.
In fact, one member of the FSD team declared VICTORY for Mario in his ongoing battle with Allen. Sources have told me that it is Impemba’s belief that Rod does not do his homework and isn’t prepared for his duties. And because of Allen’s “laziness” the overall production suffers.
While FSD execs are clearly excited to add Gibson — a former member of their team — nobody is more hyped about today’s announcement than Impemba.
That’s the level of dislike between the two men. This was a power play by Impemba and, not unlike Gustav Nyquist …. he just lit the lamp.
What’s my opinion of the move? Well, while I would have preferred Allen’s complete removal from the booth, this is the next best thing. I also would have liked FSD to add a sabermetric guru to the telecast but that is clearly not happening anytime soon.
As the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Gibson was known to minimize advanced metrics in favor of gut feelings and grunt work. (Please See: Upton, Justin.)
What we should get from Gibby, though, is what he gave us back when he was broadcasting Tigers games with Josh Lewin — excellent analysis, including being critical of the home team when warranted. Something Allen and Impemba rarely — if ever — have done in the past.
I could also do without Morris, who is a dunderhead and believes math and pitch-counts are for pussies. Morris’ former teammate from the ’84 squad, Dan Petry, should have been given this gig but we don’t live in a perfect world.
We do live in one, however, where it would appear that Rod Allen and his tired, slappy, shill shtick has just been cut by two-thirds.
So, to quote O’Shea Jackson …. “Today is a good day.”