Posted by chicagomedia.org on September 14, 2008 at 14:47:16:
Brenly gets deal to stay with Cubs
Steve Stone's move to the White Sox' TV booth was hardly shocking - but long overdue.
And on the day the Sox announced Stone's six-year contract, the man who replaced Stone on the North Side got a new deal of his own.
Bob Brenly, whose contract was set to expire in a few weeks, has agreed to a four-year extension worth in the neighborhood of $3.5 million, the same as the deal that brought him here when Brenly and Len Kasper replaced Stone and Chip Caray after the ugly 2004 season.
There have been whispers over the past few weeks that the Cubs might entertain the notion of bringing back Stone if Brenly didn't sign a new deal or found a managing job.
But sign he did, and Chicago baseball is now guaranteed the two best color analysts in all of baseball for a long time.
"I can think of a lot worse things to do for living,'' Brenly laughed Saturday, as he awaited word on where and when the Cubs would play next. "I'm lucky to have Len. He makes my job so easy. He's a pro. Me? I just try not to swear on the air.''
Kasper insists it's Brenly who makes the broadcast work.
"He's the whole package. He's brilliant baseball-wise, he's got a great sense of humor, and he's no maintenance on the air and behind the scenes. He's everything you'd want in a broadcast partner,'' said Kasper, who has a year left on his deal. "I hope Bob stays a long time, for selfish reasons, but I also know he'd be a great manager.''
Brenly, who won a World Series with Arizona in 2001, says that's not as likely as it was a couple of years ago.
"That itch isn't quite as bad as it used to be, and with passing time and not having an agent and being out of that loop, I don't know,'' Brenly said. "I'd never say never, but it would have be the right team and the right situation.''
Brenly and Kasper have become a huge hit on the North Side, though it didn't happen overnight.
"There's a big adjustment there for us, and especially for the fans, and Stoney was so popular and so good,'' Brenly said. "But I think with each passing year, the comfort level grew.
"It certainly doesn't hurt for the team to win, either. You can be exactly the same broadcaster and when the team is losing, it doesn't sound too good. Fortunately for everyone involved, the last couple years have been much better.''
A Stone's throw
As good as he sounded with Ed Farmer on radio, the Sox had no choice but to elevate Steve Stone to the TV booth, where Hawk Harrelson had completely given up - understandably - on trying to make that broadcast work.
Stone will add years to Harrelson's career and remind him of how good he once was on the South Side.
"The few games we did last year,'' Stone said, "I thought our chemistry was exceptional.''
It was, but you won't hear Stone joining in when Harrelson makes a home run call, as does Darrin Jackson.
"Not gonna happen,'' Stone said Saturday. "Hawk will have to put it on the board by himself.''
(Daily Herald)