Imrem: Benetti a good addition for Chicago White Sox
Ladies and gentlemen … a big Chicago White Sox welcome for new TV play-by-play announcer … Jason Benetti!
The young man is part of your Sox family now, and first impressions indicate that's a positive development.
You know, the beauty of baseball announcers is that logic doesn't determine whether you like them.
You either do or you don't.
Benetti's first game in the Sox's booth came over the weekend. It was only an exhibition and the Sox were hammered by the Cubs, but he sounded good.
Concerning any job, complimenting the new guy is like insulting the old guy … in this case Hawk Harrelson.
Benetti will split duties with the veteran Harrelson, who will do only road games and a few home games.
Harrelson is an old-fashioned baseball announcer, a character with lines you have heard a million times - his own clichés, some might say.
To be honest, it was refreshing to not hear "can of corn" or "catbird seat" or "you can put it on the board … yes!"
(Benetti was subdued during his first call of a Sox home run but has plenty of time to come up with a signature scream of some sort.)
Harrelson, in his fourth decade as a Sox announcer, is polarizing even among his own team's own fans.
That isn't meant as a shot at Harrelson, who should be in the broadcast wing of baseball's Hall of Fame.
But a change of pace would be good, and Benetti is that, divisive only in that a fan might prefer his style to Harrelson's or Harrelson's to his.
Benetti came across as polished, professional and prepared with a soothing voice and direct delivery, just as most broadcasters are these days when they first arrive in the major leagues.
In other words, Benetti sounded more like Cubs television announcer Len Kasper than, say, Hawk Harrelson.
One pure positive is that Benetti grew up in Homewood as a Sox fan, so his enthusiasm for the home team will be genuine rather than perceived as paycheck generated.
The key will be how Benetti blends with analyst Steve Stone, and that was encouraging.
After an airing of grievances a couple of years ago, Stone and Harrelson have tried to be amicable. Still, it's almost like they're two guys stuck in a booth together instead of one broadcast team.
Benetti and Stone were compatible in this first game as partners, and their relationship should become even better as the innings, games and seasons proceed.
The new broadcast team bantered a bit, a one-liner here and chuckle there, though announcers are a lot like sports columnists: not nearly as amusing as they think they are.
Benetti will make more and presumably better use of Stone than Harrelson does.
In their first couple of innings together, Benetti asked Stone more questions about inside baseball than Harrelson does over the course of a couple of seasons.
What about Jose Abreu's ability to adjust at the plate? How does a pitcher counteract Arizona's thin air? What's the pitcher's approach with an 0-2 count?
The danger is that Stone will talk too much and too technically: This is TV rather than radio, fellas, and baseball rather than splitting Adams (Eaton and LaRoche).
Stone dominated the broadcast, not surprisingly considering that he was liberated on this day from being dominated by Harrelson.
Sox fans will have all season to compare Benetti on home games to Harrelson on road games.
For starters, though, Jason Benetti is a welcome addition to the White Sox's TV booth.
mimrem@dailyherald.com