Piersall out at home--again
By Teddy Greenstein
Tribune staff reporter

July 25, 2006

After getting dumped by WSCR-AM 670 in January, Jimmy Piersall thought he had found a home at WMVP-AM 1000. But his stint on Chicago's ESPN affiliate came to an abrupt end late last week when station officials decided to cancel his show, which had aired Sundays from 10-11 a.m.

Said Piersall: "They didn't give a reason and I didn't get into it much. If that's what they want, that's what they want."

A source said the station's motivation was to add an extra hour for Bruce Levine, who teams with Carmen DeFalco on "Talkin' Baseball" on Sundays from 11-1 p.m.

At least Piersall, 76, will be paid through September.

"I'm still in better shape than (Jim) Hendry, I know that," he said.

Gotta love the shot at the Cubs at the end.....


Piersall, IMHO, never even had a fastball to lose, so I don't think anyone will be missing him much. His 'interviews' and shows were uncomfortable at best - he confused names, situations, and positions of players on a routine basis. If he isn't getting that stuff right, he doesn't serve much of a purpose. He knows strategy, but he couldn't tell you in a clear way. ESPN already has someone like that, but Salisbury is signed for three years....

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Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Its a shame. Leave it to a national network to fumble away another local legend. The wilder half of "Tell it like it is" that put Harry Caray on the Chicago map in the 70s. Always colorful with alternate perspectives. Cory Patterson was always his guy, even as fans ran him out of town. Sure, Piersall might be getting a little old. Controversial, maybe a little crazy, but still tells it like is. Can scout and knows baseball. No sugar coating. Its disappointing that the sports radio duopoly execs cant find him an open slot . Smug corporate PR suits for both the Cubs and Sox finally shut him up and get him off the air, although 30 years later than they wanted to. Heres hoping Murph and North get him back aboard. His price should be pretty reasonable and his 2 cents would be a great complement along with Stony.

Or he got himself off the air by not knowing his job or doing it well...

_________________
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ~ Benjamin Franklin

We already tried that on SCR. He came on Murph and didnt know peoples names and couldnt articulate his thoughts at all. Then, he was bashed by B&B as well as other for making zero sense and being senile. At some point, putting the old guys out to pasture isnt a bad idea.

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