The White Sox have decided to exercise their option on analyst Chris Singleton and bring him back for another season in the radio booth with Ed Farmer on WSCR-AM 670.
The news won’t be greeted with universal cheers in White Sox Nation (yes, there is one too). Judging by the various blogs and e-mails, there were plenty of listeners who thought Singleton either didn’t have the goods or that the pair lacked chemistry.
Many of those negative e-mails found the inbox of Sox vice president and chief marketing officer Brooks Boyer. He believes Farmer and Singleton finished the season on an upward trend, unlike the team they cover.
In a candid assessment, Boyer said, “They’re still not the best broadcast team in baseball, and they would agree with that. But toward the end of the season I thought they had some of their strongest broadcasts, even though the team was out of it. It’s a work in progress, but we’re starting to see the fruits of their labor.”
Consciously or not, it appeared Farmer made an effort to interact more with Singleton in September. The broadcasts seemed to be peppered with more lines like, “What do you think of that, partner?”
It hasn’t been easy for Singleton.
The former Sox center fielder was thrown into a high-profile job with high expectations with virtually no broadcast experience in 2006.
Boyer lauded Singleton for his “tremendous work ethic,” which was no small factor in the decision to bring him back.
“You have to realize where he has come from as a broadcaster,” Boyer said. “He has a lot of potential.”
That’s all well and good, but Sox fans have the right to demand the best in the booth. Boyer wholeheartedly supports that notion.
“We can’t ask for patience from our fans,” Boyer said. “But I’m confident they are going to have a good broadcast in 2008.”
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esherman@tribune.com
