lenkaspercubstv

>Understood, but Soto's HR on Thursday was long gone, and it took you a bit of time ;) Yes, no argument there.

>And my post about the home run calls... I wasn't saying that I want some lame ass "you can put it on the board" type of crap, it just always struck me as odd how on a no doubt shot Len seemed to not know whether it was gonna go or not. Now that I see the explanation though, it makes much more sense. Hey, I admit there are balls that fool me on occasion. It does happen and I think that's a completely valid criticism of my work, I really do. I wish I knew it every time. But I hate to guess. Sometimes you actually have to guess because you at least know it's going to be close and you feel the crowd's excitement. But there are also times when the crowd's excitement fools you into thinking a ball is gone when in fact, it is caught on the track. Again, right or wrong, sometimes I just wait a half-second to make sure.

P.S., Chip's HR call is excellent. I think he calls HRs as well as anybody out there today. I'd put him right near the top of the list.

Hey there, last thing...really need to go. On the HR call, I don't have one. I don't intend on getting one. I believe every HR is different. The risk is that I could mess it up, but the reward for me is that every one is different. Some surprise me, some are no-doubters. I like to call them accordingly. Again, it's a personal preference. I also like to wait until I know it's gone. I'd rather build up to the HR as opposed to get too excited too soon for a warning track shot. I'm always looking to improve and make my calls and especially HR calls better. No question about that...I've had some that I felt could have been better. I just feel like if I fall back on something too much, the call becomes too routine and therefore, to me, not as exciting. That's just me. There are some GREAT HR calls out there. I just don't want to force it. I mean, other than getting excited, I don't feel the need to "craft" a clever line. I think the HR itself is exciting. And to overdo it would be to try to take the spotlight and that's not my bag.

Voice of silk! That made me laugh. You're my favorite poster ever...I'll gladly accept "his voice doesn't annoy me." That's all I'm looking for.

I love sabermetrics. I can't drop in too much of it because many of the stats aren't considered mainstream and I don't want to make this a college course in mathematics. A lot of it is over my head, but I LOVE that really smart people are making an effort to tell us what's really going on. Our eyes lie to us all the time. The data doesn't lie if used properly. Signing off for the night. Disappointed TreyZ didn't reply. I was hoping we'd have a fun back and forth, but he chose not to I guess. I honestly enjoy the banter with my critics because it's refreshing to hear someone's unfiltered opinions. I honestly mean that. I don't hide from criticism. Comes with the job and keeps me grounded. I'm fortunate to have the best job in sports and I NEVER take it for granted. See you all tomorrow on WGN.

P.S., You're totally right on about Bob's personality. He makes me better every day. Just a joy to work with.

Actually, I'm not from Detroit. I'm from Shepherd, a small town of 1500 in the middle part of Michigan (lower peninsula). About a 5-hour drive from Chicago and 3 from Detroit.

Hey there...I have no problem with feedback, positive or negative. Those are your true opinions, which is the key. And I appreciate it. To your comments: >Len's voice is piercing to my ears. Sorry my voice causes such a negative physical reaction. I try to be comfortable in my delivery. If you're not a fan, that's OK. It's the voice I was given. Some people don't seem to mind it, others, like you, do. I realized a long time ago that as much as I'd like to please everyone, it's pretty difficult to do. I'll just do the best I can and hope most people are cool with it. >His taste in music is downright atrocious. Not sure how you would know what my musical tastes are, but let's swap our favorite bands just for fun (please play along since you brought it up...I'm always open to new music)...here are mine in no particular order: Replacements/Tommy Keene/Wilco/Romantics/Plimsouls/Dandy Warhols/Dirtbombs/DM3/Figgs/Psychedelic Furs/Ramones/Reigning Sound/Superdrag/You Am I >It is debatable whether or not he is a true Cubs fan. I'll just let my work speak for itself. Nothing I can say here to convince you otherwise. Again, as you said, to each his own. This is the best job in sports and I get to call games for the best fans in sports. I'm just so happy for every Cubs fan who has followed this team since birth. Today was a great day. Congratulations!

Hey Everybody, Len Kasper here. Just wanted to send my congratulations to you, the best fans on the planet. YOU deserve not only today, but 3 more big celebrations over the next month. What an incredible scene at the ballpark when Woody got the final out. So appropriate. Enjoy the final week with us on TV and we'll get you set for a big month of October. Can't wait to celebrate with all of you at Clark & Addison soon. Best, Len Kasper Cubs TV

I haven't posted on this board in a long while. I don't post under any assumed names either.

I sometimes check on the board during a break if I have a second. You guys are good at catching pretty much everything (i.e., "Len totally screwed up that stat" or whatever...I always like to get it right, even if I have to go back to correct something), so when I saw that post, I was curious what the point was.

Yup, it's me...I check on the board a lot. I like to know if we screw up and you always let us know! Was wondering if that post was referring to the George Brett story? I was referring to a story about it with the anniversary tomorrow. Len

Hi Guys, just finished up in AZ. What was the post regarding "wow at all the lies in the story Len told" all about????? I'm very curious... Len Kasper P.S., Nice win tonight

Hey Everybody, I have a cool announcement about a charity concert Bob and I will host the night before the Cubs Convention in January. Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams will headline and it should be a great night of rock and roll. Hope you can make it! Proceeds benefit Chicago Cubs Charities. Len Chicago Cubs television announcers Len Kasper and Bob Brenly announced plans today for their inaugural "Len & Bob Bash" concert that will be held Thursday night, January 18, 2007, at the House of Blues. Ryan Adams will be the concert headliner and all proceeds will be donated to Chicago Cubs Charities. "Bob and I have both been treated so wonderfully by everyone in Chicago and we have been looking to find a way to give something back," said Kasper. "We both love music and with the Cubs Convention set to start the next day, we hope this will be a fun and rewarding way to kick off the baseball season in Chicago." "When Len came to me with this, I thought it was a great idea," said Brenly. "This is going to be a very fun show for a great cause. Chicago Cubs Charities does great work in town and we're excited to be able to add our support with this event." Tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday, November 11 at 10am and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling 312-559-1212, or at http://www.ticketmaster.com. There will be an exclusive internet pre-sale of tickets beginning Wednesday morning November 8 through the House of Blues at http://www.hob.com/venues/clubvenues/chicago/.

Hang in there...I know this is tough to watch. You guys are the best fans in the world, hands down. Hopefully, Big Z will come to the rescue tonight. Len

Hey, as pointed out, we do put the OBP number in our WGN graphic. If I had to choose one or the other, I'd pick OBP over batting average. It's a huge rate stat, maybe the most important one offensively, with slugging a close 2nd. Thanks for the nice comments guys. Hang in there...I know you will...still have 88 to go.

Hey Everybody, just checking in...making the rounds on a couple boards just to see how everybody's doing (I think I have an idea unfortunately). You're the best fans in the world...I know this has been a brutal stretch. As always, I appreciate the passion and knowledge and just wanted to drop a line and say hi. Len Kasper Cubs TV

Yeah, it's me...I'm a night owl, even on the west coast! I'm done for the night though...that scoring decision kept me up too late! I'm such a geek...what a performance by Maddux tonight. Just brilliant.

Hey Everybody, 2 things...I got the Lofton note from the front page of the Dodger notes. It said Lofton had never faced Maddux before. I assume that meant regular season. I hadn't considered the post-season. Good call though... On the Pierre/Cedeno play, I'm still not sure about the scoring on it because the ball clearly hit Ronny, but I think the call was interference. We never got an explanation on the scoring decision, and I racked my brain looking through the rule book and I decided at the time they must have ruled FC instead of hit for Pierre because Robles would have fielded it and gotten an out had it not hit Cedeno. But the guys on the cubs.com board noted that there is no such provision in the rule book. Therefore, based on the scoring, I think interference was the call, not the ball hitting the runner. If the ball hit Cedeno first, I believe JP gets a hit regardless of what happened next because the ball is dead. Strange play...I'm going to ask the official scorer when I get to the park tomorrow and see what the ruling actually was. The ball did hit Ronny. He may have touched Robles too, but I would lean toward the ball hitting him first. That way JP can pick up a hit! Hope you're all doing well... Len

Thanks, you're all too kind...we had a lot of fun today and we'll have even more in the regular season. BB is as insightful and hilarious as anyone I've been around in this game. I'll try to check in now and again... Len

Just checked out a little of your game thread. One thing as a clarification, in case anyone is wondering... It's dah-PAIR-ik. I know because he told me. I generally always try to ask the player how HE pronounces his name. For instance, Jae Kuk Ryu told me it's "ROO." I had heard some people say "YOU." Also, the OBP thing on our graphics is new this year. I really like having it included. On Neifi, let's face it, he played great defense and offensively, supplied as much as you could ever ask from him. He doesn't get on base much, but considering he was a backup last year, he did all he could to help the club. Fair enough? Anyway, good win for the Cubs today. Hope you enjoyed our telecast. It was awesome being back on the air with Bob and our WGN crew. Best regards, Len Kasper (yes, it is me...same username as I've used on Cubs.com)

Hi Everybody, just wanted to say hi and express my gratitude to all the Cub fans out there...you've made me feel like part of the family this year and I can't tell you how excited I am to be here and how much fun I'm having in the booth with Bob. It's been a frustrating year on the field I know, but hopefully the Cubs can finish strong. Anyway, great site...just wanted to say hello. Best regards, Len Kasper (yes, it is me)