Kitty Kaat in Limbo

George Steinbrenner’s decision to start a regional sports network which would broadcast Yankees, Nets and Devils games means the end of their relationship with the Madison Square Garden (MSG) Network. The YankeeNets recently paid MSG a $30 million buyout to end their current working relationship after the season.

The crew which announces the majority of the Yankees games thus finds itself in limbo. Jim Kaat and Ken Singleton are the A-team, with Al Trautwig and Suzyn Waldman in the support roles. Kaat and Singleton are a fine duo–I much prefer them to Fox’s Yankee team of Tim McCarver and Bobby Murcer. Whereas McCarver can’t resist acting as the know-it-all, and Murcer vacillates between demonstrating his mastery of the obvious and simply being a blatant homer, Kaat & Singleton are a smooth, even-keeled, knowledgable duo. Whereas Fox’s blaring production gets old real fast even in the most exciting of ballgames, MSG’s low-key approach is perfect for the long haul of a season.

It would be a shame to lose the duo. But Kaat says the MSG team’s not succumbing to lame-duck thinking. “I tried to condition myself just as I would if I was still a player,” Kaat says in this NY Daily News article. “When you hear trade rumors, and things like that, the only thing I can control is what I do on the field. That’s kind of the way I feel in the booth.”

Kaat says that being the voice of the Yankees is the best local gig in the majors. Here’s hoping he and his partner get to keep that gig on the Boss’s new channel.