 |
| Stairs played in two World Series with the Phillies, in '08 and '09 |
Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia yesterday hired former MLBers Matt Stairs and Jamie Moyer to replace announcers Chris Wheeler and Gary Matthews on Phillies broadcasts, although Stairs and Moyer "have little experience in TV work," according to Matt Gelb of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. The RSN "will mix-and-match its TV team throughout the season." Moyer and Stairs "will each work at least 100 games, more than 30 together on a three-man team with play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy." In-game reporter Gregg Murphy also "will return." Moyer and Stairs were "hired as Comcast employees, while McCarthy remains a Phillies employee." The RSN "gained more editorial control under the guise of its recent billion-dollar TV-rights deal with the Phillies" (
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2/12). In Newark, Eliot Shorr-Parks noted the Phillies' "need for a new color analyst started when" both Wheeler and Matthews
were let go in January. The decision to "move on from the longtime analysts coincided with the Phillies' new TV deal with Comcast, fueling some to believe that Comcast was behind the decision to fire Wheeler and Matthews" (
NJ.com, 2/11). CSN Philadelphia President & GM Brian Monihan indicated that Moyer and Stairs "bring a unique perspective to the booth and their expert analysis will add a new level of energy, insight and enjoyment to our Phillies broadcasts." ESPN's Keith Olbermann said, "You want to talk about expert analysis, Wheeler had been there since 1971. … Gary Matthews sent seven years in that Phillies booth, played 16 seasons in the majors and once nearly killed me with a home run in the 1983 NL Championship Series" (
"Olbermann," ESPN2, 2/12).
