'HE CHOKES'
A stand-up guy as a player, Brantley is no less forthright a broadcaster.
Take Thursday's broadcast in Florida. Discussing how Todd Coffey pitches differently with a lead, Brantley said, "You can't throw the ball with your right hand if your right hand is on your throat."
(Asked about the remark a day later, Brantley was even more blunt, telling The Enquirer's John Fay, "He chokes.")
In a role that sometimes turns former players into cheerleaders or apologists, Brantley, employed by the club on a four-year contract, is remarkably frank.
When Bronson Arroyo struggled, Brantley wondered across WLW's 50,000 watts if the pitcher's fledgling music career wasn't becoming a distraction. (The next day, Arroyo canceled a gig.)
Todd Coffey, Brantley said, needed to quit worrying about four or five pitches and focus on throwing his breaking ball for strikes: "If he can't do that, he ain't never gonna get better up here."
When Matt Belisle, two innings after allowing a home run to Philadelphia's Chase Utley on a 3-0 pitch, again fell behind Utley 3-0, Brantley advised caution. "Surely this will not be a situation where he throws Utley another one of those belt-high fastballs, because Utley has the green light any time he wants it. The pitch. ... (Crack) Oh mah goodness, what are we thinkin' about?"
Kyle Lohse, Brantley suggested, was, uh, less than resilient in dealing with adversity. "He's not even trying," Brantley said. "He just gives up. He gives up a couple of runs and he just quits. I'd rather take my chances with a guy who's not going to quit on me."
Says Brennaman: "Amazingly, there have been times this season where he's been much more candid than I've been. And I didn't think that was possible."
Brantley says while he's candid, "no one has ever accused me of being unfair."
"I think I'm more than fair on the side of the player, unless you don't hustle, or you don't prepare," Brantley says. "You don't hustle, you don't try, we've got a problem."
