It's quite a comedown to go from ESPN to the Cincinnati Reds broadcasts. Sounds like his ego is taking a beating.

We are talking about a franchise that has done nothing for over a decade now. I wouldn't be shocked if the Reds end up blaming Brantly for their poor play. Dusty Baker is the manager of the team after all.

The article says "most fans think his bashing has gone over-the-top as of late". As a life-long Cincinnati resident and Reds fan, I don't think that statement is accurate. I've always loved Brennaman for "telling it like it is." He's so close to the Reds organization, and he's a logical thinker - if he says someone isn't hustling, it's probably true. Likewise, Brantley is a former player, and I don't believe he makes unsupported comments. (Consider the Encarnacion incident when he said he was "not clutch"...sure Edwin fired off a timely homer that made Jeff look like an idiot, but Edwin had not been clutch before, and he has not been clutch since - I think it's unfair to blame Brantley for that.)

We've all wanted to love and embrace Griff...he seems like a decent man, and is Hall of Fame bound. But any way you look at it, his performance on the field and his presence in the community during his time in Cincinnati has been a disappointment, and he is not above criticism.

I hope that Brantley and Brennaman never stop providing honest, insightful commentary. Reds broadcasting has been the highlight of this franchise since 1990.

i'm surprised griff didn't pull a hammy doing that throatslash, freaking pansy.

-dan

Ah yes, the old "Griffey is injury-prone" joke. That one never gets old, does it? Junior may not be nearly as effective as he once was, but he was basically healthy for the past two seasons, so get off him. As for Brantley, if you read Hal McCoy's blog on the Dayton Daily News site, he says it's more about a comment Brantley made about the corner outfielders (Junior and Dunn) not being very good (Dunn is a bad outfielder, and Junior's legs have imploded - his right hamstring is attached by screws in his tailbone, by the way) but Brantley evidently took it directly to Griffey later so it's probably a dead issue. Junior is just sensitive to criticism. He's had run-ins with Brennaman in the past and they're still cool. I personally enjoy Brantley's commentary, even though he does go overboard in his criticism sometimes - though there's plenty to critique in a team that's underachieving.

A couple of defensive metrics (of course, prone to being hard to figure and a little fluke-y) have Dunn as quite good in the outfield this season.

Then again, I'd start badmouthing Aaron Harang's mom if I was replaced in my job by Eduardo Perez or Fernando Vina.

I was watching the game and after Griffey headed into the dugout they had a closeup of him looking up toward the booth and I'm pretty sure he dropped a very pissed-off "eff you" (though I assumed at the time he was talking to an asshole fan). I distinctly remember Brennaman being completely silent for the next minute and a half.

"Ah yes, the old "Griffey is injury-prone" joke. That one never gets old, does it?"

Is Griffey's fireplace in Orlando fixed yet?

Well said, Tim Brown. It's amazing how thin-skinned athletes can be.

I don't see the "throat cutting gesture"...it only looks like he points to the booth.

Wow, these guys need a fiery comment from an announcer to get motivated to do the job that they're getting paid millions to do? their paycheck should be all the motivation they need. Nobody likes a whiner!

Seems to me that can mean many different things and that is not a good picture of it at all. It could mean, "cut it out, shut up." It could mean a number of things. Not that I am a Griffey fan, but c'mon. This is just something for this guy to complain about. Do you really think he would had man a throat slashing motion on national TV? He isn't a rookie. Let's be real. Lets find something interesting to talk about.

Big shit! So what if he wants to throw a slight hand gester that signifies cutting at the throat...look at the Celtics opening ceremonies...Garnett and Pierce have a handshake that involves them teking out the oponent with such a gesture. Football players make that notion many times on live television. But since it's baseball something has to be said about it? I call you're bluff...it's not that big of a deal!

I didn't see it, so it never happened.

I think it's kind of refreshing to hear a "hometown" announcer get on "their" team every once in awhile..I get tired of butt-kissing announcers taking up for bad-to-mediocre play....

I agree with the above comments of Tim Brown whole-heartedly. I am also a life-long Cincy area resident and Reds fan. Marty does tell it like it is and I appreciate that. Although loyal to the Reds he is not a yes-man for the organization as some broadcasters can be. ESPN should check their sources. Marty is very much loved for his unbiased call of the games. I can't imagine listening to the Reds without him!
Also, the reports we are getting on local radio say Griffey let out a very audible F*** You when he did the throat slashing gesture. Unprofessional and uncalled for! I thought you were classier than that, Griff!

This whole thing is stupid. WOW! He did a throat slash gesture! How horrible! hahaha, big deal, bunch of pussies.

Jeff Brantley has a long history of not knowing what he's talking about. He may feel he can get another job at ESPN by being provocative, but that ship has sailed. ESPN hires guys who have played in the bigs RECENTLY. Once the Reds let him go, that's gonna be it for him.

Bottom line is the Red's announcers stink! They don't even talk about what's going on in the game. They rant and rave about crap that shouldn't even be on most radio talk shows. That goes for all the announcers, radio and television...I miss Knux, at least he'd tell you the count and the situation on the field...

Sure, Brantley can be a jerk, and half the time he sounds two sheets to the wind, but these players are supposed to be professional and be able to take criticism. It's part of the game. Maybe next time Junior or Dunn or whoever can clog their ears up with some of those millions they make each year to play a game. Pay me $16 mil per year at my job, and you can criticize me all day.

I’m all for criticizing players. They are professional and therefore should not be above it. But the way Brantley does it is wrong. He is supposed to be for the Reds and not against them. I get annoyed at him every time I listen. He sounds like a grumpy, bitter old man. He was terrible on ESPN and he is even worse with the Reds. I agree with one of the other comments...When the Reds let him go; we will never see him again. Brantley had a few good seasons in the majors, but his career could be summed up as mediocre at best. Keep doing your thing Griffey. We will all still love you in the end.

As of late Jr has been looking like a decent OF. He's been going after balls diving, sliding. Been showing he stil has a decent arm with dead on throws nailing people. And he has been hitting the ball decent all year. Might not have the HR's that many expect, but he has hit some bullets. Yea he's not what he was as a mariner. But look at video of him when he joined the reds in 2000 and now. it's amazing what age does to a non-roiding player. Yea the reds as an orginization are terrible. Keeping Edwin at 3rd who is good for 1-3 errors a week that some how costs the game. To keep pitching Todd coffey who couldn't get the guys on my softball team out. Were suppose to have all this great young talent. But when Baker won't open his eyes to make the easiest managing decsions makes it kinda hard to win. and old Bobby boy wasn't kidding anyone when he said were not going to lose anymore. There are many worse problems on this team than Jr and Dunn. Where's Barry Larkin at when you need him. He needs to replace Baker. Training camp opened today so WHO-DEY!!! Go BENGALS!!!

Come on people this is so petty. Griffey's Throat Slash Gestures was done so quickly you got to play it in slow motion to see what he did. Throat Slash Gestures are done over and over again and/or in a long exaggerated motion to make sure people understand that it's a Throat Slash. If Griffey wanted to be “awful” he should have give Brantley the middle finger for making that stupid comment and not give him a weak half done Throat Slash.

Good think Larry Andersen was not watching.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/40630-wphts-larry-andersen-suggests-balls-across-ny-met-jose-reyes-nose

I think we all have glossed over an important aspect of this clip. Unless there's something out there I don't know about, and that's entirely possible.....who calls Griffey Jr. the "Fresh Prince" other than T-hom? Cincy honks, little help?

Such a huge disappointment to see Junior do this. Maybe someone in the stands did not treat his dad fairly so this is Junior's way of communicating that. Just another spoiled multi-millionaire. Both he and Ramirez should try to work in the real world for what the majority of us makes.

/Insert OJ Simpson joke here

I could careless about the throat slash gesture. What I take issue with is Griffey's sensitivity. He's a great player and has done it the right way, but he's a huge baby. Unless you are being attacked personally then get over it. Brantley's job is to "analyze" the game. He is not your agent or PR man.

After 20 years in the bigs I don't think Jr. cares what is said about him. He's probably more upset with what is being said about his teammates. BTW, look up natitown.com for some great Cincinnati sport tees.

I agree with the mature adults on this page who don't think this is a big deal. Griffey is human, I guarantee if I posted some nasty comments about one particular blogger on this site they would immediately reply with some nasty insult. All the Griffey fans on this site know that this guy has been amazing in dealing with criticism. I was at the game the night of the incident, Griffey was taking all kinds of sh*t in the outfield. Several idiots in right field sitting around me were booing him for every ball that came his way that he didn't catch. One ball that dropped in front of him and Jay Bruce was followed by several comments being screamed at Jr. This shows the ignorance of some people, the ball was hit to right center and Bruce was charging all the way, Griffey was running to the ball but looking at Bruce the whole time. Bruce pulled up and the ball bounced once and then landed in bruce's glove. I am a fan of Jay Bruce but this was his play to make, anyone who has ever played the game knows the center fielder has the right of way.
What I am getting at is that it seems like people want to hate Griffey. He took a pay cut to come here and has brings a lot of fans to the park.
I see nothing wrong with Griffey's actions, Brantley needs to show him some respect. He puts up with ignorant Cincinnati fans every home game. He shouldn't have to hear the same ignorant stuff from an announcer. I definately do not want him to be traded but anywere else he went would appreciate him more than Cinci.
Oh yeah, injury prone, 20 years in the big leagues, well over half of that spent on astroturf. I think the guy is pretty damn durable. Also look at his numbers, even injured he has outperformed almost every other red.

As a life long Ken Griffey Jr. fan and Seattle resident I had the pleasure of seeing him play in his prime. While here in Seattle he was notorious for making the nay-sayers look stupid.

I was at one game during his last season here in Seattle, when everyone knew that he was going to leave for Cincinnatti, where a fan got on him for not climbing the fence to try to rob a homerun. He promptly responded to that fan by hitting a 2-run homerun in the bottom half of that inning. When he returned to CF he politely got the fans attention and put a finger over his lips to signal for him to quiet down... One of my best memories on Griffey in Seattle.

People just need to back-off. Griffey is one of the all-time greats and if it weren't for his hamstring issues he would most likely be the HR King. Nobody has ever accused him of being involved in the steroids controvercy, he has done it all by his natural talents.

So he isn't the fielder that he used to be. No normal 37 year-old plays like he did when he was 20... unless your name is Barry Bonds and you had pharmacutical help.

ONE MORE THING...

PLEASE COME BACK TO SEATTLE GRIFFEY!!!

i just lookat it as him telling brantly to shove it people look into what he did to much

Bias article. Focuses on the negative way too much. Ridiculous.

i didnt see shit no gesture at all people gota pick apart other people for stupid lil things fuck that! Griffey's the fuckin man

Griffey's the fuckin man

An accurate statement in 1998, not 2008.

This is nothing more than Brantley being a skirt wearing sissy boy, who's cajones are buried deep inside his wife's purse, pulling the PC angle and acting all offended over nothing; offended ONLY because people like him who can't think for themselves have been indoctrinated into thinking like this.

Sad but true.

This is a non-issue. Jeff Brantley is a mullet wearing douchebag and will get the axe far sooner than Griffey will, if anything is done to Griffey at all, which I highly doubt.

So there is no confusion as to what I'm saying here; Griffey did NOTHING wrong, even if he DID make the throat slashing motion. Big freaking deal!! Judging by Brantley's insipid whining, Brantley is acting like Griffey PHYSICALLY harmed him instead of the perceived "obscene" motion he thought to be directed at him. A motion, incidentally, WHICH IS NOT OBSCENE!!! Flipping the bird is considered obscene. Jeff Brantely's haircut, well, now that IS obscene.

The bottom line is this; if Brantley is that thin skinned, he has far more serious and deep seeded issues to deal with than crying about a perceived "obscene" gesture being directed at him.

Personally speaking? If it were me that Griffey supposedly directed this perceived "obscene" gesture at, I would laugh it off and sure as heck would embarrass myself further (did I mention Brantley's haircut?) by whining about it.

Cheers!!

Sean said:

"Such a huge disappointment to see Junior do this. Maybe someone in the stands did not treat his dad fairly so this is Junior's way of communicating that. Just another spoiled multi-millionaire. Both he and Ramirez should try to work in the real world for what the majority of us makes."


ARRRGGGGHHHHH!! What happend to the MEN in this coutnry? Have they all gone metrosexually soft and PC?!?

Evidently, as it appears that Sean's cajones can be found right next to Brantley's, buried deep in Brantley's wife's purse as well.

Get over yourself and your "righteous indignation" Sean. Everyone has a right to make the money they make and there are far more egrigous whiners in the sporting world than Griffey. When it comes to whining, he's a mute compared to some of the crybabies I've seen and heard over the last decade.

"Maybe someone in the stands didn't treat his dad..." FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, drop the insipid liberal whiny BS!! Far from you to understand this, Sean, but there are people in this world far worse off than you are and they go through life without so much as a peep about life being unfair, so spare me the pussified "They make millions and I don't and that's not fair" attitude.

Life's not fair; never has been and never will be, but it's what we make of it personally that counts.

Get over it.

OK- so Ken Griffey Jr is a human being and screwed up. It is hard to be perfect all the time- but maybe everyone criticizing should take a long look in the mirror. No one is perfect, but everyone jumps all over other people for lapses in judgement. It's a good thing cameras don't follow all of us around all the time or we would all be on the hot seat all the time. Deal with it- athletes aren't perfect. We expect better than what has happened here, but life will certainly go on.

Jr is a piece of shit and has been for 7 years. He is a discrace to the game and to his dad. You never saw a play not hussle when Sr. was a red. Brantley had it right. Griff is a cry baby millionaire that wants everyone to cater to his every need. I say put Griffey Jr and manny on the same cry baby team. Both are discrace to the sport. Manny has visited jamaca once too many times.

in the last 10 years the reds two biggest days have been the signing and the trading of Griffey. Jr. can take his lazy crybaby spoiled brat personallity to another city. Chicago will bounce him our on his ass by the end of the season.

mykl: looks like you were wrong about Brantley getting the ax before Jr. Griff is a chi-sock whule Brantley will ne announcing the Reds game tonight.

The Reds send a good signal, if you want to make millions and act and play like a spoiled cryababy, we will trade you.

The Redsox and Reds have sent a great message to the rest of the lazy non-trying hard sissy major leaguers out there.

Manny and Jr. belong on the same team. I would also throw NFL'er Ricky Williams on that team for good measure.

concerned fan
I think some criticism of Grif is fair bec cincinnati fans expected more of him while he was here. I think we unfairly put our hopes of being a winner solely on his back. Not fair. This team has not been a winner for a while. And Griffey hitting more homers, running harder on flyballs, or diving on every play was not going to fix the problem of an organization stuck in a small market, and in a small minded town with small minded fans who still want $1.00 hot dogs, and hudy delight at all reds games. Regardless of how much these guys make..they are people too. No amount of money being paid to a player gives any fan the right to disrespect or taunt a player. This is just low class behavior. Funny how the worst critics are those of us who will probably never be hall of fame for anything but have the most criticism to give about everything.

concerned fan
what I may be or not has nothing to do with Griffeys attitude. Remember we are talking a guy that age 18 tried suicide. The guys personallity issues. he always has and always will. he's a spolied brat. In his younger days he played hard because he was still a kid, it was game, it was fun. Now he is a man of sorts and no longer sees the game as a game. he has a poor attitude.

Dont give me this bullshit he is not expected to run out every groundball and give 100% on every play. Pete Rose did and this bozo is expected to do the same. You dont make millions by taking plays off. The fans pay his salary. The fans dont pay admission to his millionaire ass loaf. with the fans paying his salary he basically works for us. We expect 100% or we will find someone that will give it. (Jay Bruce).

Bottom line is Griffey is washed up and he knows it. Now he has become a grumpy old man. his father never took a play off. Jr is a discrace to the game and to his father. The best day for reds fan are ahead of us. Now that the cancer cell is out of the dugout the kids can now focus on playing the game.

It is truly unbelievable to me that we have people on here from cincinnati who are criticizing Brantley. Unreal, how is it possible to feel any sympathy for a team who have consistently, for years, underperformed. I am a lifelong cincinnati native. What the heck? Since Jr. has been here we have never been a good team. I absolutely LOVE it when rich spoiled baseball clowns on the field get told the truth and their egos crumble like stale bread..good. There needs to be more fire in this town lit under the reds asses, real fans know this. I mean, look at the evidence. Brantley has made accurate truthful comments. If you want politically correct nonsense of ass-kissing then look no further then ultra-liberal millionaires club ESPN where a bunch of networking ass clowns kiss each others asses all day about how great every athlete is and how every one of them is the best athlete ever who has done the world's greatest acts for their communities (vomit). Jr was bust, is a bust and has been pampered his whole life going back to Moeller and forward from that point. The Reds are awful and now Baker, "the players manager" (yawn) is clearly taking this team down a horrible road. What a bust. Enough PC B.S. lets kick the sacks out of here. Jr and Dunn are both serious whiners and ARE NOT LEADERS. If anything they lead the younger players into the false belief that playing b-ball is a right and they are entitled to millions with no accountability. Unreal. This website that criticizes people who tell the truth in favor of bloated rich brats is ridiculous.

No doubt about Brantley being a jerk. He's way too arrogant for somebody who did so very little while playing in the majors. I really got a kick out of the night about a month ago that he didn't realize he was live on a pre-game TV show. He and another announcer thought they were having microphone problems, but they were actually on live microphone for at least 20 minutes. Brantley's arrogance came shining through that night with some of his comments when he thought nobody was listening. What a phony baloney idiot he is.