In this day and age, it's nearly impossible to buy something without knowing what exactly it is you're purchasing. This is in no small part due to the miracle of The Internet, which gives us things like Yelp and Amazon Reviews, allowing us to see what is we are getting before we actually get it. These reviews can be helpful as well as informative.
The savvy Internet User also knows that one can simply go to a brand's website and get a pretty good idea of what that brand is all about. Sometimes, you don't even need to read a product review to know that what you may being buying is a worthless piece of shit, and the person trying to sell you that worthless piece of shit is also a worthless piece of shit.
The website for San Diego talk radio station 97.3 The Machine does a fairly good job at showing you what that station is all about. For instance, these guys are prominently displayed:
This is the 'The Mens Room' (sic). Here's how the site describes them:
So, it's Ira Glass4. (Math Humor! George Will is a reader, I understand.)
This is 97.3 talk show host Dan Sileo:
He seems nice. The Padres organization apparently thought so too.
My point, and I do have one, is that if a sports franchise were looking for a new radio station to carry its game broadcasts, a station that would appeal to as many potential listeners as possible, 97.3 The Machine might not be the best choice - and it would be relatively easy to make that determination based on about 10 minutes' worth of basic Internet research (which I just did to compile the above material). Having to be reassured by a station's management team that one of their headliners will be kept far, far away from your team's pre- or post-game shows?
So the Padres move to the station; at the same time, station ownership group Entercom announces that there will be a format change. Now, the Padres agreeing to a contract with Entercom without first having a deep understanding of what the new format would be seems a bit unwise. It'd be like signing a lease on a furnished apartment, after having your landlord say "oh, by the way, I know you like all of this furniture and these appliances but I'm going to go ahead and put in a bunch of different stuff and let you know what all that new stuff will be on the day before you move in. TRUST ME IT'LL BE FINE."
Enter Kevin Klein. No, not this guy (might want to put on the headphones for this):
That is Kevin Kline. He's a funny and talented Academy Award-winning actor. I'm referring to this Kevin Klein, recently added to the 97.3 The Machine's on-air staff.
— Kevin Klein LIVE (@KevinKleinLIVE) March 27, 2018
Whoa! That's a dark introduction! What could all the hub-bub be about, you're probably wondering. Well, Klein announced his new San Diego gig - on 97.3 The Machine - via a series of tweets, one of which contained this:
Get it? Jump? It's a reference to the sad fact that San Diego's Coronado Bay Bridge has seen its fair share of suicide jumpers. Needless to say, this didn't go over well with the Padres.
Statement from Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler and General Partner Peter Seidler: pic.twitter.com/KQMRhi09aH— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 27, 2018
As of this morning, the Padres are "considering all options" with the station and Entercom. Whether or not you think Klein is funny, the thing that haunts me is how we got here, an MLB team dealing with radio broadcast problems before the season's even started. It seems crazy, but then again, being saddled with talentless hacks because someone in upper management didn't bother to do their homework...well, that's a very Padres thing to do.
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