Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
By Sean Keeley on

Craig Carton is amid his mini-audition to replace John Sterling as the radio voice of the New York Yankees on WFAN this weekend.

The host of FS1’s The Craig Carton Show and former WFAN radio host is paired with Suzyn Waldman for the Yankees’ series against the Texas Rangers this weekend. While Carton’s presence in the mix to find Sterling’s replacement raised a lot of eyebrows, he’s keeping the door open for that possibility depending on how it goes.

So far, the results have been…interesting.

During Saturday’s game, the lack of chemistry at times between Carton and Waldman was hard to ignore. When she asked “Are you ready for this?” to start the broadcast, one was left to wonder if she was talking to Carton or the audience.

The awkwardness was perhaps never more clear than when Carton’s sports talk radio vibes ran up against Waldman’s more traditional sensibilities. Take, for instance, his story about Jeff Francoeur getting his body shaved with a lady’s razor.

“Is there anyone out there that needed to know this story?” asked Waldman. “Text Craig right now if you really needed to know this story.”

The awkwardness also led to a little bit of a reverse announcer jinx when Jazz Chisholm stepped to the plate in the 8th inning. Carton started to explain that he felt the recently arrived Yankee seemed “disinterested,” an assessment Waldman disagreed with.

“I thought [he] looked a little disinterested back in the 6th but Suzyn said no,” said Carton.

“No, don’t say that,” said Waldman. “Disinterested means he doesn’t care and he cares as much as anybody. Maybe even more. Not disinterested… Alright, that’s my scolding for the day.”

Waldman then leaves the booth and Chisholm immediately smacks a home run.

“He wasn’t disinterested on that one,” said Carton.

“Thank you,” added Waldman.

Carton was plagued by a few moments of scratchiness in his voice, perhaps none more than his call of the game’s ending which was best described as “weird.”

According to several listeners, the feed of the broadcast cut out abruptly, with some left to wonder what in the world had just happened.

To be fair, reactions were mixed on social media. Some praised Carton for injecting some fun and freshness into the radio broadcast. Others wondered how in the world the Yankees allowed this to happen. Others still just wanted to know how Suzyn was holding up.

[Diamond Joe, Talkin’ Yanks]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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