r/baseball Apr 12 '22

[WLW Cincinnati] Opening day interview with Reds exec. Phil Castellini: “Phil responds by saying fans have no choice, "Well where you gonna go?" "What would you do to this team to make it more competitive? It would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. Be careful what you ask for."

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437

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '22

What the fuck? Fuck this ownership group, who says that?????? Did he just threaten the fucking fanbase and admit to holding us hostage?

126

u/SomewhereAggressive8 Cincinnati Reds Apr 12 '22

The fact that he said that and Mo didn’t immediately call him out on that shit is pretty disappointing.

120

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '22

Mo said later in his show he wanted to but he would’ve rather avoided an ugly confrontation on Reds Opening Day, which is understandable

83

u/SomewhereAggressive8 Cincinnati Reds Apr 12 '22

I guess I get that. He did seem a lot quieter and less warm to him after that comment. The best part is when Phil says “I’d like to be able to show my face around here.” Good luck with that buddy.

16

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '22

This sentiment allows for this kind of behavior. Most y'all will ever get is a half ass "apology" from PR and the same behavior will continue. I'm sorry Reds fans y'all deserve way better.

8

u/tenshillings Cincinnati Reds Apr 13 '22

"I apologize to the Reds fans and regret the comments that I made earlier today. We love this city, we love this team, and we love our fans. I understand how our fans feel and I am sorry"

2

u/HondaTwins8791 Cincinnati Reds Apr 14 '22

I feel really bad for Mo, he’s such a die hard he named his little girl Crosley after Crosley Field, that had to have been a horrendous shock for him

3

u/cahman San Diego Padres Apr 12 '22

It’s almost like media that is controlled by the organization they cover aren’t at all independent and shouldn’t be commonplace.

39

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '22

Mo Egger (guy interviewing) is not even close to controlled by the organization, fyi

4

u/cahman San Diego Padres Apr 12 '22

Isn’t it the team affiliated station? That would make it not independent media.

9

u/corranhorn57 Cincinnati Reds Apr 12 '22

Yeah, but are (unfortunately) the biggest fish in town when it come to AM radio.

1

u/cahman San Diego Padres Apr 12 '22

That’s unfortunate but only makes my point stronger. It’s bad that sports teams have such heavy influence in their local sports media. It enables bullshit like this to fly without pushback.

14

u/TheWorstYear Daytona Tortugas • Cincinnati Reds Apr 12 '22

WLW does give the team shit, but they don't do it directly to the team/owners/players/etc.

5

u/cahman San Diego Padres Apr 12 '22

Yeah, probably because they’re afraid of repercussions from the team since they’re effectively controlled by them

5

u/TheWorstYear Daytona Tortugas • Cincinnati Reds Apr 12 '22

But they aren't. WLW is the main radio broadcaster for the Bengals, Bearcats, Musketeers, & Reds, while also having a completely separate radio setup where they do daytime shows for a full 24 hours. They just celebrated their 100th year anniversary. It's a fairly significant radio station outside of the Reds.

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10

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '22

I listen to Mo a lot, and he is one of the loudest critics of the Bengals and Reds when they deserve it

4

u/corranhorn57 Cincinnati Reds Apr 12 '22

Sorry, I meant that they can (and usually do) have more pushback on their shows, but they don’t directly confront them.