Last week, Emily and I were watching the game and she says, “Isn’t Al Leiter there tonight?” Indeed he was. It was just that, without anything pressing to say, Leiter had actually been silent for several minutes. Go figure that. Generally, new announcers are so geeked-up, they go the other way–they never shut up. They don’t actually say anything, but that doesn’t stop their mouth from running. Of course, this happens to some veteran announcers as well. Earlier this season, Michael Kay and Bobby Murcer were calling a game, and for the life of me, bless ‘ol Bobby, but I don’t think either came up for air all afternoon. It was exhausting, because it was as if they were talking just to talk.

Al Leiter’s sense of reserve is appealing–he’s learning the ropes and being cautious and respectful in the process. His insights into pitching have been outstanding. He’s still not completely sure of himself, but is obviously being encouraged to be more forceful in selling his thoughts. (Richard Sandomir has a good piece on the man-behind-the-scenes at YES, John Filippelli today in the Times.) Last night, he talked at length about how Randy Johnson is still making the transition from menacing flame-thwrower to crafty veteran. He discussed why this would be more difficult for a guy like Johnson, who used to be able to overwhelm hitters with his stuff, than for guys like Maddux or Glavine. Leiter even snapped at Kay at one point, and then made sure to soothe any hard feelings moments later.

It has been a pleasure following Leiter’s progress thus far. That he’s willing to keep his trap shut, listen, and learn already sets him apart. Good job by the YES in landing him.