Courtesy St. Louis Post Dispatch

(February 19, 2010) Jack Clark, like anybody in America, is entitled to his opinions. And he wasn't afraid to share them last month when he lashed out at new Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire and other admitted or alleged steroids users.

On the other hand, management at Fox Sports Midwest, for whom Clark has worked part-time, is entitled to employ anyone it wants. And it has the right to not retain someone who has made remarks about one of its business partners, in this case the Cards, that it deems too strong.

Fortunately, free speech has won out over any potential ruffled feathers with the ballclub as FSM general manager Jack Donovan said Clark is being retained in the rotation of analysts for its Cards postgame coverage.

"We had a great year last year, we had great ratings — the highest in the National League — so really there's no reason to change anything," Donovan said. "It's working real well right now."

Clark's comments were biting. He said steroids users should be "banned from baseball, including McGwire. All those guys are cheaters — A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez). Fake, phony. Rafael Palmeiro. Fake, a phony. (Roger) Clemens, (Barry) Bonds. (Sammy) Sosa. Fakes. Phonies. They don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. ... They're all creeps."

Donovan said he hopes the controversy doesn't linger.

"If it becomes a distraction or continues, I guess we would have to address it," he said. "But at this point we're just going to move on and not make any changes."

Clark said he's not planning to harp on the McGwire situation because he has had his say, which he stands by, and added he wasn't concerned at the time they could impact his FSN status.

"I never thought about, 'If I say something, it's going to affect that,'" he said. "If it did, so be it."

As previously announced, FSM game analyst Al Hrabosky — who also was the subject of controversy in the last year — will be back. So will play-by-play broadcaster Dan McLaughlin and Rick Horton, who is heavily involved in pre- and postgame programming as well as occasionally working in the booth. Clark again will remain primarily in a fill-in role for Horton on the postgame show. Pat Parris, Jim Hayes and Cal Eldred also will continue on the ancillary programming.

Donovan said he encourages opinions from FSM commentators such as Clark, although he'd prefer they concentrate on play rather than general analysis.

"We want him to make comments, we want him to be the game analyst, though — talk about the game and what goes on out on the field and why certain plays were executed and what players were thinking," Donovan said. "He's very good at that. A lot of people really respect his thoughts, that's why we're hanging onto him."

But criticism of what happens on the field is what sparked the flap involving Hrabosky last season when he criticized Cards catcher Yadier Molina for lollygagging — which led to a loud war of words for a time with Redbirds manager Tony La Russa.

THE BIG PICTURE

We've said it in this space before. And KSLG (1380 AM) talk show host Kevin Slaten has said it numerous times since he resigned from FSN in 2004 as fallout from a suspension after he said a couple of Cardinals weren't as worthy of an All-Star spot as some other players. The simple question: Why would an outlet that is paying a team millions of dollars in rights fees think twice about considering biting its tongue? After all, FSN is the customer so think of it this way — most people at a restaurant are not afraid to complain about a lousy meal.

But the reality is that the normal buyer-seller relationship doesn't exist in sports broadcasting "partnerships." TV executives, at the national networks as well as the local level, often are squeamish about such flare-ups.

"If you think of all the games we do, it's not that unusual to have an occasional controversy," Donovan said. "In all things considered, I think the chemistry is pretty good with the team and FSN and the announcers."

Although falling far short of giving the Cards a hardy "let us handle the broadcasting, you handle the baseball" public defense of Hrabosky and Clark, the bottom line is Donovan did the right thing by keeping both.

Despite the booing of Clark at a Cards rally in January, the vast majority of fans who have contacted this space over the last two decades want stand-up guys rather than namby-pamby house men on the air. Let's hope these refreshing instances lead to more free flowing commentary this season.

Clark summed it up: "They've been good to me (at FSN) and I like working with them. They understand this is a free country."

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