East Coast Passion: Yankees to meet Phillies
Finally! After how many days and nights of waiting? We're going to have a World Series. Soon we'll be calling it the Thanksgiving Classic instead of the Fall Classic, which is what longtime fans called it when it ended in early October just after fall began.
Now it ends closer to wintertime. Please forgive my cynical attitude but it annoys me that the 'suits' at MLB have allowed TV networks that carry baseball as a ratings tool and not a passion to control start times. I am thankful for the people that run the Augusta National Golf Club who tell the networks, we have a special event here. If you'd like to televise it, here are the guidelines. It's a treat for the sports fan to be able to watch an event with limited commercial time and intrusion with meaningless graphics and information that doesn't make sense. I am going to do a blog on just my thoughts on the TV coverage and spare you any more of my sarcasm.
Now, to the baseball. The two best teams are there. Most feel it will be high scoring. It's East Coast passion. The most storied franchise in history versus a team that can be the first to repeat as World Champions since the Yankees from 1998-2000. There are of interesting storylines, so FOX would do well to contact Carl Willis, the former Indians pitching coach, for some insight into Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia. He coached them both for a few years. Carl was a pitcher I tutored in the mid 1980s and would provide some good commentary.
Pedro Martinez could be a factor. Think he'll knock A-Rod off the plate? I have told Charlie Manuel all along that his team would have the best chance to hold down the Yankees lineup because of their quality left-handers as well as Pedro. You have Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano and Hideki Matsui on the left side and then you switch Mark Teixeira, Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera to the right side. They can all hit lefties, but if Lee and Cole Hamels pitch to their capabilities these are not just garden variety lefties. Pedro can handle all of them, right or left , he's sharp.
Then you have Sabathia versus Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez. Jayson Werth could be a big factor in Yankee Stadium because of his power to right center field. A.J. Burnett could throw a no-no or walk the ballpark. There hasn't been much consistency for the investment made in him, but there remains potential to dominate a game. Then here comes Andy Pettitte in Game 3 and he is solid in postseason games.
What's my point? I'm not ready to buy into the high-scoring predictions yet. Each team has the capable starters to hold down the other. It'll be the battle of the bullpens as usual, with the big edge to the Yankees. Phillies closer Brad Lidge has been better lately, but I still believe that if the Yankees play well in the field without any untimely errors and no glaring base running mistakes, they will be hard to beat. They have a deeper lineup, better bullpen and an ace pitcher who could dominate three games if needed You hope the weather doesn't snow any games out and it is good enough to not diminish the quality of play, and the umpires review the missed pitches around the knees that make it more difficult to pitch in today's game than ever before. Can anyone tell me if the machine they use tells us where the pitch is when it actually crosses the plate at the front knee of the hitter?
If I were pitching I would exploit the use of the backdoor breaking ball, the pitch from a lefty pitcher to a righty hitter that breaks over or near the outside corner. It seems the umpire will call it a strike because when catcher catches it, it appears to be a strike but if the fancy machine we're exposed to is accurate, it shows that the pitch is well outside and difficult for the hitter to reach when it passes through the hitting area. Even Vladimir Guerrero, who can reach anything, complained about one Sunday night. And yes, it wouldn't hurt if the pitches that crossed the plate at the letters, or to be a bit earthy, the nipples, were called strikes. Unless the rule book has been rewritten lately, those are supposed to be called strikes.
I am going to do my best to realize that umpires are more closely scrutinized than ever before and like us are not perfect nor are they machines. Weather has become more of a factor; teams deal with long layoffs between series and are now playing more games later in the year than ever before. I hope we have a real Fall Classic to remember. My first one was the 1945 World Series between the Cubs and Tigers and I still remember it like it was yesterday (the Tigers won in seven). It was the last time the Cubs were in it. My dad bought me a 'run pool' token for a nickel. The Tigers scored five in the first inning of Game 7. I won over $7!
Now it ends closer to wintertime. Please forgive my cynical attitude but it annoys me that the 'suits' at MLB have allowed TV networks that carry baseball as a ratings tool and not a passion to control start times. I am thankful for the people that run the Augusta National Golf Club who tell the networks, we have a special event here. If you'd like to televise it, here are the guidelines. It's a treat for the sports fan to be able to watch an event with limited commercial time and intrusion with meaningless graphics and information that doesn't make sense. I am going to do a blog on just my thoughts on the TV coverage and spare you any more of my sarcasm.
Now, to the baseball. The two best teams are there. Most feel it will be high scoring. It's East Coast passion. The most storied franchise in history versus a team that can be the first to repeat as World Champions since the Yankees from 1998-2000. There are of interesting storylines, so FOX would do well to contact Carl Willis, the former Indians pitching coach, for some insight into Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia. He coached them both for a few years. Carl was a pitcher I tutored in the mid 1980s and would provide some good commentary.
Pedro Martinez could be a factor. Think he'll knock A-Rod off the plate? I have told Charlie Manuel all along that his team would have the best chance to hold down the Yankees lineup because of their quality left-handers as well as Pedro. You have Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano and Hideki Matsui on the left side and then you switch Mark Teixeira, Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera to the right side. They can all hit lefties, but if Lee and Cole Hamels pitch to their capabilities these are not just garden variety lefties. Pedro can handle all of them, right or left , he's sharp. Then you have Sabathia versus Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez. Jayson Werth could be a big factor in Yankee Stadium because of his power to right center field. A.J. Burnett could throw a no-no or walk the ballpark. There hasn't been much consistency for the investment made in him, but there remains potential to dominate a game. Then here comes Andy Pettitte in Game 3 and he is solid in postseason games.
What's my point? I'm not ready to buy into the high-scoring predictions yet. Each team has the capable starters to hold down the other. It'll be the battle of the bullpens as usual, with the big edge to the Yankees. Phillies closer Brad Lidge has been better lately, but I still believe that if the Yankees play well in the field without any untimely errors and no glaring base running mistakes, they will be hard to beat. They have a deeper lineup, better bullpen and an ace pitcher who could dominate three games if needed You hope the weather doesn't snow any games out and it is good enough to not diminish the quality of play, and the umpires review the missed pitches around the knees that make it more difficult to pitch in today's game than ever before. Can anyone tell me if the machine they use tells us where the pitch is when it actually crosses the plate at the front knee of the hitter?
If I were pitching I would exploit the use of the backdoor breaking ball, the pitch from a lefty pitcher to a righty hitter that breaks over or near the outside corner. It seems the umpire will call it a strike because when catcher catches it, it appears to be a strike but if the fancy machine we're exposed to is accurate, it shows that the pitch is well outside and difficult for the hitter to reach when it passes through the hitting area. Even Vladimir Guerrero, who can reach anything, complained about one Sunday night. And yes, it wouldn't hurt if the pitches that crossed the plate at the letters, or to be a bit earthy, the nipples, were called strikes. Unless the rule book has been rewritten lately, those are supposed to be called strikes.
I am going to do my best to realize that umpires are more closely scrutinized than ever before and like us are not perfect nor are they machines. Weather has become more of a factor; teams deal with long layoffs between series and are now playing more games later in the year than ever before. I hope we have a real Fall Classic to remember. My first one was the 1945 World Series between the Cubs and Tigers and I still remember it like it was yesterday (the Tigers won in seven). It was the last time the Cubs were in it. My dad bought me a 'run pool' token for a nickel. The Tigers scored five in the first inning of Game 7. I won over $7!
Hi Jim: I'm so excited to be going back to the World Series. I just had a few minutes to read this blog and also your previous one and I felt that I had to comment. I looked last week to see when the World Series games are scheduled and feel very sad when I see that they are all starting at 8 PM. I really feel that MLB is shooting themselves in the future and what is the saying "Mortgaging the future for a quick return now". As we all know, attending games live is a very costly thing and not something the average household can afford, therefore, kids have to learn to love the game by watching it on TV. How can they develop a passion for the game if the big games are always on at night? How does MLB think they will have a strong following in the future if they continue to reap quick rewards from TV Networks that want to only show games at night. To not have a world series game shown during the afternoon on a Saturday and/or on a Sunday is a disgrace. Even many adults who have early morning work schedules can not stay up to see the end of some of the games. I really think MLB better wake up before it is too late. Thanks for listening and I hope you can get the ear of the people who matter. I still miss you in the broadcast booth and am glad things are going well for you.
Regards,
Donna
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Hey Jim! Thanks for the blog. It's always great to hear from you and get your perspective on things.
I too would like the networks to schedule games at more convenient times. I understand they can get more $$ for a 30 sec commercial at 8pm then they can at 7pm and I also understand the networks pay 100's of millions of $$ to broadcast, but shouldn't MLB put some rules in place in order to provide more exposure for future fans? Your analogy to the Masters is right on. Also a day wouldn't be the end of the world either.
Now for the series. I love it that this is an east coast series where there is more a passion for the grand game than anywhere. I'm hoping for some well played, close games. I believe that pitching and defense will decide the series. Look at how poor defense and baserunning cost the Twins and Angels?
I think we'll see the Yanks eek out championship 27 in 7 games with Mariano on the mound!
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Hello Jim, I always enjoy your blogs and miss the fine work and analysis you always provided as a broadcaster.
I hope Kaat's Korner will in fact touch on TV coverage and perhaps even address what I consider to be the abysmal camera work that prevails.
My personal number one objection is the obsession with extreme close-up facial views which, beads of sweat not withstanding, gives absolutely zero information on the circumstance of the game. I have no interest in counting the number of whiskers on a players face.
The standard mound-to-plate views for pitches are fine but first, instead of the facial beauty shots, zoom out to a wider angle and let the viewer see how the fielders are positioned for each player. Playing deep? Is there a shift? Anticipating a bunt? Base runner leads? Please let us see for ourselves. And keep panned out on action plays to show relative positions of the fielders and base runners, including for cut-offs. Then those close-up replays would be put in better perspective. There is no reason to hide so much of the game from the viewer, especially with the newer wide screen HD TVs which could also be better utilized for split-screen effects.
Another possibility if practical for certain games might be, as Direct TV does with Master's Golf, to provide an option for different views on different channels. This would offer a choice, say, of viewing each pitch either from the mound or from the broadcaster's view up behind home plate.
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Hello Jim, I always enjoy your blogs and miss the fine work and analysis you always provided as a broadcaster.
I hope Kaat's Korner will in fact touch on TV coverage and perhaps even address what I consider to be the abysmal camera work that prevails.
My personal number one objection is the obsession with extreme close-up facial views which, beads of sweat not withstanding, gives absolutely zero information on the circumstance of the game. I have no interest in counting the number of whiskers on a players face.
The standard mound-to-plate views for pitches are fine but first, instead of the facial beauty shots, zoom out to a wider angle and let the viewer see how the fielders are positioned for each player. Playing deep? Is there a shift? Anticipating a bunt? Base runner leads? Please let us see for ourselves. And keep panned out on action plays to show relative positions of the fielders and base runners, including for cut-offs. Then those close-up replays would be put in better perspective. There is no reason to hide so much of the game from the viewer, especially with the newer wide screen HD TVs which could also be better utilized for split-screen effects.
Another possibility if practical for certain games might be, as Direct TV does with Master's Golf, to provide an option for different views on different channels. This would offer a choice, say, of viewing each pitch either from the mound or from the broadcaster's view up behind home plate.
Report any abuse or spam