Thank You

On the final day of the regular season the Cardinals shutout the Cubs 4 - 0 in 2:34. I would like to take this time to thank all of you who read this blog. Now I will be able to watch on TV the postseason games from my recliner - something I enjoy almost as much as cutting the game. Again THANK YOU!!

No Clue

The Cards beat the Cubs 6 - 2 in 3:00 today at Busch Stadium. Quoting the great Jack Buck - "this game moved at an escargot pace. This Cubs team has a long way to go before being respectable again. Hey Cubs organization - teach your minor league pitchers to work fast and throw strikes. I can tell that this is not taught because the minor league pitchers you have on your big league roster don't have a clue on how to pitch. Sorry for venting but I love this game so much that it upsets me when I see pitchers in the big leagues not having a clue on how to play the game.

Clinchers

Clinching games are a blast to do. The Cardinals clinched the NL Central Division with a dominating 7 - 0 win over the lowly Cubs. This 2:54 affair was over after the first inning when the Redbirds took a 3 - 0 lead. After the first inning, we started planning our on the field coverage after the final out. Perhaps this was why we had a fairly mediocre telecast with some glaring mistakes. Even though this was one of our ugliest telecasts of the 2013 season, I am sure that for the most part our mistakes weren't noticed and if they were the mistakes were forgotten by our viewers during the celebration. Even though I was not proud of the product we presented tonight, I am proud to be a part of the St. Louis Cardinals organization. I am very blessed to be part of it.

Refreshing

The Cards beat the Nats today by the score of 4 - 1 in 2:28. There was a great flow to the show today as the game was well pitched and well played. With all the bad baseball that has been played this season a game such as today's contest is very refreshing. Who knows? With this game and tomorrow's off day I might not be totally fried when the regular season ends.

Great Great Fun!!!

Cardinals' rookie Michael Wacha threw a no-hitter for 8 2/3 innings tonight. The only hit wad a piddly infield single that just made it past Wacha's glove as he jumped for the ball. After a season of sub-quality baseball this was indeed a refreshing game/telecast. Great great fun!! Let me repeat - great great fun!!

Mush

The Cards beat the Nats at home tonight by the score of 4 - 3 in 2:43. After the first inning of this game, there was a real nice flow to the show. The game moved at a good pace and we were able to develop a nice rhythm on the telecast. I needed a game of this type. My brain is pretty much mush.

Four Favorite Words

Done on the road!! These could be my four favorite words right now. Don't get me wrong, I love directing Major League Baseball. However, the 2013 baseball season has been the most arduous season of my career. I have most certainly never been more fried than I am right now. This season displayed some of the worst quality of baseball ever. I believe that 15% of players in the big leagues don't belong there. Six local TV games remaining this season. All to be played at Busch Stadium! Done on the road! Home sweet home!

The Squishy Sound

I don't remember the score of tonight's Cardinal/Brewers game. I truly don't recall much about this contest. I do know that I have directed 9 hours and 5 minutes of Major League Baseball in the past two days. That does not include the two 30 minute pre-game shows of which I am involved with two segments. The squishy sound you hear is my brain.

Long Long Day

It is 12:43 AM and my luggage just arrived to my room here in Milwaukee. It is that late because today's game between the Cards and the Rockies took 5 hours and 9 minutes to play. 15 innings, 13 runs (Rockies 7 Cards 6) and 33 hits will do that. We were exclusive in Denver today as the home side didn't televise. Kudos to our crew. There were moments when each and everyone's focus strayed a bit, but for the most part the performance of the crew was fine. A long day indeed. Fortunately there is light at the end of the tunnel as 8 TV games remain on the schedule. Good night.

Finally

Finally some drama. Finally. The Cards beat the Rockies tonight at Coors Field in Denver by the score of 4 - 3 in 2:52. The game ended with the bases loaded and Todd Helton at the plate. Helton, arguably the greatest Rockies of all-time, had announced his retirement at the end of this season just two days ago. The remaining crowd was about 50/50 Cardinals/Rockies fans during the final at-bat and everyone was standing and cheering. The Pirates had lost earlier so if the Redbirds win they move to 2 games ahead of the Bucs with just 10 games to play. Helton struck out and the game was over. Great job by this talented Denver TV crew. Everyone was on top of their game and we captured the final at-bat in an exciting fashion. The final at-bat. Drama. Finally

Not Surprised

At Coors Field tonight in Denver, the Cardinals beat the Rockies 11 - 4 in 3:23. I'm trying to figure out how a bad game continually gets worse as the night drags on. I wonder if young pitchers who have been called up from the minor leagues where they have been successful (the reason why they have been called up) are not used to playing in blowout games on either side of the score. Both relief staffs for the most part in this game were brutal. Just another example of a poorly pitched game in the 2013 season. I'm not surprised.

Love Denver

It took 2:51 for the Rockies to beat the Redbirds 6 - 2 tonight at Coors Field in Denver. I like everything about Denver. Our hotel is my favorite hotel in all of baseball. The downtown area is comfortable in a Chicago kind of way. The TV crew for our visiting team is exceptional. They work hard and it is fun to be part of their TV team. It is only a 15 minute walk from the hotel room to the TV truck. The weather is wonderful. On and on I can list things I like about this great city but I will stop now because there is a bottle of wine with my name on it in the hotel bar.

Not You

The Cards beat the Mariners 12 - 2 in 3:09 today at Busch Stadium. That's right - 3 hours and 9 minutes in eight and a half innings. I know this was a nice Cardinals victory. I just wish the pace of games would improve. Get in the box!!!! Get on the mound!!! Fans want to watch the game - NOT YOU!!

Zip Zero Nada

During each telecast and on my drive home, I try and figure out the subject of this blog. Most days the subject is obvious. Some days the subject of the blog is murky. And some days absolutely nothing comes to me about the theme of this blog. This is one of those days. For the life of me I can't think of one second of the game/telecast that was interesting from a Cardinals perspective. So that's what I got - zip, zero, nada.

Memorable

The Cardinals beat the Mariners 2 - 1 in 10 innings in a game that took 3:15 to play. This was a very entertaining ballgame! Some of the best defensive plays a baseball fan could ever see occurred in this game. The quality of a baseball game and a baseball telecast can be evaluated by the number of memorable moments that occur during the contest. This game was rife with memorable moments. Each team made many great defensive plays and each starting pitcher came up with huge pitches throughout the game. It is too bad that this game ended on a bad play. The Redbirds loaded the bases on a single and two walks after the first two batters of the 10th inning made outs. The winning run scored on a passed ball. Our 4-replay sequence of the passed ball was priceless. This was one of the most memorable replay sequences I have ever been a part of in my thirty year career of directing baseball. Just wonderful and certainly memorable.

Just Going Through The Motions

The Brewers beat the Cardinals 5 - 3 in 3:02 tonight at Busch Stadium. The Brew Crew jumped out to a 4 - 0 lead and held on for the victory. It was during the 4 - 0 lead that our color analyst remarked the Cardinals looked like they were playing "in slow motion" that was exactly what I was thinking as he said it. There is a difference between playing in slow motion and just going through the motions. When a baseball team or a TV crew member is just "going through the motions" that means that the individual doesn't care. This certainly is not the case with the Cardinals or the St. Louis TV crew. Describing the Redbirds as playing "in slow motion" was accurate because they were just missing at the plate, just a bit too slow for a grounder and just being thrown out by a step on the bases. Sometimes the TV crew can be just a beat behind the pace of the game. And sometimes we will run into a crew member on the road who is just going through the motions. I can assure you the St. Louis TV crew members who "go through the motions" don't last long on the crew.

Good Start Better Finish

The main theme of our telecast tonight focused on the Cardinals starting pitcher. He had some pretty bad performances in his past 5 starts and there was real concern about his "body language" on the mound when things started going bad. We iso'd him throughout the game and captured only a few moments which showed some negativity on the mound. He pitched good, certainly better than his previous stints on the mound. The offense, which for the second game in a row was hitless and scoreless after 5 innings, tied the game in the seventh and put it away with a 5-run eighth. The 5 -run eighth was highlighted by a 3-run homerun. As you know from my book "Cutting The Game, Inside Television Baseball From The Director's Chair", cutting a homerun is the most fun a TV baseball director has during a game/telecast. (By the way, my book is now available on the Kindle and the Nook for $1.99) This game/telecast started good and just got better.

2 Different Teams

A hot Cardinals team beat a disinterested Brewers club 4 - 2 in 3:02 tonight at Busch Stadium. There was no way the Cards were going to lose to the Brew Crew tonight. You could tell that after the top of the first inning. The Brewers were totally not interested in being on the field tonight at Busch. Maybe it was the 90 plus degree temperature. Maybe it was the fact that the Brewers have no chance at post season. Whatever the reason, their body language showed a total lack of interest in the game.

I Cursed

The Cards clobbered the Pirates today 9 - 2 in 3:06 at Busch Stadium. During blowouts, especially late in the season, it can be a tad bit difficult maintaining focus throughout the game/telecast. I found myself starting to drift at times during today's contest. I understand that when the game is in the 8th inning and the score is 9 - 0, one's attention may stray from the task at hand, but you have to fight this and get back on track. Today's game was one of those games where it became difficult to maintain focus especially in the top of the ninth inning when the batter leading off the inning walked with the score 9 - 0. I believe I cursed at that point.

Teamwork

The Redbirds defeated the Pirates tonight at Busch Stadium by the score of 5 - 0 in 2:56. This was a well-played game which led to a very nice telecast. Three moments stand out from this telecast. The first moment occurred early in the game. The Cardinals felt that starter Adam Wainwright had two consecutive bad outings because he was tipping pitches. In the camera well on the home plate side of the first base dugout was Cards pitcher Chris Carpenter who was using that vantage point to see if Wainwright was tipping pitches. Carpenter was right below our robotic camera. We started with a shot of Wainwright on the mound, pulled back and tilted down to show Carpenter and his vantage point. The second memorable moment happened after Redbirds David Freese hit a long home run to centerfield. The ball landed in almost the exact spot as his dramatic homerun in game 6 of the 2011 World Series. We replayed each homerun back to back and it was quite effective. The third moment happened after the homerun. Earlier in the telecast, I noticed a lone Pirates fan looking dejected as I panned a fairly wide shot after the Cards had scored a run showing the fans going crazy. After the Freese homer, I took a tight shot of the Pirates fan and his girlfriend or wife (a Cards fan) was taunting him. In all three instances, the commentary from our announcers was spot on. Three great examples of teamwork between the TV truck and the booth.

Brutal Brutal

The Cards beat the Pirates tonight at Busch Stadium by the score of 12 - 8 in 3:47 and I am not in a good mood. The reason for my mood is that the Cards were leading the game 12 - 1 going into the eighth inning and had to have their closer finish the game in the ninth. The brutal top of the eighth and the brutal top of the ninth were two of the worst innings I have ever been a part of. I am stopping now before I say too much.

The Road

I am in the air from Cincinnati to St. Louis after the second to last road trip of the 2013 season. Road telecasts are less enjoyable than home telecasts. During home telecasts, we are in complete control of the show. We have nine cameras with each camera being recorded. On the road we control three cameras and,therefore, can't always give the shot with the best framing - we can't give the best shot. This can be frustrating but you deal with it and move on. Also, I know what each camera operator is capable of on our home show. Sometimes it takes a couple if telecasts to learn the strengths and weaknesses of operators on the road. This fact also affects the quality of the telecast. I love the home show. I can't wait for tomorrow at Busch Stadium. Also, I am very thankful there is only one road trip remaining this season.

Drifting

The Cards defeated the Reds 5 - 4 in 16 innings tonight in Cincinnati. The game too 4 hours and 50 minutes to play. The Redbirds took the lead 4 - 3 in the 14th inning on a home run by Matt Adams. The Reds tied the game in the bottom of the inning and the game played on. In the top of the 16th inning Adams connected again and the Cards held on. It is only natural for the members of the TV crew to start drifting during a long game such as this one. I said to the crew in the 15th inning "Come on.....stay with it, this game is almost over." Thankfully, this game had a fairly good pace for most of the night. Still, just a tiny bit fried as we speak.

Speed

Speed was the name of this game. Both starting pitchers worked fast and threw strikes. The only run of the game came when Billy Hamilton, one of the fastest runners in the game, stole second base and scored on a base hit. The game ended with Aroldis Chapman on the mound throwing the ball 103 mph. A fast pace for the game and a good flow to the show.

Advice From Mom

A long time ago, my mother gave me a bit of advice. She said, "If you don't have anything good to say about someone or some thing, then don't say anything." Therefore, I am going to heed my mother's advice and not write anything about today's telecast.

Nothing

The Cards beat the Pirates today by the score of 7 - 2 in 3:09 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. As you all know, I love the game of baseball. This game, however, had absolutely nothing memorable about it. This telecast had absolutely nothing memorable about it. This was one of those "nothing" games. I am in my hotel room in Cincinnati and I honestly do not remember anything about today's game in Pittsburgh. This was one of those "nothing" games.

Fireworks

I am currently in my hotel room watching a fireworks show put on by the Pittsburgh Pirates. It really is an incredible show from my 20th floor room. There were plenty of fireworks during the game as well. During the bottom of the third inning, the Cards manager visited the struggling Redbirds pitcher on the mound and really let him have it. Two pitches later and the Pirate batter hit a homerun! The stern look of the manager's face after the homerun may have been the shot of the night.

Well Done

I am a baseball fan. That is why I enjoyed tonight's Cardinals/Pirates game from PNC Park in Pittsburgh. I did not like the fact the Redbirds were shutout 5 - 0. In fact, I never like it when the Cards lose. However, in a season that has seen some of the worst play and awful pitching ever, I really enjoyed tonight's pitching performance from the Pirates starter. He was masterful. All pitchers should watch tape of this game. The Pirates pitcher attacked all game. He worked fast and expressed a great confidence in his ability. I respectfully tip my cap to this pitcher. Well done!!

Right Choice

Let me see. I am in Pittsburgh on an off day. I arrived at my hotel at 7:15 pm from St. Louis. The Pirates are playing the Brewers here in Pittsburgh tonight and the game started at 7:00 EST. Here is my choice - scalp a ticket and go watch the ballgame or go to the Capital Grille for a nice steak and a bottle of fine wine. I know I made the right decision - the steak was perfect and the wine was delicious.

Mush

A three hour 10 - 0 beat down was handed to the Cardinals by the Reds tonight at Busch Stadium. As the season winds down, the quantity of "mush" on the brain is determined by the quality of baseball on the field. In my thirty years of baseball television, I have never witnessed more bad baseball games than I have experienced during this 2013 season. Therefore, when good quality baseball is played such as the previous two nights at Busch Stadium, I feel very good mentally. However, after a game such as the one tonight, I am mentally tired. My brain is mush. I am not physically tired in the least but I am mentally exhausted. Tomorrow's off day could not come at a better time.

2 Different Teams

The Cards defeated the Reds at Busch Stadium tonight by the score of 6 - 1 in 3:02. There were two different teams on the field at Busch Stadium tonight. One team, the Cardinals, wanted to be there and the other team, the Reds, didn't want to be there. There was nothing more evident to this fact than the two pitchers that finished the game for each team. The Reds pitcher threw 29 pitches - 15 strikes and 14 balls. He took his sweet old time between pitches. He walked around the mound, he shook off his catcher repeatedly, he wiped his brow after every pitch. Every single mannerism screamed "I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE!!! The Cardinals pitcher threw 15 pitches - 11 strikes and 4 balls. He worked fast, got back on the rubber and never shook off his catcher. His every mannerism screamed " MY GOD, I LOVE THIS!!! This Reds team may not make the playoffs.

Absolutely Great

The Cards beat the Reds 8 - 6 in 2:49 tonight at Busch Stadium. What a game! The Reds jumped out to a 4 - 0 lead with 4 runs in the second inning. There were 2 triples hit in that inning. During the bottom of the third inning, Matt Holliday hit an absolute bomb into Big Mac Land which is in the upper deck in left field. This made the score 4 - 3. Then, in the bottom of the seventh inning, Allen Craig hit a grand slam to put the game away. Prior to the slam our play by play announcer had one of the greatest "set up" calls I have ever heard. Right before the first pitch of the at-bat he said "....and this year Craig is batting .667 with the bases loaded. Our color analyst responded with "wow". The pitch was delivered and Craig hit a grand slam. Just absolutely great!!

In The Stands

5 - 2 was the score as the Braves beat the Cardinals in 2:41 today at Busch Stadium. There were really no exciting moments during this game. In fact, our best replay came from a fan in the stands. After the third out of an inning, a Braves player tossed the ball into the stands. A fan, very eager to catch the ball, fell flat on his back with his feet facing the sky. The super slo-mo angle was especially entertaining. It says alot about the game on the field when the most memorable moment occurs in the stands.

Real Time Reaction

It took 2:59 for the Cards to beat the Braves by the score of 6 - 2 tonight at Busch Stadium. Except for the ninth inning when the pace of the game was interrupted by pitching changes, this contest had a rather nice pace. Our telecast got into a rhythm and we had a very clean show. I ended the show with a 2-box effect that had a game cut in the larger box and the Cardinals' manager in the smaller box. When the game ended this effect showed a real time reaction from the manager that I felt was quite effective. I plan on using this effect more during telecasts.

Finally

Finally a well-pitched, well-played and well-paced baseball game that included many exciting moments. There was a complete game thrown by the Cardinals' pitcher. There was the longest homerun of the season at Busch Stadium by a Cardinals' outfielder. There was an ejection of a Braves player. The atmosphere in the TV production unit was very comfortable as the noise was greatly diminished from last night's game/telecast. Whenever there is a game such as this - well-pitched, well-played and well-paced, it allows the TV crew to get into a rhythm and there is a great flow to the show. We had that tonight. Finally!

QUIET!!!

The Cards beat the Braves 6 - 2 in 2:56 at Busch Stadium tonight. I have never seen a larger contingent of people in a TV truck than I saw tonight. The Braves travel a huge party of television professionals to assist with the show. Also, I don't remember a louder TV truck - ever. During a game/telecast, I listen to the Producer, the announcers and tape and camera chatter. (Thankfully, the tape and camera chatter is usually at a minimum. Unless you are at Citi Field in New York) I am able to hear everybody. But, if the people in the truck are loud, that makes it very difficult to hear what it matters to hear. Namely the Producer and the announcers. Tonight, the noise in the truck was too loud and it was a distraction. Quiet please.

Dragging

The Cards jumped out to a 7 - 0 lead after 1 1/2 innings today and held on to beat the Brewers 8 - 6 in 3 hours and eighteen minutes at Miller Park in Milwaukee. This seeming cake walk turned into a bit of a nail biter and was very very draining. Just as in most of the games this season, this one had a horrible pace the whole day. Trying to stay focused when the game is dragging is absolutely a difficult chore to accomplish. I am now at home and I am doing the same thing the game did today. I am dragging.

Focus

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in 2:55 at Miller Park by the score of 6 - 3. The Brew Crew scored 5 runs in 1 inning to put this game away. As a TV baseball director, I have always found that my focus is intensified when there is a lot of action going on during the game. During the 5-run inning, I was totally focused on the action on the field. On the other hand, I have found that my focus strays during lulls in the action. I recognize this immediately and instantly change course and regain focus. This was a game that tested my focus. Apart from the 5-run inning, there really wasn't a whole lot to be excited about. Even though the 5-run inning cost the Redbirds the game, it was my favorite moment of the telecast.

From First Class To Coach

The Cards continued their 6-game road trip with an 8 - 5 victory in 3:26 at Miller Park in Milwaukee. I really like Milwaukee. The weather reminds me of my home state of Minnesota. I really like the TV crew from Milwaukee. They work hard and it's fun to be a part of their TV team. However, I am sorry to say that I am not a fan of Miller Park. From a fan in the stands point of view, Miller Park may be a great place to watch a game. From a professional viewpoint as a TV baseball director, Miller park is not a "friendly" place to televise. The dugout cameras are terrible. The mid level cameras are fairly nice but all the other camera positions are average at best. I am talking camera positions not operators as the Milwaukee camera ops are very good. Maybe I am jaded about Miller Park because I just left my favorite ballpark - Wrigley Field. It's like I went from first class to coach.

Love Wrigley

The Cardinals beat a bad Cubs team today at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Before the game/telecast, I walked around Wrigley and soaked in it's aura. I love Wrigley Field. It is my favorite ballpark in all of baseball. I devoted a whole chapter to Wrigley Field in my book "Cutting The Game, Inside Television Baseball From The Director's Chair". I can't wait for May 2, 2014. That is the next time we visit Wrigley!

Nothing Worse

The Cubs beat the Cards at Wrigley today by the score of 7 - 0 in 2:38. The Cardinals' starting pitcher walked the first three Cubs batters of the game and they all came around to score and the game was over. There is truly nothing worse than having a baseball game over in the first inning and knowing it is over. How can it be possible to know a game is over in the first inning you ask? The Redbirds are in a bit of a funk right now and they have been for the last few weeks. Because of there recent play, you just knew that after that awful first inning they were done. Trying to maintain the proper concentration necessary to cover the great game of baseball on television is very difficult when you believe the game is over and the team you are covering has no chance. That was the demon I fought today and, trust me, today's game was truly difficult to cover. However, after a nice steak and delicious bottle of wine at the Capital Grille and I am over today, looking forward to the off-day tomorrow and eagerly anticipating Sunday's telecast.

Should Have Kept My Mouth Shut

Two nights ago I had quite a good time cutting the Pirates/Cardinals game even though it lasted 4:55. Last night I enjoyed cutting the 2:30 Bucs/Cards tilt. Today, the Cards beat the Pirates 6 - 5 in 4:11 and it wasn't that much fun. I take full responsibility for today's extra inning affair. Going into the top of the seventh inning with the Redbirds ahead 5 - 4, I told our color analyst "We are going to be here a long time today." I just had that inkling. Sure enough, a Pirate homer in the top of the eighth inning tied the score and the game continued until the Cards prevailed in the bottom of the 12th. In my "Prayer" blog of a few days ago, I asked God to please not have a certain Chicago Cubs pitcher pitch against us during either of the two series we have remaining with the lowly Cubs. Well, I am currently in Chicago the night before our three game series with the Cubs begins and sure enough we are facing that dreaded Cubs starter. On get-away day!! Will it ever end? Hey, that is what I say whenever that Cubs guy pitches.

2 Hours 30 Minutes

2 hours and 30 minutes!! That was the time of tonight's Pirates/Cardinals game at Busch Stadium. To put this into perspective, this game was 2 hours and 25 minutes shorter than last night's marathon. I honestly do not remember the last time we had a game with such a good flow. The Cardinals set a franchise record during the past few weeks. They had 15 consecutive games that lasted over three hours. This had NEVER happened in St. Louis Cardinals history. Trust me, I love good baseball. However, I am not a fan of poorly paced games. Maybe it is because I am in a TV truck cutting cameras and a good pace means a good flow to the show. I wonder what the fans in the stands feel about the pace of the game. Do they really care? I don't know. Any thoughts?

4:55 Of Fun

The Cards beat the Pirates 4 - 3 in 14 innings and 4 hours and 55 minutes tonight at Busch Stadium. A long, long day indeed. But you know what? This was the most fun game of The 2013 season for the St. Louis Cardinals TV crew and it's fans. There was so much in this game. The Cardinals tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning when the Bucs left fielder dropped a routine fly ball in the bottom of the ninth with Pittsburgh leading 3 - 2 with one out. Later, that batter came around to score to tie the game. Both teams had chances in extra innings to win the game and both teams foiled the other teams chances with double plays! This was one of those rare games where there was more action in extra innings than during the first nine innings. Plus, walk-off wins are a joy to cut and tonight's game was only the second game of the season that the Redbirds won in walk-off fashion. A long day indeed but worth it!!

Learning On The Off Day

The Cards were off today before their important 3-game series with the Pirates. What did I do on this well needed off-day? I watched the Indians/Twins game. Hey Minnesota Twins fans. The director of your games, Matt Gangl, is scary good. I have done thirty years of Major Leagur baseball and I learned from watching his game cut. My God he's great!

A Prayer

The Cards beat the Cubs today in 3:44 by the score of 8 - 4. I love baseball. I truly do. But if there was ever a reason to not love the game this game today would fill the bill. Awful, terrible, boring, crappy, torturous, mind numbing, frustrating, maddening and insulting. These are not the words that I would use to describe today's Cubs/Cardinals game. These are words that I would use to describe the Cubs starting pitcher. The Cards go to Chicago next week and the Cubs return to Busch stadium for the last three games of the regular season. Please, please, please God make sure this guy doesn't pitch in any of those games!!! Please.

Relax

The Cubs came from behind to beat the Cardinals 6 - 5 in 3:08 at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals are in a bad slide at the moment. When they hit, they don't pitch. When they pitch, they don't hit. Some people have started to hit the panic button here in St. Louis. They are still 6 1/2 games up in the wild card so relax. This is early August. I am not worried in the least. Now if this was the middle of September then I might be a little worried. Relax Cards fans!

I Need To Know

I need to know how a 3 - 0 baseball game with 12 total hits can last 3:14. I need to know how a game can last that long when the home plate umpire had a huge strike zone and really didn't miss many calls. I need to know how the pace of a game can fluctuate as much as this game between the Cubs and the Cards did tonight at Busch Stadium. I need to know how Major League pitchers need to pick and pick instead of attack. I need to know why mediocre pitchers don't watch and learn from the successful pitchers in the game. I need to know. If you know tell me because I need to know.

One Pitch

The Dodgers beat the Cards tonight by the score of 5 - 1 in 3:02 at Busch Stadium. The Dodgers played this game just a little bit better than the Redbirds. In fact, one pitch made the difference in this game. The Dodgers hit a 3-run homerun in the 6th inning and that was really the difference in this contest.

Thank You

300 to 700 read my blog after every Cardinals game. Thank you to each and every one of you!! I promise you that I will be honest in my assessment each and every blog. Count on it!!

Lost

The Cardinals lost to the Dodgers tonight 13 - 4 in 3:47 at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals lost their starting pitcher Shelby Miller after the second pitch of the game when he was hit on his pitching elbow by a line drive. The Cardinals fans lost interest in the snail paced game well before the Dodgers scored 4 runs in the top of the ninth inning. I almost lost my cool when the Dodgers reliever walked the second batter in the bottom of the ninth inning with the score 13 - 4. I have lost all memory of this piece of crap of a game.

My Peers

This blog is to my peers and my peers only. Congratulations to All Of You!! Apart from us, there is NOT one person in the WORLD who has any clue what we do. Every single telecast - EVERY ONE!! We present baseball television to our viewers. Every telecast! We make over 3,000 calls every show. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don't. Most of the time we get it right. I am so proud of my TV community. Nice going!!!

Great Fun

The Cards beat the Dodgers tonight 5 - 1 in 3:14 at Busch Stadium. This was a good game between two good teams. A fun game to do. I love well played and well pitched games. The highlight for me tonight was not the game. The highlight for me was that I was a guest on "Live at Shannon's" radio broadcast from his restaurant after the game. This 1-hour program seemed like it lasted 5 minutes. It was a blast!

A Lot Going On

Today was a busy day for the St. Louis TV production crew. We had our annual Champions Club telecast where our announcers sit in the Club to broadcast the game. It was our turn to utilize the Phantom Cam which is a super, super slo-mo camera. The replays from this camera are spectacular. We had a side by side by side today at Busch Stadium with Cards TV, Dodgers local TV, and ESPN. 12 Major League players were suspended from the game for using PED's. This was a very hectic day that never seemed to let up. I am a bit fried.

Enough Is Enough

It took the Cardinals three hours to slaughter the Reds 15 - 2 today at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. The Cards scored 4 runs in the first inning and never looked back. As I have blogged before, there is a lot less pressure for the TV crew when a game is a blowout. Usually, blowouts can be fun for the winning TV crew and total hell for the TV crew on the losing side. I said usually because today's blowout by the Redbirds wasn't as fun as other huge victories because this was the last day of a three city 11 game road trip. We were a little fried already from this longest trip of the season so we were all thinking "alright, enough is enough, end this thing already!"

Highs And Lows

The Reds beat the Cards 8 - 3 in 3:03 tonight at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. The highlight of the night came in the bottom of the 7th inning when the Redbirds brought in a rookie reliever with the bases loaded and one out. On his first pitch the Reds batter flew out to short left field and then on a 3 - 2 pitch the Cards rookie struck out the Reds batter with a nasty slider. Even though the score was 5 - 3 in favor of the Reds, all the momentum favored the Cardinals. Then came the bottom of the eighth inning and the "lowlight" of the night. Two homeruns later off the rookie and the score was 8 - 3 and the game was basically over. This was a perfect example of a rookie experiencing the highs and lows of the game. We'll see how he bounces back.

Good Hitting Or Bad Pitching?

The Cardinals defeated the Reds in Cincinnati tonight by the score of 13 - 3 in 3 hours and 23 minutes. Here are some of the totals for tonight's game from the Redbirds side. Beltran 3-3 & 4 runs, Craig 3-3, 3 runs, 3 RBI, Freeze 4 RBI, Jay 2-5, 3 RBI, Descalso 3-5, 3 runs & 2 Hr. Here are the pitching totals from the Reds side: Arroyo 3.2 innings and 84 pitches. Partch 1.1 innings and 46 pitches (21 strikes, 25 balls), All Cincy pitchers 115 strikes and 85 balls. I ask you this - Was this a game of good hitting or bad pitching?

Blowouts = Respite

The Cards beat the Pirates 13 - 0 tonight in 3:22 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The Pirates had beaten the Cards in the first four games of this five game series and were trying to sweep St. Louis in a 5-game series for the first time since 1916. What happened was a respite for us on the St. Louis TV side. The Cards won in a blowout. The first 4 games of his series were mentally draining and the last thing we needed on the St. Louis TV side was another draining telecast. Thank God this did not happen. I am now in my hotel room in Cincinnati and it it 2:12 AM. I should be more fried than I am but I'm not - thanks to the blowout.

Don't Get Me Wrong

Don't get me wrong. Tonight's Cardinals/Pirates game was great fun. Yes, the Bucs beat the Cards 5 - 4 scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning before a full house at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Don't get me wrong. I love the St. Louis Cardinals. I have had the privilege of covering this great franchise for the past 26 years and I want them to win every game. Still, tonight's game, even though it was the Cards 7th loss in a row, was great fun to televise. This had the atmosphere of a playoff game. PNC Park was electric. Don't get me wrong. I had a blast covering this game tonight. Don't get me wrong. I would have been more happy if the Cards would have won this game.

A Long Day

The Pirates swept the Cardinals in a doubleheader today at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The first game took 11 innings with the final score being 2 - 1. This 3:50 minute affair was certainly not the way we wanted this day to begin. The second game took just over two and a half hours with the Bucs winning 6 - 0. This was a long day. Certainly a lot longer for Cardinals' fans than Pirates fans.

A Spanking

In arguably the most important game of the 2013 season for both the Cardinals and Pirates, the Bucs spanked the Birds 9 - 2 in 2:51 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The score was 4 - 0 before there was an out in the bottom of the first inning. PNC was nearly sold out and there was an electric atmosphere in the ballpark. It felt a bit like Busch Stadium. I wish the game would have been better but this is not the Pirates team of old. This team not only is good, they believe they are good. They laid a good old fashioned whooping on the Redbirds tonight. The doubleheader tomorrow should be very interesting.

Good Move

I am in Pittsburgh watching the Cards on Sunday Night Baseball from Atlanta. The Cardinals begin a 5 game in 4 days important series against the Pirates tomorrow here in Pittsburgh. Kudos to Fox Sports Midwest and EXecutive Producer Kevin Landy for flying me and our Producer Mike into Pittsburgh early. The club will not arrive at the hotel here before 3:30 in the morning. I am very appreciative that we were able to get to Pittsburgh at a reasonable hour. I can't wait for this series.

Capitalize

In Atlanta tonight, the Braves beat the Cards 4 - 1 in 2:33. These are two very good teams and I was excited about televising this contest. What good teams do is capitalize on mistakes. The Braves starting pitcher made one mistake all game and it was hit for a homerun - the only run of the game for the Redbirds. The Braves offense capitalized on a night when the Cardinals starter - their ace - did not have his best stuff. I capitalized on the fact that the TV crew for the visiting team in Atlanta is very good - we had an excellent show. Now, I am going to capitalize on the fact that I have the next two days off. There is a Capital Grille in my future!

Favorite Telecast

Tonight was our "This ones for you" telecast where we celebrate the work of our men and women in uniform. We had a live hookup via Skype with a military base in Afghanistan and we had 2 whole sections filled at Busch Stadium with families of Missouri soldiers who were deployed overseas. Sometimes the shots of the young children brought a lump to my throat as I thought of them being separated from a parent but all in all this telecast is very rewarding to be a part of. A heartfelt thank you to our military personnel.

A Huge Difference

The Cards defeated the Phil's 11 - 3 in 3:06 tonight at Busch Stadium. There are two different teams. The Cardinals pitch and the Phil's throw. The Rebirds take good at -bats and the Phil's give away at-bats. The Cards attack and the Phillies wait. This game was played totally different by each team. There is a huge difference between these two teams and it was very telling tonight.

I Just Know

When an athlete gets into a "zone" you not only expect something good to happen you KNOW something good is going to happen. In 1998, during the McGwire/Sosa homerun chase, I knew something sensational was going to happen every time McGwire was at-bat. I was rarely disappointed. I was fortunate to cover the first eleven years of Albert Pujols career. For eleven straight seasons I knew something spectacular was going to happen whenever Albert was at the plate. I KNEW. Well, it has happened again with this Cardinals ballclub. When there is a runner or runners in scoring position and Allen Craig is at-bat, I know he will deliver with an RBI. I know it. I knew it with McGwire. I knew it with Albert and I know it with Craig. I just know.

Good Start Great Ending

It took 2:53 for the Cardinals to beat the Padres by the score of 3 - 2 today at Busch Stadium. Redbird's starter Wainwright picked up the victory with a very good performance. It is a pleasure televising Cardinals' baseball when Wainwright is on the mound. He provides an excellent pace to the game which in turn provides a nice pace for the telecast. The game ended on a wonderful leaping catch against the left field wall by Allen Craig with runners on second and third in the top of the ninth. A great start to the game - thank you Adam Wainwright and a great end to the game - thank you Allen Craig.

Brutal Just Brutal

The Padres and the Cardinals played a game that started at 6:15 tonight at Busch Stadium. I arrived in my door at 10:51 tonight after the game. I will not blog for long tonight because my mother always taught me that if I didn't have anything nice to say then don't say anything. So, the following will be my last sentence of this blog. This so-called baseball game tonight between the Padres and the Cards was the absolute worst piece of crap that I have been involved with in my 30 years of televising Major League Baseball.

Embarrassing

The Cards started the 2nd half of the 2013 season with a 9 - 6 victory over the Padres in a game that took 2:53. Believe me, I was just awful the whole game/telecast. Just terrible. I didn't have a good flow the entire evening and I fought it. I tried speeding up my cut. I tried slowing down my cut. Nothing worked. I was lost the whole show. My framing stunk the joint out. For the most part my shot sequences didn't make any sense. Awful, terrible, lost perfectly describes my performance tonight. I guess I should add the word embarrassing to this summary.

Comfort Levels

It was a 3 - 2 victory in 2:58 for the Cardinals over the Cubs at Wrigley Field today. I really enjoy the local TV crew in Chicago. It wasn't that long ago when Chicago was a tough place to televise baseball because of the high turnover of the TV crew. I had the same crew both games at Wrigley which was nice. The comfort level between the crew and the Producer and Director is very, very important to the quality of the telecast. Great comfort levels = great TV. The St. Louis Cardinals TV production team is very comfortable in Chicago and it showed the last two days. Big FOX tomorrow and ESPN Sunday Night baseball to close out the first half of the 2013 season for the Redbirds. I'm off until next Friday when the Padres come to Busch Stadium. Enjoy the All-Star game and the All-Star break everyone!

Nothing Like It

Two hours and forty four minutes was what it took for the Cubs to beat the Cardinals tonight at Wrigley Field. As you may know, I love Wrigley! Absolutely love it! I also love baseball game/telecasts with a good flow. This game/telecast flowed the whole night. There is nothing better in my mind than a well played, well pitched game at Wrigley Field. I know Cards fans are raising their eyebrows right now but I am telling you that before you make a decision about my comments on Wrigley go to a Cards/Cubs game there. Trust me, there is nothing like it.

"A Different Game"

The Cards beat the Astros tonight at Busch Stadium in 3:23 by the score of 5 - 4. Before the game, I was talking to my colleague with the Astros about the Astros going to the American League. He told me that the best part about going to the "other" league was that he "could experience different cities" He loved Seattle for example. He made a comment that I found very interesting. He said American League baseball is "a different game." The lack of strategy makes American League baseball less interesting than National League baseball. There is very little, if any, anticipation in the AL game." I know where he is coming from. Anticipating is one of the most enjoyable traits of directing baseball. Not much gives a TV baseball director more pleasure than when he/she anticipates a play and the play happens. I am so blessed to be a National League TV baseball director. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

From The Best To The Worst

The Cardinals beat the Astros tonight at Busch Stadium by the score of 9 - 5 in 3:20. The a cardinals starting pitcher was masterful. This was one of the top pitching performances by a Redbirds starting pitcher all season. In fact, the Cards starter Adam Wainwright could be considered the best pitcher in the National League. There was also possibly the worst performance this season by a Cards pitcher. A young reliever came into the game in the ninth inning with a runner on first base and nobody out with the Cards leading 9 - 1. This young pitcher gave up a couple of hits and walked three batters. An eon later the Cards closer finished the game a collected a save. From the best to the worst in this game indeed.

The Final Out

The Cards beat the Marlins 3 - 2 in 2:39 before a packed house at Busch Stadium. Sometimes a game can be so poorly played that the final out should be the play of the game. Not today. With two outs and nobody on base the fans at Busch Stadium were going crazy. Over 43,000 fans were on their feet cheering. The place was electric. It is a blast cutting the game in this situation. The final out in today's game was certainly not the play of the game but it was the most fun I had the whole game/telecast.

Bad Call + Bad Play = Win

The Cardinals beat the Marlins 5 - 4 in 2:44 today at Busch Stadium. The Marlins appeared to have scored a second run in the fourth inning but a bad call by the home plate umpire ruled the runner out at the plate. Replays clearly showed the runner was safe. It wasn't even close! As expected, the Florida manager was ejected from the game after that play. Then, with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Redbirds scored the winning run on a throwing error by the right fielder. To make matters worse for the Marlins the first two batters of the ninth inning made outs. The third batter then walked on a 3 - 2 pitch. Then, with another full count, the runner took off with the pitch. The batter stoked a line drive base hit to right field. The rightfielder rather than fire the ball back to the infield just sort of tossed it towards the first baseman who was the cutoff man. The ball short-hopped the fielder and the Cardinals runner raced home with the winning run. Bad call + bad play = Cardinals victory.

Many Thanks

The St. Louis Cardinals' traveling party landed in St. Louis from LA at 4:42AM. After bussing downtown to Busch Stadium to collect my suitcase and my car, I arrived in my driveway in the morning sun at 6:08AM. I went right to bed and slept until noon. I left for tonight's game at 2:00PM praying that we would have a briskly played game against the Marlins. My prayers were answered as the Cards beat the Fish 4 - 1 in 2:17. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Good To Get Home

A three run ninth inning gave the Angels a 6 - 5 come from behind victory over the Cards tonight in 2:51 tonight in Anaheim. I am currently flying at 32,000 feet as we jet our way back to St. Louis. Thanks for the night time getaway game Angels! I should arrive in my door about 5:00 AM. This was a crushing defeat for the Redbirds. We open a three game series against the Marlins tonight. The crew in Anaheim was fantastic! It was truly a pleasure televising Cardinals' baseball with them. They are hard working, fun to work with, and a pleasure to be around. Just like our home crew. I look forward to returning to Busch Stadium.

Figure It Out

The Cardinals beat the Angels 12 - 2 in 3:22 tonight in Anaheim. The first five innings of this game were excruciating. The last four innings had a nice flow. Here was the difference; during the first 5 innings the pitchers for the Angels picked and picked and were not aggressive. The second half of this game flowed because the pitchers were aggressive. Baseball can be the most beautiful sport in the world. Tonight's game showed how ugly this game can be. I love this game. I just wish that pitchers would understand that if they took the ball and pitched, threw strikes, and never picked and picked and picked, they would be rewarded handsomely. This is proven - the pitchers who get the ball and go and throw strikes are the elite pitchers of this game and they are rewarded. Figure it out.

Pitcher Uncomfortable Director Comfortable

In 2:40, the Cardinals lost to the Angels 5 - 1 tonight in LA. The Angels scored all their runs in the second inning when the Redbirds starting pitcher seemed a bit uncomfortable. The Cardinals' TV director - me - was not uncomfortable for even one second during tonight's game/telecast. That's because my TD (technical director) is a guy I have known for over twenty five years and he is one of best in the business. Having confidence in the TD is one of the most valuable feelings a TV sports director can have - if not the most valuable. I knew we were going to have a super clean show and we did. Not once in my mind did I believe that tonight's show would turn ugly. In fact, I knew this telecast was going to be one of the cleanest of the 2013 season - it was.

Road Trip Off Day #2

Allow me to bore you with today's off-day in Southern California. After being greatly over served with wine last night, I rolled (hesitantly) out of bed at noon pacific time. At 1:00, I called the person responsible for my over serving and suggested lunch. He agreed and we went to Maggiano's for a very nice lunch. (My crab and shrimp pasta dish was outstanding) After lunch, we headed back to the hotel where I got my email and proceeded to be bored out of my mind. At 5:30 I decided to go shopping at the mall adjacent to the hotel rather than blow my brains out. 2 shirts later, I went to a restaurant in the mall. I noticed two members of our traveling party already seated and joined them. Of course, they were more than happy that I sat at their table!! Two beers and a huge loaded baked potatoe later and we were done with our meal. Despite the terrible service, we had a good time. I must still be bored. I just ordered almost $500 of wine on-line. Ah the glamor of the road!!

Absolute Ugliness

The A's beat the Cards 7 - 5 in 2:35 today in Oakland. This was the ugliest game of the 2013 season. Bad pitching, bad fielding, bad base running and bad at-bats by both clubs describe this awful game. That so much ugliness could be played in 2 hours and 35 minutes is beyond me. In fact, there were only two good defensive plays made the whole game and these plays were made by Oakland. To join in the general ugliness of this contest, the Oakland centerfielder who made a great diving catch had to leave the game because of back stiffness suffered while making that play. Off day tomorrow and then three games with the Anaheim Angels and Albert Pujols. This is the only ballpark in the big leagues that I have never visited. I'm looking forward to the series. I hope it won't be ugly.

No Complaints

The Cards beat the A's 7 - 1 today in 2:48. Adam Wainwright threw his fourth complete game of the season and was in control the whole game. Good pitching is a TV baseball director's best friend. When a game is well pitched like today's game a director is able to establish a rhythm and there is a wonderful flow to the show. It also helps that this Bay Area crew is outstanding. I have long maintained that the TV crew in the San Francisco/Oakland area is one of the best in TV sports. Not only are they good at their craft, they are a fun group to work with. I don't think I have ever heard a crew member from this area complain. Trust me, I am not complaining.

51 Pitches

A very good Oakland A's ballclub beat a very good Cardinals ballclub tonight in Oakland by the score of 6 - 1 in 2:42. If you take away the bottom of the 2nd inning when the A's scored 5 of their runs, this was one of the better paced games of the 2013 season. The bottom of the second inning took 35 minutes to play which means that this game was played in about a 2 hour pace. A game with a 2 hour pace usually means (99% of the time anyway) that the two teams involved are very good ball clubs. Why did the bottom of the second take so long to play you ask? Because the Redbirds starting pitcher threw 51 pitches in that inning alone. In the last thirty years, that is the most pitches a Cards pitcher has thrown in one inning. This is my 26th year of televising Cardinals baseball. It is a fact - that is the most pitches I have ever witnessed for one inning in a Cardinals baseball game. That means in over 3500 baseball games I witnessed something I have never seen before. 51 pitches - wow!

Off Days On The Road USUALLY Suck

Usually, off days on the road suck. When I am on the road I want to work. Usually. There are some cities where off days can be quite enjoyable. San Francisco is one of those cities. Today was an enjoyable off day. Whether you care or not, this is what I did on this off day in San Francsco. I got out of bed at noon. (Remember it was a very late night) After showering, I had coffee at Starbucks with John Rooney and Dan McLaughlin and then went to my favorite greasy spoon - Lori's Diner for breakfast. Later on in the afternoon my good friend Rip Rowen, who runs the Cardinal's clubhouse, and I went to the Napa Valley Winery Exchange ( a great wine shop) and bought some wonderful bottles of wine. I am enjoying one as we speak. Tonight, I went to dinner at Scoma's (great) with John Rooney, Jim Jackson (radio producer) and Ricky Horton. My Cioppino was unbelievable! I just said goodnight to my lovely wife and I am going to bed. A great day - even if it was an off day.

Glamorous

Ah, the glamour! After our game in Houston, we flew to San Francisco for a weekend series with the Oakland A's. At 1:26 AM pacific time the pilots of our charter aborted the landing because the SF airport was down to 1 runway and there was heavy fog over the airport. At 1:52 AM, we landed in Oakland and while it was nice to be on the ground our busses were at the SF airport. At 2:48 AM our busses arrived on the tarmac and we departed for our hotel in San Francisco. At 3:18 we arrived at the hotel. I entered my room at 3:28 and my suitcase arrived at 3:59. It is now 4:20 AM and I am going to bed. Thank God for the off day tomorrow.....I mean today. Ah, the glamour!

Two Pitches, One Inning

The Astros beat the Cards tonight 4 - 3 in 2:47 tonight in Houston. I am currently at 32,000 feet as we are flying to San Francisco to play the Oakland A's in a weekend series. There were really only two moments in tonight's game. The Redbirds led 2 - 0 after the first two pitches of the game and the Astros scored all their runs as they batted around in the 4th inning. There was really nothing at all notable about this game except for those two moments. Two moments in 2 hours and 47 minutes. Sometimes that is all the game will give you.

A Rarity

It took the Cardinals 3 hours and 11 minutes to beat the Astros 13 - 5 in Houston tonight. Blowouts are not usually that much fun to televise as they usually include bad pitching. This game/telecast was no different. However, in the bottom of the 8th inning the tally lights on all the cameras went out. The centerfield camera (camera 4) had a tally light the whole half inning - even when his camera wasn't on the air. I just constantly reminded the camera operators that they were "hot" and we got through the inning without any whip pans. It is a very rare occurrence when the entire tally matrix system goes down and it takes teamwork to get through it unscathed. The engineers fixed the problem quickly and the ninth inning was smooth sailing.

Lucky And Grateful

I am sitting in my office and it is 9:54 PM on Sunday night. Because of rain, the scheduled 7:00 Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN is going to start in six minutes at 10:00. We are so lucky that tomorrow is an off day. Even better, the Cardinals changed the time we are leaving until tomorrow night! We have to be at Busch Stadium at 8:00 PM with our bus leaving at 8:30 and take off scheduled at 9:15! How about the Texas Rangers? If tonight's game is a typical 3 hour game the game will end at 2:00 AM. Their bus to the airport will be between 2:45 and 3:00. They should take off about 3:30 where they are flying to New York. They would then land about 6:30 or 7:00 AM which will get them to their hotel around 7:30 or 8:00. We of the Cardinals party were so lucky tonight and for that I am truly grateful. It is now 10:00 and I am going to watch the game FROM HOME!

Bad Game Fun Telecast

Despite the fact that the Cardinals were defeated 6 - 4 by the Rangers tonight at Busch Stadium this was an enjoyable show. It is rare when the telecast is more enjoyable than the game but that was the case tonight. The game was not enjoyable because there was some terrible pitching from both clubs. The Rangers starter started poorly giving up 3 runs in the first inning and a run in the second. He settled down and pitched quite well the rest of the night. The Redbirds starter didn't even make it out of the second inning. The telecast was most enjoyable because we aired many flashbacks from the 2011 World Series in which the Cardinals beat the Rangers in seven games with game six possibly being the greatest World Series game ever played - at least from a St. Louis perspective. Truly a bad baseball game. Truly an enjoyable telecast.

Top 5 All-Time Replay

The very talented Cardinals beat the not so talented Cubs tonight 6 - 1 in 3:03 at Busch Stadium. I was talking with one of the Busch Stadium guards and telling him how blessed I was to televise Cardinals baseball. I told him that I couldn't imagine doing 155 Cubs games each season because they are so hapless. The Cardinals scored 4 runs in the 6th inning to put the game away. During the rally, one of our camera ops found a Cubs fan sitting amongst Cardinals fans looking distraught. I told the operator to "sit on him" which means don't leave the shot. The announcers were making mention of the poor unhappy Cubs fan and right on cue the Cubs fan shook his head in disbelief. The next Redbird's batter put the game away with a 2 - run single. The replay sequence finished with a real speed replay of the Cubs fan. You heard the crack of the bat and saw the Cards fans around the Cubs fan explode in excitement. You also saw the fatal expression of the Cubs fan as he hung his head, shook his head and hung his head again. This was one of the greatest replays we have ever had on Cardinals television. One of the top 5 replays of all-time for sure!

What He Was Thinking

It took 2:53 for the Cardinals to beat the Cubs at Busch Stadium tonight by the score of 4 - 1. This was a game that took almost 3 hours to play and the Cubs scored only 1 run on 2 hits. Why did this game take so long to play? For everyone watching on television and for every fan in the stands at Busch the answer was obvious. The starting pitcher for the Cubs was the slowest worker of the season on the mound. "Look at me. I am a starting pitcher in the Big Leagues! Everyone gets to watch ME pitch. I am going to enjoy this and just take my sweet old time." Yup, that is exactly what this pitcher was thinking every single second he was on the mound. No wonder this pitcher is 3 - 9!

Weird Beginning Strange Ending

The Cubs beat the Cards 4 - 2 tonight in 2:34 at Busch Stadium. This game started weird and ended weird. The Cubs scored all their runs in the 1st inning off the best pitcher in the National League - Adam Wainwright. The game ended with the Cardinals' base runner being called out for going out of the base path while trying to break up a double play. This was the correct call by the umpire and it stopped a Redbird's rally and ended the game. Between the first inning and the ninth inning this was a wonderfully played baseball game and a perfectly paced telecast. A strange beginning and a stranger ending describes this game telecast perfectly.

A Good Night

The Cards beat the Cubs tonight at Busch Stadium by the score of 5 - 2 in 2:43. Both starting pitchers threw the ball well and there was a great pace to the game and a good flow to the show. It's too bad that this nice game began after a 1:59 rain delay. This was a scheduled 6:08 start because it was also on ESPN and I arrived in my door at 11:37. Oh well, the game itself was quite enjoyable to televise, we had a good telecast and the Redbirds won. A good night indeed.

Proud

The Mets defeated the Cards tonight by the score of 5 - 1 in 2:33 at Citi Field in New York. There was a tremendous pace to this game/telecast the whole evening. This was a very enjoyable telecast as the game dictated a great "flow to the show." I am now off until Monday when the Cubs come to Busch Stadium. My father was elected as a member of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame and the ceremony is Friday night at Target Field in Minneapolis as part of the pre-game between the Twins and Detroit Tigers. I can't wait to be there as I am so very proud of my dad.

I Could Have Thrown Up

The Cardinals beat the Mets tonight 9 - 2 in 2:53. The first three innings of our telecast tonight were so bad that I could have thrown up. In my thirty years of televising Major League Baseball, I have never EVER been involved with more ugly baseball television - ever! Therefore, I will not talk about this telecast. I will talk about how blessed I am to be a part of St. Louis Cardinals baseball. This team is good! This team is very very good! Televising bad baseball is tedious and difficult. Televising good baseball is easy and fun. We on the St. Louis Cardinals baseball TV team are blessed and we know it. We have an obligation to deliver this wonderful product in a quality fashion. And we do. How could we not? This is fun!!

Spoiled

I admit it. I am spoiled. I travel with the Cardinals on their charter and this charter is first class. This charter has a great menu and lots of beer and booze. Today, our pre and postgame host, Pat Parris and I flew from St. Louis to New York because the last two Cards' telecasts were on Big Fox and ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. We flew to NY on this off day and our original direct flight was cancelled. We were rebooked on a flight through Cincinnati and were scheduled to leave Cincy at 8:00. That flight was delayed until 8:40. Anyway, we landed in NY at 10:45 and I was in my room at 11.40. Ah, the glamour!

Fans=Confidence=Wins

In the biggest game of the 2013 season the Cardinals beat the Reds 9 - 2 in 3:11. We had a FAIRLY clean telecast like we always do here in Cincinnati. I like this crew and we usually have good telecasts out of Great American Ballpark. This blog will not be a wrap up of the game/telecast. This blog will present THE reason why the Cardinals are consistently good. The most successful athletes in any Major League Sport are the athletes that are the most confident. Confidence is the most important trait for any athlete at any level. The St. Louis Cardinals have been very good for a very long time because of confidence. I believe that the number one reason why the Redbirds have been so good for such a long stretch is because every single home game has over 40,000 screaming adoring fans. These screaming fans are adoring because the Cardinals consistently win. The Cards consistently win because they KNOW they are going to win. They are CONFIDENT they are going to win. Why are they so good? Why are they so confident? Because they are reminded each and every home game by a full Busch Stadium. A full Busch Stadium of screaming confident fans. On the other hand, the Reds only sold 91% of their seats tonight for their most important game of the 2013 season. These fans didn't scream and were not very confident. A confident fan base would have filled Gret American Ballpark tonight. I am confident the Cardinals will walk through the National League this season. Big FOX tomorrow and ESPN Sunday Night Baseball so I am off until Tuesday in NY vs the Mets.

The Good And The Bad

Most telecasts are filled with good moments and bad moments. Most Major League games are filled with good moments and bad moments. Tonight's game/telecast was the epitome of the previous statements. As we all know, the most fun a baseball TV director has is cutting a homerun. The Cardinals hit 5 homeruns tonight - great, great fun!! Great, great moment!! Bad pitching is the main culprit for bad moments. We had a bad moment tonight. With the Redbirds leading 12 - 5 in the top of the ninth inning, the Cards pitcher walked consecutive batters with the bases loaded. Bad, bad moment! As bad as it gets. On the plane to Cincinnati for a huge weekend series. We are only doing tomorrow's game as Saturday is a big FOX game and Sunday is ESPN. I am looking forward to many good moments this weekend. I'll be watching for sure.

2 Words

The Diamondbacks/Cardinals game began tonight after a 46 minute rain delay. 3 hours and 4 minutes later the D'Backs beat the Redbirds 10 - 3. The game was moving along nicely until the bullpens became involved. This rather nice game turned into a real tedious stinker. I would like to give every Major League pitcher a bit of advice. And I can give those pitchers some very valuable advice in just 2 words. These two words will insure that each and every pitcher who heeds them will have a long and very prosperous career. THROW STRIKES.

Wrong

I love baseball!! I love it!! The Diamondbacks beat the Cardinals 7 - 6 in 14 innings tonight at Busch Stadium in 4 hours and 53 minutes. And I still love it!! I called my wife before the game and said "This will be a fast one tonight". Boy was I wrong!

Smooth

It took the Cardinals 2 hours and 39 minutes to defeat the Diamondbacks 7 - 1 tonight at Busch Stadium. Once again, the Redbirds starting pitching controlled the game. This was one of the smoothest game/telecasts of the 2013 season. There was a wonderful flow to the show because there was a wonderful flow to the game. Smooth may be the most desirable word for a TV sports director. The only hiccup of the night occurred in the second inning. Our centerfield camera (camera 4) went to black right before a pitch. I immediately told the tight centerfield camera (camera 6) to "pullout and frame like camera 4". After a batter, the problem with camera 4 was fixed and the rest of the show was very smooth. Smooth - love that word.

Three Moments

The Giants beat the Cardinals 4 - 2 in 2:40 today at Busch Stadium. There were three moments during the telecast that really stood out. One of the moments involved the play on the field, another dealt with the on field Pregame ceremony and the third memorable moment occurred in the stands. The memorable moment during the game came after the last out of the third inning when both Yadier Molina and manager Mike Matheny were ejected from the game. The ejections occurred at 1st base and the shot of the commotion from our leftfield camera (camera 1) was framed so that it included the fans going crazy in the background. The Pregame ceremony included a young fan on the field pretending he was a pitcher and he was emulating a windup. What really enhanced this memory was that it was captured in super slow-mo. My favorite moment of the telecast happened during the first at-bat of the game. Their was a toddler sitting with his parents eating a huge chocolate chip cookie. Between batters we revisited the kid to see the progress he was making as he devoured the giant cookie. The sequence wrapped up with his father dutifully wiping the chocolate mess from the kids face.

Comfortable

The Cards beat the Giants 8 - 0 in 2:42 today at Busch Stadium. The Redbirds scored 7 runs on 9 hits in the 3rd inning off Giants hurler Matt Cain. Cain, who threw a perfect game last season, was also perfect in 5 of the 6 innings he was in the game. The 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th innings were all 1-2-3. The Cardinals scored one run on one hit off the San Francisco bullpen in the 8th inning. Shelby Miller of the Cardinals threw 7 innings of shutout ball and the bullpen finished the game. Except for the bottom of the third this was one of the better pitched games of the 2013 season. Well pitched = good pace = a most comfortable telecast.

Rained Out Before The Rain

At 7:15 tonight, the Busch Stadium grounds crew put the tarp on the field. It wasn't raining. At 7:50 tonight, the game was postponed. It wasn't raining. We signed off at 8:00 tonight. It wasn't raining. I live 37 miles north and west of the stadium. Twenty minutes into my drive home I ran into one of the most violent storms I have ever seen. I was driving 35 to 40 miles an hour in unbelievable rain, strong winds and nonstop lightening. At 8:30 the storm hit Busch Stadium. Great move by the Cardinals in their cancellation of the game tonight even though it wasn't raining.

Great Game Bad Day

What a game! The Cardinals latest phenom pitcher Michael Wacha pitched 7 innings of 2 hit, 1 run baseball and was just outstanding facing only 2 over the minimum. He left with a 2 - 1 lead. That's the good news. Now the bad. The game started with a 1 hour rain delay. With the Cards leading 2 - 1 entering the ninth inning, the bullpen gave up the lead. After the Royals had scored 3 runs and had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the ninth inning another rain delay occurred. 4 hours and 32 minutes later the game resumed. 12 minutes later the game ended. 1st pitch at 7:16 pm. Final out at 3:14 am - 7 hours and 58 minutes later. It is 4:37 am and I am going to bed. Bad day indeed. Oh yea, rain in the forecast for tomorrow - in fact, all weekend.

Quality Moment

A come from behind victory by the Cardinals over the Royals took 2:50 to play tonight at Busch Stadium. This 5 - 3 win was one of the most exciting victories of the season by the Redbirds. Going into the bottom of the eighth, the Cards trailed their cross state rivals by the score of 3 - 1. They scored 4 runs and this inning contained one of the most memorable sequences of our 2013 TV season. The Cards had runners on first and second with the lead runner being the tying run. The runner at first base, Yadier Molina, kept signaling the runner at second base, Allen Craig, to get a bigger lead. Between every pitch Molina kept coaxing Craig to expand his lead. The batter, David Freese, proceeded to hit a single to left field and Craig scored just ahead of the throw. He may not have scored if he hadn't extended his lead. Just a wonderful example of our viewers at home seeing something the fans in the stands didn't see. Just a classic quality moment on an excellent telecast.

It Could Be Worse

The Cardinals beat the Royals in KC tonight by the score of 4 - 1 in 2:07. Yes that is right - 2 hours and 7 minutes! The Cardinals' rookie pitcher gave up just 2 hits in 7 innings and the bullpen once again shut the door. This was the Royals 10th straight loss at home. Could it possibly get worse for the Royals? We landed in St. Louis at 11:47pm and as we landed I received a text from a friend on the Royals TV crew. Their charter flight had to be cancelled and they were now bussing to St. Louis with an anticipated arrival of 4AM. 10 losses in a row at home and a horrible May win/loss record. The Cardinals have the best record in baseball. The Cardinals have the best road record in baseball. We arrived in St. Louis BEFORE the Royals left Kansas City. The St. Louis Cardinals TV team is blessed. We could be the Royals.

Get Rid of The DH

The Cards beat the Royals 6 - 3 in 2:46 today in Kansas City. 2:46? Are you kidding me? This piece of dung seemed to last 4:46. I ask my peers in the American League - How do you do it? How? I love the sport of baseball but this crap that went on today is awful. Is this the norm in the American Leage? If so, get rid of the DH? Immediately!! Baseball is meant to be played without the DH. Baseball is a better game without the DH. Baseball is always talking about speeding up the game. Wanna speed up the game? Get rid of the DH!!

A Good Day

I am currently at 32,000 feet as we make our way to Kansas City. The Cards beat the Dodgers 5 - 3 today at Dodger Stadium in 3 hours and 15 minutes. This was a perfect example of how the pace of our telecast was of a much higher quality than the pace of the game. There were many different paces for this game throughout the game. At times this game moved and at times it felt like the game was stuck in the mud. However, I was pleased with the pace of our show. Our use of flashbacks and full page graphics was as good as we've featured all season. When the game moved, we were right there and when the game slowed the pace of our telecast never waivered. A good day all around.

A Good Night

Watched the Cards lose and the Blackhawks win tonight with my good friend Brian - our tape room Producer - as we enjoyed the night life in Pasadena, California. Off days on the road generally suck. Even though our Cards lost, we had a good time together and this off-day was a good one. Off days at home are very rewarding and off days on the road are tough. This was an exception to the rule.

The Grind

It took 2:58 for the Cardinals to beat the Dodgers 7 - 0 tonight at Dodger Stadium. This game/telecast made me realize how blessed I am. The Cardinals are consistently good. The grind of this profession, and believe me it is a grind, is so much more easily handled when the team being covered plays well. I spoke with my peers on the Dodgers side about this very fact and they agree wholeheartedly. When a team is not playing well the grind becomes very difficult. The Dodgers are not playing well and my buddies with the Dodgers are feeling the effects of "the grind". Off day again tomorrow because of Big Fox so I suppose there will be some hockey television in my future. Stanley Cup Hockey - a nice respite from the grind.

Hockey Day

Off day in LA. What do you do on an off day in LA? You watch hockey. My Blues are out of it but I still enjoy watching the great sport of hockey. I spent this off day watching the Rangers beat the Bruins and the Red Wings beat the Black Hawks. Tomorrow the Cardinals open up a three game series with the Dodgers. We televise on Friday and Sunday with Saturday being a Big Fox game which means I am off once again. I will be watching more Stanley Cup hockey Saturday night!!

Basics

I am in my room in LA contemplating tonight's telecast after a 2:15 bus ride from San Diego. It is 1:27AM and I am grateful for the way tonight's game/telecast played out. The Cardinals 5 - 3 victory in 2:37 was a very clean show. The Cardinals starting pitcher was making his Major League debut and that was the story line we followed the whole game/telecast. The game will always dictate the TV coverage and tonight's game followed that tenet to a T. There were no surprises tonight and for that I am very grateful. A very basic game and a very basic telecast. Sometimes that is needed. Tonight it was.

Night And Day

The final score was 10 - 2 as the Cardinals beat the Padres tonight at Petco Park. This 2:38 minute affair was a complete opposite game for the Redbirds from last night's game. They scored 10 runs and were in complete control the whole game. This telecast was also completely different from last night's show. Night and day in fact. This was one of our cleaner telecasts of the season and it included some special moments as well. We captured the Redbirds lead-off batter visualizing his swing while stretching in the outfield before the game and aired the video during his first at-bat. During a shot of the Cardinals' dugout after a grand slam homerun, we captured an elated Redbird who signaled that he had "called" the homerun. My favorite moment of the telecast occurred when the Cards centerfielder slid awkwardly into home plate. Our replays showed why that happened. The on-deck batter who was signaling the runner to slide was completely blocked by the home plate umpire. Just a great, great shot from our low third (camera 1) operator. A high quality telecast tonight indeed.

Garbage Telecast

The Padres beat the Cards 4 - 2 in 2:46 tonight at Petco Park in San Diego. The Padres played superbly on defense making four outstanding plays in the field. Unlike the play of the Padres our telecast was quite the opposite. This show was the biggest stinker of the season for St. Louis Cardinals television. I will not highlight the lowlights of this show because I don't have the time or the space to cover all the garbage that aired tonight. The St. Louis Cardinals TV production team takes a very low key approach as we cover each game. We take pride in the fact that our game coverage is quite good. However, sometimes our low key approach is misunderstood by local crew members that we don't care and therefore the effort put out by the crew is maybe not 100%. Believe me WE DO CARE. We on the Redbirds TV team take full responsibility for the ugly television that aired tonight. We are not going to turn into a bunch of screaming assholes but the crap that aired tonight will NOT air tomorrow.

Too Comfortable

The Redbirds beat the Brewers today by the score of 4 - 2 in 2:34 at Busch Stadium. My low first (Cardinals dugout) cam (camera 5) went down in the fifth inning. This is the camera I use for pickoffs at 1st base and lead runners. I really didn't realize how much I depend on this camera during a game. I made an adjustment and had my mid-first camera (camera 3) my pickoff camera and my lead runner camera. This adjustment came after a play in which no cameras followed the lead runner because I didn't adjust my camera responsibilities in time. A TV sports director can get very comfortable with the camera positions and responsibilities. The trick is not to get too rote with your game cut. I don't feel that I get too rote, but I sure missed camera 5 today.

Other Thoughts

It took 10 innings and 3:48 for the Brewers to beat the Cardinals 6 - 4 tonight at Busch Stadium. This was another game with no pace. The middle innings dragged even with a nice strike zone from the home plate umpire. At 9:37 pm I received a text from my wife. It was a picture of my grandson who was over for a sleep over! Of course this 6:00 start didn't help as the game went extras. I may have lost a bit of concentration after the text because I hadn't seen my grandson in almost 3 weeks and I couldn't wait to see him. My thoughts were on my grandson for the most part tonight.

A Welcome Change

The Cardinals beat the Brewers tonight 7 - 6 in 2:49 at Busch Stadium and there were many reasons to be happy for the TV director. #1 - There were three homeruns hit in the game. A grand slam and two 3-run homers. As you know, the homerun is the most fun a TV baseball director has while cutting the game. #2 - There was a fairly good pace to the game and a very nice flow to the show. #3 - There was a 1 - 2 - 3 top of the ninth inning. #4 - A Cardinals victory. Believe me, this was a welcome change from garbage games of the Mets series.

Weird

It took the Mets 2:53 to beat the Cardinals today at Busch Stadium by the score of 5 - 2. There was a better pace to this game compared to the first three games of this series but that would be like saying that a turtle is faster than an inchworm. Even with a fairly big strike zone from the home plate umpire this game moved slowly. Don't get me wrong, I love the game of baseball. So it seems weird to me that I prefer less of a game than more. Does that make any sense?

Pace

I was talking with the Mets TV director before tonight's Mets/Cards game. I said to him "Man do I feel for you. You have a hard, hard job covering that team." He agreed with me and said "The pace of our games is excruciating." Directing TV baseball can be very difficult if there is no pace to the game. A good "flow to the show" is almost impossible during a poorly pitched and/or poorly played game. In fact, 99% of the time a poorly pitched game WILL lead to a poorly played game. There was a horrible pace to tonight's contest which lasted 3:07. 3 hours and seven minutes for a 4 - 2 game - are you kidding me! The Cardinals' victory at least took some of the sting out of that poorly paced turd of a game.

Over Early

The Cards beat the Mets tonight at Busch Stadium by the score of 10 - 4 in 2:39. This laugher was over well before 2 hours and 39 minutes. The Redbirds led 9 - 0 after 5 innings and the Mets did not have a clue. The Cards starting pitcher was making his Major League debut and this made for a nice story line for our telecast. Pre-production is very important for any telecast. However, pre-production may be most important for "laughers" such as tonight's Mets/ Cardinals game/telecast. One of our pre-produced elements for tonight's game/telecast was capturing the grips of one of the Cards recent callups. To our good luck, this pitcher entered the game in the seventh inning - well after the game was really over. Showing his grips on his pitches really added quality to our telecast. When a game is lopsided (like tonight's) it is really easy to "mail it in". Pre-produced elements keep the TV team focused and "mailing it in" never enters the equation.

It's Not How You Start

The Cards beat the Mets 6 - 3 in 2:54 tonight at Busch Stadium. After two innings of play the Mets starting pitcher had thrown 46 pitches and the Cardinals starter threw 54 pitches. 100 pitches in 2 innings! The first two innings took 1 hour to play - exactly 1 hour. Truly excruciating baseball. Then the game turned around. The pitchers found their groove, the game moved and there was a good flow to our show. Excruciating baseball is very difficult to cover. The concentration level of everyone on the TV team is severely tested. Thank God the game turned around. If not, the TV production team would have been totally fried.

Once Again

For our third straight game/telecast a pitcher flirted with a no-hitter. Jorge De La Rosa of the Rockies was throwing a no-hitter with two outs in the seventh inning. Just as we started preparing for the no-hitter the Cardinals had consecutive base hits. We had our strategy down from our experience of the previous two games so we were ready. The Rockies beat the Redbirds 8 - 2 in 3:05 and for our TV team today was a lot of fun.

Back To Back = Wow

Adam Wainwright was nearly as good as teammate Shelby Miller today as the Cardinals beat the Rockies 3 - 0 in 2:40 at Busch Stadium. Miller gave up a broken bat single to start yesterday's game and then retired the next 27 Rockies. Wainwright carried a no-hitter for 8 1/3 innings today with the only blemish being a one out walk in the fifth inning. Miller and Wainwright retired 40 consecutive Rockies until that walk. With two outs in the ninth inning Wainwright gave up the second hit of the day to Colorado and finished with a 2-hit complete game. This was definitely the most fun I have ever had in back to back games. Beginning in the seventh inning, we started airing our drop-ins and promos so that we could cover the possible no-hitter with no interruptions. This was a great move by our Producer as we were able to concentrate totally on the event unfolding on the field. This 2 hour and 40 minute affair seemed like it took 20 minutes. Could tomorrow's game be a three-peat of the first two games of this series? I can't wait to find out.

Greatest Ever

The Cards beat the Rockies tonight at Busch Stadium by the score of 3 - 0 in 2:36. This was the greatest pitching performance I have ever witnessed during my 30 years in Major League Baseball. After the first batter of the game in which the Rockies' lead off batter reached first base with a broken bat single, Redbirds rookie hurler Shelby Miller retired the next 27 batters in a row! A perfect game minus one. Miller was in TOTAL control the whole game. He had 13 strikeouts and there was not one ball hit hard. He finished off the game with a 3-pitch strikeout with the batter not even swinging. The greatest pitching performance I have EVER witnessed! WOW!!!

A Good Day

The Cardinals beat the Cubs 5 - 4 in 2:53 at Wrigley Field today. This exciting come from behind victory was par for the course for a Cards/Cubs game at Wrigley. There was more energy at Wrigley Field today compared to last night's contest and I believe the telecast captured the excitement. The most exciting part of our day, however, occurred after the game. We had a police escort to O'Hare and a trip that probably would have taken almost 2 hours took 27 minutes. The Chicago rush hour parted like the Red Sea and it was smooth sailing for our traveling party. I even made it home to watch game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs between the Blues and the Kings. A good day all around.

Definitely Different

I love Wrigley Field! During the 26 years I have been a part of St. Louis Cardinals baseball television, Wrigley Field has always been my favorite venue in baseball. Things have changed. The Cubs beat the Cards tonight 2 - 1 in 2:37. This was a well-pitched and well-played game. Perhaps the best pitched and best played game of the 2013 season. However, unlike the past, the atmosphere at Wrigley was definitely different. It's true the Cubs have been bad for awhile and they may lose 100 games this season. I believe that is the reason for the "different" atmosphere tonight at Wrigley. I have officially changed my mind about the best venue to televise baseball in the Major Leagues. It's Busch Stadium!!

The Final Out

After 3 hours and 12 minutes of excruciating baseball the Cardinals beat the Brewers 10 - 1. The Cardinals threw 116 pitches and the Brew Crew threw 193 pitches. This awful game never developed a decent pace. Instead, this game went slower and slower and slower. A game like this turd can be and is mentally draining. This is the type of baseball game where the play of the game is the final out. We are in Chicago with an off day tomorrow. The Cubs are playing the Rangers in a rain out make-up game tomorrow night and I am going to be there. At least if it's another awful game I can leave.

Derby Day

I think I might have to make every Kentucky Derby day an off day like today. Just because I know you want to know: I $1 tri-boxed 6 horses. I had the first place, third place and fourth place horse but not the second place horse. Oh well, still a great off day.

Special

The Cards defeated the Brewers tonight by the score of 6 - 1 in exactly 3 hours. This game was special in that two Cardinals pitchers made their Major League debuts tonight in back to back innings which was the first time that had happened for St. Louis since 1990. The first rookie got his three outs on 14 pitches of which 8 were strikes. And the second rookie retired his 3 batters on 6 pitches of which all were strikes. The bullpen has been a trouble spot for the Redbirds all season so the bullpen's performance tonight added some optimism for the Cardinal faithful. This was another quality telecast from the solid Milwaukee crew. Our best shot of the night showed Carlos Beltran offering tips to a Brewers rookie. Beltran was apparently showing the rookie the best way to utilize his eyes while at the plate. And, this shot was captured during pre-game batting practice. Good TV crews capture moments during a game. Great crews capture moments before games, during games and between innings. A special game for the Redbirds rookies. A special moment for our telecast.

A New Discovery

The Redbirds beat the Brewers tonight at Miller Park by the score of 6 - 5 in 3:18. Our telecast discovered a new talent in the Milwaukee TV family. Our low first camera operator (camera 1) was absolutely sensational! There were two shots of a fly ball to right field with a runner tagging up on second base where this operator framed the shot perfectly showing the runner and the outfielder in the same shot. Great!! Then, this operator framed up a runner who had just scored with a trailing runner following him showing him where to slide. Great!! Great camera operators "feel" the moment. Our low first operator "felt" it tonight. A great, great pleasure to watch!!

Highlight Of The Day

It took 2:37 for the Cardinals to beat the Reds at Busch Stadium today. The highlight of the day for me had nothing to do with the game/telecast. This was a clean telecast with only a few "moments" that could define the show. The highlight of the day for me concerned my son. He worked the Fox Box for the Cincinnati feed last night and before he flew home to Minnesota he wanted to take in the game at Busch Stadium. During the game he caught a foul ball! But, better yet, he gave the ball to a young boy who was sitting next to him. The boy's family was very appreciative and took a picture of my son and their son. All this happened while the crowd in the 3 sections around them gave my son a nice ovation. My highlight of the day!

Three Reasons

This was a great, great day! And there were three reasons why. Reason #1: The Cardinals beat the Reds 2 - 1 in 2:15. This game was the best pitched and the best played all season. Reason #2: Because of the speed of the baseball game, I was able to listen to the Blues hockey game on the radio as I drove home. The Blues are playing the LA Kings in the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They beat the Kings in overtime! Reason #3: Because the ballgame and the hockey game were played at the same time there was a shortage of crew in St. Louis. My son Tom was flown in from Minnesota and worked the Fox Box for the Reds feed in our truck. He is staying the night and going to the Cards game tomorrow before flying back to Minny! What a day!!

Another Exciting Ending

The Reds beat the Redbirds 2 - 1 in 2:53 tonight at Busch Stadium. Once again, there was another exciting ending for the TV crew. However, the excitement had nothing to do with the game. Last night a member of our crew lost the pool by one second. Tonight, a different member of our crew also lost the pool. This time, he lost the pool by two seconds. The game didn't generate a lot of excitement but the ending did once again!

Most Disappointed

The Pirates beat the Cards today in 3:02 by the score of 9 - 0. From a TV standpoint, this was a game that was much easier to televise than the first two of the series. There was a fairly good pace to this game until the Cardinals' bullpen once again imploded allowing 5 runs in the top of the ninth inning. Once again there really wasn't anything special about this game/telecast. The loudest cheer of the day came after the final out. Not because the game was over but because a member of our crew missed winning the pool by one second. We have a pool where we guess the exact time of the final out. If nobody wins there is a carryover. For sure, the Redbirds weren't the most disappointed losers after the game. The most disappointed would be our crew member.

Brain Is Mush

The Cardinals were beaten by the Pirates today by the score of 5 - 3. This slow paced piece of garbage took 3:42 to play. Because the Blues were also playing in St. Louis today our telecast had a new TD, 3 new camera operators of which two had never done Major League Baseball and one of those had never run a hard camera before, a new audio engineer, two new tape operators, a new video engineer and a new stage manager. Each of these professionals who were new to our show performed in a quality fashion. The regular members of our home crew are used to my style of directing and because the "new members" are not aware of my style my concentration level was extremely high. I am currently at home watching the Blues game and I am fried. My brain is mush.

Remarkable

The Cards defeated the Pirates 9 - 1 in 3:16 tonight at Busch Stadium. This game started out for the Redbirds in a remarkable fashion. After the remarkable start, the game dwindled into absolute nothingness. The bottom of the first inning went as follows: homerun, homerun, single and hit by pitch. The Bucs starting pitcher was then immediately ejected for throwing at the Cardinals cleanup hitter. No warning at all - just ejected. The Pittsburgh manager quickly followed being ejected and before there was one out in the bottom of the first there were two homeruns and two ejections! Remarkable! From that point on, however, the game turned into one of the least exciting games of the season. From total excitement to total nothingness. Remarkable indeed.

A Welcome Off Day

It took 2:54 for the Cardinals to beat the Nationals 4 - 2 and complete a sweep of the three game series. The telecast was very different from the first two shows of the series. This quality of this telecast was mediocre to say the least. Maybe it was because this was the last telecast after a 10 day - 3 city trip. 3 city trips can be grueling and mentally draining. I was pretty wiped out when I arrived home at 9:30. Thank God for the off day tomorrow.

GOOD

The Cardinals beat the Nats tonight by the score of 2 - 0 in 2:42. Adam Wainwright was brilliant as he hurled 8 1/3 innings of shutout baseball. When a starting pitcher gets into a rhythm like Wainwright did tonight, a good TV crew will respond with a wonderful rhythm of it's own. Tonight's game was a perfect example of a game that every GOOD TV crew loves. This wonderful GOOD TV crew in DC responded with a great performance of their own. This was one of our better telecasts of the 2013 season. Thanks to Adam Wainwright and the very, very GOOD DC TV crew.

Bad TV Ballpark, Great TV Crew

The Cards beat the Nats 3 - 2 in 2:42 in Washington DC tonight. This was an exciting well-played ballgame and our telecast captured the most exciting moments very very well. Why we were able to capture these moments so well is because the TV crew for the visiting team is exceptionally talented. This crew "feels" the moments and reacts accordingly. It is a pleasure being a part of this great TV production team. DC is a great town with much to do. The ballpark is below average as far as television is concerned. But this great crew makes up for it. I am truly looking forward to tomorrow's telecast.

A Great Off Day!

The Cards/Phillies game is on ESPN tonight so the St. Louis TV team is off. What a great off day! The four TV truck guys for the Redbirds left Philadelphia at 2:45 on the train for Washington DC. We arrived to the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City at 5:00 - 3 hours before the Cards game. Three of us had a great dinner at our favorite DC sports bar as we watched the Cardinals and the Blues. A great day all around. Better yet - the ice machine is right next to my room!!

The Shot of The Show

It took the Cardinals 2 hours and 48 minutes to defeat the Phillies tonight by the score of 5 - 0. The Cards capitalized on a rare 3 walk inning by Phil's starter Cliff Lee to score 4 runs in that inning. They also rode the 7-inning, 1 hit allowed by their starter Lance Lynn. This was a pretty uneventful game from a television standpoint. In fact, the best shot of the day was the first shot we used out of open billboards and the last shot of the telecast. The youngster who threw out the first pitch was great. His reaction after the pitch was priceless. After his reaction, he ran to his dad and received a big hug. The most memorable shot of the show.

Over Before It's Over

The Phillies beat the Cards tonight by the score of 8 - 2 in a rain shortened affair. The game was really over after the first inning when the Phil's scored 5 runs and they had Roy Halladay on the mound. It was just a matter of time before the game was officially over. The Cardinals had two hits with both being of the homerun variety so there was some fun in cutting this game. When games are over before they are officially over, it takes a different mindset when covering the game. There is a bit more of added concentration, almost forced concentration while covering this type of game. The rains came after the top of the 7th inning and the game was call 40 minutes later. Thankfully!

Don't Bring It With You

You're having a bad morning. You're having a bad day. Don't bring it to work with you. Keep it at home. Let's take the TV sports industry. Is this a fun job or what? We get paid to watch sports! We should all remember how lucky we are. Everyone has bad mornings. Everyone has bad days. Well, if you work in the TV sports industry, you have a great excuse to forget about the bad shit that may be going on in your life. We get to watch sports and we get to make a living by watching sports. If the sport you are covering is one of a professional nature then you get to watch the greatest athletes in the world perform at the highest level possible for that sport. Leave the bad stuff at home. Realize how lucky you are working in the profession you do. How can you not?

Almost

The Pirates beat the Cardinals 5 - 0 in 2:35 tonight as Bucs starter AJ Burnett threw a no-hitter for seven and two thirds innings. The way he was throwing - a no-hitter was certainly possible. In fact, the Redbirds collected only one hit the entire game. From the Cards TV side, it would have been interesting if a no-hitter would have been thrown as two of our three camera operators had never done a baseball game before. Even with their lack of experience, they did a nice job. I have been with the Cardinals for 26 years but I must admit that when Burnett got close to the no-no I was pulling for him. Currently in the air flying to Philadelphia. Wainwright vs Hamels tomorrow night. Who knows? Maybe a no-hitter in that game.

A Long Night Shortened

The Cardinals scored 2 runs in the top of the first inning and the Pirates scored 4 runs in the bottom of the first. It certainly looked like we were in for a long night. Then, in the top of the 3rd the rains came. A little over one hour and fifty minutes later the game was postponed with no makeup game announced. A long night shortened by the rain. Thank you.

Spoiled. Rotten.

I admit it. The St. Louis Cardinals have spoiled me. They have played a high quality brand of baseball for a long time and every home game at Busch Stadium is electric. The Redbirds beat the Pirates 10 - 6 tonight at PNC Park in Pittsburgh in 3 hours and 22 minutes. The Cards scored 7 runs in the 2nd inning and had their 10 runs after three innings. They did this in front of 10,539 disinterested fans. PNC Park was a mausoleum tonight in Pittsburgh. The Bucs last winning season was before Bryce Harper was born! The losing atmosphere in Pittsburgh makes an appearance in most Pirates games. Take tonight for instance. In the top of the third inning, the Bucs pitcher had back-to-back walks which included the Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn. This happened with the home team down 8 - 1. This wasn't even the pitcher who started the game for Pittsburgh. The starter didn't even make it out of the second inning. When he left, he had recorded the first 2 outs in the inning and had thrown 35 pitches in that inning alone. I am spoiled. The Pirates are rotten. Spoiled. Rotten.

Forget About It

The Brewers beat the Cardinals in 10 innings in a game that lasted 3:19. The Redbirds were cruising until the 8th inning but gave 2 runs in the 8th and the tying run in the 9th before losing in extra innings. It is hard to stay focused when the team you are covering loses a game it looked like they were going to win. This was a great opening season home stand for the Cards. During this home stand the Cardinals went 4 - 2. The first game of the home season was lost with a 9-run ninth inning and the last game of the opening home stand was lost in the tenth inning. The Cards should have won both games. Just like the ball club the TV crew can't let tough losses effect the concentration and thus focus in the truck. We open a three game series in Pittsburgh tomorrow. In fact, I am in my hotel room at this moment and I am thinking about tomorrow. I have already forgotten about today's game.

Special

The Cardinals beat the Brewers 8 - 0 in 2:39 today at Busch Stadium. Adam Wainwright is a special athlete. Not only did he hurl a complete game shutout but he also had 3 hits ( 1 less than the Brew Crew ) and 2 runs batted in. Speaking of special, our telecast had some very special moments. Our Super Mo camera captured Cards third baseman David Freese fielding a 1-hop chopper, taking the ball out of the glove and looking at it as he changed his grip to a four-seamer before he threw it. Another special moment was also captured by the Super Mo. Redbirds catcher Yadier Molina juggled a foul tip and eventually dropped the ball but the juggling was excellent video. Our third special moment occurred during a pitching change in the Cardinal's dugout. Matt Carpenter had been hit by a pitch moments before and he was explaining that moment in a very animated way to one of his teammates. This was a special moment because it was only seen by the TV audience which is one of our goals for every show namely show our TV audience something the fans in the stands didn't see. This was a special day indeed.

Great Pregame, Better Game

The Cardinals honored the "greatest Cardinal of the all" Stan The Man Musial before tonight's Brewers/Cards game at Busch Stadium. Fans received a harmonica with Stan's famous signature on it as they entered the building and all fans played "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" after the top of the 6th inning. A plaque was unveiled on the Musial statue before the game which we covered live. I really enjoyed cutting the Pregame festivities but not as much as I enjoyed the game. The Redbirds beat the Brew Crew 2 - 0 in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Both starting pitchers - Kyle Lohse for the Brewers and Shelby Miller for the Cardinals - pitched wonderfully. There was a great flow to our show the entire game. We added elements from Musial's career throughout the telecast and we enjoyed one of the best telecasts ever on St. Louis airwaves. Great, great fun!!

Great Fun

Every TV baseball director loves a well pitched game. Every TV baseball director enjoys cutting a homerun. The Cards beat the Reds today by the score of 10 - 0. Jake Westbrook pitched a complete game and was in command the whole day. The Redbirds also hit 4 homeruns!! Thanks to Jake Westbrook for the pitching gem and thanks to Jon Jay, Carlos Beltran, Matt Adams and Matt Carpenter for the round trippers. The game lasted 2 hours and 35 minutes. I enjoyed every second.