Sad Beginning

The Cards beat the Dodgers today at Busch Stadium by the score of 3 - 1 in 2:33. Before the game, the Redbirds honored a player who made his Major League debut one year ago today. Unfortunately, this player was killed in a car accident during the off season. Included in the ceremony were his parents and two brothers. As a video tribute was being shown on the scoreboard inside Busch Stadium I took a shot of the family and the mother began crying. The starting pitcher for the Cardinals today was a best friend of the player who died. He was crying in the bullpen as he warmed up. Talk about a lump in your throat! I could barely speak as I cut that ceremony. It affected me early on during the game as well. I found it hard to focus during the first two innings. I kept seeing his mother crying.

Favorite Show

We had our "This Ones For You" telecast tonight honoring our troops. This is my favorite telecast. I am proud to be a part of it. This was the 11th consecutive year that we have honored the troops and the was the first time, fortunately, that there were no Missouri troops fighting overseas. Our pre-game show originated from Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri which trains our troops. By the way, the Cards defeated the Dodgers 3 - 0.

Blessed

It took the Cardinals 2:58 to beat the Dodgers 3 - 0 tonight at Busch Stadium. How lucky am I? How lucky am I to be a part of St. Louis Cardinals television? How lucky? The two best teams in the National League faced off tonight in St. Louis and the Redbirds dominated in front of a full house. I count my blessings every day. The Cardinals have been good for a long long time and I am thankful to be a part of that. A full house (always) a good team (great really) and an off day tomorrow. (Would rather work) I am blessed and I know it.

Rare

It was a 4 - 3 victory in 3:19 for the Cardinals over the Diamondbacks tonight at Busch Stadium. For the Redbirds this game started and ended in rare fashion. The first batter of the game for the Cards hit a homerun on the first pitch he saw. That has not happened for St. Louis since 2008. The last play of the game occurred in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded, 1 out and the score tied at 3 apiece. The ball was chopped to the third baseman who threw home for the second out if the inning. As the catcher was throwing the ball to first base he was clipped on the leg by the baserunner. As that happened he threw the ball into right field for an error and the Cards won. The start was rare and the finish was rare. A weird game indeed.

Schizoid

6 - 4 was the final score as the Cards defeated the Diamondbacks tonight at Busch Stadium. There were two different ballgames tonight in St. Louis. All the scoring came in the first 4 innings as both starting pitchers were erratic. The first 4 innings took 1:32 to play. The pitching settled down and the final 5 innings took 1:20. There was no flow to the game in the first 4 innings while there was a nice flow to the show in the final 5. Even though a TV crew doesn't change it's work ethic throughout a game/telecast, a game with no flow seems to be very difficult to televise while a show with a flow seems almost easy to capture. Tonight's game was schizophrenic indeed

Highs/Lows

The Cards beat the Diamondbacks in walk off fashion today at Busch Stadium. This 3:24 affair ended with a lead off homerun in the bottom of the 10th inning. This was a game of highs and lows. The Redbirds' starting pitcher threw 7 innings of shutout baseball - high. The DBacks tied the game with a 2-run homerun off the bullpen in the top of the eighth inning - low. The first two batters for the Cards in the bottom of the ninth reached on singles - high. The next three batters in the inning all struck out - low. The Cardinals' lead off hitter in the bottom of the 10th inning homered and the game was over - high. A motto of all professional athletes in any sport is "don't get too high and don't get too low". This also works for a TV sports production team.

American League = Boring

The Cards completed their roadtrip today with a 6 - 1 victory over the Royals.the pace of the game was refreshing. The game took 2:40 to play and I am glad for that as rain was threatening all game long. In fact, as we were bussing to the airport the rain began. I am now home and, yes, it is raining. I am looking forward to National League baseball as this upcoming homestand features the Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Brewers. Nothing against the Royals. They are a very good team. Too bad an exciting club like Kansas City has to play in a boring league. That's right - American League baseball is boring. Just Saying.

WOW

The Royals beat the Cardinals 5 - 0 in 2:53 tonight in Kansas City. The Royals won the game on 2 swings of the bat - a 3-run homerun and a 2-run blast both by the same player. I enjoyed tonight's game /telecast for 2 reasons. This game included the two best teams in baseball which meant a full Kaufmann Stadium. Great electricity in the ballpark. The number 1 reason I enjoyed tonight's game/telecast was because my technical director (TD) was very very good. Yes, it is true that most Major League TV technical directors are very very good. However, TD's who are working only their second ever Major League Baseball game are not supposed to be this good. When I started my Major League TV baseball career 32 years ago, I wasn't even on the same planet as my TD tonight. Whenever I encounter a member of our profession who is just starting out, I wish them the best and I am excited for them. I have never been this excited about the newest member of our profession as I am tonight. WOW!

Not Sure Why

I am now at 35,000 feet flying from New York to Kansas City. It is easy to explain the 2:26 that it took to complete today's Cards/Mets game at Citi Field. After the second batter of the game singled, the Mets pitcher retired 24 batters in a row. Except for two pitches (both homeruns), the Cardinals starting pitcher pitched a good game too. As I have written before, I most enjoy well pitched baseball games. Today's game was no exception. However, there was something about this contest that seemed a little "off". And, for the life of me, I don't know why. I love the game of baseball. I love the St. Louis Cardinals. Maybe my love of the Cardinals too precedence over my love of the game. I'm not sure.

Get Me Out Of Here

This 9 - 0 victory by the Cards over the Mets took 2:43 to play tonight in New York. Another blowout. Another stressless game/telecast. As I wrote last night, these games prove to be very beneficial during the long baseball season. However, that doesn't mean I prefer these types of games over a well-pitched 2 - 1 game. That is the most fun a TV baseball broadcast team can possibly have during the season. This Mets ballclub isn't very good. They can pitch but they can't hit. I guess The Cardinals TV team will have to wait for this weekend when the Redbirds are in Kansas City. I can't wait for this weekend. Get me out of here.

The Relaxing Telecast

The Cards beat the Mets in New York tonight by the score of 10 - 2. This 2:43 blowout was a different game than we have been accustomed to this season. Therefore, our telecast was also different than we have been used to in 2015. Sometimes telecasts are relaxing. Tonight's show was a perfect example of a relaxed telecast. Why are these types of shows important? Well, when a TV production team is involved in 155 games a high percentage of those games and, thus, telecasts are quite stressful. There is not a high percentage of game/telecasts where the TV team can deliver the product in a relaxed atmosphere. Trust me, if each of the 155 shows were of high stress, the TV team would be fried by July. These game/telecasts are a mini vacation during the season. The quality of the coverage does not suffer during these types of shows. On the contrary, the "relaxed" shows allow the TV team to present late season stressful shows in a high quality fashion. A welcomed game and a welcomed telecast tonight indeed.

Two Words

The Cards lost to the Mets tonight at Citi Field by the score of 2 - 1. This game went 14 innings and lasted 4:14. The fact the the game went 14 innings and lasted 4:14 is bothersome, yes, but not as bothersome as the two words I heard more than once tonight. The fact that going into the top of the ninth inning with the score 1 - 0 in favor of the Mets didn't bother me. The fact that going into that frame the game was barely 2 hours old didn't bother me. The fact that the Cardinals tied the game in the top of the ninth inning didn't bother me. It was those two words. The two words that are the two worst words to hear in a TV truck. "I thought............"

Just Plain Ugly

There were many "ugly" factors concerning today's Tigers/Cardinals at Busch Stadium. I shall now proceed to name them. The Tigers beat the Cards 4 - 3. The game went extra innings. The time of game was 3:54. There was a 1:20 rain delay during the bottom of the first inning. The Redbirds made three terrible base running mistakes that probably cost them the game. Ugly indeed.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Two of the best teams were on display tonight at Busch Stadium. It is always fun to telecast baseball when two good teams are involved. That was the good. The Cardinals bullpen imploded tonight giving up 8 runs in the last 3 innings. That was the bad. The game lasted 3:26 with the final 1 hour and 50 minutes coming during the last 3 innings. That was the ugly. I believe tomorrow's game/telecast will feature all good and no bad. The only ugly part is the 80% chance of rain during the day.

Cleveland Crew

I already blogged about the success of the Cardinals. Now, let me say what a pleasure it was to be a part of the Cleveland crew. Today, I was horseshit. I was. Then, let me say that it was a pleasure being a member of the Indians visiting TV crew today. This crew is outstanding! They feel it. American League TV crews must love televising from that venue. Cleveland, Washington, San Francisco - pat yourselves on the back. Very impressive!!

How Do They Do It?

The Cards defeated the Tribe 2 - 1 today in 3:12 thus taking the series 2 games to 1. How is it possible that a team can score 10 runs in 3 games AND strikeout 40 times and still win the series? One at-bat during today's contest was all it took for the victory. A 2-run homer in the top of the 8th inning was the difference. So, in a game that lasted 3 hours and 12 minutes, there was only 1 at-bat that meant anything - 1. In game 1 of this series there was 1 big inning. In game 2 the Redbirds collected 1 hit and in today's rubber game there was only 1 at-bat that meant anything. I'm beginning to think this team is special.

Nicely Done

The Indians defeated the Cardinals 2 - 0 in 2:47 tonight in Cleveland. This game included one of the greatest pitching performances I have ever witnessed in my 32 years of televising Major League Baseball. The third batter of the game was hit by a pitch on the elbow. He later had to leave the game. With two outs in the 7th inning, the Redbirds collected their first and only hit. These were the only baserunners for the Cards in the game. The starting pitcher for Cleveland set a personal record with 18 strikeouts. He pitched through 8 innings. With a strikeout in the ninth inning, the Cards K'd 19 times in this game. I love well-pitched games. This extraordinary pitching performance will go down as one of my favorite games ever. Nicely done!

Not A Fan

I am not a fan of interleague play. I am not a fan of American League baseball. I am not a fan of the DH (designated hitter). I am not a fan of baseball games that take over 3 hours to play. I am not a fan of the NBA. So what did I experience tonight. In interleague play at an American League ballpark where the DH was used, the Cardinals defeated the Indians 8 - 3 in 3:31. And for icing on the cake, the Cleveland Cavaliers playoff game against the Chicago Bulls ended at the same time as the baseball game. The arena and the ballpark are right next to each other. I counted over a billion people on my walk back to the hotel. Tonight......not a fan.

One Of Those Days

The Pirates beat the Cardinals 4 - 3 in 2:38 today in Pitssburgh. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do for a living. Who in their right mind wouldn't want to watch St. Louis Cardinals baseball for a living? Yes, there is more to it than that but today was one of those days where I just couldn't get completely into it. This happens to every TV baseball producer and director in the business. If a producer or director denies this charge then he or she is lying. This was one of those days for me. Don't get me wrong, I still cut the game to the best of my ability but for whatever reason, the passion wasn't there. The St. Louis Cardinals viewers in St. Louis were not cheated in any way from the coverage of the game. It is just that my passion for the game of baseball wasn't at it's ideal peak during the telecast. I didn't miss anything during the game/telecast and the viewer wasn't cheated. It was just one of those days.

Downtown Pittsburgh

The Pirates finally defeated the Cardinals tonight in Pittsburgh. It took 2:34 for the Bucs to beat the Redbirds by the score of 7 - 5. There was a baseball rarity in tonight's game. The Pirates completed a 4-5-4 triple play in the top of the 2nd inning. The reaction of the Cardinals' batter who lined into the triple play was priceless. One of our better replays of this season. I stated in an earlier blog about how much I enjoy Pittsburgh. From a television standpoint, the live scenic shots of the downtown Pittsburgh may be the nicest in all of baseball.

Blessed

The Redbirds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh by the score of 8 - 5. This 2:58 affair gave the Cards a victory in all 4 games they have played the Bucs this season. This is important because the Pirates, I believe, are the closest competitor in the Central Division. I like Pittsburgh. I like the TV crew and I walk to and from the hotel to the ballpark. We had a few mistakes tonight but overall this was a good telecast. The Cards hit three absolute bombs tonight and they were, as always, a blast to cut. At 22 - 7, the Cardinals are off to the best start in their history. I am having great great fun. I am blessed.

Apology To Cubs Fans

It took 2:53 for the Cards to beat the Cubs 5 - 1 today at Busch Stadium. This was a very enjoyable game/telecast. The Cardinals starting pitcher was outstanding. When he was on the mound, there was a great flow to the game and the telecast. It was a totally different story when the Redbirds were at bat however. The Cubs play in the field was quite sloppy. This Cubs team is very young. Young but scary. It probably won't be this season but the Cubs team will be a force in the not so distant future. Finally. I love a baseball game between two good teams. Unfortunately, the Cubs have been awful for a number of seasons. I believe that the loyal (why?) Cubs fans will be rewarded very soon for that loyalty. It's been over 100 years since their last World Series championship. Will it be another 100 years before they reach the level of successful consistency of the Cardinals organization. Probably. Sorry Cubs fans - had to get that in.

Lucky

The Cubs stopped the Cards 8-game win streak with a 6 - 5 victory tonight at Busch Stadium. The 2:56 affair was very entertaining and included the Cubs manager getting ejected. As a TV baseball director, sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. A few moments before the ejection, I put the home plate umpire and the Cubs' manager in a split screen. The manager was yelling and the umpire was trying to get him to stop. Then, with the split screen on line, the umpire threw the manager out of the game. A nice piece of video. I prefer a well pitched 2 - 1 game over a 6 - 5 game with alot of offense like tonight but I'll take good luck over both of those scenarios.

Can't Complain

There wasn't a walk-off win for the Cardinals tonight. There weren't any extra innings tonight. The Redbirds did defeat the Cubs at Busch Stadium 7 - 4 in 3:13. This was the Cards 8th win in a row and there were over 40,000 fans in the stands. The Cardinals are 20 - 6 and off to their best start in their storied history. 26 games into the season they have a 6.5 game lead in the division. Their pitching is the best in baseball and their hitters are clutch. I can't complain.

All Or Nothing

During the top of the first inning, the Cardinals starting pitching had nothing. The Cubs scored 5 runs before the Redbirds came to bat. During the bottom of the first inning, the Cards first baseman gave his all with a grand slam homerun. So, after the first inning the total were thus: 5 runs on 42 pitches for the Cubs and 4 runs on 30 pitches for the Cards. The Cubs had nothing for the rest of the game. The Redbirds gave their all and won the game 10 - 9 in 3:39. This was a poor poor baseball game but a good win. Three walk-off wins in a row followed by this strange game. What will tomorrow's game have up it's sleeve?

Another Walk-off Win

The Cards walked off for the third consecutive game today as they beat the Bucs 3 - 2 in 14 innings. Two days ago they won with a walk-off single. Yesterday, they won on a sacrifice fly. Today was the best of all. After 4 hours and 28 minutes they prevailed with a homerun. As I have stated, walk-offs are great fun to cut. The most enjoyable walk-off for a baseball director is the homerun variety. For the TV team being on the winning side is 1000 times better than being on the losing side. That 4:28 had to seem like forever for the Pirates TV team. It didn't seem so bad for us.

Pumped

It took 3:27 and 11 innings for the Cardinals to defeat the Pirates by the score of 2 - 1 today at Busch Stadium. This was the second consecutive walk-off win for the Redbirds over the Bucs. Walk-offs are great great fun to cut especially at home. Capturing the excitement of the players and the energy of the fans is quite rewarding. I believe the TV crew gets pumped when there is a walk-off win at Busch Stadium. I know I do.

Teaching The Game

The Birds beat the Bucs in 10 innings tonight at Busch Stadium by the score of 2 - 1. Walk-off wins are great fun to cut - perhaps the most fun. However, I enjoyed the different twist that we used in our telecast tonight. We utilized former Cardinal great Jim Edmonds as part of our announce team. The former centerfielder was not in the booth however. He was situated in the centerfield stands. This perspective really added to the "defense" theme of the show. I utilized a picture in picture through the fox box with the centerfielder in the box. This telecast was possibly the best teaching tool telecast I have ever been part of. Great fun indeed!