Deja Vu All Over Again

Wow! Another offensive outburst from the Cardinals. The Redbirds beat the Dodgers 9 - 2 and collected 13 hits. In the 27 innings of this series the Cardinals have scored in 16 of them. They have scored 29 runs with 48 hits in the first three games of this series. The last time a St. Louis Cardinals team was this hot was 1922. I wrote about "expectations" after last night's telecast. That same feeling was evident again tonight. As I sat in the chair, I expected each Cardinals player to succeed. This roll by the Cardinals proves that hitting is contagious. The Cardinals starting pitcher, Kyle McClellan, was special tonight as well. Because of the offensive success the team has been experiencing of late, we centered much of our attention on McClellan's performance. A very nice sequence which aired tonight was a piece which we called "McClellan on the black". We showed a sequence of pitches that McClellan made that hit the corners of the plate. "Expecting" good things from the ballclub creates a unique atmosphere in the TV truck. The creativity level goes up and the TV production becomes a bit more aggressive. Video packages seem to be more concise and the opportunity for more creativity increases. Covering a game when the chances for more creativity presents itself really keeps the TV team on it's toes and makes for a more exciting production.

Expectations

The Cardinals beat the Dodgers tonight by the score of 11 - 2 and they collected 19 hits in the process. This was the sixth straight game that the Redbirds have score at least 6 runs and collected at least 10 hits. There have been many instances in my career of directing major league baseball that a certain player has been so hot that one came to "expect" something special to happen whenever this player was at the plate. Mark McGwire comes to mind in 1998 and for the last ten years Albert Pujols has filled the bill. Never before has a whole team fit into this category until now. Up and down the roster I "expect" something special to happen. Each and every player has contributed to the team's success day in and day out. The success of the ballclub on the field has spilled over into our TV production truck as well. We aired one of the coolest replays I have ever seen during tonight's telecast. Lance Berkman hit a homerun in each of his first two at-bats. We superimposed each swing from our ultra-mo camera and rolled each swing simultaneously. The swings were practically identical. It was almost impossible to detect the two different homerun swings. Very, very cool. I shouldn't have expected anything less.

Expectations

The Cardinals have gone six straight games with at least 10 hits and at least 6 runs. Every member of the team is contributing. Occasionally throughout a season a certain member of a team gets on a hot streak and whenever that player comes to the plate he is "expected" to deliver. Certainly Mark McGwire comes to mind in 1998. Albert Pujols is "expected" to deliver something special every time he comes to the plate. In fact, someting special has been expected from Albert during his whole ten year career.

This is the first time that I can remember a whole team being so hot that each player is "expected" to come through. It is unbelievable how hot this Cardinals club is at the moment.

This "hot" team has had an effect on our telecasts as well. We aired the greatest replay ever (in my opinion) on

National League vs American League

14 runs and 27 hits in 3 hours and 4 minutes. Cardinals beat the Dodgers 9 - 5. Lots of action. Oh great another American League type of game. Don't get me wrong. I realize how fortunate I am to direct TV baseball for a living. But I am a National League baseball fan. Give me the 2 -1 game with strategy. Sacrifice bunts, moving runners over, double switches, manager against manager. That is National League baseball. American League baseball uses designated hitters thus destroying any hopes of equalling the strategy level of National League ball. There is no comparison between the two leagues. Major League baseball should institute National League rules during interleague play in American League cities and American League rules during interleague play in National League cities. I think I know the reason that Major League baseball doesn't do this. If fans in the American League saw how baseball SHOULD be played (with National League rules) these fans would demand that the game be played with the strategies that are only possible in the National League. Likewise, if fans in National League cities had to sit through games with a DH and little strategy they would go berserk in frustration if they hadn't already laughed themselves silly watching this inferior brand of baseball. Tomorrow I will direct another baseball game between two of the greatest franchises in the history of the game - the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. I pray the baseball Gods give the fans a classic example of how this game should be played - the National League way. Cardinals 2, Dodgers 1. I can't wait.

Forgive Me

We televised the Cardinals 15 - 5 victory over the Diamondbacks tonight being (rarely) the only TV feed of the contest. The Phoenix Coyotes were playing the first round of the NHL playoffs and took precedent over the Diamondbacks. We had a good telecast in our 3:02 game but I must ask for your forgiveness as I write this blog.
We arrived at our hotel here in Pasadena at 1:40 AM. The time now is 3:52 AM. Tired as I thought I was, I waited for my suitcase as I perused the Internet. After my suitcase arrived, I prepared for bed and actually tried to sleep.
Sleep would not come.
There is always a bit of adrenaline that lingers after every telecast.
EVERY TV sports director feels the "rush" during the telecast. If a TV sports director tells you that there is no adrenaline rush during a telecast, then the person is either lying or a horseshit TV director.
I am still trying to figure out why I can"t sleep.
We had a good, clean telecast.
Yes, I had the adrenaline surge still working after the game.
Our bus left the ballpark one hour after the game (as always) and it was a short one hour flight to LA.
The bus ride from LAX to our hotel in Pasadena is about 30 minutes. I felt the adrenaline starting to wear off during the bus ride but, lo and behold, when I got to my room I went to bed hoping to fall asleep.
Didn't happen.
So here I am at 4:04 PDT still awake with no chance of a soon-to-be-sleep.
Please forgive me for this boring blog.
Maybe if I read it I will fall asleep.

Ouch

This game hurt.
The Cardinals lost 13 - 8 in 3 hours and 18 minutes.
The Diamondbacks scored their 13 runs in each of the first 6 innings.
The Cardinals scored their 8 runs in four of the first 6 innings.
Going into the bottom of the seventh inning 299 pitches had been thrown. During the 2011 season, the average number of pitches thrown in a major league game was 292. At the completion of this abomination, there were a total of 346 pitches.
It is so important to focus on each and every pitch during a game that games such as the one tonight can really wear every member of the TV crew down. Even though it is early in the season games such as this one can really "fry" a director. I was wiped out by the end of the telecast.
Not only was the game poorly pitched but there were also two long delays during the game. In the bottom of the third inning the Diamondbacks manager was ejected after a lengthy argument with the home plate umpire.
During the bottom of the seventh inning, the Cardinals pitcher suffered a pulled groin after a pitch and the new pitcher was allowed all the time in the world to warm up.
And believe me he used it.
Trust me, I love the game of baseball.
I am the luckiest guy in the world being a TV baseball director.
I look forward to going to the ballpark everyday to cover the game.
Sometimes the game can invigorate you so that the adrenaline doesn't wear off for hours after a telecast and sometimes the game can "wear you out".
Tonight was one of those contests.
Ouch.

Adjusting

One of the most interesting aspects of this profession is the amount of adjusting one has to do between each and every venue on the road. Yesterday we televised from San Francisco which is one of my favorite places to direct baseball in the National League. I am so impressed with the San Francisco "road crew" that I write about them in my book Cutting the Game, Inside Television Baseball From the Director's Chair. Indeed, the telecasts from the bay area were clean, the crew worked hard, and the shows were a success. Our telecast from Phoenix tonight was also a success. The truck "worked". The crew worked hard and was very good. When travelling on the road for television sports and I believe that this is true for every sport - the TV production team MUST adjust to three things. 1 - the mobile unit. 2 - the crew. 3 - the venue. Every truck is different. From the monitor wall to the intercom system to the layout, each and every remote television production unit is unique. Every crew is different. In fact, every member of each crew is different. The TV sports director MUST adjust to each crew member in order to insure a quality telecast. Each and every TV director in each and every sport must adjust to the venue that the event is taking place in as well. For example, it is completely different televising out of Wrigley Field in Chicago than it is to televise out of Minute Maid Park in Houston. This is interesting because quality television is much easier to accomplish in Wrigley Field which was built in 1914 (BEFORE TELEVISION) than Minute Maid park which opened on 2000. But that is a matter for another blog. The TV sports director is adjusting to the truck, the crew, and the venue during each telecast. As the director is performing this "juggling" act he/she is also "cutting the game" which requires adjustments continually throughout the contest. It is the adjustments that each game requires that make directing TV sports so demanding. Adjusting to the demands of the game to insure quality television is also what makes our profession so rewarding.