From Nothing to "Are You Kidding Me!"

The Cardinals entered the top of the ninth inning in today's game trailing the Reds 9 - 2.
The entire game was played in a steady drizzle and the play of the game matched the level of excitement only a steady drizzle can equal. Apart from the back-to-back homeruns by the Redbirds in the second inning, there wasn't a memorable moment during the first eight innings of this game. These two runs were the only tallies of the day for the Cardinals as the game entered the ninth inning.
The drab, dreary weather and the drab, dreary game were both equally responsible for the size of the crowd to be about half of the announced 32 thousand plus when the game entered the ninth inning.
A Reds reliever started the ninth and walked 4 of the first 5 batters and the score became 9 - 3. The control problems of this pitcher are well documented and, as expected, a new pitcher was brought into the game.
This pitcher was greeted with a double and the score became 9 - 5.
The Reds closer was brought into the game and was greeted with another double and the score changed to 9 - 7 and the great Albert Pujols was coming to the plate.
Are you kidding me!
We were going crazy in the truck!
The Reds closer throws a pitch up and in and hits Pujols on the left wrist.
A scary moment for all Cardinals fans. Albert stayed in the game and the leading batter in the National League, Matt Holliday, was in the box.
You gotta be kidding me!
Matt hit a picture perfect double play ground ball to the shortstop. True to the form this game had taken, the Reds botched the double play and runners were on first and third. Coming to the dish was Lance Berkman. Lance Berkman holds the record for the most home runs and most rbi by a visiting player at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
Are you kidding me.
The energy in the TV truck was unreal.
The Cardinals were not only going to tie this game, they were absolutely going to win it.
Back in 2005, the Cardinals overcame a 9 - 3 deficit in the top of the ninth at this same ballpark. Amazingly, we played a flashback of this comeback to start the inning.
As Berkman entered the batters box, we aired a graphic showing that he was 0 - 13 in his career against this pitcher.
Berkman struck out on a 1 - 2 count and the game was over.
Are you kidding me!

Effort

It is the same for every Major League baseball player as it is for every Major League TV production crew member.
EFFORT.
What kind of effort are you giving to insure the success of the game/telecast?
For the viewer at home, the effort of the player on the field is obvious.
However, the viewer at home may not as easily discern the effort of the TV production crew member.
A player doesn't hustle and the viewer at home will easily see that.
The viewer at home will never be able to distinguish whether or not a member of the TV team is not "putting in the effort."
In fact, and it is a fact, most TV executives are unable to discern when a TV crew member is "mailing it in."
In the TV truck, however, any member of the broadcast crew that is "mailing it in" is immediately identified.
Trust me, these members are IMMEDIATELY identified by the rest of the crew. These members are thus chastised by the rest of the crew and, in most cases, replaced by techs who are eager to be a part of a successful telecast.
Whether or not you are a seasoned veteran or a rookie trying to make your mark in this wonderful business, the effort you put in towards the success of the telecast, is totally identified by the rest of the crew.
The stronger your aim, the stronger you will be accepted by your peers.
Effort - the name of the game.

Intensity

I have been unable to blog since Friday because the blogspot website has been down.
The telecasts from Saturday and Sunday at Wrigley Field were not typical telecasts of the Cardinals/Cubs rivalry. The crowd was not "into it" and the games had a different flavor to them. I guess the quality of the Chicago Cubs has diminished so much that the Wrigley Field "home" crowd really didn't add much flavor to the game/telecast.
I was very disappointed with the atmosphere at Wrigley Field.
There was no intensity.
I can't recall one instance during these game/telecasts from Wrigley where I was pumped and excited during a particular moment of these telecasts.
I have not become too old and too cynical to not appreciate good baseball television. This series, a series that typically offers many moments of compelling TV baseball, offered little, if anything, of compelling TV.
After the three-game series at Wrigley, we flew to Cincinnati for a weekend series with the new "hated" rivals the Cincinnati Reds.
I was anxiously awaiting the intensity of this rivalry and I wondered how to capture this intensity on the telecast.
The Reds won with a walk-off base hit and our coverage was exceptional.
Is there any intensity involved on Major League baseball anymore?
During the 2011 season, I have yet to find it.

Twas a strange day.
There was a 53 minute rain delay in the third inning that really disrupted the whole game/telecast.
Things were not the same after the rain delay.
Before the rain delay there was a good flow to the show.
53 minutes later, the whole game/telecast took on a whole new feel.
The game will dictate to the TV crew exactly what message it wants delivered.
Tonight's message was especially difficult for the telecast teams, both home and road, to deliver.
Bad baseball is hard to present in a positive manner.
Tonight, good,solid play was rare to present to the wonderful Cardinals/fans/viewers.
There was bad baseball tonight during the Cardinals/Cubs matchup.
We can and we will show Cardinals baseball in it's best possible light.
I believe we accomplished that goal tonight.
But, that was hard to do.

One Inning

This was a strange game.
The first inning took 35 minutes as each starter threw over 30 pitches each.
The first inning was game one.
Innings two through nine were game two.
There was no rhythm and no flow in the first inning for the pitchers and for the telecast.
This first inning was just as frustrating for the TV crew as it was for the pitchers.
Getting into a flow is very important for the telecast crew. Just as important for the success of a pitcher finding that flow.
After the rugged first inning, the pitchers starting flowing and so did the telecast.
I was greatly anticipating this game
Cardinals at Cubs.
Wrigley Field.
Nothing better.
Take away the first inning and this game rocked.
The starting pitcher and the TV crew cannot, must not let one inning affect the outcome of the game.
Tonight's starting pitchers settled in and so did the telecast.
This was a typical Cardinals/Cubs game telecast out of Wrigley Field.
A close game that was not decided until the final out.
Too bad the first inning almost ruined the experience.

Food = Gem

On Friday night I ate dinner with the Producer and Director of the Milwaukee Brewers' telecasts. That night, the Cardinals starting pitcher went into the 8th inning with a perfect game!. The Cardinals won the game 6-0 in 2 hours and 2 minutes.
Saturday afternoon I ate with Brewers' TV team and that night the Brewers starting pitcher had a no-hitter into the 8th inning as well. The Brewers won the game 4-0 in 2 hours and 29 minutes.
Today, I was eating with some guys on the Cardinals TV crew when the Brewers TV production team arrived in the press room for breakfast and I joined them for the last 15 minutes of the meal. The Cardinals starting pitcher was throwing a 3-hit shutout into the ninth inning. The Cardinals won the game 3-1 in 2 hours and 41 minutes.
Well pitched = well played = well paced.
Just the type of game every TV baseball director loves to cut.
I just have to figure out how to have the pre-game meal with the Brewers guys before every game.
By the way, we are leaving tomorrow for 3 games at Wrigley (love it!) with the Cubs followed by a weekend series in Cincinnati. My new ipad2 is not letting me blog on this website. I am going to let the electronic genius Keith Olbermann O'brien (our Duet operator) figure out what I am doing wrong so that I might blog after these two series.

Back To Back

Cutting a baseball game when a pitcher is threatening with a perfect game or a no-hitter is great fun for a television baseball crew. These scenarios don't happen very often but when they do the rush is incredible.
The whole crew is pumped. I wrote about this subject yesterday when the Cardinals pitcher threw a perfect game into the 8th inning.
Well, the Brewers pitcher was throwing a no-hitter into the 8th inning of today's game!
Back to back games of no-hit baseball going into the 8th inning - this just doesn't happen.
Ever.
I wrote in my book Cutting The Game, Inside Television Baseball From the Director's Chair that the most fun a TV baseball director can have during the game is cutting a homerun. There is usually at least one homerun hit during the game and cutting a homerun is certainly a blast.
But there isn't anything that describes the feeling and emotion in the TV truck as a perfect game or no-hitter is unfolding.
There is a rush like no other during these times.
The Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter today against the Toronto Blue Jays.
My buddy "Ice" either produced or directed that game.
I can promise you - Ice is still pumped and that game was completed 6 hours ago.
We didn't have a no-hitter or a perfect game the past two days but just the threat two days in a row is incredible.