These Guys Are Good

I enjoy writing this blog about the night's game/telecast. Tonight's show was very comfortable. There was a nice flow to the show and there were two home runs hit by Carlos Beltran of the Redbirds of which one was a grand slam. But I don't want to write about tonight's game/telecast. I want to comment on something more important. Something that will affect every game/telecast the rest of the 2012 season. These guys are good! When these guys are good, we have to be good. The pressure is on. We have to deliver each and every night because the 2012 St. Louis Cardinals will deliver on each and every night. I had the same feeling during the 2004 Major League season when the Cardinals won the Central Division by 13 games with a 105 - 57 record. I had the same feeling during the 2005 Major League season when the Cardinals won the Central Division by 11 games with a 100 - 62 record. The St. Louis Cardinals fans and the St. Louis Cardinals TV production team are both very spoiled. At the start of every season we feel that the Redbirds will compete with the best of Major League baseball. In 2004 this feeling of success grew to a feeling of expectation. In 2005 this feeling of success grew to a feeling of expectation. This season, 2012, this feeling of success has also grown into a feeling of expectation. These guys are good.

Enjoyable Evening

The Cardinals/Diamondbacks game/telecast this evening was very enjoyable. The afternoon started off in a great way as I met up and caught up with Mitch the Diamondbacks TV director. Mitch is one of the most talented TV baseball directors in the business and I really enjoy talking shop with him. He told me the starting pitcher for the D-Backs was really pitching well. He was throwing strikes and he was working fast. This is good to know as one prepares for a game/telecast. The pace of the pitcher will dictate the pace of the game and knowing the pace of a pitcher before the game is very beneficial to a director. Mitch was right. This starter had a brisk pace. Unfortunately for this pitcher, he only lasted 3 1/3 innings giving up 9 hits (with 3 homeruns) and 7 runs (with 6 runs earned). As I wrote in my book Cutting The Game, Inside Television Baseball From The Director's Chair, cutting the homerun is the most fun a TV baseball director can have during a game/telecast. There were 6 homeruns in tonight's game, 5 by the Cardinals including back-to-back homeruns twice, and a homerun by the D-Backs. This was one of my favorite night's of the 2012 season. A visit with a good friend and a talented baseball director and a game with six homers. An enjoyable evening indeed.

Nice And Smooth

Every television sports production team wants the show to go nice and smooth. Tosay's game/telecast did just that. The Cardinals combined some excellent pitching with some power at the plate and won the game 8 - 1. This was a very comfortable telecast with a great flow to the show. A few times during the game I went to the Houston Astros telecast for replays and they were well executed. There was not one moment of indecision during the telecast and that is just the way we like it. Nice and smooth. I am now in Arizona and I am looking forward to another rewarding telecast tomorrow with the Fox Sports Arizona crew.

Staying In The Game

The Astros beat the Cardinals tonight in 2:40 by the score of 8 - 2. The Astros third baseman hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of the first inning on an 0 - 2 count to give the Astros a 4 - 1 lead. The other three baserunners all reached base on walks. A very poor start for the Redbirds to say the least. As the game continued on, the distinct feeling that the game was basically over gradually made it's way into the picture. When this occurs, staying focused becomes a difficult task. Trying to find the "little things" becomes a challenge but this is a good way to "stay in the game". A highlight of the telecast was Astros first baseman, Carlos Lee, fumbling and juggling a throw from the shortstop during between innings warmups. His reaction was pricelss and became a quality moment of the telecast. When a game seems over or is poorly played or poorly pitched staying focused or "staying in the game" can be a real challenge for the TV broadcast team. Our TV team succeeded tonight.

Bad To Good To Great

This was a game that started out bad. After 2 1/2 innings the score was 5 - 4 in the Astros favor and there were 3 errors and a balk committed during this embarrassing play. The feeling in the truck was "here we go again". We maintained our focus (unlike the play on the field) and were rewarded with some nice play on the field. The pitchers began to pitch and there was a nice flow to the show and a nice pace to the game. Innings 4 through 8 were the exact opposite of the first three innings. Our rhythm in the truck matched the rhythm of the game. Our patience during the first part of the game and our focus during the middle part of the contest was rewarded during the top of the ninth inning. With the Astros still maintaining their 1-run lead, the Cardinals lead-off batter singled to start the inning. What happened next was our sure reward for our previous due diligence. The next Redbirds batter hit a tiny pop fly to the second baseman. The Astro's second baseman made one of the nicest plays I have ever witnessed. Because of the little popup the baserunner at first was in between. If he ran towards second base the second baseman catches the ball and doubles him off of first base. Instead, the second baseman caught the ball on a short hop, flipped to the shortstop who tossed the ball to first to complete a double play! A great play indeed. The next batter struck out and the Astros prevailed 5 - 4. From bad to good to great describes this game perfectly.

Pittsburgh's Pace

The producer of any sports telecast can and must control the pace of the telecast. The producer of any sports telecast can never control the pace of the game. The pace of the game can be a producer's best friend or it can be a producer's worst enemy. The past three games of the Pirates series at Busch Stadium were all perfect examples of a worst enemy. These games had absolutely no pace. The times of these three nine inning games were 3:04, 3:11, and 3:26. The pace of the game is directly related to pitching. The pace of these games were directly related to Pittsburgh's pitching. Memo to the Pittsburgh Pirates: Start in the minor leagues. Start in rookie ball which is called low A. Teach your pitchers how to pace. Teach them how to "get the ball and go." There is a reason why the Pittsburgh Pirates have had 19 consecutive losing seasons - no pace pitching. By the way, the pace of our telecasts was fine despite the excruciating pace of the games.

Foretelling The Future

It was the bottom of the 5th inning and the Cardinals were leading the Brewers 1 - 0. The Cardinals starting pitcher was on third base with one out. A fly ball was hit to centerfield that was certainly deep enough to score the run from third base. But, the Redbirds baserunner broke for home on contact, reversed direction to tag up but it was too late and he stayed at third base. Our announcers talked about the blunder and said that they hoped the starting pitcher would not take his mistake to the mound in the top of the sixth inning. They mentioned that the third base coach did not repremand him for the blunder because he didn't want the pitcher (baserunner) to think about the mistake while he was on the mound. They mentioned that this particular pitcher had a history of letting mistakes affect his performance. Before the top of the sixth inning the Cardinals catcher went to the mound and, once again, our announcers mentioned the possibility of a big inning for the Brewers. "(The catcher) is trying to keep (the pitcher) focused on pitching." Well, as predicted, the Brewers scored all three of their runs in the sixth and won the game 3 - 2. Anticipation is a valuable tool for any TV sports director. Because of the commentary from the booth I was able to anticipate the play on the field and the camera shots and replay sequences worked. Off tomorrow and then the Pirates come to town.