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!