What's Worse?

The Cardinals just completed their fourth game of this young 2014 season. I am going to recap the last three games and let you decide which scenario is the worst. Game #2 - a 2 hour forty minute rain delay followed by a 2 hour forty five minute game. Game #3 - a 3 hour forty one minute rain delay followed by a 3 hour forty two minute game. Game #4 - a 1 hour five minute rain delay followed by a 3 hour seven minute game which included a Pirates pitcher who came into the game in the top of the ninth inning with the Bucs leading 12 - 2 and proceeded to walk the first two batters of the inning. This reliever threw 28 pitches in the inning with a 10-run lead. In your opinion, what was the worst of these three games? I know my answer.

Used To It

The Cardinals finished their season opening series with a 7 - 6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. There was a 2:40 rain delay yesterday and a 3:42 rain delay today. The 6 hours and 22 minutes of rain delays was even shorter than the 6 hours and 26 minutes it took to play these two games. I am now in my hotel room in Pittsburgh and it is after midnight. We thought we would arrive here about 7:00PM. The forecast is for more rain tomorrow here in Pittsburgh. I don't mind, I am used to it.

Glamorous

The Reds beat the Cards in walk-off fashion tonight by the score of 1 - 0 in the bottom of the ninth inning. This was a well pitched game from both teams. I am a fan of low score/well pitched games. I am not a fan of 2:40 rain delays to start the game. At least the game was only 5 minutes longer than the delay. It's too bad that this 2:45 affair ended with most fans gone from the ballpark and most Reds viewers long asleep. To add insult to injury, it started raining as we walked back to our hotel. If it wasn't for the glamour.

Game 1 - Exhausting

The Cardinals defeated the Reds today at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati by the score of 1 - 0 and I am exhausted. I am not exhausted because this game took 2:56 to play. I am not exhausted because I arrived at the ballpark at 7:15AM for a 4:10PM game. I am not exhausted because the security guard would not allow me into the ballpark because I did not have my 2014 MLB pass. I am not exhausted because I awoke the Cardinals PR Director to tell him I needed my pass which he had in his possession. I am exhausted because of the schizophrenic pace of this game. The game is over. The game continues. The game is over. The game continues. Exhausted.

Great Show Great Fun

I truly enjoyed today's Cardinals spring training telecast. This was my third and last 2014 spring training game/telecast. What a great show! Our fairly new coordinating producer produced all three shows and he was really on top of it today. The telecast included some very insightful graphics, some very entertaining b-roll and a nice crisp open. The Producer was prepared and it showed. Plus, it was just a wonderful experience sitting next to him in the truck. One could never tell that this Producer had very little baseball experience. Very, very impressive! Great fun indeed.

You Can Just Tell

The Cards lost to the Marlins again today in their second spring training game of 2014. There is a huge difference between a Major League player and a minor league player. That difference was very noticeable during today's game/telecast. The Major League pitcher throws strikes, works fast and has an idea when he is on the mound. The minor league pitcher is all over the place nibbling, is scared to death, and doesn't have a clue when on the hill. The Major League batter makes adjustments from at-bat to at-bat and sometimes from pitch to pitch. The confidence factor is very noticeable. The minor league batter hopes and prays and guesses on every pitch. When there are Major League players on the mound and in the box the game has a special feel to it. There is a nice flow to the game. Put a minor league player in any of those positions and the flow of the contest is haphazard. Televising a game with a nice flow is quite enjoyable. Televising a haphazard affair is mentally taxing. How does one know the difference between a Major League talent and a minor league player? You can just tell.

One Down

The first telecast of the Cardinals 2014 season occurred today at Roger Dean Stadium with the Redbirds losing to the Marlins. You know what? I don't even remember the final score. Spring training games are like that. You just hope and pray for a fairly "clean" telecast. Many, many bugs happen during the first few shows of every season. Early on during the telecast some cameras weren't tallying, the main tape resource wasn't keying properly and there were some audio issues. That's to be expected. We had a great, great shot of the Cardinals starting pitcher as he walked from the clubhouse to the field. Our opening standup was very tight. The crew worked hard and we had a very, very nice show. I am not a fan of spring training television but it was nice to see our friends with the Cardinals - the traveling secretary, the equipment guys, the trainers, the video guy, the manager and the coaches. I am glad I am only doing the next two spring telecasts. I look forward to opening day in Cincinnati.