The Difference

The Cards beat the Brew Crew today at Busch Stadium by the score of 7 - 0. During this 2:29 game, the Brewers collected only one hit. In fact, since 1990 the Redbirds have only had 6 1-hit complete game shutouts. The rapid pace of this type of game is great for the Director and difficult for the Producer. The Director develops a rhythm and the Producer works feverishly to include all the "sold" items needed for the telecast. At the end of a game/telecast such as this one, the Director walks away from the truck with the adrenaline still flowing and the Producer walks away fried. That is the difference. Oh yea, I didn't suck.

Awful

The Brewers defeated the Cardinals at Busch Stadium tonight in 2:49 by the score of 6 - 4 with a 2-run homer in the 9th inning the difference. This should have been one of those games a director loves to cut. Not much action but some great moments. When those moments come - nail it. Really quite simple - when great moments happen - nail them. Well, tonight I was horseshit. Not only did I NOT nail them, my cutting diminished them. Awful just awful. My performance tonight was just embarrassing. Hopefully tomorrow I can elevate my game to mediocre.

Memorable

The Cardinals defeated the Brewers in their 2016 home opener today by the score of 10 - 1. The Cards outhit the Brew Crew 19 - in this 3 hour affair. Both the pre-game show and the game took exactly 3 hours and I can assure you the pre-game show as a whole lot more fun to cut than that laugher of a game. I am quite sure that the highlight of the day was Cardinals Icon Lou Brock throwing out the 1st pitch. Lou, who lost a leg last fall, is beloved by all Cardinals fans. Certainly, great moments happen during games - memorable moments. Lou Brock throwing out the 1st pitch today was one of the most memorable moments I have experienced in my 29 year St. Louis Cardinals television career.

Tortuous

19 runs, 18 walks, 3 hit by pitch, 3 hours and 55 minutes. 3:55 of bad baseball is an eternity. As our Producer said, "Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse......" The Cardinals beat the minor league quality Atlanta Braves 12 - 7 today at Turner Field in a tortuous game for the teams, the fans, and the TV crews. Sorry to say but the Atlanta Braves team, fans, and TV crew are in for a long tortuous summer. In the late 70's, I played in the Braves Organization and they have long held a special place for me. I have always followed them and I have always wanted them to do well. The same follows for this season. I cringe to think about it. Tomorrow is the Cards 2016 home opener. I expect a different result. Oh yea, rain is forecast.

That Was Hard

Allow me to begin by saying I love the game of baseball. T-ball, little league, high school, college, minor league and Major League - it doesn't matter - I love baseball. Sometimes this game can be so beautiful and sometimes it can be outright ugly. Tonight's Cardinals/Braves game at Turner Field in Atlanta was one of the ugly ones. Maybe the ugliest one ever. The Redbirds prevailed 12 - 2 in 3:30 in a game in which both teams committed 3 errors, there were moments of seriously bad pitching and just when you thought this game could get no uglier - it did. Now, one may think that it can be very easy to "mail it in" on a game like this but the opposite is true. You have to concentrate harder. For example, the Cards scored in 7 of the 9 innings. Don't ever miss a pitch and don't ever miss a run. We didn't tonight but it was hard. Message to my Atlanta Braves TV friends - you are in for a long season, stay focused or start drinking.

Two Things

The Cards beat the Braves tonight in Atlanta for their first win of the 2016 season. This 7 - 4 contest took 3:00 to play and featured 4 home runs by the Redbirds. 3 of the blasts were of the pinch-hit variety which set a record for Major League Baseball. In the history of the game, there had never been 3 pinch-hit homers by one team in the same game. Those of you who have read my book "Cutting The Game, Inside Television Baseball From The Director's Chair" know that cutting the home run is the most fun a TV baseball director can have during a game/telecast. This win tonight did two things: it caused many Cardinals fans to step away from the ledge and it provided much home run fun for this TV baseball director.

Trust Me

I am flying at 32,000 feet to Atlanta and I am reflecting on the first 3 game/telecasts of the 2016 season. Despite the fact that the Cardinals are now 0 - 3 and despite the fact that the spoiled Cards fans are looking for the nearest bridge, these were 3 very clean shows. Now, I enjoy Redbird wins as much as anyone, but I also realize that we are ONLY 3 games into the 162-game season. Every season contains it's bad games and bad telecasts - that is expected. If the Cards lose, fans believe it was a bad game. If the Cards win, it is a good game. It just so happens that bad games can still be good telecasts and good games can have there share of bad telecasts. So, in summary, the Cards just had 3 bad games but we had 3 good telecasts. Trust me, you will know when our shows are bad.