Tomorrow?

The Cards beat the Padres tonight at Busch Stadium by the score of 10 - 2 in 2:55. Having a smooth telecast in a game such as this is almost a luxury. There was a lot of action in this game and almost every inning was involved. This game was almost as much fun to cover as the wonderful game telecast 2 nights ago - almost. Still, compared to last night's abortion, this was a very enjoyable game/telecast. So in summarizing the last three game/telecasts, they went in order: fun, brutal, enjoyable. Not very consistent but that's the way live TV sports goes I guess. Gee, I wonder what tomorrow's will bring?

Sync

The Marlins beat the Cards at Busch Stadium 6 - 3 in 3:03. This was a St. Louis Cardinals telecast that equally matched the St. Louis Cardinals play on the field - out of sync. It seemed like every member of our crew was just a step ahead or a step behind and I led the way. I was out of sync all day which means I was horseshit all day. I admit it - I was brutal. I tried slowing down. I tries speeding up. I never got there. Unlike yesterday where I left the truck feeling really good about the game/telecast, today I felt just the opposite. I was out of sync all day and when that happens shit happens. And it did today.

Seriously!!

Just great fun - seriously!! I can't remember when I have had more fun directing a baseball telecast. Here are some of the reasons why this game telecast was so much fun: The game: the Cardinals beat the Marlins 5 - 0 in 2:39 and the Redbirds starter threw a complete game. The drama at the end of complete game shutouts is ridiculously fun to capture. This weekend in St. Louis the Cardinals are celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their 2006 World Championship. The General Manager and the Manager from that team and many players from that squad were in attendance and were the pre game ceremony which was also fun to cut. Tonight's starting pitcher for the Redbirds was the closer on the 2006 team and tonight's catcher was his battery mate in 2006. With 2 outs in the top of the night, the crowd was going crazy, the 2006 teammates, the former General Manager and former manager were all on their feet giving this pitcher a standing ovation. One of the greatest moments of my 34 year career. To make this moment even more poignant the former manager is now in charge of baseball operations for another club and the former GM is now the GM of another big league team. We started the telecast with a split screen of the pitcher and catcher and we started the top of the ninth inning with the same shot. Interviews in the booth and shots of the 2006 team in their suite all worked and worked well. This was great great fun - seriously!

Hopeful?

In the first game back after the all-star break, the Marlins defeated the Cardinals 6 - 5 in 3:24 at Busch Stadium. After enjoying a wonderful break, I witnessed a Major League Baseball game that included some enjoyable moments - 4 Cards homeruns and some sloppy, sloppy play by the Redbirds. This sloppy play led to the loss. This was also an enjoyable telecast because we visited with members of the 2006 World Champion team during the game. Maybe there is hope for the 2016 Cardinals as the 2006 World Champion team won only 83 games during the regular season. However, one knows one is in trouble when thoughts such as that come to the surface.

An Enjoyable Day

5 - 1 was the score as the Cards beat the Brew Crew in exactly three hours today at Miller Park. The starting pitcher for the Redbirds was outstanding. The pace of the game and the flow of the show coincided with other and it was a very enjoyable experience in the TV truck. There were only 3 walks in this game but the time of the game was affected by the 23 strikeouts. There was a memorable moment in the stands as well as a fan caught a foul ball in the first row behind the Brewers dugout and toppled to the concrete seemingly unhurt. Good defense in the stands and good defense on the field along with timely hitting and great pitching made for a good day for Cardinals fans and, indeed, baseball fans.

Escargot Pace

The Cardinals defeated the Brewers in Milwaukee today by the score of 8 - 1. This game took 3:26 to play which doesn't seem so bad in an 8 - 1 contest but this game was 2 - 1 going into the 8th inning. This slow slow slow game made realize something. I detest the strikeout as much as the walk. This game was slow slow slow because there were 13 walks and 23 strikeouts. If those 13 walks were all on 4 pitches and the 23 strikeouts were all on 3 pitches that adds up to 121 pitches. I guess the "pitch to contact" philosophy was thrown out the window on this one. Throughout the game I was reminded of the great Jack Buck and his call describing a slow slow slow paced game. "This game is moving at an escargot pace."

Unique Perspective

The Brewers walked off with a 4 - 3 win in 3:05 tonight in Milwaukee. Walk offs are a blast to cut. It doesn't matter if it's the Cardinals or their opponent - walk offs are great fun. This walk off was a bit unusual however. The play at the plate was under a replay challenge and the whole Brewers ball club was on the field awaiting the final decision. This may not seem unusual, however, it is unusual that the home Brewers TV team had their RF camera on the field with the players. As soon as the umpires ruled the runner safe and thus the game was over, I cut to the RF camera and captured the Brew Crew celebration from a unique yet fantastic perspective. Great job by the Brewers TV crew!!