Today's baseball game between the Diamondbacks and the Cardinals was the most boring game EVER played.
There was nothing the TV crew could do to rescue this torturous affair.
The most important factor in determining the quality of a game is the starting pitching.
In a well- pitched game, a starting pitcher will throw around 100 pitches in 9 innings.
In today's "bomb" of a game, the Cardinals starter threw 82 pitches and the Diamondbacks starting pitcher threw 101 pitches - through 6 innings!
I will not place all the blame on these two pitchers, however, as the home plate umpire was terrible. He squeezed both starters all day long with his miniscule strike zone.
Hey MLB, you want to speed up the game?
CALL THE STRIKE ZONE PROPERLY!
A well-paced game is usually played between 2:20 and 2:40.
Today's embarrassment of a baseball game was played in 2:50 through six innings.
Our TV team tried everything to distract from this awful game.
I would take shots of kids having fun at the Busch Stadium.
The weather in St. Louis was absolutely beautiful today. I would takes shots of the blue sky with white clouds and fans enjoying the sun.
Our Producer used flashbacks.
We had fun with the Busch Stadium's main receptionist and her wardrobe.
We utilized insightful graphics throughout the telecast.
All these techniques seemed to improve the telecast but, after trying and trying and trying to escape this terrible contest, we had to return to the game.
It is great fun for the TV crew to capture and enhance the great moments of a baseball game. 99.9% of the time, this is the case for the TV crew.
Then there are games such as the one played in St. Louis today.
No matter how hard the TV production team tries to "hide" a game such as this, it can't be done.
We tried our best.
The game, good or bad, always wins.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Typical Home Game
The Cardinals beat the Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium tonight by the score of 8 - 0.
Adam Wainwright was the winning pitcher.
He threw 102 pitches in 6 1/3 innings allowing 5 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts.
A typical home game performance by Adam.
Albert Pujols was 3-4 with 2 homeruns, a double and 5 RBI's.
A typical Albert performance.
As I have stated in previous blogs, every TV baseball director loves a well-pitched game with a nice pace.
Adam Wainwright supplied this with a wonderful performance.
Chapter 11 of my book Cutting The Game, Inside Television Baseball From The Director's Chair (www.cuttingthegame.com) is titled The Homerun.
The most fun a TV baseball director can have during a game/telecast is cutting a homerun.
Tonight, I was fortunate to cut two Albert Pujols homeruns!
This was a very enjoyable baseball game to cut.
Thank you Adam wainwright and thank you Albert Pujols.
Adam Wainwright was the winning pitcher.
He threw 102 pitches in 6 1/3 innings allowing 5 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts.
A typical home game performance by Adam.
Albert Pujols was 3-4 with 2 homeruns, a double and 5 RBI's.
A typical Albert performance.
As I have stated in previous blogs, every TV baseball director loves a well-pitched game with a nice pace.
Adam Wainwright supplied this with a wonderful performance.
Chapter 11 of my book Cutting The Game, Inside Television Baseball From The Director's Chair (www.cuttingthegame.com) is titled The Homerun.
The most fun a TV baseball director can have during a game/telecast is cutting a homerun.
Tonight, I was fortunate to cut two Albert Pujols homeruns!
This was a very enjoyable baseball game to cut.
Thank you Adam wainwright and thank you Albert Pujols.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Anticipation Rewarded
I was really looking forward to today's game/telecast.
The pitching match-up featured Danny Haren for the Diamondbacks and Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals.
With these two great pitchers, I anticipated a telecast that directors love to cut. I expected a well-pitched, well-played, fast paced game.
Going into the 7th inning, the score was tied 2-2 and the time of game was 1:32.
Up to this point the flow to the show was just what a director loves.
The first batter of the game hit a line drive that struck Carpenter in the right forearm. Our super slo-mo look of this play was fantastic. We were lucky in this instance because our X-MO camera was isoing Carpenter. During the top of the first inning and the bottom of the first inning, as the first batter of the inning is at the plate, the starting pitcher is the topic of conversation with the announce team. The starting pitcher's statistics are sold and this graphic is shown right after the batting order. Our super slo-mo camera shot stayed on Carpenter during this sequence and we were rewarded with a wonderful replay.
Danny Haren matched Carpenter pitch for pitch during the first six innings. These two players were clearly the story of the game.
Then, in the top of the 7th inning, Haren hit a homerun to give the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead.
Haren continued to be the player of the game in the bottom of the 7th inning.
Yadier Molina led off the inning with a walk but Haren got the next batter to hit into a double- play and coaxed the next batter to ground out.
End of the 7th inning: Diamondbacks 3, Cardinals 2.
The Diamondbacks went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 8th inning.
The bottom of the 8th inning was a blast to cut!
The first three batters singled, the Cardinals scored a run and had runners on first and third with no outs.
Coming to the plate were Albert Pujols, the greatest player in the game, Matt Holliday, the recently redhot clean-up hitter, and Colby Rasmus, the hottest hitter in the Cardinals' line-up.
Pujols struck out looking.
Holliday struck out swinging.
Rasmus flied out to centerfield.
This situation is especially rewarding for a director;
Tight face, tight face, crowd cheering in eager anticipation, tight face, tight face, the pitch.
And repeat.
Great fun!
The Diamonbacks do not score in the top of the ninth inning. With two outs in the inning, I shot Haren in the dugout. He was stretching and loosening up and it was apparent that he was pitching in the bottom of the ninth inning. We went to break with a shot of Haren getting ready to take the mound.
Molina led off the bottom of the ninth inning. The first pitch was called a strike by the home plate umpire and Tony Larussa was ejected for arguing the call. This moment only added to the drama.
Molina singled and the next batter, Brendan Ryan, also singled.
Haren was replaced after throwing 112 pitches.
Adam Wainwright was called upon to pinch-hit and he layed down a sacrifice bunt. The relief pitcher for the Diamondbacks threw the ball past the third baseman and the Cardinals scored a run and had runners on second and third base.
Down by the score of 5-4, the next Cardinals batter grounded out to shortstop.
During this point of the game, the crowd was going crazy. This atmosphere is just what a director loves. Capturing this excitement is so rewarding.
The next batter hit a ground ball to the first baseman and the Cardinals won the game on a walk-off 2-run error!
Cutting the on-field celebration with a mix of players and fans is great fun. This situation is almost impossible to over cut.
The crew felt it and delivered!
The anticipation of a great telecast was rewarded.
Great show.
Great fun.
The pitching match-up featured Danny Haren for the Diamondbacks and Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals.
With these two great pitchers, I anticipated a telecast that directors love to cut. I expected a well-pitched, well-played, fast paced game.
Going into the 7th inning, the score was tied 2-2 and the time of game was 1:32.
Up to this point the flow to the show was just what a director loves.
The first batter of the game hit a line drive that struck Carpenter in the right forearm. Our super slo-mo look of this play was fantastic. We were lucky in this instance because our X-MO camera was isoing Carpenter. During the top of the first inning and the bottom of the first inning, as the first batter of the inning is at the plate, the starting pitcher is the topic of conversation with the announce team. The starting pitcher's statistics are sold and this graphic is shown right after the batting order. Our super slo-mo camera shot stayed on Carpenter during this sequence and we were rewarded with a wonderful replay.
Danny Haren matched Carpenter pitch for pitch during the first six innings. These two players were clearly the story of the game.
Then, in the top of the 7th inning, Haren hit a homerun to give the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead.
Haren continued to be the player of the game in the bottom of the 7th inning.
Yadier Molina led off the inning with a walk but Haren got the next batter to hit into a double- play and coaxed the next batter to ground out.
End of the 7th inning: Diamondbacks 3, Cardinals 2.
The Diamondbacks went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 8th inning.
The bottom of the 8th inning was a blast to cut!
The first three batters singled, the Cardinals scored a run and had runners on first and third with no outs.
Coming to the plate were Albert Pujols, the greatest player in the game, Matt Holliday, the recently redhot clean-up hitter, and Colby Rasmus, the hottest hitter in the Cardinals' line-up.
Pujols struck out looking.
Holliday struck out swinging.
Rasmus flied out to centerfield.
This situation is especially rewarding for a director;
Tight face, tight face, crowd cheering in eager anticipation, tight face, tight face, the pitch.
And repeat.
Great fun!
The Diamonbacks do not score in the top of the ninth inning. With two outs in the inning, I shot Haren in the dugout. He was stretching and loosening up and it was apparent that he was pitching in the bottom of the ninth inning. We went to break with a shot of Haren getting ready to take the mound.
Molina led off the bottom of the ninth inning. The first pitch was called a strike by the home plate umpire and Tony Larussa was ejected for arguing the call. This moment only added to the drama.
Molina singled and the next batter, Brendan Ryan, also singled.
Haren was replaced after throwing 112 pitches.
Adam Wainwright was called upon to pinch-hit and he layed down a sacrifice bunt. The relief pitcher for the Diamondbacks threw the ball past the third baseman and the Cardinals scored a run and had runners on second and third base.
Down by the score of 5-4, the next Cardinals batter grounded out to shortstop.
During this point of the game, the crowd was going crazy. This atmosphere is just what a director loves. Capturing this excitement is so rewarding.
The next batter hit a ground ball to the first baseman and the Cardinals won the game on a walk-off 2-run error!
Cutting the on-field celebration with a mix of players and fans is great fun. This situation is almost impossible to over cut.
The crew felt it and delivered!
The anticipation of a great telecast was rewarded.
Great show.
Great fun.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Dreaded Truck Dream
Here are the definitions of two words from the dictionary that describe today's telecast:
Awful - Exceptionally bad.
Embarrassing - Hard to deal with.
This was one of the worst telecasts that I have ever been involved with.
No matter what we did in the truck the show got worse and worse.
This was one of those telecasts where no matter what the crew attempted, nothing worked.
Almost every person who works in sports television has had the dreaded truck dream.
In the dream, NOTHING goes right.
Not only does nothing work, this dreaded situation snowballs. In the dream, situations in the truck get worse and worse and worse.
The dreaded truck dream literally wakes you up.
Today's awful, embarrassing show was the dreaded truck dream while we were awake!
I have been involved with terrible telecasts throughout my career.
When this occurs, the crew is able to save some quality to the telecast 99% of the time.
Not today.
Even in the 90+ degree Kansas City heat, there was a huge snowball of mistakes left over from the telecast.
I experienced the dreaded truck dream today while I was awake.
Please, please, please - no truck dream tonight as I sleep.
Awful - Exceptionally bad.
Embarrassing - Hard to deal with.
This was one of the worst telecasts that I have ever been involved with.
No matter what we did in the truck the show got worse and worse.
This was one of those telecasts where no matter what the crew attempted, nothing worked.
Almost every person who works in sports television has had the dreaded truck dream.
In the dream, NOTHING goes right.
Not only does nothing work, this dreaded situation snowballs. In the dream, situations in the truck get worse and worse and worse.
The dreaded truck dream literally wakes you up.
Today's awful, embarrassing show was the dreaded truck dream while we were awake!
I have been involved with terrible telecasts throughout my career.
When this occurs, the crew is able to save some quality to the telecast 99% of the time.
Not today.
Even in the 90+ degree Kansas City heat, there was a huge snowball of mistakes left over from the telecast.
I experienced the dreaded truck dream today while I was awake.
Please, please, please - no truck dream tonight as I sleep.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
So You Want To Be An EIC Huh?
What a day.
I don't remember a telecast that had the audio problems that plagued our telecast today.
The audio in our truck basically died in the 2nd inning.
The RTS system in the truck allows for communication between the producer and director with announcers and the whole crew. This system crashed in the 2nd inning. There was absolutely no communication coming from the truck the truck.
For a few innings, the booth and cameras did not know if we were back from break.
When this occurs, camera operators must behave as if they are always "on the air". The excellent visitor's camera operators in Kansas City know this unwritten rule and we did not have one whip pan on the air.
Our A1 (audio engineer), who is in another mobile unit with his dual feed audio board, did a great job even though he could not hear us in our truck.
Our stage manager was fantastic in taking control of the booth and making sure that our announcers had proper warning about promos and drop-ins.
The whole crew came together as a team during this difficult and unusual situation.
Not one member of our crew worked harder than our EIC. (Engineer in Charge) The RTS system was constantly being rebooted and a semblance of communication, although intermittent, was generally available.
I write about the EIC's in my book "Cutting The Game, Inside Television Baseball From The Director's Chair ". (www.cuttingthegame.com)
These fine TV teammates are the hardest members of our telecast team. They are certainly not thanked enough for their diligence and wonderful attitudes.
Today's telecast could have been a catastrophe.
Thanks to the professionals on the Kansas City visitor's side for their great work.
And a special thanks to Chris, our EIC, who made this telecast happen.
Great job, Chris!!!
I don't remember a telecast that had the audio problems that plagued our telecast today.
The audio in our truck basically died in the 2nd inning.
The RTS system in the truck allows for communication between the producer and director with announcers and the whole crew. This system crashed in the 2nd inning. There was absolutely no communication coming from the truck the truck.
For a few innings, the booth and cameras did not know if we were back from break.
When this occurs, camera operators must behave as if they are always "on the air". The excellent visitor's camera operators in Kansas City know this unwritten rule and we did not have one whip pan on the air.
Our A1 (audio engineer), who is in another mobile unit with his dual feed audio board, did a great job even though he could not hear us in our truck.
Our stage manager was fantastic in taking control of the booth and making sure that our announcers had proper warning about promos and drop-ins.
The whole crew came together as a team during this difficult and unusual situation.
Not one member of our crew worked harder than our EIC. (Engineer in Charge) The RTS system was constantly being rebooted and a semblance of communication, although intermittent, was generally available.
I write about the EIC's in my book "Cutting The Game, Inside Television Baseball From The Director's Chair ". (www.cuttingthegame.com)
These fine TV teammates are the hardest members of our telecast team. They are certainly not thanked enough for their diligence and wonderful attitudes.
Today's telecast could have been a catastrophe.
Thanks to the professionals on the Kansas City visitor's side for their great work.
And a special thanks to Chris, our EIC, who made this telecast happen.
Great job, Chris!!!
Friday, June 25, 2010
AL Baseball - A Different Game
Directing the American League style of baseball is different than directing National League baseball.
Regardless of arguments put up by people who enjoy American League baseball, there is LESS strategy in the AL game than the NL game.
There is less sacrifice bunting and in games between AL clubs there is no double switching.
The best managers in the AL are those who manage their pitching staffs the best.
The best managers in the NL are those who manage the game the best.
For a TV baseball director, there are more reasons to show the defensive alignment in the National League game than the American League game.
National League directors will show the defense during each bunting situation. Since bunting situations are rare in the AL, the defense is not shown as much.
Because of the fact that the sacrifice bunt is more prevalent in the NL and the defensive alignment is more readily shown, National League directors use this defensive alignment shot more frequently in non-bunting situations than American League directors.
Showing the defense involves a left to right pan in standard definition telecasts from the high home camera (camera 2) and a full pull back from this camera in HD telecasts.
I have had the pleasure of watching and learning from the cut every TV baseball director in the country. This group is very talented and I am grateful to be a member of this unique team.
American League TV directors cut a different game than National League directors.
Why?
Because it is a different game.
Regardless of arguments put up by people who enjoy American League baseball, there is LESS strategy in the AL game than the NL game.
There is less sacrifice bunting and in games between AL clubs there is no double switching.
The best managers in the AL are those who manage their pitching staffs the best.
The best managers in the NL are those who manage the game the best.
For a TV baseball director, there are more reasons to show the defensive alignment in the National League game than the American League game.
National League directors will show the defense during each bunting situation. Since bunting situations are rare in the AL, the defense is not shown as much.
Because of the fact that the sacrifice bunt is more prevalent in the NL and the defensive alignment is more readily shown, National League directors use this defensive alignment shot more frequently in non-bunting situations than American League directors.
Showing the defense involves a left to right pan in standard definition telecasts from the high home camera (camera 2) and a full pull back from this camera in HD telecasts.
I have had the pleasure of watching and learning from the cut every TV baseball director in the country. This group is very talented and I am grateful to be a member of this unique team.
American League TV directors cut a different game than National League directors.
Why?
Because it is a different game.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Off Until Friday
I am taking the Toronto series off this week and my next game and blog will be Friday in Kansas City. Thanks for following my blog!
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