Pitching and Pacing

The Cardinals beat the Royals today by the score of 3 - 0.
This was the exact score from yesterday with the Royals the winners.
I have tried to post my blog from that game and have been unable to do so. I will keep trying to post it.
There was one difference between these two games and the difference came down to one player - a relief pitcher for the Royals.
While every other pitcher in the game, and there were seven total, pitched with a good pace and with good command, the final Royals reliever was painful to watch.
Slow to the plate.
Slow between pitches.
12 balls and 12 strikes.
Throw a pitch....wait for the return from the catcher....walk behind the mound....mop the brow....and repeat.
It would be understandable if a Royals infielder walked to the mound and smacked him across the side of the head.
Pitchers that work slow apparently don't watch the game when they are not on the mound.
Well let me explain something to you slow working pitchers: THE BEST PITCHERS ARE THOSE WHO WORK FAST AND THROW STRIKES.
GOT IT???

Once Again.

Another great telecast.
Another great game.
I liked this telecast because we dictated the quality of the show.
As TV sports production teams know, the game plays a huge part in dictating the quality of the show. A poorly pitched and a poorly played game are a classic example of how a game can make the telecast unsuccessful.
The best TV sports production teams do not and will not let the quality of play dictate the quality of the telecast.
Take tonight's Cardinals/Royals game. This was a well-pitched, well-played game that was full of intensity. In fact, the turning point of the game came when the intensity on the field diminished and the Royals scored three runs late in the game.
The St. Louis Cardinals TV production team did not lose intensity and, therefore, did not let the game dictate the quality of our telecast.
The quality of our telecast matched the quality of the game.
Our next test after a huge run of great game/telecasts will be when we run into a stinker of a game.
I am confident we will deliver quality baseball television.

Once Again!!

Getting Spoiled

There was a :55 minute rain delay to start the game today.
But the rain didn't dampen the spirits of our telecast crew as we have been spoiled by three great game/telecasts of this four game homestand.
Despite a steady drizzle during the game, the Cardinals starter Kyle McClellan tossed a gem in a game completed in 2:15.
McClellan threw 68 strikes and 28 balls in eight innings of work. He was constantly ahead of the batters and thus the game was brisk.
There were great plays in the field by the Cardinals making this game as well- played by the Redbirds as it was well-pitched.
Our telecast had a nice flow and the crew was always on the same page.
All four telecasts from this homestand were exceptional.
As I write this, I am sitting in my hotel room in Kansas City where the Cardinals begin a three city nine game roadtrip.
I can't wait for the game/telecast tomorrow.
I know it will be exceptional.
I've been spoiled.

3 In A Row

Three straight excellent telecasts.
The difference between tonight's show and the previous two telecasts was that this game dictated our decisions while we created moments in the first two shows.
The pace of tonight's game/telecast was brisk. The game was well played and well pitched and was completed in 2:26.
I do not remember any "wow" moments in tonight's telecast but there was a great flow to the show.
Most game/telecasts differentiate between a good flow and some choppiness. The key is to develop a flow to the show despite the flow of the game.
Tonight's game had a nice flow to it the entire evening and our telecast matched this flow the whole night.
It is true that there are some games that, despite the greatest efforts of the production team in the truck, are impossible to develop a flow to the show at any time during the game/telecast. These are the most frustrating of game/telecasts and, I believe, the main reasons for the dreaded truck dreams.
There will be no truck dreams tonight.
I look forward to tomorrow's telecast.
We are on a roll.

A Special Show

After last night's game/telecast, I blogged that the show was the best of the 2011 season.
However, if tonight's telecast wasn't the best show of this season, it certainly was the most special.
One of the themes we followed during the show concerned Yadier Molina and a young fan with a medical problem from Puerto Rico who was a guest at the game of Molina.
Although it wasn't a Make-A-Wish moment, it certainly followed along those lines.
We established the theme early in the telecast and followed it throughout the show.
During the game, Cardinals' third base coach Jose Oquendo stood next to the young man who was located in the photographers well next to the Cardinals dugout.
Also, Molina drove in the first run of the game with a double and as he arrived at second base, he pointed to the young fan in the dugout who pointed back to Molina. Our best replay sequence of the telecast occurred after this play as we really captured this special moment.
Then, in the bottom of the ninth, with the score tied at 1 - 1, the Cardinals had the bases loaded, Lance Berkman at the plate and Yadier Molina standing next to the young fan in the camera well!
How lucky can one be!!!
Berkman got a base hit, the Cardinals won and I cut to Molina and the young fan as they both ran on the field to celebrate. In fact, I established the winning run running down the third base line to score and cut off the runner before he touched home plate to capture the moment of Molina and the young fan.
I am still wondering if I cut too early to Molina and the young fan.
I may have cut too early but following this theme of our telecast really created a special show.
In fact, the most special show I have ever had the privilege to be a part of.

Best of The 2011

Tonight's telecast between the Cardinals and Phillies at Busch Stadium was our best telecast of the 2011 season for many reasons.
We aired our best replay of the year. This replay showed Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee almost being killed by a line drive. Lee obviously didn't have time to react and the ball hit him near the stomach. He reacted and threw the batter out at first base. When the play occurred, i held my breath. I even uttered "wow" because this situation was so remarkably dangerous.
This play was included when we aired a video segment titled "A game of inches."
This video sequence included a bang bang play at 1st base, a close play at 2nd base on a steal, a double play with a bang bang outcome (out) at 1st base, and the Cliff Lee dangerous play. These angles were all shot from the super slo-mo camera.
This telecast was one of those shows that just clicked.
All TV sports production personnel know telecasts of this type.
Every one of us in this business looks forward to a telecast of this sort.
It seems that when plays are covered during these telecasts in a high quality, more plays are offered by the game and the coverage of these plays are of an even higher quality.
The best become better.
The telecast grows and grows in quality.
The action on the field rewards us in the TV truck with more and more wonderful plays to cover and the coverage becomes better and better.
Tonight's game/telecast was the best example of the type of game that rewards the telecast for it's coverage.
No doubt this was our best show of 2011.
Thus far.