TBS yesterday announced details of its MLB postseason coverage, which will begin Friday with exclusive coverage of the AL and NL Division Series. Lead play-by-play announcer Ernie Johnson will not be part of the net's postseason coverage and will be replaced by Brian Anderson for the LDS and NLCS. Johnson is absent from the broadcasts due to the illness of his son. Anderson has called postseason games on TBS for the past three years and has been a part of the net's "Sunday MLB on TBS" coverage the past two years (TBS). Turner Sports Senior VP & Exec Producer Jeff Behnke said that “as in the past, TBS has no problem assigning announcers who also call local team games -- such as Boston Red Sox announcer Don Orsillo -- to call those teams’ playoff games.” Behnke: “All of our announcers are professionals" (USA TODAY, 9/28).
| TBS POSTSEASON ANNOUNCING TEAMS |
| PLAY-BY-PLAY | ANALYST(S) |
| Brian Anderson* | Ron Darling, John Smoltz* |
| Dick Stockton | Bob Brenly |
| Don Orsillo | Buck Martinez |
| Victor Rojas | Joe Simpson |
| TBS POSTSEASON REPORTERS |
| Tom Verducci, Craig Sager, Jaime Maggio, Sam Ryan |
| TBS POSTSEASON PREGAME, POSTGAME TEAM |
| Matt Winer (host), Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken, David Wells |
DIGGING DEEPER INTO THE STATS: Bloomberg Sports today announced that it has reached a new licensing agreement with Fox and TBS to provide custom-designed enhanced statistical analysis, professional analytical tools and a data feed of in-depth pitch analysis for each postseason game this year. The new features include predictive tools for pitcher-batter matchups and will give broadcasters the ability to provide viewers with the likelihood that a player will reach base, based on count, bases occupied, inning and number of outs. The tools are a version of the same analytics system that Bloomberg built for MLB teams. Bloomberg built a feature exclusively for Fox that is a state-of-the-art on-base percentage predictor for each batter that updates with each pitch. The technology is customized to any matchup and the circumstances of the game (
Bloomberg Sports).
WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE? TBS and MLBAM for the LDS and NLCS are again collaborating on Postseason.tv, the subscription-based package which streams alternate camera angles and allows fans to customize online viewing experiences. Postseason.tv will be available on MLB.com and its mobile app platforms (TBS).
