In N.Y., Bob Raissman notes the "smell of confusion is polluting the airwaves" for fans wanting to watch the MLB playoffs because five TV outlets (Fox, FS1, TBS, ESPN, MLB Net) "all have a piece of the action." Raissman: "It's far from a reach to suggest MLB is the only major professional sports enterprise where people don't know where to go to find postseason games." In an "effort to educate, MLB's TV partners are running playoff commercials, alerting fans that they will be televising playoff games." But the spots "lack any specificity" and instead "highlight the inconsistency of the schedule" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/30).
STUDIO SLUGGER: Former MLBer Alex Rodriguez will re-join Fox Sports as a studio analyst for the MLB Postseason. He makes his first FS1 studio appearance on Oct. 7 at the start of the NLDS (Fox). Rodriguez: "I had a really good time last year, and I'd be watching every game anyway." In N.Y., Richard Sandomir notes Rodriguez was a "very good commentator, dispensing analysis in a way that suggested he was looking toward a TV career." Fox also announced that he would "contribute analysis during next year's All-Star Game in Miami" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/30).
WHAT LOSS? In Boston, Chad Finn notes it is "tough to imagine anything matching the combination of the surreal and the ribald that NESN's live postgame coverage from the Red Sox celebratory clubhouse provided Wednesday night" after the team clinched the AL East. The Red Sox had just "suffered what in most other circumstances would have been a crushing loss." It made for an unusual on-field scene, with the Yankees "celebrating at home plate while the Red Sox subtly shook each others' hands in the dugout, looking unsure of how to deal with the situation." However, nothing compared to the postgame scene in the clubhouse, in which Red Sox players had to "briefly pretend that they were bothered by losing the game." NESN "carried the scene live, and it paid off" when Red Sox manager John Farrell "implored his team to enjoy the moment" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/30).
AVERAGE JOE: In Massachusetts, Bill Doyle noted "only five players on the current Red Sox 40-man roster were born when" radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione began announcing the team's games in '83. Castiglione's 34 years are the most for a Red Sox broadcaster, eclipsing Ned Martin's 32 years. Although he has been around for a while, Castiglione "isn't recognized in public as much as the Sox television announcers are." Castiglione: "I like that because it gives you a chance to be incognito. I can put my baseball cap on and I can usually get away without being seen if I don't want to be." Castiglione will turn 70 in March and has two years remaining on his contract, but he is in "no hurry to retire" (Worcester TELEGRAM & GAZETTE, 9/29).
