Fox Earns 8.9 Overnight For Angels' Game Five Win, Up 41% Over '08

Fox' ALCS Game Five Earns 8.9 Overnight,  Up 41% From '08 NLCS Clincher

TIM-BERRR! In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes even when Fox' Tim McCarver is "not pumping high-octane stuff, unleaded McCarver is better than most." With Yankees LF Johnny Damon batting and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning of Thursday night's game, McCarver praised Angels manager Mike Scioscia "for sticking with starter John Lackey." Scioscia pulled Lackey after Damon flied out, and Fox, "in the most telling shot of the night, had its camera in Lackey's face." Lackey: "This is mine. Come on Scios. Are you (expletive) kidding me?" There was a "day where McCarver ... would have second[ed] Lackey's emotion," but McCarver Thursday "had nothing to say" as Lackey walked off the mound. McCarver though "redeemed himself" later that inning after Yankees P Phil Hughes "threw a 1-2 fastball that Vladimir Guerrero hit for a game-tying single." McCarver said incredulously, "He threw a fastball. I don't get it" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/23). In L.A., Diane Pucin noted McCarver "made the strongest criticism any analyst has made against a manager in either the ALCS or NLCS" after Scioscia pulled Lackey, saying he was "surprised" by the move (LATIMES.com, 10/22). In California, John Maffei writes McCarver "has toned things down a little over the years and is now tolerable." Meanwhile, Fox announcer Joe Buck has not been "at his best calling the ALCS," but he is a "good, professional announcer" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 10/23).

SOLID PRODUCTION: The N.Y. DAILY NEWS' Raissman writes Fox' cameras "were on fire" Thursday night "under the direction of Bill Webb." The shot of Lackey "mouthing off, and the subsequent replay, were so fine." Meanwhile, Fox' dugout camera caught Yankees P A.J. Burnett, C Jorge Posada and pitching coach Dave Eiland "huddling before Posada entered the game to replace" C Jose Molina, and Buck "followed up the shot by asking Joe Girardi what the trio was discussing" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/23). In L.A., Tom Hoffarth writes the "coolest addition to the Fox MLB postseason coverage" is FoxTraxPlus, which "sets the miles-per-hour a pitch comes out of the pitcher's hand ... but then figures how fast it is when it reaches the plate" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 10/23). Sportvision GM of Baseball Products Ryan Zander, whose company provides the technology for FoxTraxPlus and TBS' PitchTrax, said that tracking cameras are "installed to get 60 readings on each pitch from the moment it is released until it crosses the plate," and the readings include "location, speed and breaking information" (L.A. TIMES, 10/23).

TBS TAKES HEAT FOR COVERAGE: The GLOBE & MAIL's Bruce Dowbiggin wrote TBS' coverage of the MLB Playoffs was "mind-numbing." Announcer Chip Caray's "miscalls, the somnambulant offerings of analysts Ron Darling and David Wells and the on-field musings of fatuous Craig Sager" had Dowbiggin "switching to Dan Shulman doing ESPN's radio calls of the games." Dowbiggin: "How bad was TBS? It made Fox's crews sound almost acceptable" (GLOBESPORTS.com, 10/22). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes the "best announcers and game productions should always be on display in the postseason," which is a "simple rule ignored by TBS in hiring and sticking by Chip Caray for three seasons of mistakes, bad judgments and cliches." TBS "must find the best pairs of local announcers with camaraderie and high baseball I.Q.'s and build its postseason booths that way." Baseball "doesn't need announcers whose words distort what the screen is showing," but Caray "too often engages in this practice." He "fills the air with volume that the action does not sustain." There is a "cadence to baseball, a musical accompaniment," and Caray "lacks it" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/23). Also in N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes under the header, "Chip-Chip Hooray! He's Done!" Mushnick: "Unless TBS has no better grip on baseball than does Caray -- or unless we're foils in TV's longest practical joke -- don't we get credit for knowing good from awful?" (N.Y. POST, 10/23). The NORTH COUNTY TIMES' Maffei writes Caray is a "normally solid announcer" who was "off his game" during the playoffs. Meanwhile, TBS' Joe Simpson is a "solid color analyst," and Darling is "emerging." But TBS studio host Ernie Johnson "just didn't click" with analysts Wells, Dennis Eckersley and Cal Ripken Jr. (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 10/23).

Caray Facing Criticism Over Missed Calls In Postseason

STRONG HIRE: YAHOO SPORTS' Kevin Kaduk wrote Fox hiring White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen as a studio analyst for the net's World Series coverage is "a master stroke that is totally out of character for a network that has traditionally hitched its October broadcasts to the bland and unappealing duo" of Buck and McCarver. While Guillen "won't be able to inject any life into the booth during the game ... the hiring is a great way to attract viewers and give baseball a can't-miss talking head in the mold of Charles Barkley on TNT" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/22). Denver Post columnist Woody Paige said, "We have watched during the playoffs how boring, how tedious, how just the analysts have not given us any information, any opinion. I want to see somebody there that can shake it up." ESPN's Jemele Hill: "All he has to do is be interesting and be captivating" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 10/22).

UP FOR DEBATE: USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand and Michael McCarthy debate whether it is time to start the World Series "as soon as its two teams are determined," rather than waiting for a pre-determined start date. Hiestand supports the set schedule, arguing fans and networks "need stability." Hiestand: "How about letting networks know when their prime-time shows will air? ... And marketers planning campaigns tied to the Series wouldn't want to guess when to 'activate' them." But McCarthy writes MLB "should cut down these lengthy layoffs between playoff and the World Series," as they "throw off the natural, everyday rhythm of baseball." The delays "dampen viewer interest when it should be reaching a fever pitch." McCarthy: "Stop worrying about the people watching 'Glee' on Fox and start looking out for sports viewers" (USA TODAY, 10/23).

Print This Article