Odds and Ends: Chopper Travels, TBS Stinks, and Ratings Phever
Posted by Pat Gallen, Tue, October 13, 2009 03:50 PM | Comments: 51
Analysis, News, Odds And Ends, Opinion, Posts
West Coast Chopper
According to our pal Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com, Chan Ho Park will be aboard the Phillies flight to Los Angeles which is scheduled to leave tonight around 7 p.m. local time.
Park has been laid up with a hamstring injury since September 16 and would add another important component to a brittle bullpen. Scott Eyre did pitch well on Monday, even though he has a bum ankle. Brett Myers was heard from just once in the NLDS, which shows Charlie Manuel is unsure of that hip. Antonio Bastardo threw just four pitches in the series.
Park is not yet a lock to join the team for the NLCS, however, they need all the able bodies they can get out there. Chopper also knows this Dodger team well, having been with them for their run to the playoffs last season.
Announcing for Dummies
Earlier in the series I posted a rant about the time slot in which the Phillies had been placed. Afternoon games, followed by endless overnight marathons made it difficult for the Phaithful to stave off insomnia into Monday.
Today, I’m here to rant about the despicable job the TBS announcers did in this series. It was comical how these gents would consider themselves bipartisan as their voice discrepancies proved otherwise. For innings upon innings, Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson waxed poetic about how wonderful the Colorado Rockies were, and so on and so forth.
Anderson’s ass slapping of the Rockies hit a fever pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning when Yorvit Torrealba busted the game open with a two-run double. It gave Colorado a 4-2 lead, and Anderson and Simpson an aneurism. Anderson boasted about Torrealba’s penchant for timely hits in the postseason, basically anointing him Reggie Jackson on the spot.
Then in the ninth, Ryan Howard’s smash double off the right field wall elicited barely an arousal from the commentators. For those of you who bashed Tom McCarthy and Chris Wheeler for the duration of the season, you witnessed the alternative, and it wasn’t pretty.
For the NLCS, TBS has tabbed Chip Caray, Ron Darling, and Buck Martinez as the crew.
Ratings Through the Roof
Game 4 between the Phillies and Rockies brought people in front of the TV in ridiculous amounts. The Phillies scored a 26.0 rating in Philadelphia, while the Rockies drew an impressive 18.3 in the Denver market.
Nationwide, TBS garnered a 4.0 rating on the Phils/Rockies finale, meaning that roughly 6.3 million people watched around the country. Compare that to the Yankees/Twins Game 2, which brought TBS 6.5 million viewers, or a 4.1 rating.
The difference was negligible between the two games. TBS believes that, monetarily, they will make a larger profit by placing the Yankees in prime time. However, the numbers prove the Phillies can hold their own on a national stage. Major League Baseball still isn’t listening as they have scheduled the Phils for a 4:30 start time on Friday, so that the Yanks can get nice and cozy in prime time.
Posts: 0 Manny
Pat: Bastardo was used in the series… that key out he got with the bases loaded in game 2….! I’d keep him over Myers to make room for Chan Ho. We need that lefty that will come in to face just one batter when needed. Eyre and Happ are too valuable for that.
Posted: 03:54 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 1376 Pat Gallen
Thanks Manny missed it.
Posted: 03:59 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 1376 Pat Gallen
I dont think Charlie has enough confidence to use him like that though. If anything you could see Happ in the pen again.
Posted: 04:05 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Manny
No problem…
I just clicked the links to the 2 doubles… and wow, it’s so obvious! TBS, what a poor job. Still slightly better than Fox, though.
Posted: 04:06 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
Fox announcers aren’t that bad … it was just clear last year that they wanted to see Manny vs. the Red Sox because it made for better story-telling ..
I don’t think that the TBS guys were overly Rockies-crazy … in fact, I think they were completely dull and boring for every important call of the entire series..
They should let the Mountain and West time zones gets the Rockies broadcast ..
and the Central and East time zones gets the Phillies broadcast ..
instead of these no-talent ass clowns they have now
Posted: 04:08 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Ed R.
The Yanks and Twins game got a fantastic rating given that it was a Friday night, arguably the worst night for TV. Most shows on their last breath get sent to Friday and that is considered their kiss of death. As compared to the Phillies who had their game on a Monday night and was the only baseball game that day/night. However for the Phillies that basically went toe to toe with Monday Night Football. No idea what the ratings were for that. All in all I would say the Phil’s did well for themselves. Especially given that the Rockies do not as of yet have the biggest fan base in the world.
It was interesting listening to some national radio shows and they were talking about how bad the ratings were for Phillies and Rockies game 1 and what amazed me is how they wrongly attributed those ratings to the teams playing and thats why they were put in that time slot. And it got me thinking, basically to the chicken or the egg analogy. Were the ratings poor for game 1 because TBS knew the game would get a bad draw and so they put them in that time slot, or were the ratings bad because of the time slot and that regardless of who was playing in that game the ratings would have been awful.
As evidence by the above article it is pretty clear that the time slot is the issue and not the teams playing.
Furthermore, I am almost anxious to hear how anti Phillies the announcers are for the NLCS. Last year was rough when they very clearly wanted the Dodgers to advance, I am sure this year will be much the same as everyone outside of Angels and Phillies fan’s want to see a Yankees and Dodgers World Series. In terms of fans it would be comparable to the Lakers and Celtics. Except, I think that if you were to count the number of Yankees fans as compared to Yankee haters, the haters have it by a wide margin. It’s like, you either hate the Yanks or you can’t curse them enough. Consider me part of the later.
Posted: 04:08 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
We got the crappy Game 1 time slots because the 3 other series had a team from
LA, NY, and then LA again ..
so you give the bigger market, the better time slots..
or if the Yankees would have been on when we were, they probably would have had a better rating, just based on how big their market is .. the world’s biggest media market ..
it sucks, but nothing we can do about it!
Posted: 04:12 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 1376 Pat Gallen
Ed R. I think MLB is stoked no matter what happens here.
Angels/Dodgers gives them the entire LA area to work with. Angels/Phillies puts a great, marketable team against the defending champs.
Dodgers/Yankees allows for two huge markets and Yanks/Phillies pretty much locks up the entire east coast. Win/win.
Posted: 04:12 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
Obviously Dodgers-Yankees is their dream matchup
with Phillies-Angels their worst case scenario
(while its OUR BEST CASE SCENARIO)
Posted: 04:17 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Ed R.
Yanks/Phils does lock up the east cost but at the cost of losing interest from the west coast.
The only reason an LA/LA series in my mind gets anyone excited is because of the whole same city rivalry, much like the Subway Series and the Cubs/W.Sox if the Cubs ever managed to get back to the big dance.
Another subplot to Phils and Angels is the Adenhart/Kalas angle. Two teams playing for the memory of beloved members of their team.
I myself am rooting for a Phils and Yanks series. I would love nothing more for the Phillies to slack the Yankees fans back to their over priced seats in their over hyped stadium.
Posted: 04:18 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Steve-o
Wow. I didn’t notice the broadcasting differences in the two big doubles last night. Mostly because I was yelling at the TV for Utley has score….watching the links now, that’s embarrassing.
Posted: 04:20 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Manny
And whenever we play at home in this NLCS the Yankees will be away.. .and when the Dodgers play at home the Angels will be away…
Posted: 04:20 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 bob
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/Does_America_the_Phillies.html
Interesting piece……is this seem like deja vu or what?
MLB wants their “dream” matchup of Yanks/Dodgers (Sox/Dodgers last season). Would love to stick it to them by once again showing LA that the better baseball team resides in Philadelphia. This isn’t the NBA….
I think the Angels have a great chance to knock the Yankees out (I still think the Yanks get it done in 7).
Once again, the Phillies will probably be the side story if we are forunate enough to return to the World Series…..and that’s fine by me. This underdog thing seems to help this team.
Posted: 04:23 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Ed R.
Personally I want no part of the Angels at all. I think they could small ball the Phillies to death. Not that the Phillies can’t hold their own, they very clearly showed this series that they can when they need too…bottom of the ninth last anyone? But the Angels are the best small ball team of the last decade. They really do not have a weakness that I see. Fuentes has been somewhat iffy this year, much like Lidge except not as bad, but like Lidge, he seems to be getting it back.
The Angels just seem to have this way about them this year, I really think they are the team destined to win it in 09. They are playing for their fallen team mate and thats great, but if there is any team to take it to them, its the guys who don’t know what the word beaten means.
Posted: 04:23 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Maverick
I work for a media company and we are screwed to a certain degree..
Phils had a ton of calls go for them vs the Rox.
Yanks – same thing to the point it was absurd.
If you noticed the calls are going the way of the bigger market teams you are on to something… unfortunately phils are now the small market team in the final 4.
Dodgers Yankees is what the Networks want. It will bring in more $$.
We are not the team the networks want and therefore we will not be getting the calls!
If you don’t think the Networks can influence the game you fooling yourself. If they have the power to determine the time slots they sure as hell can have some back room meetings with the officiating staff.
I’m not saying it’s rigged. Just that close calls will not go to the Phils.
Posted: 04:26 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Ed R.
Maverick…by your logic, then how did the Phillies beat the Dodgers last year and more over, the Rays beat the Sox?
Tampa might be the worst sports market with major sports teams in the entire country, only Miami is worse. IMO.
Posted: 04:28 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Maverick
I’m not saying it’s fixed! They can’t influence how the players play. But strike zones/close calls on the base pads.. absolutely.
Posted: 04:37 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
yea thats BS Maverick… i understand your point, but its not valid
Posted: 04:37 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Scotty
I can understand wanting the Yankees market, but LA’s? They can’t even fill half their stadium. Lakers are more top dogs there. Who wouldn’t want to see the crowd support in Philly unless they just don’t like cheese steaks or something?
My take on the announcers is the “underdog support” one often gets from neutrals. Even thought they swept us before, we’re the World Champs and they’ve staged an impressive comeback this season while we’ve been front-running for quite some time.
Posted: 04:38 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 ray
Maverick that’s ridiculous. You’re a conspiracy theorist if you believe that. So you think MLB is sending out memos to the umpires to have the close calls go the way of the bigger market team? LOL…That makes sense because there’s ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE that would ever come out would it? If that’s the case how did the rays and phillies make the series over the red sox and the yankees last year? Don’t be stupid, the bad calls just shows how bad some of the umps are in this game.
Posted: 04:39 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 shag beta sigma delta
I can cut MLB and TBS for start times in the first round, trying to get 3 games on at decent times that do not overlap. But there is no excuse for a 4:30 east coast start time on Friday night for game two. It is a Friday night, if ever you can start a game late it is Friday night, why not NY at 6 and LA at 9:30 which is 6:30 west coast time, making both games start about the same time in their region. And it is F’in Friday night, No reason for that start time that day. This is more of a disgrace than the two day games, because cause of the west coast teams in the Playoffs.
Well at least Cole will be pitching a kind of night game starting at 5 West coast time on Thursday. Any way will see you all in Philly for games 3 and 4,
So my trip from Vermont will not be as rushed as last week, four day weekend for me no work til Wed.
GO PHILLIES
BEAT LA
Posted: 04:39 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 bob
I kind of think the man crush TBS had on Colorado was a little over the top. It’s not like they were such an underdog that won 84 games or something like that. They are a really good baseball team. In a best of 5 anything can happen. The Phillies were just a little better and thats all it takes.
Posted: 04:41 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Patsy's Mom
Lidge perfect, Phillies rally in 9th to reach NLCS
Pleas read the last part of this article I cut and pasted (so I left most of it out).
I hope I wasn’t the only one watching the interviews on Postgame Live and MLBTV.
IS THIS WHAT ROLLINS SAID?
I swear I heard him say something to the effect that “this isn’t the last party.” ANYONE?
By ARNIE STAPLETON – 5 hours ago
DENVER — All of a sudden, the crumbling closer was wearing purple pinstripes instead of Phillies red and white.
Brad Lidge retired Troy Tulowitzki for the final out for the second straight night, sending Philadelphia to the NL championship series with a 5-4 win over the Colorado Rockies.
“We know we have a long ways to go,” Jimmy Rollins said. “So this is the last party.”
Posted: 04:42 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 ray
A guy called in to wip with the difference in the announcers with the two doubles. They (macnow and gargano) made good points in saying that the announcers were caught up with the emotion of the crowd and the noise also. That’s possible, I tend not to notice or let it bother me anyways. I see everyone complaining about mccarthy and wheels all the time, so there is your alternative. I actually might be one of the few who like mccarthy i think …lol
Posted: 04:43 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 ray
i meant to say red sox and dodgers all the way up there but you got my point
Posted: 04:45 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 1376 Pat Gallen
Ray I see your point about getting caught up in crowd noise, but it shouldnt matter. A professional should know that this was one of the bigest hits in Phillies history. It’s not often a team comes back like that, in that situation. He may as well have been in the library calling the game for that play.
Posted: 04:50 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 TrappedInNYC
I work here in NYC and I am surprised how many people I talked to today want to see the Yanks go up against the Phils…I think they feel it is sweeter to go against the defending champs…fingers crossed…
Posted: 04:51 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 jt
i say drop kendrick from the roster and add clay condrey…kendrick wasn’t used once in this series.
Posted: 04:58 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Ed R.
As much as I hated the 2:37 start times we had…the Sox and Angles game on Sunday had a 12pm EST which meant 9am for the Angels fans. I personally would love that but apparently their fans don’t seem to think so.
Posted: 04:59 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 jt
you wonder why tbs announcers hated the phillies?brian anderson is a brewers announcer and we beat the brewers last year so he doesn’t wanna see the phillies move on and joe simpson is a braves announcer and were a rival of the braves so of course he isn’t goin to want to see the phillies move on…it seems like all the announcers are anti phillies though like joe buck (anybody hear about peyton manning saying he sucks) and tim mccarver in last years NLCS and World Series.
Posted: 05:03 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Bob Kahn
I did not respond to your first rant but since you are pushing it again let me state a few facts:
1. MLB has granted the scheduling option to the network TBS. They do NOT control the time of each game – they have sold this so your rant should be directed to TBS.
2. Despite the national viewing being close it does not reduce the fact that the New York market is twice as large as Philadelphia. If you were responsible for TBS bottom line – what would you do?
On the other point, I hear this every year. We are just used to getting a Phillies home viewpoint on every broadcast. Accordingly we are not used to hearing the other side being praised. We are so used to our own side being praised that we can’t even hear it. Props were given numerous times to the Phillies power hitters.
Putting that aside I agree that TBS announcers truly suck. They have decided never to give the count or effective play by play. While interesting it ignores that people don’t watch baseball games with a total concentration on the game – you walk to the refrigerator or glance at a newspaper. You want to know when to look up.
Both Tom McCarthy and the TBS announcers make me miss Harry even more. Kalas and most old-time announcers let the game play and they understood “white space”. Ball one, strike one, 1-1 and here’s the pitch is fine – I just don’t need all the rambling.
Posted: 05:06 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 ray
That’s the point pat. I wasn’t saying they were good announcers, they just got caught up in the moment with the home crowd, i think they would’ve done the same in philly. So your point about them not being professional hits the nail on the head.
Posted: 05:07 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Chuck
Again with the announcer thing….it’s easy enough to turn the sound down on the TV and put on the radio. The sync is pretty good. Franske is a great play-by-play announcer and McCarthy is surprisingly good on the radio. Wheels and L.A. do their thing as analysts and even goofy Sarge is ok. I REFUSE to listen to those network idiots.
Posted: 05:47 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Andrew
Chuck most people dont live in Philly that come here.
I cant get the radio broadcast in the DC area.
The patheticness of the TBS announcers and they were very bad doesnt make Chris Wheeler any good. The phils are a premier franchise Chris wheeler is not a premier broadcaster. Hes actually the worst in all of baseball.
Posted: 05:49 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Chuck
Chris Wheeler is actually a very good analyst. He gets paid to be an analyst…..not an announcer. If you pay attention to what he says you can learn a lot of little things that you might not realize otherwise.
Sunday night, for example, he made the point (I forget the inning…3rd??) that Sam Perlozzo knew ahead of time that Charlie was going to pinch-hit for the pitcher (I think it was Happ) and that’s why he didn’t send Ibanez in to score….knowing AHEAD OF TIME that a pinch-hitter was coming in and so why risk sending Ibanez in that situation. Happ was in the on-deck circle and most people wouldn’t make the connection that Wheeler brought up.
It’s stuff like that that makes Wheels good at what he does. I know a lot of you hate Chris Wheeler and I don’t understand it. He knows the game really, really well.
You should be able to get 1210 in DC. It’s a pretty strong signal.
Posted: 06:04 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Ben Francisco
`@Andrew, it’s a little late in the game now, but for $20 I got MLB audio anywhere, any time, including 1:00 day games on Thursdays when I was in the office.
Posted: 06:33 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Brian of CO
Wheeler isnt a good announcer, but he isn’t the “worst in all of baseball” I guarantee that. How can I guarantee that? Because the Rockies have announcers who are far worse than him which is REALLY SAD! I also disagree with how this sentance is worded…”The Phillies scored a 26.0 rating in Philadelphia, while the Rockies drew an impressive 18.3 in the Denver market.” I disagree because the Phillies have more PHans in Colorado, than the Rockies have. LOL. Like Ive said this before the Rockies fans are bandwagon and front runners. They really dont exist. So I would say …”The Phillies scored a an impressive 26.0 rating in Philadelphia, and an 18.3 rating in the Denver market.” LOL.
Posted: 07:01 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 park
I thought the same thing about the announcers myself. As a fan who doesn’t live in the city anymore, I have to watch the Phil’s games on mlb.tv and the Flyers on Center Ice, and I gotta tell you, we’re spoiled with our announcers. When I have to watch the game and it’s the other teams’ feed, I’m frequently amazed by how bad they usually are. I had to endure the Penguins feed last game they played the Flyers, and I have never heard a bigger bunch of crybaby announcers. It was kind of pathetic, really. One thing I actually like about our guys is they’ll let you know when our guys are screwing up, which you hardly ever get with other teams’ guys.
Posted: 08:21 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Stu
I turned down the TV volume and turned on 1210 AM. I was celebrating Lidge’s strike out before even seeing it.
Posted: 08:33 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Kanad Mukherjee
I’ve been waiting for a anti-announcer post for a while. I used to enjoy Joe Simpson when all the Braves games were on TBS and I didn’t think he was that bad this series. However, this was the same duo as last year and Brian Anderson is the regular play by play guy for the Brewers. Who did we play last year? The Brewers. I remember thinking last year how much bias there was in his announcing. This year, I kinda felt like he was ticked off from the year previous haha. There was a clear difference in tone excitement with a bias towards the Rockies. Also, he called Chase Utley, Chase UGley alot. Re-listen if you didn’t catch it.
Posted: 08:52 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 karen
TBS is pathetic. Last night was like this love fest for everything Rockies. I am a very intense fan and get irritated easily but my father, who is the oppoite of me, said that he hated the announcing. The Howard double was just like any other play. The WPHT radio broadcaster, scott franzke, did a good job though.
Contrast the game last night with the extra inning win by hoover on the last game of the regular season from t-mac and it truly makes you love the phillies broadcasters
Posted: 08:54 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 karen
as for ratings, consider that game 3 lasted into the wee hours of monday morning……
Posted: 08:55 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Keith
People complain about announcers a little too much lol. TBS announcers weren’t that good, but Chris Wheeler is fine. He’s just a little goofy. ;)
Posted: 08:55 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 ulrich
I knew they were awful when I heard them say (at the beginning of Game 3), “here comes lefthander Jimmy Rollins to the plate” (yes, he was batting lefty, but that doesn’t make him a lefthander), and then a few seconds later (or maybe before, in talking about the batting order): “They haven’t changed it all year. Why would they?” First of all, Raul batted 5th for much of the season, w/Werth 6th. Second of all, Jimmy Rollins’ OBP & pitches per AB compared to Vic’s make it far from obvious that he would or should have remained in the leadoff spot. So they were terrible just on facts too. Studying’s too much for some people, even if that’s their job…
Posted: 08:57 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 ulrich
@ Patsy’s Mom:
You’re definitely right that that’s what Jimmy said. It caught my attention b/c it seemed a departure from the “one game at a time, one pitch at a time” philosophy that Cholly has worked so hard to instill, & it worried me a little in that sense. But he definitely did NOT say “This is the last party.”
Posted: 09:04 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Mags
Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen are the Harry and Whitey of the new millennium.
I used to like Chris Wheeler–he certainly knows baseball and I have learned from him, but at the same time it’s like he has to show off every single thing he knows all the time, no matter how esoteric or uninteresting. It’s like listening to Rainman call a game sometimes. I love Sarge. He really gets the nuts and bolts of hitting and he adds some great personality. McCarthy seems to reflect who he is working with–he’s more standable when he’s working with Sarge.
I don’t have cable, so I listen to most of the games on the radio. It’s kind of a shock watching them on TV sometimes. Scott and Larry really are a great team.
Posted: 09:04 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Brian of CO
for lack of better ways of putting it, the problem with being Phillies Phans, is we went from having argueably the best announcer in the history of Baseball, to normal announcers. When you go from someone like Harry the K, EVERYONE will sound HORRIBLE!
Posted: 09:05 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 joedad
I didn’t hear the Howard call because I was screaming at the time but it is funny to listen to this guy. He really sounds dissapointed when the Phils tie it. Find the Lidge srikeout to the end the game and this guy
sounds like he is announcing a chess match.
I guess he may have been caught up with the crowd but you aren’t supposed to do that on a national broadcast.
Posted: 09:10 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Philly Texan
Who cares about the announcers?
We won the game. We won the series. We’re defending champs.
F*ck em.
Posted: 09:21 PM on October 13, 2009
Posts: 0 Ari
I also thought the announcers were hideous. How about the fact that every time the Rockies pitchers walked a Phillie they said “lost him” with a note of dejection. Also in addition to the rooting for the Rockies (which I don’t really care about too much), they just sucked. Long period of silence, lots of inane comments, and very little added to the game.
Posted: 03:44 PM on October 14, 2009