Post by dkennedy on Apr 5, 2006 4:25:07 GMT -5
SNY power, objectivity vanish
April, 4, 2006
By Bob Raissman , New York Daily News
There is absolutely no doubt suits running SportsNet New York have had their fill of firsts.
This conclusion was reached yesterday early in the Mets' opener against the Nationals. The picture, which disappeared in the top of the third inning (replaced by promos and the Mets' NL East clincher against Chicago in 1986), had returned in the bottom of the frame without audio. Matt Yallof, anchor of SNY's Mets pre- and postgame shows, was forced into play-by-play.
Before segueing into play-by-play, Yallof reported the transmission was lost because of a power surge.
"Oh, the pressure, Matt," said Mets studio analyst Ron Darling. "You have to replace Gary Cohen on play-by-play."
"That's never going to happen, my friend. Never going to happen," Yallof said. "I hope he (Cohen) is back any moment. The longer I go, the worse we look."
Fortunately, the audio returned. And yet, anyone watching was wondering if SNY is actually the home of the Mets, Jets and Power Surge.
Remember, when SNY debuted on March 16, the network also lost audio and picture during "Daily News Live" and other programming leading up to the Mets-Braves Grapefruit League tilt.
Actually yesterday, during SNY's first regular-season Mets telecast, TV screens went dark because a fuse blew at Shea Stadium, knocking out power in SNY's production facility. Guess Fred Wilpon, who owns most of SNY, now will be personally checking every fuse box at Shea.
By the time Ryan Zimmerman lined a ball down the left-field line in the top of the eighth, giving Nats third-base coach Tony Beasley enough nerve to wave Alfonso Soriano home, all technical problems were long gone. SNY's replay machine was cranked, providing five consecutive looks at first-base umpire Tim Tschida calling a sliding Soriano out at the plate on Jose Reyes' relay to Paul Lo Duca.
By the second replay of this bang-bang job, SNY Mets analyst Keith Hernandez knew what the deal was. "Oh, he (Lo Duca) dropped the ball," Hernandez said. Watching the third and fourth replay, both Hernandez and Cohen, unsure if Soriano even had touched the plate, explained that Lo Duca would have had to tag Soriano a second time for him to actually be out.
But on the fifth replay, from another angle, it was clear Soriano's left hand had gotten in under the tag. "He was safe," Hernandez said. "I'm surprised Frank Robinson didn't go out there and have a beef with Tschida."
While Cohen and Hernandez played it straight, they lost major points for coming down with a quick case of Metsnesia after Carlos Beltran ended the game by throwing Jose Vidro out on another suspect call at second as Vidro tried stretching a single into a double.
"Defense, defense, defense has won this game for the Mets," Hernandez said. "Two fine plays in the field at critical points of the game."
And Cohen said: "(Cliff) Floyd and Reyes combine to get Soriano at the plate. And Beltran guns down Vidro."
Not quite. Yeah, the Mets defense was tight, but Cohen and Hernandez, if they were dealing in absolute truth, had to report how the Mets also caught a huge break: Tschida calling Soriano - clearly safe - out at the plate.
After all, both voices - after seeing replays in the eighth - said Soriano was safe. Did they think all viewers have short-term memories? To try selling the notion that defense ruled and won this game, without mentioning the mega-break the Mets caught, was garbage.
Still, both Cohen and Hernandez have well-earned reputations for playing it straight. So hopefully this was some kind of mental glitch - like losing picture and sound.
For there was a lot to like yesterday during SNY's regular-season debut. There also was a lot to be interested in. Like how Cohen, who spent 17 seasons in the Mets' radio booth where interaction was not a priority, would play set-up man for Hernandez.
Cohen not only succeeded in showing a sense of humor, not often displayed on radio, he served up some fat lines for Mex to riff on.
Cohen (on David Wright hitting HR on 0-2 pitch): "A cripple pitch is supposed to come on 3-0, not 0-2."
Hernandez: "A cripple pitch is a mistake. You jump on those cripples. This is a war. No sympathy."
Or, in the sixth inning after SNY HD aired grainy footage of Bob Murphy, Ralph Kiner and Lindsey Nelson during a 1962 Ch. 9 spring training telecast. Cohen said Nelson, known for his sartorial splendor, would have loved the fur-collared coat Hernandez was wearing in the broadcast booth.
"You're not a member of PETA, are you, Gary?" Hernandez asked his partner.
Then there was the clean directing of Bill Webb. The veteran didn't distract viewers with repeated pitch sequence replays. Or lame gimmicks like "Stupid Pitch." Yesterday, the high definition cameras produced telling replays, detective work (checking out catcher's signs) and Webb's trademark dugout stuff.
Now, if only SNY can keep its picture from disappearing.
April, 4, 2006
By Bob Raissman , New York Daily News
There is absolutely no doubt suits running SportsNet New York have had their fill of firsts.
This conclusion was reached yesterday early in the Mets' opener against the Nationals. The picture, which disappeared in the top of the third inning (replaced by promos and the Mets' NL East clincher against Chicago in 1986), had returned in the bottom of the frame without audio. Matt Yallof, anchor of SNY's Mets pre- and postgame shows, was forced into play-by-play.
Before segueing into play-by-play, Yallof reported the transmission was lost because of a power surge.
"Oh, the pressure, Matt," said Mets studio analyst Ron Darling. "You have to replace Gary Cohen on play-by-play."
"That's never going to happen, my friend. Never going to happen," Yallof said. "I hope he (Cohen) is back any moment. The longer I go, the worse we look."
Fortunately, the audio returned. And yet, anyone watching was wondering if SNY is actually the home of the Mets, Jets and Power Surge.
Remember, when SNY debuted on March 16, the network also lost audio and picture during "Daily News Live" and other programming leading up to the Mets-Braves Grapefruit League tilt.
Actually yesterday, during SNY's first regular-season Mets telecast, TV screens went dark because a fuse blew at Shea Stadium, knocking out power in SNY's production facility. Guess Fred Wilpon, who owns most of SNY, now will be personally checking every fuse box at Shea.
By the time Ryan Zimmerman lined a ball down the left-field line in the top of the eighth, giving Nats third-base coach Tony Beasley enough nerve to wave Alfonso Soriano home, all technical problems were long gone. SNY's replay machine was cranked, providing five consecutive looks at first-base umpire Tim Tschida calling a sliding Soriano out at the plate on Jose Reyes' relay to Paul Lo Duca.
By the second replay of this bang-bang job, SNY Mets analyst Keith Hernandez knew what the deal was. "Oh, he (Lo Duca) dropped the ball," Hernandez said. Watching the third and fourth replay, both Hernandez and Cohen, unsure if Soriano even had touched the plate, explained that Lo Duca would have had to tag Soriano a second time for him to actually be out.
But on the fifth replay, from another angle, it was clear Soriano's left hand had gotten in under the tag. "He was safe," Hernandez said. "I'm surprised Frank Robinson didn't go out there and have a beef with Tschida."
While Cohen and Hernandez played it straight, they lost major points for coming down with a quick case of Metsnesia after Carlos Beltran ended the game by throwing Jose Vidro out on another suspect call at second as Vidro tried stretching a single into a double.
"Defense, defense, defense has won this game for the Mets," Hernandez said. "Two fine plays in the field at critical points of the game."
And Cohen said: "(Cliff) Floyd and Reyes combine to get Soriano at the plate. And Beltran guns down Vidro."
Not quite. Yeah, the Mets defense was tight, but Cohen and Hernandez, if they were dealing in absolute truth, had to report how the Mets also caught a huge break: Tschida calling Soriano - clearly safe - out at the plate.
After all, both voices - after seeing replays in the eighth - said Soriano was safe. Did they think all viewers have short-term memories? To try selling the notion that defense ruled and won this game, without mentioning the mega-break the Mets caught, was garbage.
Still, both Cohen and Hernandez have well-earned reputations for playing it straight. So hopefully this was some kind of mental glitch - like losing picture and sound.
For there was a lot to like yesterday during SNY's regular-season debut. There also was a lot to be interested in. Like how Cohen, who spent 17 seasons in the Mets' radio booth where interaction was not a priority, would play set-up man for Hernandez.
Cohen not only succeeded in showing a sense of humor, not often displayed on radio, he served up some fat lines for Mex to riff on.
Cohen (on David Wright hitting HR on 0-2 pitch): "A cripple pitch is supposed to come on 3-0, not 0-2."
Hernandez: "A cripple pitch is a mistake. You jump on those cripples. This is a war. No sympathy."
Or, in the sixth inning after SNY HD aired grainy footage of Bob Murphy, Ralph Kiner and Lindsey Nelson during a 1962 Ch. 9 spring training telecast. Cohen said Nelson, known for his sartorial splendor, would have loved the fur-collared coat Hernandez was wearing in the broadcast booth.
"You're not a member of PETA, are you, Gary?" Hernandez asked his partner.
Then there was the clean directing of Bill Webb. The veteran didn't distract viewers with repeated pitch sequence replays. Or lame gimmicks like "Stupid Pitch." Yesterday, the high definition cameras produced telling replays, detective work (checking out catcher's signs) and Webb's trademark dugout stuff.
Now, if only SNY can keep its picture from disappearing.