the rix mix

Chris Berman, calling Phillies-Rockies for ESPN radio, is a more accurate & detailed describer of action than the Yankees' John Sterling. Sterling uses broad strokes & sometimes you don't know where a fly ball has been hit until it's caught, falls in, or lands in the seats. Sterling's strength is in situations & conjecture, what he thinks might or ought to happen next, which is alright because he has a long, familiar relationship with listeners. Berman tells you which direction an outfielder is moving to reach a hit ball, you get a picture. Berman's analyst sidekick, Rick Sutcliffe. mostly sounds like he's reading from a stack of cards scripted by committee before the game. Suzyn Waldman, with the Yankees, sounds like she's struggling to decipher her own scratch notes until she gives up & wings it.

I'm a fan of radio baseball because it's radio, & has a long tradition of individuality in announcing styles. & it can play in the background. But TV baseball also has too many graphics, too much emphasis on useless & confusing computer-generated statistics, too many cutaways from field action, & too much redundant chatter. TV baseball has lost its sense of pacing, of ebb & flow, the uneventful innings, the slow build up of what become scoring threats. Radio baseball is allowed to be dull when it is dull.

Labels: baseball, sports, TV