Uniform Wars... next on TBS!

[Noe]

Last night I watched the NLCS game betwix the Diamondbacks and Rockies.  I have to admit right now that whoever was announcing and doing the color commentary were entirely below average.  Not because they said some strange things, but because primarily they were boring.

There was one interaction between the broadcast team that made me stop doing other things whilest watching the game peripherally.  I had to pay attention to this give and take because it was so... ahum... unique.  Not that it was insightful nor telling nor educational... but because I wanted to witness the melding of the reality television mentality with real time major league baseball broadcasting.  I imagine that somewhere, before the actual game, a room full of broadcasters, producers, consultants and perhaps one or two network executives met to hash out the plan for broadcasting the NLCS on TBS for the first time in history.

And they came up with reaching down to the lowest common denominator of  reality television level information.  Basically, reality television is about voyeurism and how to sell boring people to you for at least the run of the season.  Baseball is not boring, not to me that is.  But it has the reputation of being boring to the great unwashed that make up the television viewing majority.  As a side note, now I know where the great unwash come from that sit in the stands and call talk-shows and write into blogs... they were invited into the fandom of baseball by these sort of endeavors.  It's not about baseball, it's about the side items, the non-essential to baseball but by golly essential to television nowadays that drives what we get.

So I listened because it was the car wreck I could not turn away from watching happen before my very own eyes.  They were having an in-depth discussion about uniforms, specifically about the Rockies continuing to wear the same road black uniforms that have brought them good luck and good fortune for the past month and a half.  Normally, that is okay conversation if it remains in the peripheral as far as importance or it leads to more interesting conversations such as superstition amongst ball players and perhaps a sharing of a story or two by the color commentators about wearing the same pair of socks and so forth while on a hot streak.

But last night it hovered over the uniform of choice as the center of importance and the fear that perhaps the Diamondbacks would be forced to wear their home black uniform to counteract the Rockies.  And on it went.  I could sense the urgency in the voice of the broadcast team while discussing this as if prompted by the producer in their headphones "Sell it! Sell it!  Come on boys, this will be good!  SELL IT!".  I'm sure the reality television voyeur in all of us was satisfied.  The baseball fan in me could only say "WTF?!?!"

[MusicMan]

On the (increasingly rare) bright side, the snippets from the umpiring crew calling the Rockies back to the field were nice to hear.

[pravata]

Sad thing, one of the color guys was Tony Gwynn.  He can be informative. Chip Caray drags him down.

[MusicMan]

chip doesn't stop talking long enough to let Tony be Tony.

[juliogotay]

chip doesn't stop talking long enough to let Tony be Tony.

It's genetic.

[Ty in Tampa]

chip doesn't stop talking...

Inane twittering. He offers nothing.

[Gizzmonic]

Noe, nice take on reality TV.  It does seem like most reality TV shows aim to humiliate their contestants and fool their audience into believing the subjects are interesting by the use of editing and incidental music.  It's much cheaper than paying writers and actors.

Luckily, we don't have that in baseball (yet).  However, I AM obsessive about uniforms.  And the Rockies and D'Backs have some sorry ones.  Still rooting for the Rox but they need to stick with purple and get rid of black.  And the D'Backs, like current Astros, sport generic and uninspired designs. 

Last night I watched the NLCS game betwix the Diamondbacks and Rockies.  I have to admit right now that whoever was announcing and doing the color commentary were entirely below average.  Not because they said some strange things, but because primarily they were boring.

There was one interaction between the broadcast team that made me stop doing other things whilest watching the game peripherally.  I had to pay attention to this give and take because it was so... ahum... unique.  Not that it was insightful nor telling nor educational... but because I wanted to witness the melding of the reality television mentality with real time major league baseball broadcasting.  I imagine that somewhere, before the actual game, a room full of broadcasters, producers, consultants and perhaps one or two network executives met to hash out the plan for broadcasting the NLCS on TBS for the first time in history.

And they came up with reaching down to the lowest common denominator of  reality television level information.  Basically, reality television is about voyeurism and how to sell boring people to you for at least the run of the season.  Baseball is not boring, not to me that is.  But it has the reputation of being boring to the great unwashed that make up the television viewing majority.  As a side note, now I know where the great unwash come from that sit in the stands and call talk-shows and write into blogs... they were invited into the fandom of baseball by these sort of endeavors.  It's not about baseball, it's about the side items, the non-essential to baseball but by golly essential to television nowadays that drives what we get.

So I listened because it was the car wreck I could not turn away from watching happen before my very own eyes.  They were having an in-depth discussion about uniforms, specifically about the Rockies continuing to wear the same road black uniforms that have brought them good luck and good fortune for the past month and a half.  Normally, that is okay conversation if it remains in the peripheral as far as importance or it leads to more interesting conversations such as superstition amongst ball players and perhaps a sharing of a story or two by the color commentators about wearing the same pair of socks and so forth while on a hot streak.

But last night it hovered over the uniform of choice as the center of importance and the fear that perhaps the Diamondbacks would be forced to wear their home black uniform to counteract the Rockies.  And on it went.  I could sense the urgency in the voice of the broadcast team while discussing this as if prompted by the producer in their headphones "Sell it! Sell it!  Come on boys, this will be good!  SELL IT!".  I'm sure the reality television voyeur in all of us was satisfied.  The baseball fan in me could only say "WTF?!?!"

[xxx]

I heard Tony Gwyn's voice but then they showed the booth and it looked like somebody that ate Tony Gwyn plus some. Geeze he's huge.

[Limey]

chip doesn't stop talking long enough to let Tony be Tony.

Chip Carey should be punched i the face repeatedly.  Can I get a volunteer?

[austro]

Will there be anything left to punch after you finish?

[Limey]

Will there be anything left to punch after you finish?

It would be like mashing stewed tomatoes.

[HurricaneDavid]

I heart my black Stros jersey.

[Fredia]

I heart my black Stros jersey.

i have one of those stuck back somewhere. its amazing the transformations the astros uniforms have taken over the years, but the set of jerseys they are wearing now have to be among some of those worn the longest. does anyone know which ones have?

[Noe]

So the Diamondbacks actually wore their black uniforms, forcing the Rockies to wear their road greys.... and it didn't matter, they still were unable to stop the Colorado team from taking two games in their home.

So what did we learn from all this?  Pitching, defense, just enough offense (especially in the post season) wins ballgames.  Everything else is just blah, blah, blah.

[strosrays]

Last night I watched the NLCS game betwix the Diamondbacks and Rockies.  I have to admit right now that whoever was announcing and doing the color commentary were entirely below average.  Not because they said some strange things, but because primarily they were boring.

There was one interaction between the broadcast team that made me stop doing other things whilest watching the game peripherally.  I had to pay attention to this give and take because it was so... ahum... unique.  Not that it was insightful nor telling nor educational... but because I wanted to witness the melding of the reality television mentality with real time major league baseball broadcasting.  I imagine that somewhere, before the actual game, a room full of broadcasters, producers, consultants and perhaps one or two network executives met to hash out the plan for broadcasting the NLCS on TBS for the first time in history.

And they came up with reaching down to the lowest common denominator of  reality television level information.  Basically, reality television is about voyeurism and how to sell boring people to you for at least the run of the season.  Baseball is not boring, not to me that is.  But it has the reputation of being boring to the great unwashed that make up the television viewing majority.  As a side note, now I know where the great unwash come from that sit in the stands and call talk-shows and write into blogs... they were invited into the fandom of baseball by these sort of endeavors.  It's not about baseball, it's about the side items, the non-essential to baseball but by golly essential to television nowadays that drives what we get.

So I listened because it was the car wreck I could not turn away from watching happen before my very own eyes.  They were having an in-depth discussion about uniforms, specifically about the Rockies continuing to wear the same road black uniforms that have brought them good luck and good fortune for the past month and a half.  Normally, that is okay conversation if it remains in the peripheral as far as importance or it leads to more interesting conversations such as superstition amongst ball players and perhaps a sharing of a story or two by the color commentators about wearing the same pair of socks and so forth while on a hot streak.

But last night it hovered over the uniform of choice as the center of importance and the fear that perhaps the Diamondbacks would be forced to wear their home black uniform to counteract the Rockies.  And on it went.  I could sense the urgency in the voice of the broadcast team while discussing this as if prompted by the producer in their headphones "Sell it! Sell it!  Come on boys, this will be good!  SELL IT!".  I'm sure the reality television voyeur in all of us was satisfied.  The baseball fan in me could only say "WTF?!?!"

Been muting the TV and listening to the ESPN radio broadcast instead (97.5 FM).  There is about a 1/2-second delay most of the time, but it is worth it not to listen to Caray.  Dan Schulman and Dave Campbell aren't the greatest, but are infinitely better than the alternative, needless to say.  And "Soup" usually gets in an anecdote or two about his brief stay with the Astros by the time it is done (last night, while railing about Chris Young's headfirst slide, on how he broke his knuckle while playing for the 'Stros in 1974 doing the same thing.)

[Mr. Happy]

Is it just me, or did OB go apeshit postal on uni variations this year?