PHILLY SPORTS CORNER- PHILLIES

My thoughts on the first ever you Tube baseball broadcast yesterday between the Phillies and Dodgers..

At first I hated the YouTube telecast. Then i tolerated it. I still prefer the TV broadcast of the games. I'm afraid this may be the way of the future. If you want to watch playoff games, you may have to pay extra to catch them on you Tube, Facebook or some other social media outlet.

Yesterday's game was free. I would've demanded my money back if it wasn't. At times the reception was fuzzy and skipping. The pre-game show was stupid. It was nice not seeing commercials between innings but some of the bits intended to keep fans entertained were pretty lame. Like throwing items to Dodger catcher Austin Barnes. Some geek tossed Barnes beach balls, rubber chickens and a roll of toilet paper. Martin didn't seem too amused. In fact he looked and sounded annoyed.

The interviews between action, especially of the two managers, Gabe Kapler and Dave Roberts, were stupid. Roberts took it better but Gabe didn't want to be there, only agreeing to briefly chat because it was major league baseball talking.

The main announcer, a millennial guy name Scott Braun ( I never heard of him) was too chatty and misinformed. The two baseball guys doing color, former Dodger pitcher Oral Hershiser and Phillies' own Ben Davis, were interesting but didn't seem to have time for Braun. They knew this joker didn't know baseball but were respectful of his lack of knowledge.

At one instance Braun mentioned that Aaron Nola, the Phillies starting pitcher, threw a knuckle-curve. Nola doesn't throw a knuckle-curve. Never has.

Hershier knows the game but he was clearly favoring Los Angeles, with his "we" and "our" comments. Like most l.A. media they are condescending to other teams, thinking the dodgers are the greatest. They are a  great team, have won the NL West 7 straight seasons and will probably make it 8 this year. The Dodgers have been to the World Series two years in a row but havent' won a world championship since 1988.

Hershiser  and Braun mentioned several times how great the Dodgers are defensively, yet also said they have committed at least two errors in their last five games.

Davis was pro-Philadelphia but not as outwardly biased as Oral.He mentioned coming to the Vet to watch the Phillies-Dodgers when he was younger, when Norristown's Tommy LaSorda managed the team.

It was interesting to recall all the years both teams faced each other in the National Leaguer Championship Series.Other than the mets and Braves, the Dodgers probably are the phillies' best "rivalry", if there is one anyone.

Since they were broadcasting "to the world" ( Braun kept repeating that, like it was the first moon landing- historic!) they kept topics pretty basic. For instance, they talked about the stereotypical stuff like Philly cheese steaks and hoagies. I'm surprised that Braun didn't bring up the tired story of the Philly fans booing Santa Claus.

One time Braun brought up geeky, millennial suggestions, like making the bases orange ( shot down by the baseball guys) and an electronic balls and strikes reader. Braun played up superstar Bryce Harper, I suppose for casual fans who really didn't know baseball but who have heard of Harper, and the Dodger mystic.

The rain put more interest into the plot. They never did stop the game or put the tarp on the field. They played thru showers and even lightening to try and reach the mandatory 6 innings to make the game official. It's always more fun to watch a sporting event in the rain, snow or mud, and Braun explained that normally the tarp would be on the field during the heavy showers but, because there was no off day and the Dodgers would not return to Philadelphia until next season, the game had to be played.

I missed the game on a TV screen. I wasn't going to watch it on my phone or ipad, so I watched it on my PC. I may have forgotten it or didn't think it was worth finding if the Phillies didn't send me the direct link to the MLB/You Tube site.  There were too many analytical stats on the screen, at one point blocking action. I had to remind myself that this You Tube broadcast was geared to millennial geeky, analytical young people. i imagined older, die-hard fans either having trouble finding the site or disgusted and frustrated with the quality of the picture.

I was annoyed by the chat box on the side of the screen, as the initial comments were too awesome for me- "Wow, it's great to be here at this historic game!" "Wow, 'Citizens'(  Citizens Bank Park..nobody calls the park "Citizens") looks beautiful!" I quickly hid the chat box.

The game itself was interesting. I tried to get tickets for the game but was shut-out. As it urned out I'm glad i was shut-out. between the extreme heat and the rain showers, then later the traffic getting home thru rush-hour, it was a good afternoon to stay home and watch it on..You Tube.

Nola usually thrives in the humidity but the potent dodger line-up got to him. Harper continues to heat up at the plate. I like his energy and spark. At least someone shows some life on the squad. Adam Heaseley launched his first major league home run, a deep drive to right-center field.

You Tube completely missed the end of the game when Phils reliever hector Neris cursed a tthe L.A. dugout and a brawl nearly ensued. I thought the final play- a long fly out to Harper near the right field fence, was being disputed for some strange reason, as both teams remained in their respective dugouts.

Neris nearly blew yet another save to the Dodgers, surrendering a two-out homer to L.A. before recording the final out. if Neris is with the club next season there may be bad blood to look out for when the Phillies next play the Dodgers. Unless the meet in the playoffs they won't face-off again until 2020.

Braun tried to interview Harper right after the game ended but clearly Harper wasn't interested after spending three hours rain-soaked and sweaty and his uniform caked with mud.

It was a good Phillies win, with, along with yet another Atlanta loss, lifted the Phils back 7 1/2 games behind in NL East. With the Nationals playing the Braves this weekend, while the Phillies are in Pittsburgh, facing the Pirates, as long as the Phils win, they will gain ground on someone.

The Phils signed former Milwaukee lefty Drew Smyly this morning. He could pitch this weekend. Smyly was designated for assignment but refused a trip to the minors so he became a free agent. he's worth a shot, but GM Klentek needs to still pursue Baumgarner, Minor or Boyd.