I know Fox is thrilled. It’s a marquee match-up of two teams that have national followings and haven’t met in the World Series in 102 years. Should be fun.
The games will be on broadcast television on Fox, not cable networks that are channel 354 on your guide (IF you even get them). I know he’s much maligned, but I think Joe Buck does a terrific job and John Smoltz is the best analyst he’s had (sorry Tim McCarver). Kill the fucking Google commercials though.
I don’t know who is calling the games for ESPN radio, but LA listeners, whoever it is has got to be better than Charley Steiner. To think that for 67 glorious years we had the great Vin Scully and now we’ve got a guy who can’t go five minutes without making a bonehead mistake. Recent case in point (and trust me there are many – there are tapes floating around of his bungled calls much to the delight and prolonged laughter of everyone in the baseball media): In the last NLCS, the Dodgers went into Milwaukee with a 3-2 game advantage. One win and they go to the World Series. But they lost game 6 necessitating a game 7. When they won, this is what Charley said:
"They came into Milwaukee, down 3-2 and won last night and again tonight to win the NLCS."
WHAT THE FUCK?!
He also had the wrong pitcher in the game for an entire inning.
And this is the man sitting in Vin Scully’s chair! This is an embarrassment to the organization. And worse, typical. (You should hear that tape.)
So if you have the MLB app, or Sirius/XM I suggest either the Red Sox home broadcast (Joe and Tim are homers but they know which players are in the game) or the ESPN broadcast, and in Los Angeles I’m hoping that ESPN710 carries the national feed. Or better yet, listen to Hall-of-Famer Jaime Jarrin. Even you don't speak Spanish you'll still be able to follow the game way better than listening to Charley Steiner.
For a more in depth article on his many mistakes, the LA TIMES today offers this.
As for predictions? I think the American League is stronger than the National, and the Red Sox have a powerhouse team. Their Achilles Heel is their bullpen. The Dodgers have depth, tremendous flexibility (each player can play seven positions -- further confusing Charley), Kershaw (when he’s good), a strong bullpen, and all-or-nothing hitters who either homer or strike out. I personally am not a fan of substituting players in the second inning and bringing in relievers in the third. I understand the analytics but there’s also a Wile E. Coyote element to it where managers over-manage and outsmart themselves. How many times in playoffs have you seen unlikely heroes? Well, you tend to eliminate them when they’re pulled for a pinch-hitter in the third inning because analytics recommend it.
The ideal player used to be someone like Willie Mays. Now it’s Dave Kingman.
And then there are factors that analytics can’t cover. The weather. How does that affect a team? If there is a rain delay what does that do to your pitching staff? How long does the rain have to go before you lift your pitcher? (If game 1 or 2 is rained out they would normally just push till Thursday. But Fox has Thursday Night Football that they paid a billion dollars for. They’re not going to pre-empt that. Does game 3 get pushed all the way to Friday?) Temps should be in the 30’s in Boston. That could be a factor, especially for a team that plays in sunny LA. If the Dodgers thought San Francisco crowds were hostile, that was the Queen’s Tea compared to Boston. How will the late afternoon shadows at Dodger Stadium affect the Red Sox unaccustomed as they are to that condition?
And then of course there are injuries.
The Dodgers last played in Boston in 2010 (they were swept). Clayton Kershaw did not pitch in that series. How he will fare the first time with that Green Monster at his back is anyone’s guess – stats or no stats.
Will Chris Sale bounce back from a disappointing and injury-plagued LCS? Closer Craig Kimbrel hasn’t exactly been lights out either. Will the Red Sox get the good or bad David Price? Will the Dodgers get the good or bad Clayton Kershaw?
So I guess what I’m saying is: whichever team has the better record, Charley Steiner will report the opposite.
from By Ken Levine
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