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Game 6 ALCS: Yankees 9, Indians 5

Yankees End Indians, NBC's Solid But Flawed Seasons

By George Stahl

In ending the Indians season Tuesday night, the Yankees also closed NBC’s baseball coverage for this year. And like the Indians this year, NBC showed that having a lot of talent doesn’t make a great team.

While they certainly had their moments, Bob Costas and Joe Morgan never quite gelled. Individually they are at the top of their fields - although Costas at times wasn’t as sharp as he usually is - but the lack of experience together showed, hurting NBC’s overall product.

For example, early in the game Tuesday night, Costas seemed to be suggesting that Indians catcher Sandy Alomar, with all his injuries, maybe shouldn’t be playing after he struck out uglily with runners on first and third and one out. Morgan, though, didn’t bite, noting that Alomar was trying as best as he could to move the runners along. Costas then didn’t push him.

I have heard Jon Miller, Morgan’s broadcasting partner on ESPN, challenge him on similar comments. I have heard Joe Buck challenge Tim McCarver’s opines on Fox. And I think that with more time together, Costas would feel comfortable enough challenging Morgan’s opinion, because Costas certainly didn’t mind confronting Tony Kubek during those wonderful "Game of the Week" broadcasts on NBC in the 1980s.

However, the nature of NBC’s baseball contract, under which the peacock network magically appears out of nowhere to televise games in October, makes it hard for Costas or Morgan to build a rapport together.

This is not to say that NBC or its announcers didn’t do things well. I think its production and overall camera work consistently was much better than Fox. While Fox may have had more interesting toys, such as camera cam, NBC always seemed to have a good replay from a good angle every time it needed it. And that’s what fans want most.

Plus, as I said, Costas and Morgan individually are among the best in the business.

Some of NBC’s highlights and lowlights from Game 6:

Morgan’s best points: 1. Morgan said that in bad weather, infielders need to grip the ball at the seams in order to control the throw. A few moments later, NBC showed how Indians third baseman Travis Fryman rotated the ball in his glove until he got a good grip to throw it.
2. Morgan warned that Indians pitcher Charles Nagy has to be careful throwing a fastball to Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius. Next pitch, Brosius hit a fastball out for a three-run home run.
3. Morgan showed how Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter muscled a triple into gap in right center.

Good lines: 1. Costas immediately after an Indians base hit up the middle hit second base umpire Ted Hendry, the controversial umpire from Game 2, “Ted Hendry can’t seem to stay out of the way of controversy.”
2. Mike Hargrove before the game on the problems David Justice is having against left-handers “[Justice] is as lost as a duck in the desert [against lefties].”
3. Costas, after reporter Jim Gray told the story of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner getting the Yanks bat boy, who the team is 2-0 with, out of school to work the night’s game, “[The Yankees] have depth everywhere. They’re even deep at batboy.”

Good stats: 1. With its first two runs of the game, the Yankees at that point had scored 12 of its 20 ALCS runs in the first inning.
2. Indians starting pitcher Charles Nagy got first-pitch strikes only on three of the first 10 batters he faced.

Good shot: Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer greeting every Yankee as he came into the locker room after the game.

Thank God for no more...: Intra-inning programming commercials, such as the one for “ER,” that NBC showed between batters twice a game.

Glitches: 1. NBC showed some mysterious glove with a New York Mets logo on it before the replay of Kenny Lofton’s opening game bunt base hit.
2. Morgan said Indians left-fielder Brian Giles had to make a catch with the glove on his left hand. Giles is a left-handed thrower, i.e. his glove is on his right hand.

Grade: B. Like the Indians, NBC had its moments. Overall, though, its coverage was solid but flawed.

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