Baseball Returns on Fox

Fox begins its 11th season of baseball coverage Saturday with four regional telecasts, including the Angels and Dodgers.

The announcers will be Kenny Albert and Steve Lyons and the game will be shown in 13% of the country.

To promote the start of its Saturday baseball coverage, Fox held a conference call this week with some of its announcers, including Joe Buck, who will be in New York with Tim McCarver for the Yankees and Mets, which will go to 56% of the country.

The topic of Barry Bonds and his ESPN show came up, and Buck offered his opinion:

“Seeing a guy who should have the world by the tail go through this emotional rollercoaster week after week and how miserable he is, I think works against him. You wonder how much the public is really interested in him, outside of San Francisco.

“This guy is one home run away from tying Babe Ruth, two from passing him and within shouting distance of the all-time home run record and I really don’t feel, as I sit here in St. Louis, like there’s a gigantic buzz around the country, ‘Give me more Barry Bonds.’ ”

So is Bonds being overexposed?

“It’s over-saturation to a point where he doesn’t come off as a kind of guy you want to cuddle up next to,” Buck said.

Another Fox regional telecast will be Bonds’ Giants at Oakland, and Fox Sports President Ed Goren said the network was planning to cut into that game to show Bonds’ at-bats.

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Lou Piniella, Fox’s newest hire who was a guest commentator on last year’s American League championship series between the Angels and Chicago White Sox, was set to make his regular-season debut Saturday. He was supposed to be in Chicago with Thom Brennaman for the Cubs and White Sox but has been sidelined by an eye infection.

“We’ve placed Lou on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 11,” Goren said. “We’re confident he’ll make his season debut the following Saturday on the Mets and [Florida] Marlins, alongside Kenny Albert.”

Piniella will be replaced on Saturday’s telecast by former White Sox outfielder Darrin Jackson.

Piniella, also on this week’s conference call, said he didn’t miss managing and was taking his new venture seriously, seeking advice and studying various broadcasters.

“I’m a little nervous,” he said, “and rightfully so.”

More Baseball

The two other games in the Angels-Dodgers series that begins tonight will be televised by FSN Prime Ticket. The telecasts will be in high definition -- they are two of the 17 HD Dodgers’ telecasts FSN Prime Ticket will do this season. Also, FSN Prime Ticket will use its new Strada Camera Crane, which will offer sweeping views of Dodger Stadium and the skyline.

Two Angels will be featured in two new shows on FSN West and FSN Prime Ticket on Monday. Adam Kennedy will be profiled in “Before the Bigs” on FSN West at 8:30 p.m. The half-hour show will air periodically and look back at how sports figures reached the top rung. Mike Scioscia will be featured on “In My Own Words” on FSN Prime Ticket at 10:30 p.m.