Without Scully, Playoff Coverage Suffers

One thing missing from the baseball playoffs is Vin Scully on television.

When Fox got the NFL, the network dug deep into Rupert Murdoch’s pockets and went after the best announcer in football, John Madden. Fox got him for $7.5 million a year.

It wouldn’t have cost Fox that much to get the best announcer in baseball, but Fox instead opted for youth.

Nothing wrong with Joe Buck, son of Jack, who worked Thursday night’s Dodger-Atlanta game. But he is no Scully, who has been calling baseball since 1950. Same for Fox’s other play-by-play announcer, Thom Brennaman, son of Marty, longtime Cincinnati Red announcer.

At least Dodger fans can hear Scully on KABC radio until the Dodgers are eliminated. And he’ll again work the World Series with Jeff Torborg for CBS radio.

But where Scully really belongs is on the World

Series telecasts, and Fox, which has the Series, should have realized that.

*

The best commentator working the playoffs is Joe Morgan. He is so good that ESPN and NBC are sharing him.

Morgan was in New York for a night game on NBC Tuesday, and then, after switching to his ESPN blazer, he was in Baltimore for a day game Wednesday and in St. Louis Thursday.

NBC also has Bob Costas, the best of the network play-by-play announcers working the postseason. A typical Costas comment came when the start of Tuesday’s Texas-New York game was delayed by the umpire mess. “The impression is that once again baseball has ineffectual leadership and is rudderless,” Costas said.

The worst thing about NBC’s coverage is no graphic that tells viewers the score, inning, count and number of outs. It’s an embarrassment to NBC not to have it.

A good thing NBC, Fox and ESPN have all been doing is informing viewers what games are on which network, even though it means promoting the competition.

*

Did you hear Chris Berman’s line when the Dodgers’ Dave Clark came to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the 10th inning Wednesday?

“[Bill] Russell is hoping Dave Clark can make him feel glad all over,” Berman said, referring to the 1964 hit, “Glad All Over,” by the Dave Clark Five.

Only Berman could have come up with that one.

*

Easy to see Berman isn’t familiar with L.A. crowds.

“I can’t believe people are getting up to leave,” he said Wednesday with two out in the bottom of the 10th. “It doesn’t get any more exciting than this.”

*

Fox had some minor miscues during Wednesday night’s Texas-New York game.

When the Yankees had Game 4 starter Kenny Rogers warming up in the bullpen in the 11th inning, commentator Bob Brenly said, “If you don’t win this game, there is no Game 4.” Maybe he meant there probably won’t be a Game 4, but it didn’t come out that way.

Fox earlier was still on a commercial break when the Rangers’ Kevin Elster hit the first pitch in the top of the third to center for a double, a mistake that was repeated at the top of the third inning Thursday night when Fox missed Greg Maddux grounding out in the Dodger game.

*

Who’s on first? NBC announced Thursday it will televise Game 4 of the Yankee-Ranger series Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

But ESPN and major league baseball said ESPN will televise Game 4 of the Yankee-Ranger series Saturday at 10 a.m., as scheduled, and put Game 4 of the Baltimore-Cleveland series, if there is a Game 4, on ESPN2 at 10 a.m.

NBC claims it made a deal on Wednesday that if the Yankees and Rangers were tied at one game apiece, that NBC would get Game 4 of that series.

But baseball officials on Thursday said no, that nothing changes and that NBC will get St. Louis-San Diego at 4:30. Meanwhile, NBC isn’t giving in.

Let’s hope they get it figured out before game time.

*

Ratings game: The Rangers and Yankees on NBC Tuesday got an 8.5 national rating, and the same two teams got a 7.3 on Fox the next night.

But Fox is more enthused about its rating than is NBC. On the previous Tuesday, NBC averaged a 13.2 rating with regular programming. On the previous Wednesday, Fox averaged a 7.5.

The ratings for the first two nights of regionalized coverage last year were 10.1 and 10.7. But overall, this year’s playoffs have been watched in more television households, 24.2 million after two days compared to 20 million last year.

TV-Radio Notes

After a six-year run, Prime Sports’ “Press Box” goes off the air after Sunday’s 10 p.m. show. The same two anchors who signed on the first “Press Box” show on Oct. 16, 1990, Larry Burnett and Alan Massengale, will sign off the last one. “Press Box” won three Emmys and a number of other awards during its run. “I just want to thank John Severino [former Prime president] and Don Corsini [former head of production] for the opportunity to do the best regionally produced sports news show in the country,” said Tom Reilly, the show’s executive producer from start to finish. . . . The newly formed Fox Sports Net will launch its own news show, “Fox Sports News,” on Nov. 1 on its regional sports networks. . . . Prime Deportiva becomes Fox Sports Americas on Nov. 1.

ABC Sports has named Steve Anderson, formerly of ESPN, as senior vice president of production. He replaces both Jack O’Hara, who was killed in July’s TWA Flight 800 explosion, and Dennis Lewin, whose contract was not renewed. Anderson is the son of New York Times sports columnist Dave Anderson. . . . ABC will televise the Arizona State-UCLA game on Oct. 12 at 12:30 p.m. . . . XTRA has added KLAC as well as KIEV to its Bruin network for this Saturday’s 7:15 p.m. game at Oregon because XTRA is also carrying CBS radio’s baseball playoff coverage and it could run over into the UCLA-Oregon game. . . . Channel 9 has a big weekend, with a Mighty Ducks special Saturday at 3 p.m., a Pacific 10 football game, Stanford at Washington, at 3:30, and delayed Ralphs Classic Seniors golf coverage Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30. . . . Barry Bonds guest-stars as a ballplayer named Rondell Hightower on CBS’ “Nash Bridges” tonight at 10.

Included in the Breeders’ Cup Preview on NBC Saturday at 1:30 p.m. will be the Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap from the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita at 2:30. NBC’s five-race preview show features Cigar in the $1-million Jockey Gold Cup at Belmont Park. The preview leads up to the Oct. 26 Breeders’ Cup on NBC. . . . A stakes doubleheader Sunday at 3:30 p.m. opens Prime Sports’ series of five major race telecasts from Oak Tree. The races are the $200,000 Norfolk Stakes and the $300,000 Oak Tree Turf Championship. Bill Seward and Kurt Hoover are the co-hosts.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for sports programs Sept. 28-30.

SATURDAY

*--*

Event Ch. Rating Share Baseball: San Diego-Dodgers 11 11.4 29 College football: Ohio State-Notre Dame 4 5.8 17 College football: UCLA-Michigan 7 4.4 11 College football: Virginia Tech-Syracuse 2 .6 1

*--*

SUNDAY

*--*

Event Ch. Rating Share NFL: Minnesota-New York Giants 11 13.8 36 Baseball: San Diego-Dodgers 5 13.4 30 NFL: Kansas City-San Diego 4 7.5 17 NFL: Atlanta-San Francisco 11 6.6 15 (Green Bay-Seattle in second half) Baseball: Angels-Texas 9 .5 1

*--*

MONDAY

*--*

Event Ch. Rating Share NFL: Dallas-Philadelphia 7 22.5 34

*--*

Note: Each rating point represents 49,424 L.A. households.