fullcountpitch.com

By Bill Campione

Sideline reporters have long taken the brunt of the criticism of sports telecasts. Football seems to be the sport that most needs someone on the sidelines because of injuries and ever changing strategies and adjustments. Of course the networks often try to spruce up the job with attractive females (Guerrero, Lisa and Andrews, Erin) who add little substance to their job. I don’t remember there being an in-game reporter in a mini skirt when Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola called national games on NBC. That’s because there is little that could be added by another person who isn’t already in the booth. Very little news breaks during a baseball game that couldn’t just be reported by the fellas calling the game. A brief sampling of a reporter’s wares could be given during a specified inning, giving the viewer a different voice and perspective during a long game, but mostly it’s become an ongoing portion of the game’s broadcast.

This development hides a bigger issue about baseball announcers: They report what they hear, but they are far from journalists. A play by play and color analyst who is with the team everyday (unless they are on YES. Then they are with the team once a month.) should be aware of player movements and possible transactions. They should be conscious of clubhouse politics and relationships. But the network announcers travel with team, eat with the team, and rely on the team for basic information to spew during the broadcast. Recently, Keith Hernandez and Jose Reyes had a confrontation on a team flight after Reyes was told by friends that Hernandez was bashing him on the air. Milton Bradley went looking for Kansas City Royals announcer Ryan Lefebvre because he was being critical of the Rangers outfielder. If the possibility of this kind of conflict exists, is it smart for an announcer to voice his true opinions while broadcasting, even if it is his wont to do so? Of course not, but how many of your home voices would be truly critical of players or the organization even if they were free from consequence? The reporter role is there to give the insight from “sources” that announcers can’t give, or choose not to pursue.

With the establishment of ESPN’s style over substance initiative and baseball teams creating their own networks which are desperate for programming, baseball has seen an influx of clubhouse reporters and insiders who contribute during and/or after the game. ESPN has taken the shining star of their baseball programming, Peter Gammons, and put him in the stands during their Sunday night games. Fox has Ken Rosenthal reporting on things we already know during their Saturday crap fests. Locally, SNY has Kevin Burkhardt contributing interesting pieces when he’s not sitting in a kayak doing fluff stories.

But the crème de la crème of clubhouse reporters is none other than my future step mother, Kim Jones. Jones has been accused of being fed questions from the Yankees front office when Joe Torre was on the hot seat, but has since upped her cred and profile by hosting numerous shows on WFAN.  Still, I’ve long cringed when Jones asks a moronic question of a manager or player. Watch the YES postgame and look at Joe Girardi’s eyes as he scans the room for someone, anyone else to please ask a question. He constantly rubs his eyes as if he can’t believe what he is hearing.

Here are some questions where Jones gives the answer she is looking for in the question itself:

To Girardi, after the Yanks beat the Red Sox in the first of three games: “For how much you’ve talked about winning series in the second half and winning the first game of the series, was tonight important?”

To Girardi, after Mike Mussina has an uncharacteristically poor outing (5 IP 6 ER): “Joe, did this seem like a very un-Mussina like outing given how good he’s been?”

“Joe, given that you guys have won ten in a row here (Yankee Stadium), does this night have an unusual feel to it?”

To Mussina (same game): “You’ve been so good after some of your great starts and keeping it in perspective and not getting ahead of yourself and even calming some of us (in the media) down. When you know that this is your first loss since June, do you kinda have to keep it in perspective and say this was just one of those days?”

Then there are just dumb questions:

“How tough do you think it was for Joba to make a 1-0 lead stand up in this ballpark?”

To Mariano Rivera, after he gave up a ninth inning home run that was the difference in the 7-6 loss which included a furious comeback by the Yanks in the bottom of the ninth: “Given the comeback does that homer sting a little more?”

And lastly, the famous “How does it feel” questions:

“How big was it to win the first one here?”

“What can you say about the way this team is playing right now?”

Journalists have long been taken to task for asking the stupid or obvious question, so much so that the most famous example is a myth! During media week of Super Bowl XXII someone reportedly asked Doug Williams, “How long have you been a black quarterback?” This story has been repeated so many times that it has become fact to most of the world, when, in fact, he was asked, “Doug, obviously you’ve been a black quarterback your whole life. When did race begin to matter to people?”

Look, I understand that the job of the post game and beat reporter is to get the player or manager to say something quotable and the questions are intended to lead them into a long answer that may yield an interesting result, but these questions are head scratchers. The post game reporter would be well served by just asking basic strategy and decision questions from inside the game and asking for a reaction about a particular player’s performance, or lack thereof.

Such as, “Joe, Mussina really sucked the big one tonight. What was he doing wrong on the mound?”

 “Joe, Derek Jeter is a double play waiting to happen. Do you cringe when he comes up with a man on first?”

“Joe, when the game is on the line list the players you would rather see up than A-Rod. I’ll start. Chad Moeller…“

“Joe, Wilson Betemit obviously has pictures of you in compromising positions. In these photos, what exactly are you doing and to whom?”

“Joe, Joe Torre used to pick his nose constantly throughout the game. Have you considered using this tactic as a motivational tool for your players?”

“Joe, Michael Kay is a pompous windbag. No question there, I just wanted to say it out loud.”

“Joe, Kevin Youkilis obviously deserves one in the ear every at bat, but why did Joba choose a 1-0 game to go after him?”

“Joe, this column could go on forever. Can you think of a graceful way to just end it?”

See, it isn’t that hard to be a clubhouse reporter.