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Hey, what happened in the ninth?By ERNEST HOOPER © St. Petersburg Times, published April 1, 1998 The broadcaster, however, is supposed to stay tuned until the very end. Regrettably, technical snafus disrupted this obvious goal during the inaugural broadcast of the Devil Rays' game on WWWB-Ch. 32. Two plays that led to Devil Rays runs in the bottom of the ninth inning were not aired because the station lost the feed from the production truck at the game. Instead of seeing Wade Boggs walk with the bases loaded and another run score on pitcher Todd Jones' error, we saw a cacophony of promos for their shows: Boy Meets World, Baywatch, Martin and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Talk about taking a bite out of history. All those folks taping the game for posterity will be deeply saddened when they find a chunk of the ninth inning missing. A number of people called the Times to lodge complaints. "I'm very upset," said Tonie Jones of Largo. "We're big fans ... well, we want to be. My husband and myself both said this is absolutely ridiculous. If this is the type of programing they're going to have, I'll just listen to it on the radio. "It would be bad enough any time but on Opening Day? It's ridiculous." WWWB general manager Michael Schuch said the problem was with the game producers from SportsChannel Florida, who hold the broadcast contract with the Devil Rays. "That's certainly not what we wanted to happen," Schuch said. "We were at the mercy of the feed, and if the feed is not there, we can't rebroadcast it." Fans don't care who is at fault, and who can blame them? Any gaffe that causes you to miss large portions of action is unacceptable. Missing the ceremonial first pitches by Ted Williams, Monte Irvin, Al Lopez and Stan Musial is also unacceptable. When the pitches were taking place, viewers saw a grandiose opening with a computer-animated Devil Ray flying around and then sliding home. A couple of times, viewers momentarily saw the field coming out of a commercial and then a promo for Buffy would abruptly appear on the screen. Schuch said the entire production was handled by the truck, which had a reel of commercials from the station. The commentators also could have been a little livelier, especially at the beginning. I know Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane have a sense of humor, but you couldn't tell from watching the telecast. For the most part, they were clinical and technical, which may not be a bad thing for the informed viewers of Tampa Bay who have been seasoned through years of spring training. Still, there should always be a degree of entertainment. It's a matter of preference. The reason some people love Dick Vitale and John Madden is because of the exuberance they bring to the game. Others think they bring too much hype. Staats and Magrane need to strike a balance. You don't find bombastic commentators in baseball because of the style of the game. The excitement has to be more measured, but there's still room for fun. It wouldn't be out of line for Magrane and Staats to joke with each other or share some observations about the atmosphere of the game. While Magrane may have been too clinical, it was clear he knew what he was talking about. He quickly noted that starting pitcher Wilson Alvarez didn't do that poorly despite giving up six runs on nine hits. Although Staats and Magrane were not flawless, their potential is clear. Technically, WWWB has to work out the snafus. Anything can happen in live television, but the fans who have waited more than 20 years are in no mood for excuses and explanations. ON THE RADIO: Paul Olden took the first call honors on WFLA-AM 970. He led into Alvarez's first pitch saying "after a lot of false labor pains, the baby is finally here." Unlike TV, radio allows for a little more energy and enthusiasm. Olden and partner Charlie Slowes took full advantage. Olden joked about all the bunting on the walls: "You know it's an important game when there's bunting." Slowes added a lighthearted touch when he noted how well the fans were fielding foul balls. One of the more interesting moments actually came when Staats was working on the radio side. He noted that the Tropicana Field fans were waiting for the first Devil Rays homer. Seconds later, Wade Boggs turned Staats into a prophet with a shot over the rightfield wall.
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ans cannot be faulted for losing interest in the late innings of a blowout baseball game, maybe leaving early to beat the traffic.
