Commenting on the commentators: Diane Pucin analyzes the Dodgers-Cardinals Game 3 telecast

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Waste that champagne

Those shots of jocks spraying champagne everywhere in the locker room, those never get old...wait...no, they get old. But Manny Ramirez’s answer to Tom Verducci’s questions about preparing for the next series -- ‘You talking about practice?’ Manny said -- that was a hoot. Manny was channeling his inner Allen Iverson apparently.

Duck!

Funny bit showing home plate umpire Mike Everitt and Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, in a row, throwing balls back to Dodger pitcher Vincente Padilla. In tandem. It looked like a carnival game. If Padilla had been on the platform under the bucket, he would have been doused. Padilla caught Everitt’s ball. Got clocked with Martin’s. Bob Brenly said that was the toughest thing Padilla had to face today. He’s right.

Quiet crowd story angle is all that’s left

Now that the Dodgers are ahead 5-0 in the top of the seventh, Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly are left to mostly dissect St. Louis fans, what they’ve meant and what they’re doing now. Which is, pretty much, nothing. Except trying to huddle well into their sweatshirts. While the Cards fans all look frozen, the Dodgers in the dugout just look hungry. Lots of seed-eating going on.

Good graphic

The box that TBS just had up in the bottom of the fifth that showed how Cardinal batters averaged just over four pitches per at-bat in the regular season with that number dropping from 3.9 to 3. 7 to, now, 3.4 along with Bob Brenly explaining how that is indicative of St. Louis hitters becoming ‘more desperate’ was instructive but not intrusive.

Stockton agrees

As the Cardinals get the Dodgers out three in a row in the top of the fifth, Dick Stockton notes that ‘considering the significance of the game,’ he has never heard the stadium so quiet. Bob Brenly also spoke in the inning about how St. Louis fans can be a ‘10th man’ factor. Can their silence be like a negative man factor? Maybe the Cards are playing short-handed!

The faces are telling us

St. Louis baseball fans are informed and wise for the most part. I know this because, growing up a Chicago Cubs fan, I saw lots of Cardinals games. With high definition television these days, you could pick out a vague acquaintance in the 10th row behind the plate. Don’t know any of these red-sweatered zealots but their faces are talking. They are not hopeful.

Not enough replay again

TBS cut off the replay of Colby Rasmus’ double just now. Would have liked to have seen whether Manny Ramirez’s throw to second was as weak as it seemed.

Oops

When James Loney was safe at first because Cardinal pitcher Joel Pineiro dropped Albert Pujols’ perfect toss, Dick Stockton said, ‘Manny safe at first.’ Nope, Manny is the guy with the dreadlocks, the one who was heading to third.

Want more replay

Would have liked to have seen a full replay of Manny Ramirez’s double just now. Since it’s not unknown for Manny to not always run fast, baseball guy here groaned when Manny started for second, assuming he’d be out. But Manny was safe by a mile. Wish we could have seen Manny running the whole way. When did he accelerate?

What’s blowing around?

Wish the guys in the truck in St. Louis could tell Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly what it is blowing through the air. Sometimes it almost looks like snow thought it isn’t.

Look at the white towels

Yep, St. Louis fans are waving white towels too. Even when Matt Holliday was introduced (to a big ovation and no obvious booing). Will Holliday play the crying towel game in his own stadium if he boots a ball?

Dick Stockton on Bob Brenly

It wasn’t until last Wednesday that Stockton met Brenly. The two were going to be broadcast partners on TBS for the Dodgers-Cardinals series and they had never worked together or even personally met.

‘I was excited,’ Stockton said. ‘Bob Brenly is as good a baseball analyst as there is to work for. He’s corrected a couple of pitches I’ve called. You say you will go with Brenly? So will I. He knows how to get out of the way but if I’m wrong, he’s really deft, he makes sure we get it right. Here’s why he’s good. He doesn’t talk all the time. When he opens his mouth he has something to say. One thing about sports on television is there are a lot of guys who talk too much.’

Thanks, Dick. That’s exactly what Brenly has offered so far in this series. Good information. Just enough of it. Nothing but info.

Oh, and Stockton would like to mention something else. It was noted here that Stockton and Brenly both had compared Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw to Sandy Koufax.

‘I know Sandy real well,’ Stockton said. ‘He’s a great pitcher and I think it’s pretty mammoth to compare Kershaw to Koufax. You know who did that first, right?’

Yes, it was Dodgers manager Joe Torre. But, as Torre said on TBS, ‘As soon as I said that I wanted to bite my tongue.’

-- Diane Pucin

You can also follow Mike Penner’s live inning-by-inning updates here. And follow the in-game box score here.