THAT'S MORE LIKE IT
Costas, Kaat show how announcing should be done
SURE, everything’s relative, including the dreadful state of national telecasts. Still, Thursday’s Red Sox-Astros Game 1 on MLB Network, Bob Costas and Jim Kaat at the wheel, would’ve been a treat back when TV — mostly NBC — did baseball right.
Throughout, we heard intelligent, informed commentary, not a word of it forced. In fact, several pitches went unspoken as we were credited with being able to discern the obvious without comment, let alone full examination.
Cause and effect. As long as they were watching the game, why shouldn’t we?
Even in the eighth, with the As- tros up, 8-2, Costas and Kaat stayed fresh.
When Houston center fielder George Springer made a backhanded catch on the run, Kaat, who will be 79 next month, gently, calmly, simply nailed it: “He ran that route like a wide receiver; timed it perfectly, then stretched out. Nice play.”
And that normally unhittable Boston starter Chris Sale was being blasted, Kaat said was the result of “flat” pitches. There was no freezeframed inspection from which we could glean nothing, only word that Sale’s stuff was short on action, which was all we needed.
With fading vet Francisco iano in to pitch the eighth for Houston, Costas gave us what could serve as significant info for the rest of the series:
“He’s the lone left-hander in their bullpen, but they have righthanders who are equally effective against left-handed hitters.”
Even the anecdotal was special. Costas noted that Astros’ general manager Jeff Luhnow was “born and raised in Mexico City, speaks fluent Spanish. He has degrees in engineering and economics from Penn, then an MBA from Northwestern, and had a business career before the Cardinals hired him [as head of scouting and development] ...
“His first two years with Houston, they lose 106 games, then 111. And he had a vanity license plate poking fun of himself. It read, ‘GM-111.’ ”
Alas and alack — or is it Alice and Alec? — it was a postseason one-and-done for Costas and Kaat as per MLBN’s limited schedule.
On the subject of done, the Mets’ radio team of Howie Rose and Josh Lewin had a strong season, keeping it as honest as team broadcasters are allowed or dare. They often brightened rotten games with humor, neat tidbits and historical items.
Even if the Mets were a chore to suffer, Rose and Lewin painted pictures — many of them ugly — with dignity in mind.