Superb Coverage

The trio of Brian Anderson, John Smoltz and Joe Simpson were superb in covering the Phillies and Brewers in the first round of the playoffs on TBS. We can only hope they will assigned to the next series.

Smoltz was brilliant in providing viewers with a good feel for what a pitcher is thinking. Anderson called a fine game while giving Smoltz and Simpson plenty of room to comment. And Simpson was marvelous at being well-prepared and accurate in discussing teams and players he does not normally get a chance to follow. Most national commentators don't even get the big picture right let alone the details but Simpson knew which players had struggled or succeeded, when and why.

I cannot recall if it was Smoltz or Simpson (I believe it was the former), but one of them made an incredibly astute observation on why in short, post-season series lesser known players frequently succeed. Simply because the opposition identifies which players are most likely to beat them and concentrates a lot of energy trying to prevent that from happening. This emphasis allows the more lightly taken threats to sneak through. The playoffs and World Series have seen a lot of these lesser threats take center stage.

Fox and TBS are going to split duties on the remaining playoffs so I don't know at this time who will be assigned to the Phillies and Dodgers. If we are lucky, we will get to hear the above-mentioned trio; if not, we get the insufferable Tim McCarver and Joe Buck. That will send this viewer to the radio for audio.