Ripken has become a top flight analyst on TBS (MLB)
Cal Ripken has become one of the best studio analysts in sports -- and part of what might be the best baseball studio show in TV history. The TBS "On Deck" show has done for baseball what the TNT studio show has done for the NBA. It is honest, it shies away from no topic, and, most all, it is very entertaining.
Ripken is joined on the program by host Ernie Johnson and fellow analysts Dennis Eckersley and David Wells.
Wednesday night, prior to the Phillies clinching another National League pennant, we talked about a variety of baseball subjects.
JW » Tell me about your broadcast partners on TBS "On Deck."
Ripken » "It all starts with E.J. He is the reason I am doing the show. He really keeps things moving and allows the rest of us to talk. Eckersley continues to impress me with his knowledge of pitching and his ability to get right to the key points during a game. Wells and I played together and I love that he simply says what he thinks and more often than not his observations are right on target. As for me, I have developed a real comfort level that I hope has given me an ability to be a better analyst."
JW » What about the World Series?
Ripken » "The Yankees are looking like it is only a matter of time before they take out the Angles. To me New York has been able to force the Angels to go deep into counts, then get the pitch they want, leading to a home run or a key hit. At the same time the Angels can get runners on base but have lacked the key hit. Being down to this Yankees team is, to me, much too hard to overcome. Impossible? No not impossible. Unlikely? Yes, I would say it sure looks like a I-95 series between the Phillies and the Yankees to me."
Some of the best lines from the TBS trio...
“My math’s not so good but A-Rod plus (girlfriend) Kate (Hudson) equals production.”
--Wells on Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez
Eckersley on Angels closer Brian Fuentes giving up the game-tying home run to Yankees hitter Alex Rodriguez in Game #2 of the ALCS: “(The Angels) finally got ahead in this game and (Brian) Fuentes goes out there and throws two strikes to A-Rod (Rodriguez) and finally gets a fastball out over the plate. It’s so simple to see, when you see a replay of this you think, ‘why did he do that?’ It seemed like a silly pitch, all (Rodriguez) is trying to do is make contact and he did. (Yankee Stadium) might be the only ballpark that it goes out of, but is it a bad pitch? Of course it’s a bad pitch. Anytime you’re 0-2 (in the count), you’re supposed to waste one. He probably wanted to throw that ball up and out of the zone and have (Rodriguez) swing through it or pop it up…but he didn’t. It’s Yankee Stadium and he got busted.”
Ripken on how Yankees catcher Jorge Posada handled the situation with not in the starting lineup in Game #2: “I can relate to Posada wanting to play every day, who doesn’t want to play every day? What bothers me about this is how Posada handled (the situation). He put Molina in a position where he has to defend his value to the team. (Molina) almost sounded sorry that he was going to be in the game and playing.”
Like I said earlier the TBS Baseball crew is the best studio team in the business and while the broadcast teams they put together were open to discussion about their chemistry. Such is not the case with their studio crew.
Comments