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David Cone takes star turn as analyst bu
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When were not at the game, were watching on TV, and broadcasters shape the way we see baseball. This season, Sporting News will be reviewing the work done in booths acro s MLB. This time its the New York Yankees on the YES Network.
Michael Kay is the regular play-by-play man on YES, although he gets more time off than most teams broadcasters, while David Cone handles the color commentary duties for the finale of the Subway Series. Unlike most teams, Yankees broadcasts feature a revolving cast of analysts, so this will not be the only review of YES (and WWOR) in this series.
Of the analysts the Yankees use, Cone is the best choice for the Subway Series because he played for both the Yankees and the Mets, giving him a leg up on some anecdote po sibilities if they come into play. Also, fair warning: since I live in New York, Im already very familiar with the YES Networks coverage, even more so than I am with the subject of the last review, the San Francisco Giants broadcasts that I regularly stream late at night.
After presenting the weather conditions, Kay starts things by immediately asking Cone about the feelings of a pitcher making his major league debut, as both Jacob deGrom of the Mets and Chase Whitley of the Yankees are doing in this game. Cone talks about nerves, and how its beneficial to both deGrom and Whitley that their starts have come on somewhat short notice, due to injuries in both New York rotations. Its a fair point, and directed more toward this game than Kays question that really put Cone in position to talk about himself.
Cone also has some good and entertaining information about deGrom in his pregame scouting report, that the right-hander broke his left ring finger last year helping a neighbor to castrate a calf. Kay is amused, but has nothing to add, so he just goes into reading the Mets defensive lineup.
Twice before the first at-bat of the game is over, Kay refers to deGrom as a young man. He does not mention deGroms age, which is 25 years old, with his 26th birthday next month. While that is young, it is not particularly young for a pitcher making his major league debut. Kay either does not know this, or is simply being patronizing about a rookie. Its hard to say which explanation is worse.
When Jacoby Ellsbury hits a two-out double to right-center field, Cone says he thought the ball might have a chance to go out of the park for a moment, then I remembered where we are. The different dimensions of Citi Field and Yankee Stadium have been a big, stupid talking point all week in New York, as if both teams in any individual game do not play in the same ballpark, and Cone does well by mentioning it quickly without dwelling on it.
Whitley also has a birthday next month, when he will turn 25. As he takes the mound, Kay says, Its an opportunity for any young pitcher now. You do well, youre staying up here Joe Theismann Jerseys . He notes that the Yankees have three starters on the disabled list, but again does not tell anyone the actual age of the person on the mound.
Cone notes that only three teams in the major leagues have used five starting pitchers in this season of injuries, and fortunately, he names them the Red Sox, Brewers, and Padres. He then talks about teams that have used nine starters in 40 or so games, the Rangers and White Sox. Cone notes that Whitley is the Yankees eighth starter of the year. This is good perspective. Kay responds by noting that by losing three of their original five starters to injury, the Yankees have lost 60 percent of their rotation. Thank you for the fourth grade math le son. Kay then says that Whitley pitches only from the stretch because he is a converted relief pitcher, which Cone already said. Cone talks about Yu Darvish doing the same thing, and points out that there is a benefit to working from the stretch from the standpoint of simplifying pitching mechanics, and as a po sible reason that fewer pitchers now use full-on windmill windups.
Whitley strikes out David Wright to retire the side in order, and Kay says, Impre sive first inning for the youngster. Still no mention of either pitchers actual age.
PARK EFFECT
Starting the bottom of the second inning, Kay introduces the Coors Light Cold Hard Facts, which are home and road batting averages for four Mets players. Kay provides another arithmetic le son by telling everyone what they can plainly see, that there is a difference of over 100 points for all four players showcased Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda, Chris Young, and Eric Young Jr. Not mentioned is the fact that no player on the Mets entered this game with more than 80 at-bats at home, and the player who did have 80 at-bats was David Wright, not part of the graphic because he is hitting .291 on the road and started this game at .288 at home.
Kay talked to Mets broadcaster Ron Darling about the Mets hitting struggles at home, while other teams have come into Citi Field and hit just fine (the .699-.584 OPS advantage enjoyed by road teams in Queens is not mentioned). Darlings theory, being espoused on another channel in the same market, is that the ballpark is in the Mets heads. Kay then refers to Granderson as somebody who was signed to hit perhaps 40 home runs but instead might strike out 200 times. Granderson has hit terribly in his first quarter-season Ryan Kerrigan Jerseys with the Mets, but hes actually on pace for 174 strikeouts 21 fewer than he had in 2012 when he was an All-Star for the Yankees.
Cone offers a comparison of Citi Fields dimensions with Shea Stadiums, which, if this has to be the topic, at least is a different angle than everyone else is talking about the difference between the Bronx and Queens. Cone also talks about the right field overhang being taken from Tiger Stadium, and says it probably shouldve been left at Tiger Stadium. Kay has no opinion, saying only, And youre a pitcher, too!
Its hard to listen to this. Cone clearly has a lot of interesting things to say, but Kay does nothing but drag him into mundane talking points of prepackaged, tired, cliched narrative.
SHOT IN THE ARM
Meredith Marakovits is the third voice on this broadcast, and she has information about Carlos Beltrans elbow injury, which has landed the veteran outfielder on the disabled list. Her information is from the afternoon, when Beltran spoke to the media, so this is a planned break-in, but at least YES does everyone the service of putting REPORTING: MEREDITH MARAKOVITS as a bug on the screen while the game is going on, rather than cutting back and forth between images of a person talking and images of the baseball game that everyone is trying to watch.
Marakovits reporting is fine, and she gets Cone to talk about the efficacy of cortisone shots. This is a better prompt than Kay has given to Cone on any subject.
It is Cone who brings up Stephen Drews name in connection to Ruben Tejadas struggles with the Mets, and it is Cone who points out that first-round picks in baseball might be overvalued. Kay has nothing to contribute to make this an interesting conversation, so he just goes back to calling play-by-play, which is okay, because, after all, that is his job. As far as that goes, Kays call of deGroms single to center field is good, as he Washington Commanders Hoodies Sweatshirts notes Tejada being unable to score from second base because the ball hung in the air and it appeared Ellsbury might hav
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