Rounding it up

by Dex on Apr 7, 2007 7:15 AM PDT in News

Tough start to the weekend. So far the 3-4-5 is failing to live up to Shakira status (Best Rear End Rotation). Maybe it's part hard luck. Maybe it's part being squeezed. Maybe it's also cause our offense decided to cool off a bit. Nevertheless, I don't want to see the wrong end of .500 today. Here's what I'd like to see happen as we start in on the second week of the season.

The Crushin' Russian needs to start more crushin' and less rushin' (media outlets are free to use that. credit to gaslampall). Don't be so quick to jump after the fly balls. Khalil is there. Normally, it would be Khalil's fault for not ever properly calling people off, but the rookie needs to learn what's around him. And what's around him is a Vulcan.
Let's not take anything for granted anymore. Everybody knows that Khalil's not going to speak, much less call for balls. Let's micro-manage a little bit. When a pitcher gets a ball to pop up to the infield, his job isn't over. The ball is in play until it's no longer in play. Why not captain the infield defense just a little bit before going to the rosin bag and glancing around the stands for groupies? A simple, "Careful not to crash into each other" would suffice.
MLB.tv needs to quit sucking. I'm gonna write an email, but to tease me with a great looking Channel 4 feed for a few innings before inexplicably switching over to the crap ass FSN feed is really inexcusable. If I had started with the FSN feed then that would be fine, just knowing that there was a preferable feed and not being able to get to it sucks ass.

Let's experience a win tonight. GO PADRES!

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you're right on the mlb feed...

...it drove me nuts last night. it was like all of a sudden, i was watching on my grandpa's tv. i was looking for an antennae on my computer so i could adjust it. horrible.

by goose1 on Apr 7, 2007 10:38 AM PDT reply actions

It was a bummer too

Cause being able to see the scoreboard stuff between innings made it feel nice and homey. I really need to just get a slingbox.

by Dex on Apr 7, 2007 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions

you mean you need one of your san diego

buddies to get a slingbox. i have a similar setup with an undisclosed san diego buddy for san diego chargers games!

MLB.tv is fine for me, except for the crappy other team feeds and broadcasters (actually some are good but I'd prefer hometown boys myself).

I'm debating paying the extra $5 for the 700K feed. Thats got to be on par with analog TV, I just may fork it over.

by bktabinga on Apr 7, 2007 11:03 AM PDT up reply actions

i think what happened

was it was originally supposed to be a FSN feed but they had technically difficulties for the first few innings.

Of course, Channel 4 is on top of things, so they bummed their feed until FSN got their act together.

I for one, am trying to figure what determines what feed they show.

by bktabinga on Apr 7, 2007 11:04 AM PDT up reply actions

Since Cox Cable

prohibits their Padres feed to be used elsewhere -- more than likely, it was a courtesy feed until mlb.tv regained access to FSN Rcky Mtn.

As those of you out-of-market know, Channel 4 Padres does not appear on "Extra Innings." I believe the current Padres regime isn't happy with this set-up, but that's the current deal Larry Luccino worked out with Cox Cable, and it will stay in effect for a while.

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Apr 7, 2007 12:43 PM PDT up reply actions

2011... we'll finally be free of the tyranny

Until then, I'd still like to know why the picture on the Channel 4 feed was sooooo much better than FSN's feed. I was watching on 700k and the difference was really significant after it switched, which made it that much more annoying.

by Dex on Apr 7, 2007 2:38 PM PDT up reply actions

It's noticible

on the EI feed too. For example, scanning all the games, on Friday, the MASN game of the D-backs and Nats was as perfect a picture as you'd want. However, the Royals game looked as if it was shot through gauze.

It has to be atmospheric conditions that affect the satellite transmissions, I can think of no other reason -- except lazy engineers at in Demand that take the feed, do not adjust the picture at all, if there's a problem and send the crap right back out.

It's also possible that the signals are captured elsewhere, than transmitted through various channels, and then to the satellite -- and the picture quality isn't monitored. To take the Channel 4 feed, I would assume there's only one way to access it -- directly from Cox Cable, over on Euclid and the 94 -- it's microwaved to that location from Petco and then sent skyward, with no 'middleman,' -- but that's just an educated guess.

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Apr 7, 2007 9:00 PM PDT up reply actions

I paid for the extra

I'd wait till talk of the bugs dies down. The picture quality is a little, but not a lot better. MLB Mosaic is buggy and it's annoying to see just how many games get blacked out. They tout that you can watch six at a time, but I don't think I've ever seen it where you could have 6 live non-blacked out games on at once.

The Channel 4 feed was really really good. FSN Colorado terrible. Do they sometimes show Channel 4? I thought they were being stingy about not putting it on MLB.tv.

by Dex on Apr 7, 2007 11:19 AM PDT up reply actions

yes...

about a little less than half the games are Channel 4. That is how I keep up with all your Vaz/Mud jokes. I hate it when they go FSN on you. Like I said, I have no idea what determines what feed you get on a given day.

In addition, INHD when they show Pads games will use the Channel 4 feed, but that of course is because that feed is HD, but I guess part of deal is to be able to have the content available to INHD's baseball package.

FYI...I'm about to drop my HD package from my cable compnay because they now carry HDNET which DOES NOT carry MLB games, bummer!

by bktabinga on Apr 9, 2007 4:50 PM PDT up reply actions

The SD situation is similar

To the deal with Comcast Philly w/ The Phillies, 76ers, and Flyers. None of those Comcast telecasts are available on the "Extra Innings" Feed, nor are the Flyers games on "NHL Center Ice" or the 76ers on the NBA package.

That was one of the points of discussion during the negotiations between MLB and iN Demand and Direct TV -- in the Philly and SD markets, to have to switch to satellite to access "EI" you'd lose cable-only games of the home teams.

I believe even Sandy Alderson made that point in the U-T one day last month...and he hoped that some sort of deal would be struck between cable & in Demand to return the EI package to cable.

If you watched the Ch 4 telecast closely last night, V made reference to that deal. It was quick, but he mentioned it. It almost seemed as if was scripted, he dropped it in so fast before the start of play one inning.

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Apr 7, 2007 12:49 PM PDT reply actions

Extra innings

Does anyone know how long the contract with cox cable & the padres is going to last? i think every pads fan that doesn't live in SD county is utterly sick of having to listen to the other teams announcers on extra innings or MLB.TV. if i want to hear babbling anecdotes about players, or have 'local celebrities' in the booth, i want them to be padre or san diego related, dag nab it. Basically, i never, ever want to have to listen to duane kuiper and mike kuiper again.

by TheMiz on Apr 7, 2007 5:03 PM PDT reply actions

2011

We should make t-shirts.

by Dex on Apr 7, 2007 5:54 PM PDT up reply actions

It's a bad deal, but as earlier posted

the past Padres management agreed to it. I also subscribe to the NHL package. Unfortunately, I'm a Blackhawks fan. They only televise 3 -- that's 3 home games a year. (Management thinks it's 1967.) So, 99% of the time, 'Center Ice' has to carry the visiting team's feed -- and on the road, about half the time, it's not the Chicago Comcast feed. I understand the frustration. (Watching that damn hockey team is torture enough, but you have to listen to the other guys gloat, too.....)

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Apr 7, 2007 9:05 PM PDT reply actions

One other thing

This deal with Cox Cable was supposed to establish a Padres 'channel.' I am on Time Warner Cable -- does this Padres channel exist yet?

I seem to remember all the hoopla -- 24 hour Padres, constant replays of games, classic games, and on and on and on -- but this deal has been in effect for at least 3 years, and I've heard nothing of the channel -- unless it DOES exist and those of us on TW Cable do not have access to it.

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Apr 7, 2007 9:11 PM PDT reply actions

It does exist...

... but only for Cox subscribers.
There's not tons of content, you get the one replay and a weekly one in the offseason, I think.

Always opt for a higher feed quality when you can get it. $5 is pretty cheap once you've already shelled out the initial dough, and the bitrate jump is close to double.

FSN's broadcast staff is always terrible, no matter the region, in my experience.

The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.

by Axion on Apr 8, 2007 3:21 AM PDT reply actions