One of the biggest Cardinals fans - at least for one game - will be in New York tonight being inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. And you can bet that inductee, Ed Goren, will be keeping close tabs on Game 6 of the World Series.
Gore is vice chairman of Fox Sports Media Group, and a Cardinals victory would mean a Game 7 - and a probable ratings bonanza for his company. Fox is in its 12th consecutive year of televising the Series and hasn't had a seventh game to show in nine years.
Through the five games, The Nielsen Co. says this year's Series is being seen in 8.3 percent of U.S. homes with a TV, which is just below last year's record-tying low rating of 8.4. But that Series had just five contests, and with at least six this time last year's rating is likely to be surpassed because interest builds the longer it lasts.
This Series surely would be a bigger attraction nationally if the heavily promoted Yankees or Red Sox were involved, instead of teams from the Central time zone.
But Games 6 and 7 could help offset the difference.
"More important than where the games are being played is how many games will be played," Goren said. "The longer it goes, the higher our ratings."
How important is a long Series to Fox? One only need to look at the reaction of Goren and Fox Sports Chairman David Hill in 2004, when the Cardinals were on their way to a Game 3 loss to Boston en route to being swept.
"It's sad, SAD, " Hill yelled to no one in particular while watching the telecast of the game while in a trailer parked just outside Busch Stadium that housed Fox executives.
Goren was pacing in the trailer as he watched.
"This is awful." he quietly said.
Rain is in the forecast for tonight, and if the game is postponed it will be replaced on Fox by back-to-back episodes of "Glee'' - an appropriate word for the feeling Fox execs will feel if the Cards win Game 6.
Logically, a decision to postpone the game probably will be made early if the forecast continues to be glum. It would be a ratings disaster if Texas won the Series in the wee hours Thursday in a rain-interrupted contest.
UPENDING THE NFL
The World Series beat the NFL in their head-to-head ratings skirmish Monday night, this time by a whopping margin. The Nielsen Co. reports that its preliminary figures show that 8.8 percent of the nation's TV homes tuned in to see the Rangers beat the Cardinals 4-2 on Fox, while "Monday Night Football" (the snorefest in which Jacksonville beat Baltimore 12-7) drew a minuscule 5.8 rating on ESPN. If that holds, it will tie the lowest figure ever for "MNF."
This comes after baseball's victory over the NFL on Sunday night (a close Game 4 drew a 9.2 rating, a football rout drew a 8.2 for NBC) and the two results leave the World Series at 12-1 vs. the NFL when they have competed in prime time over the last 21 years.
At the local level, the Series is averaging a 45.7 rating in St. Louis, 35.4 in Dallas-Fort Worth.
ASSESSING "PHONEGATE"
The communication problem that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he had with his bullpen in Game 5, resulting in the wrong pitcher being sent in for a key situation in the eighth inning of a tie game and contributing to Texas' rally to win, drew plenty of attention in the national media Thursday.
Some have theorized that La Russa contrived the phone situation as a cover-up for him simply deciding to leave lefthander Marc Rzepczynski in to face righthanded slugger Mike Napoli, who hit a game-changing double.
But Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen, who is serving as a Series analyst for ESPN, isn't buying that.
"I don't think Tony La Russa is going to come here and make (up stuff),'' he said on the air. " ... He's just going to do what he has to do to tell people the truth.''
Former major-leaguer Aaron Boone, also an ESPN analyst, said he believes La Russa.
" I think it's unfortunate, but I think simply what we have here is an epic failure of communication,'' he said. "...That culpability falls on Tony La Russa and his coaching staff.''
Some have suggest that the gaffe could hurt La Russa's legacy. But Guillen and Boone said that while a younger manager would be taken to task for such a mistake, La Russa's track record speaks for itself.
"Tony's an icon as a manager,'' Guillen said.
Added Boone: "He certainly would get more of a pass than (Texas manager) Ron Washington'' and Guillen added, ""No doubt about it.''
The Washington Post's Thomas Boswell wrote about it, also touching on the controversy about who was responsible for two Cards failed hit-and-run plays: "The explanations that Tony La Russa offered for the late-inning chaos in Game 5? The national media isn't buying it. No manager of his time has been smarter, more obsessed with tactics and more of a control freak than Tony La Russa. ... Afterwards, as he tried to explain the virtually inexplicable manner in which a series of Cardinals-La Russa screwups had led to a 4-2 Texas victory, it was virtually impossible to tell which story was true, which a friendly fib to protect someone under him and what was still just chaos in the Cardinals. ... Nothing will ever top this."
Former big-leaguer Bill Ripken, an MLB Network commentator, was perplexed.
The Cardinals "lead the planet in three-ring binders, they have more research and more preparation than any team out there'' he said on the air. "I can't imagine how somebody can pick up the phone and say "Motte" and they hear "Lynn."
Kevin Millar, another former major-leaguer turned MLB Network analyst, added: "I think I've got the best solution for Tony: Maybe it's text messaging. Bring in cell phones."
Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal took his shot.
"In one night, the Tony La Russa Cardinals became the baseball version of the Nixon White House. Bizarre phone activity. Possible cover-ups. ... I'm not about to call La Russa a liar over Bullpen-gate, because I honestly don't know what the heck happened. All I know is that I have never heard a more mind-boggling explanation from a manager, and this one came after Game 5 of the World Series, for goodness' sake."
