Watching MLB without Cable or Satellite in Los Angeles, Part 3 - Spring Training Games

I'm now heading into my third straight year of watching Major League Baseball without cable or satellite, instead opting for an MLB.tv subscription. Typically I watch the MLB.tv games via a Roku media device (live-out-of-market and archived games), the local over-the-air broadcasts for Angels and Dodger games, as well as the FOX Saturday Game of the Week. Previous posts on this topic can be found here: Part 1 and Part 2.

Every year, MLB.tv will automatically renew your subscription on March 1st unless you inform them otherwise. The March 1st renewal essentially means that your subscription begins with access to spring training games WITH NO BLACKOUT RESTRICTIONS (archived games are also available). In previous years, MLB struggled to deliver live spring training games, if at all, but it seems much improved today. This is actually a nice offering as part of your MLB.tv subscription. Not only do you get access to the entire season (and seasons past), but also to various spring training games that are broadcasted, including your local teams with no blackout restrictions. (Cable or satellite subscribers who have MLB Network have the same access to live games, however according the MLB site, blackouts for local teams are in place.) If you're a baseball diehard who can't get out to the Cactus or Grapefruit Leagues, this is a very nice offering for MLB.tv subscribers. NOTE: Spring training games only seem to be accessible via a browser, not a media-streaming device like the Roku or PS3. Games are also not in full HD

Tommy Lasorda & Earl Weaver Caricatures

Fernando Valenzuela & Mark Fidrych Caricatures

Two great pitchers who exploded onto the big stage.

Oscar Gamble, Dick Allen & Thurman Munson Caricatures

Dave Parker, Mike Schmidt & Ozzie Smith Caricatures

Fred Lynn, Rickey Henderson, Mike Schmidt Caricatures

Jose Bautista Clutch Single

There have been a lot of baseball songs written and produced throughout the history of the sport, but like everything else, great baseball songs are rare, like Jose Bautista Clutch Single. I was just lamenting yesterday how musicians don't seem to write songs about specific ballplayers any more. I was wrong, sort of. Songwriter and producer Alex Cantrall and his partner, Jeff Hoeppner have created an excellent music video and song that is not only compelling to listen to but reflects the era in which is was created, namely using an R&B style. To more fully appreciate this song, it helps to listen to it in light of 'Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball' or 'Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song).

Pete Rose, Steve Garvey & George Brett Caricatures

 

 

George Foster Caricature

Garret Anderson Caricature

Just for fun.

Baseball Photos on Zimbio

If you're like me, you've searched Google Images for photos of your favorite players past and present. Recently, I discovered the power of Zimbio, an online magazine publisher, which has a nice gallery to view ballplayers as well as other celebrities.

There are different ways to get to the galleries, but the easiest one I've found is by manually typing in the person's name like so into your browser's navigation toolbar:

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Joey+Votto
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Prince+Fielder
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Albert+Pujols

Zimbio immediately tells you above the first photo how many press photos (usually from Getty Images or AP Photos) it has archived of the person. You can also preview the thumbnails to the right, similar to Yahoo's MLB Gallery. The main difference is that Yahoo managed to pull an archive of 80 photos for Joey Votto, whereas Zimbio pulled a 247 photo archive. Zimbio also has a black background, providing better contrast for viewing the photos.

One caveat is that while Google Images pulls earlier images from the entire world wide web, Zimbio only pulls press photos. So if you're looking for that 1964 Topps Willie Mays card, you're better off using Google Images or EBAY. However, if you're somehow interested in following retired players in the press, Zimbio is a nice place to start your search. For example:

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Willie+Mays
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Mike+Schmidt
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Nolan+Ryan

Watching MLB without Cable or Satellite in Los Angeles, Part 2

Last year I became one of the thousands, if not millions, of cord cutters who ditched their cable/satellite subscriptions and instead put a fraction of that money to use by subscribing to on demand services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus or Amazon Instant Video, or simply redirected that money towards more practical things like food, gas and medical bills. For me in particular, I opted to purchase a Roku box, a Netflix subscription, an MLB.TV subscription as well as watching over-the-air TV. Although I had unexpected and mixed results, it was clear that I could not follow the bulk of live Los Angeles Angels games on television without paying my cable or satellite company. Instead I had to resort to watching the occasional local broadcast or paying $120 to watch the glitchy archived games via MLB.TV on my Roku device. I wondered how the 2011 season would unfold for me.

Well, the 2011 season is already underway, and this year I made a decision to hold off on paying the $120 to MLB.TV so that I could observe how other subscribers would respond to the spotty and imperfect service. It didn't take long to discover that the number of complaints about the service was already accumulating rapidly like Pittsburgh losses. Still, I might consider subscribing to the service midway through the season when the price drops significantly.

In the meantime, I'm only watching live games on the local broadcasts and listening to games on radio. Additionally, I'll watch archived condensed games, game recaps and highlights on MLB.com. All of this is without cost. So far after a few weeks, I really haven't missed watching the games all that much, especially with radio broadcasts available for every game. If anything, this is the way it was when I grew up following games in the 80's sans the internet. During that time, games were typically only broadcast on television during the weekends, so you learned the art of listening to baseball on the radio. I've found that as much as I love baseball, I don't really need to watch every single game anymore. This is coming from someone who lives and breathes baseball year-round.

The blackout policy with MLB.tv is a raw deal for consumers because it essentially forces consumers to purchase a cable or satellite subscription or else watch most of their in-market games as archived games via MLB.tv, since a much smaller percentage of games are broadcast over the air for free. So if you're a cord cutter like me, ask yourself if it's really worth paying $600 a year just to watch every one of your local team's games? Not for me and especially not in this economy. Neither does MLB really have any motivation to change such arrangements--not when teams are reaping multi-million dollar television contracts year after year. In the end, consumers, in particular the cordcutters, are the losers and big businesses are the winners. And here's the irony, I would gladly pay $120 directly to FOX in order to watch in-market games on FOX Sports West (FOX doesn't currently offer such an online service), but if I subscribed to cable or satellite (currently the only option for all live broadcasts), my cable or satellite provider would only pay FOX perhaps $2 dollars for my subscription while passing the cost on to me. It's time for FOX to move beyond the current cable/satellite deals of the past and begin offering their own subscription-based online service.

The Natural in 1080p HD

THE OTHER DAY I watched The Natural in high definition on my father-in-law's 55" Samsung 1080p LED/LCD TV. It was nothing short of amazing as the picture quality was so sharp that it felt quite real, as if I was actually on the movie set standing next to the director with his video camera. But therein lies the problem. See, while it felt like I was priviledged enough to be on the set with the director and one of the greatest actors of our generation in Robert Redford, it also felt, well... fake.

See, if I feel like I'm on the set, then I'm no longer being drawn into the movie, relating and emoting with the characters. Instead, I found it fascinating, in virtual reality, to be observing the actors acting on the set. And I found myself quite critical of them. In particular, I thought Wilford Brimley, the manager, exaggerated a bit too much, almost coming across as being too cliche. On the other hand, I thought Redford's acting stood up quite nicely to the virtual reality of 1080p.

I don't necessarily feel like 1080p ruined movies for me. If anything, I'm enjoying the feeling of being on set with these great actors and in a baseball setting, so much the better.

NOTE: The Natural came out in 1984, that's 26 years ago, but you can still feel like you were there or at least 26 years younger. I also watched Back to the Future II (1989) and Jaws (1978). Have you ever watched a 32 year old movie from the 70's and felt like you were standing next to authentic and plaid polyester? I'm telling you, it's pretty amazing.   

Jackie Robinson Painting

Jackie Robinson
36" x 36"
acrylic on canvas

I RECENTLY FINISHED this painting of Jackie Robinson, the second in a series of ballplayer portraits I started painting last year. I decided to paint an image of him without a smile, since his career embodied the fight and struggle against racism where life was anything but a cake walk for him and minorities in general. It's hard to capture the true vibrancy of the colors used, but this image still does some justice to the actual painting.

Babe Ruth at the Polo Grounds in MLB2K10

ALTHOUGH I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME anymore to play video games, I'm still a huge fan of baseball games. I wasn't privy to the ultra old school RBI Baseball or Baseball Stars games on Nintendo, but I did take my baseball gaming more seriously around 1996 with Old Time Baseball and the Tony LaRussa series. It was both exciting and frustrating to see the potential and limitations of those games. Fast forward 14 years and although there have been previous player editors, including Triple Play's face upload feature for custom ballplayers, I was pleasantly surprised to see the custom player creator in MLB2K10.

The player creator now includes the ability to customize a player's entire body including numerous head editing options, all done in a 3D environment. So I decided to take it to task and bring Babe Ruth back to life in MLB2K10. The pictures below are a few samples of him playing right field at the Polo Grounds. It's not a perfect editor, but I was surprised at how close I was able to get to a young Ruth.
Combined with MLB2K10's visual implementation of depth of field in which backgrounds become blurry while the player remains in focus, I've come to the conclusion that not only is MLB2K10 a beautiful baseball game to look at, but it's also a nice tool for generating 3D baseball pictures. And it's the latter that actually interests me moreso than playing the game.

Red, Cream and Blue Colored Jerseys

AS I WAS WATCHING Stephen Strasburg pitch against Cleveland on Sunday, it occurred to me how much of a throwback feel the Indians home alternate jerseys have. Part of it is the simple block letters in the front as well as the red-on-blue "C" logo on the cap. But the back of the jersey also stands out to me because of the absence of the nameplate. So the only two things you see are the small MLB logo at the top and the number. It's dead simple, yet has that old-fashioned, All-American look to it.



It made me wonder if there were any other jerseys out there like this one with red and blue, and the only other one you'll find is the Minnesota Twins home jersey which includes pinstripes. The Phillies, Giants and Mets also make use of the cream-colored jersey, just that they also have nameplates and/or an alternate color such as orange in the MLB logo.

Watching MLB without Cable or Satellite in Los Angeles

THIS BASEBALL SEASON, I DECIDED that it was time to pull the plug on my cable tv subscription and instead opt for MLB.tv to watch my local Angels battle it out for another A.L. West title. My new setup consists of a $120 subscription to MLB.tv, $100 for a Roku box that allows me to stream online games to my tv, and a $30 over-the-air antenna to pick up local channels for both FOX11 and KCOP13 baseball broadcasts. For all that planning, boy, did I get a rude awakening on Opening Day a couple of weeks ago. Not only did MLB & ESPN blackout the Yankees/Boston opener nationwide (though you could watch it on ESPN3), but I realized after reading the fine print that I would be blacked out from watching my Angels LIVE.

While some fans are very much aware of MLB's blackout policy that prohibits users from watch ing LIVE, in-market games, the majority of fans aren't aware of this arcane restriction. For $120, most fans expect to be able to watch their local teams play LIVE. In fact, I would gladly pay the $120 to watch ONLY Angels and Dodger games. Unfortunately, I was one of the duped. As a result, I'm forced to watch archived games 90 minutes (yes, nine-zero) after their conclusion. That means that if an Angels games ends at 10 PM, I must wait until 11:30 PM to begin watching it. For most fans, 11:30 PM is bedtime, NOT prime time — at least not that same day.

So, without cable or satellite, I quickly came to the conclusion that MLB.tv does NOT replace cable or satellite, where I can watch an additional 130 odd games on FoxSportsNet, but instead serves as a supplemental tool for those who wish to follow teams outside their market area. Anyone considering buying MLB.tv, should seriously consider this.

However, where it doesn't seem fair is that MLB.tv inadvertently rewards fans who live outside their team's market area, rather than the majority of fans who live in the same market as their favorite team. So, an Angels fan in New York can watch every single game live on MLB.tv (except when they play the Yankees or Mets), but an Angels fan in L.A. cannot watch any of their live games (nor the Dodgers) on MLB.tv because he lives in the Angels' and Dodgers' market area. This silliness is just one reason why the blackout policy is bad for MLB. The whole MLB blackout controversy is well documented on the web, so I won't go into that, but what I did want to share is how many games an Angels fan can watch up until the end of prime time, both live and archived.

In taking a closer look at the Angels 2010 Broadcast Schedule, WITHOUT cable/satellite, here 's the breakdown for watching LIVE Angels games:

KCOP13 (26 games)
FOX11 (6 games)
ESPN3 (2 games online)

That's a total of 34 games or 21%. Paltry to say the least.

Then, I remembered that since the Angels play at least 23 day games on FSN and at least 2 day games on MLB.tv (starting by 1:10 PM), this means that these games will most likely be archived by MLB.tv before 7 PM prime time, give or take a 17-inning nailbiter. Awesome. I could fire up the archive version and watch the game after dinner and still make it to bed on time. So, in terms of prime time or LIVE viewing, I can watch a total of 57 games (2 other games on FSN have start times pending).

So, 57 games or 35%. Not happy, but I'll take it for now.

But there's a big caveat as I write this. Currently, Roku has had numerous issues delaying the launch of their MLB Channel, now already two weeks into the season. So right now, it's either wait for those rare KCOP13 broadcasts or FOX's Saturday Baseball Game of the Week or watching games via my desktop or laptop. As much as I love watching baseball every day during the regular season, perhaps a longing makes the heart grow fonder.

Now, I could resubscribe to cable for 6 months and pay $300 just to follow every Angels game or stick with my current setup and watch 35% of the games at $120. In this current economy, it's a no brainer as on those blackout dates, I can immerse myself in the art of listening to baseball on radio, which isn't necessarily a bad thing with Terry Smith in the booth.

2010 Angels Baseball TV Schedule
----------------------------------------------------
MLB.TV EXCLUSIVE Day Games = Prime time archive viewing
---------------------------------------------------------------------
6/20 CHC (TBD)
8/22 MIN 11:10 AM
9/19 TB 10:40 AM
---------------------------------------------------------------------
FSN Cable/Satellite Day Games = Prime time archive viewing
---------------------------------------------------------------------
4/11 OAK 12:35 PM
4/13 NYY 10:05 AM
4/14 NYY 10:05 AM
4/17 TOR 10:07 AM
4/18 TOR 10:07 AM
4/25 NYY 12:35 PM
5/1 DET 10:05 AM
5/2 DET 10:05 AM
5/22 STL 11:15 AM
5/31 KC 11:10 AM
6/3 KC 11:10 AM
6/6 SEA 1:10 PM
6/10 OAK 12:35 PM
6/18 CHC 11:20 AM
6/19 CHC 10:05 AM
6/27 COL 12:35 PM
7/8 CWS 11:05 AM
7/21 NYY 10:05 AM
7/28 BOS 12:35 PM
8/11 KC 12:35 PM
8/25 TB 12:35 PM
9/26 CWS 12:35 PM
9/29 OAK (TBD)
10/3 TEX 12:05 PM
---------------------------------------------------------------------
FOX Channel 11 (6 games)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
4/24 NYY
5/29 SEA
6/5 SEA
8/21 MIN
9/4 OAK
9/11 SEA
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ESPN3 (2 games free online viewing)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
5/3 BOS
7/4 KC
---------------------------------------------------------------------
KCOP Channel 13 (26 games)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
4/2 Fri LAD 7:00 PM
4/7 Wed MIN 7:00 PM
4/11 Sun OAK 12:30 PM
4/18 Sun TOR 10:00 AM
4/25 Sun NYY 12:30 PM
5/9 Sun SEA 1:00 PM
5/16 Sun OAK 12:30 PM
5/23 Sun STL 11:00 AM
5/30 Sun SEA 12:30 PM
6/11 Fri LAD 7:00 PM
6/12 Sat LAD 7:00 PM
6/13 Sun LAD 1:00 PM
6/23 Wed LAD 7:00 PM
6/24 Thu LAD 7:00 PM
7/3 Sat KC 6:00 PM
7/11 Sun OAK 1:00 PM
7/18 Sun SEA 12:30 PM
7/25 Sun TEX 5:00 PM
8/1 Sun TEX 12:30 PM
8/8 Sun DET 10:00 AM
8/15 Sun TOR 12:30 PM
8/29 Sun BAL 12:30 PM
9/5 Sun OAK 1:00 PM
9/12 Sun SEA 12:30 PM
9/18 Sat TB 4:00 PM
9/25 Sat CWS 6:00 PM

It's Official: GA in LA in 2010

IT'S OFFICIAL, GARRET ANDERSON WILL PLAY the 2010 season as an LA Dodger, having secured his spot as the team's lefthanded pinch hitter and backup for Manny Ramirez. Most people won't find this to be much news, but as most baseball fans have a favorite player, GA is that guy to me. And although he's definitely in the twilight of his career, I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to watch him play for another year. Beyond that, who knows. See, it's not so much about whether he'll do well this year, but rather you never want to see your favorite player retire. So, here are a couple of screenshots of him in MLB2K10, which not only a videogame, but an awesome photo-generating baseball application.

Joe Mauer Dips into Mr. Pohlad's Wallet

WOW, THAT'S A HUGE CONTRACT the Twins just gave Joe Mauer. $182 million for only eight years! But you know what's even more amazing? That the Pohlad empire has finally loosened the purse strings after so many years of creative bookkeeping and supposed negative cash flow. All money talk aside, this easily trumps the bad news about the other Joe (Nathan) in the Twin Cities.

Albert Pujols Painting Finished

THE FINISHED VERSION of Albert Pujols after adding the dots. This is the first in a series of ballplayer portraits I'll be doing. This one took roughly half a year to complete in working around my normal work schedule. Will be working on a Jackie Robinson portrait next.

David Wright's Matching Helmet & Bat

ALL SIGNS POINT TO A SERIOUS POWER FAILURE OVERHAUL when the team's best player opts for an extra-padded, extra-large batting helmet and the outfield wall is chopped down in half. It's hard to say whether New York Mets' third baseman David Wright's power numbers were hurt due to shattered confidence after getting beaned or the 16 foot high wall in center field at Citi Field. So rather than guess, Wright and the Mets took measures to overcome both possible hindrances. Personally, I think his power drop had more to do with the team finishing 23 games behind the Phillies than anything else.

Tim Lincecum's Bullet-Proof Arbitration Vest

IT MIGHT BE ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED EVENTS this offseason, Tim Lincecum's arbitration case, that is. $8 million or $13 million? It probably would be more exciting if the Lincecum party asked for, say oh, $18 million. I mean, not since Roger Clemens have we had a 2-time, back-to-back Cy Young Award winner go to arbitration. It's silly to even think about reasons why Lincecum should not deserve to win, and that's exactly what the Giants have to do. The back-to-back Cy Young Awards are like a bullet-proof vest that ought to deflect any criticism. The Giants are in a tough spot. They don't necessarily want to give Lincecum a deal yet like the one Justin Verlander got if they can go cheaper by going the arbitration route. But I can't imagine either party wanting to go to arbitration for the next two years as well. Lincecum will get his $13 million, but the Giants should really begin considering a long-term package for their franchise of a player.

McGwire's Steroid Admission & the Heavier Load

THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK and anger towards Mark McGwire since his admission to using steroids during the bulk of his career, and much of that anger is justified. There's nothing like rooting so hard for a guy only to find out that he was a fraud. Baseball fans have been left with feelings of anger, sadness, disappointment, betrayal and other negative feelings juxtaposed against these incredible memories of greatness from 1998. It's impossible to reconcile the two types of feelings. One thing is sure, McGwire's admission only puts additional pressure on guys like Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens to come forward and admit their wrongdoing.

2010 BP Caps

MLB recently announced their new authentic batting practice caps for 2010. These are slightly different from the previous years cap that featured the small side panel arch. I thought I'd post some of the interesting ones here for discussion:

The Rangers cap is probably the cap that takes full advantage of the new style, the white piping and the red side panels on the bill.

 

The Rays cap made me hesitate. MLB teams have routinely shied away from pastel colors as being less-aggressive, so this one definitely stands out. I'm not as fond of it, but it's a bold move, and at least it'll keep heads a tad cooler in that Florida summer sun.

The Tigers road cap is my personal favorite. The orange against navy has always worked so well for Detroit, and this is just another example of that. An orange bill with navy side panels would have been primo.

The Braves cap is also a nice cap, but doesn't fully commit to fully extending the white piping down the bill. Still, it's a nice classic look.

As classic as this Indians cap looks, it doesn't at all utilize the style of the cap, so the piping appears awkward. A missed opportunity.

 

The A's cap is not all that different from the Tigers road cap, but my pet-peeve with it is the logo. The double outline on the logo is a no-no in my opinion. All it does is make the logo look fuzzy. Terrible.

Andre Dawson, Hall of Famer '10

Farewell #51

Vintage LIFE Baseball Photos: Donn Clendenon

RECENTLY I CAME ACROSS some vintage LIFE baseball photos on Google Images, including this outstanding image of former New York Mets Donn Clendenon. Having been born after the '69 Mets made history, looking at a photo like this is the closest I'll ever get to experiencing baseball before my day--the wool, the felt letters, the high sleeves, the tiny wristband, the thin cap. But it's quite obvious that the photo needed a bit of optimizing in order to make viewers feel as if they're standing right there next to Mr. Clendenon. So I decided to optimize the photo using three adjustment steps in Photoshop that I typically use with vintage photos in order to get more accurate colors. These steps aren't necessarily all that I would use to optimize a photo professionally, but they help give me a quick look at a photo's restoration potential. This is not a tutorial, but rather a quick step thru of the process leading to the final result.

STEP 1: Adjusting light levels

STEP 2: Adjusting Color Balance

STEP 3: Adjusting Saturation

After

Before

(NOTE: It is not my intent to use these photos without permission, but rather through what I consider to be "fair use", I'm posting these photos for those who share an appreciation of vintage baseball photography. For this reason, I have posted smaller, low-resolution photos than the originals.)