In many ways, Alex Rodriguez and ESPN are the perfect match. In their industries, they rose to prominence, becoming the biggest, baddest and richest by using a multi-pronged, hard-working approach to fuel them.
ESPN outmuscled its competitors with the dual television revenue streams of advertising and unmatched cable fees, and A-Rod had other-worldly baseball talent and cheated with performance-enhancing drugs.
Though it should be noted ESPN’s rise to the top was totally above board, its perch resulted in the same as A-Rod’s.
They are almost always a spectacle. It’s about them.
So here comes A-Rod and the ESPN’s top baseball crew for “Sunday Night Baseball,” sitting in the Judge’s Chambers to call the Aaron Judge-less Yankees vs. Red Sox matchup.
Everyone in the stadium and watching on TV will most definitely know A-Rod and ESPN are doing the game. This has long been the issue with ESPN game broadcasts at their worst — you really know they are doing the game.
Last year, it reached its apex on “Monday Night Football” with the now deceased BoogerMobile.
In these circumstances, ESPN always feels like it is overcompensating for something. It can do it right when it has someone like Jeff Van Gundy leading a strong, gimmick-less booth with Mike Breen and Mark Jackson on the NBA.
On Sunday, putting A-Rod in game seats with his broadcast partners, Matt Vasgersian and Jessica Mendoza, isn’t BoogerMobile bad, but it is unneeded and makes the job of its crew more difficult.
“It is a different perspective for our announcers, a different perspective for fans at home. There are a lot of baseball games, whether it is on our air, whether it is on Fox, whether it is on any of the RSNs [regional sports networks], so let’s try something different a few times a year, put them in the seats,” ESPN senior vice president of production Mark Gross told The Post. “They enjoy being there. Big picture, it is a nice thing to see that we don’t put our on-air talent in the booth every week. They are close to our talent. They can see our talent. In some cases, they can touch and feel our talent.”
ESPN buys the seats around the makeshift booth, according to sources, so fans may not be able to get too close to A-Rod.
In its fifth year, ESPN has sold advertising for “Sunday from the Seats” as a three-set series (first Houston, now The Bronx and finally Fenway) for the calls from the stands. Even without Judge, Gross said the decision is editorial, not advertising.
As for the team of Vasgersian, Rodriguez, Mendoza and dugout reporter Buster Olney, it is inconsistent. There was improvement last week in St. Louis, as, novel idea, the broadcast mostly focused on the game. For most of the season, though, the telecast has been overly produced.
On play-by-play, though Vasgersian seems up to the SNB task, he does talk more than is ideal. At times, Vasgersian sounds like a point guard who brings up a subject, looks to his right and sees A-Rod and Mendoza not really wanting the ball so Vasgersian takes it himself. Is it him being a ball hog or just realizing he is the best option?
As analysts, Rodriguez and Mendoza have interesting back stories. A-Rod is, well, A-Rod, and Mendoza is an Olympic softball gold medalist and has thrown a 95 mph fastball through a glass ceiling with her broadcasting ascension.
Neither A-Rod nor Mendoza has yet displayed they are worthy No. 1 analysts.
If A-Rod ever graduates to the next level, he is going to have to trust himself to say what he sees. He really is a baseball savant, but, if it is in him, he needs to let loose. Not everything he says needs to go through an A-Rod Corp. focus group.
Gross said he believes A-Rod is fantastic and points out Rodriguez has only done around 35 games and keeps improving. Colleagues admire A-Rod’s work ethic.
In the middle of this month, ESPN is giving A-Rod a different look, as he will call a Giants-Dodgers game with Jon Sciambi — who was beaten out late for the Sunday night job by Vasgersian. ESPN played it down, but it is interesting.
Meanwhile, as a woman in the booth, Mendoza could be a combo of Tony Romo and peak Tim McCarver, and some viewers would still object.
But she really shouldn’t annoy anyone, because she barely ever talks. Less is more, but there is a need for more.
“I would say she talks when she has something to say,” Gross said.
Mendoza, like A-Rod with the Yankees, is a senior advisor with the Mets and may have designs on a bigger role in baseball, like running a team.
Olney’s mic is kept open throughout the broadcast and essentially is a full-time fourth voice. Though he is being usurped by Jeff Passan as ESPN’s lead news-breaking insider, Olney often brings more relevant information to the broadcast than the main analysts, and, though he is known as a one-man show in his reporting, he tries to assist Vasgersian in leading A-Rod and Mendoza to go deeper.
A-Rod and ESPN are a spectacle — and sometimes it is not their fault. SNB has two strikes against it before a pitch is even thrown.
While ESPN wants to make it special, the exact same matchup is played on Friday and Saturday. Baseball is regional, and fans usually have a special bond with their local broadcasters, as well.
So here comes A-Rod and ESPN into Yankee Stadium on Sunday. Don’t mind them, they won’t be a spectacle or anything. They’ll be nice and discreet, tucked in the right field porch, in the Judge’s Chambers. They are just there to do a game.
