TV Decision: Give Mets fans something other than baseball--NY Daily News, Raissman

"The decision makers believe the audience is tuning in for something other than the game. Many baseball telecasts have become a blending of a gratuitous use of technology, commercial promotion and a desire to make the announcers bigger than the game.

• This was on display Wednesday night during SportsNet New York's Pirates-Mets telecast. Throughout the season, SNY has escalated its use of a camera in the broadcast booth. The SNY crew must believe viewers cannot live without actually seeing the mugs of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling (he had Wednesday off)."

(Has ESPN and Fox mentality taken over SNY?) sm

• "This happened Wednesday night. Cohen and Hernandez were into a very Pavlovian kind of thing. When the camera was on them their reaction was to talk about themselves. They sounded like two frustrated comedians trying to out-shtick each other.

Hernandez, on camera of course, basically said this in the third inning. "We'll get back to the ballgame, but it's 6-0," he said. Hernandez was more concerned about presenting his views on the 1980 movie "Caddyshack." Hernandez, displaying his cinematic knowledge while simultaneously putting viewers to sleep, even got into a riff about his favorite lines from the movie.

• This is what happens when voices start believing people have tuned in to see them. Cohen and Hernandez should keep their eyes - and thoughts - on the field."

Items from NY DailyNews column by Bob Raissman, "Mets Voices Off Base & On Babble," 7/27/07

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