the shrewdness of apes

some thoughts in my first season of having the MLB Extra Innings package since 2002:

worst visual quality: the Royals' RSTN network which appears to have borrowed its cameras from some gauzy 70s porn shoot. during one game last week, the centerfield camera even appeared to be situated directly above said porn shoot as it was constantly shaking, rendering the game even more unwatchable than usual.

channeling-Harry-Caray moment: Vin Scully spending half an inning wondering about the provenance of Dodgers reliever DJ Houlton's initials. Houlton's given name is Dennis Sean, so it is a bit odd and meantime Vin got to tell us about how everyone used to call Ken Landreaux "KT" even though his name was actually Kenneth Antoine. but then i see that Landreaux's middle name is really Francis, so now i'm totally confused. anyway, maybe Houlton was just a big Michael Fishman fan (who knew he was born in Cuba?).

team still getting the shaft: the Nationals, who have been woefully underrepresented on the XI package thus far thanks to the continued evil machinations of Bud Selig and his cabal where the franchise is concerned.

worst announcers: the White Sox, who subject viewers to the all too frequent exhortations of Ken Harrelson, et. al. who say things like "c'mon Buehrle, stay on top of this guy" and "you got him 0 and 2, don't let him off the hook now" as if they were just some guys in their own rec room, working on a second six pack.

lamest blackouts: despite the fact that many Mets games are not currently available to Time Warner Cable customers (if you don't know why, you're probably better off), they are still blacked out on the package. blackouts are lame in the NFL, and they're lame here. the point of paying extra for this package is to see games i couldn't otherwise see, and the Mets should be no exception.