The Major League Baseball playoffs are now into the Championship Series in both the National League and the American League and that means the television coverage will be shifting from TBS and the MLB Network to TBS for the ALCS and FOX for the NLCS and that is welcome news for baseball fans.
TBS has done a good job of bringing the right people in for games and in the studio and I'd argue that Keith Olbermann, Tom Verducci and Pedro Martinez are doing as well as anyone for the playoffs, but the presentation and technical coverage by TBS has been awful. This happened last year as well and while it should get better in years to come, they have done some shoddy work and on top of that, something just feels off about TBS having coverage in the first place.
Yes, they cover Braves games and have done that for years, but just look at TNT and their NBA coverage. It's excellent and is always technically sharp and while they have had a head start on TBS, its been a few seasons now and they need to shape up.
Just for example about the coverage, check out this screenshot of TBS and their terrible mistake of misspelling "If Necessary" with "Ih Ngeguucty".
This is why it is welcome news for baseball fans that FOX will be back in action for the ALCS. Okay, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are not everyone's favorite broadcast announcers, but they are professionals and they do a very solid job whether you like their style or not. It will be Tim McCarver's last playoffs for FOX and while many find that exciting, it also means he should be on top of his game.
This isn't to knock everyone on TBS, but there is a more professional and serious feel to the FOX coverage and it will start up on Saturday with Game 1 as the Tigers visit Boston and Fenway Park. The schedule has another game in Boston on Sunday and then the series will shift to Detroit for Game 3, 4 and 5 before coming back to Fenway for the final two games if necessary on Saturday and Sunday.
