David Laurila: You were here for two years. Who are some of players that stood out -- not on the field, but in the clubhouse?
Tina Cervasio: Across the board, it’s a classy group of professionals. There are guys like Mike Lowell, and how could you not say what a great person he is? I think he’s had the biggest impact on that clubhouse. I think Mike Lowell really had a voice, and chemistry means so much. There are intangibles that get you through a 162-game season and the whole month of October. It was his demeanor, his leadership, and his impact on the young guys with advice; it was his being a liaison between the Spanish-speaking players and English-speaking players. A lot of the relationships and chemistry go back to him. Someone like Jason Varitek is a quiet leader, because he leads by example, but there’s a real personality there with Mike Lowell.
DL: How does a player like Lowell impact you as a reporter?
TC: He’s a great sound bite! He’s so intelligent, and he’s very thoughtful about his answers. There are games where maybe he has to run to pick up his son, maybe to drive him to a birthday party, so he’ll say “Look, I can answer two or three questions, but then I have to drive my kid somewhere.” But he wouldn’t then rush through the questions, saying anything just to get it over with so he could get out of there. He would give thoughtful answers. And he never backs down from anything. He’s just very smart about the game, and the impact this team has on the history of baseball and to the city of Boston.
DL: Who else stood out?
TC: Kevin Youkilis is also a great sound bite. He’s knowledgeable about the game, and he’s so passionate and gritty. He’s a hard worker, because it means so much to him. Some games you get answers out of him like, “this at-bat, and this pitch, and he threw me this on this count, and I should have done this.” He’s so hard on himself, but that’s why he’s a Gold Glover and why he was so good last year. So it’s just a great clubhouse. Then you get the characters like Julio Lugo, with his crazy, “Oh, it was bananas” – that was his famous quote all year. He was a personality, and I think he brought a lot out of Manny. He and Julian Tavares, because they’re chatty guys, they were like “I don’t care. Put the microphone in front of me.” I think that might have influenced Manny to where he was thinking, “These media guys aren’t so bad.”
DL: Why do you think Manny doesn’t talk much?
TC: We’ll never know, but he’s talking already this year, which I think is fantastic. I think that maybe he felt he was misunderstood in years past? He admitted in his first day of spring training that maybe he was a bit immature, and now there’s more maturity and he realizes he really loves it here and wants to retire as a member of the Red Sox. He is complex, but I also feel that he’s a lot smarter than we all think he is. I think he’s just as calculating as certain members of the media are. So maybe he’s a little misunderstood, but he is a pretty private guy, and he’s a very nice, polite man.
DL: How about you; were you misunderstood in your role as a sideline reporter at NESN?
TC: Maybe. Everything is subjective. Some people love field reporters, and others hate them. I saw a job opening, applied for it, and then tried to do the best job I could. Some people think “Mr. X” is the greatest announcer in the world, and another amount of people thinks that he’s not. It’s just subjective.
DL: What goes into the job?
TC: A lot more than some people realize. They’d see me sometimes twice a game, or sometimes eight times a game, and some people with the MLB.com baseball package didn’t even see the pre- or post-game show, which that was the meat of my job. That’s why I wish people would have called me a reporter, rather than a field reporter, because I did a lot more than just the field stuff. There were many 10-12 hour days, and that was just at the ballpark. That doesn’t include waking up early, reading all the clips, calling people, setting up interviews, rewriting stuff. That all went on before I got to the ballpark. A lot of the job is relationships, and it took me a good a year to build those relationships, both within the Red Sox organization and across major league baseball. Baseball is a long, slow season and they are very unique athletes. I was used to football players, because I did sideline stuff for football for many years. They were show men, and they were in there a couple times a week for practice, and they had their one day to shine and talk and give their quotes. Baseball is every day for six months -- nine if you’re including spring training and the postseason. The players had to learn to trust you.
DL: Can you say a little more about how baseball and football players differ?
TC: Football players are -- maybe not more intense, but they’re more fiery. I could go to a Patriots game and afterwards get 10 guys for post-game sound. The Red Sox could win four straight, and that fourth game sometimes I’d only get two guys, just because it’s every day. They’re saving their energy, or some games there just isn’t that much to talk about, and they know it. It’s just a different game, with a different mindset.
DL: What goes into the in-game segments?
TC: Usually that’s all done pre-game. That’s another way the two games differ. With football, you’re reporting while the game is going on, gathering information on injuries, what’s happening on the field, things you see the like communication between the coaches on the sidelines and the players. With baseball, I’m far away from all of that. When I’m in canvas alley or the photo pit, I can’t even see the dugout half the time. So a lot of it is collected before the game, whether it’s sound bites from players on the pitcher they’re facing, or the game they had the night before or what they’re doing to change their at-bats. And you do a lot with coaches, covering things like the strategies of each game. Then for nine innings I’d have my fingers crossed, hoping that something comes up where it will apply. Once that play happens, I’ll pitch it to the producer, and sometimes they can come right to me. But if there are two on and two out, they’re not coming to me. That kind of stinks, because the situation not being a good time to cut to me means that it might be two innings later, and it seems out of place. I’ll have to refer back to, “Earlier, in the third inning, this is what happened, and this is what pitching coach John Farrell said.” So it’s kind of challenging, because some games are as smooth as smooth can be, while in others you have to just try to get stuff in as best you can, because the next day it’s dead. It’s old news. Some games you’d only see me two times, but I was pitching 12 to 15 stories. You just didn’t get those, because the game situations weren’t conducive to cutting to me. If they did, you might end up with me being on the air while someone was delivering a key hit. Instead, I’m sitting there with notes for 15 stories that never get used. That could be frustrating.
DL: I assume you don’t know that you’ll be on the air until a couple of seconds before they cut to you?
TC: Exactly. It’s, “Don, send it to Tina,” and I’d stand up and be ready to go. You’re hearing the announcers and producers in your ear the whole game, and you have to be ready. Sometimes the director or one of our stats guys will chime in and say something like, “Hey, if you’re doing that story about the lefty, here are some percentages on teams stealing against him.” Or something will be happening during the game and I’ll call the associate producer to ask for some updated stats, because you can only do so much math sitting in a photo pit.
DL: When they cut to you for one of the segments, do you have a clock in your head that tells you how long you have to deliver the report?
TC: I’m kind of watching the game from the corner of my eye, making sure there isn’t any contact, or there isn’t a pickoff move. But you do get thrown off, because sometimes I was able to edit the sound bites and sometimes I wasn’t. I wouldn’t know if the sound bite was going to be 10 seconds of 15 seconds. They would normally come back to me after the sound bite, to wrap up the story, but if a play happened that would get dumped. The producer would tell me, “Tag is dead,” and they’d go right back to game action.
DL: What were some of the most interesting spots you did last year?
TC: The ones on Matsuzaka and Okajima were always interesting. I talked a lot to John Farrell about Matsuzaka. Gary Tuck taught me a lot about Okajima, like little things in his delivery they would tweak, that they would work on in the bullpen. Maybe that would happen on a Tuesday, and I’d learn about it pre-game on Wednesday. Then I’d hope that he would come in so I could deliver that report.
DL: What was it like working for NESN?
TC: It was great. NESN is like a national network. It’s amazing, the fan mail I would get from people in South Dakota and Nevada and Arizona. The best part was going into opposing cities and seeing the place filled with Red Sox fans. They were there to see their team, and they knew NESN, because it has a huge impact on the sports industry. And Don and Jerry stand alone as baseball announcers. It was such a privilege just to work with them -- Jerry’s knowledge alone. Both of them being New Englanders helped me grasp the concept of what the Red Sox fan wants. They’re characters too, including off the air. And Russ Kenn and Mike Narracci are probably the best producer and director, respectively, in baseball. I watch national games, and there is stuff Russ and Mike do that you don’t necessarily see in national games. That’s what makes them stand out, and they’ve been doing it for such a long time. They’re dedicated, and it’s their life. From January 1 to December 31, it’s all about Red Sox baseball for them, and I think it shows on the product they put on the air.
DL: Why are you leaving NESN?
TC: My contract was up, and they did offer me an extension, but there were some family situations calling for my husband not being able to move up here full time. For two years I’ve lived in an apartment here, by myself. People think the job is opening day through Game 4 of the World Series, but it’s year round for me, and it’s been very difficult living away from my husband. I like my spouse! That situation came up in January, so I debated whether I should sign an extension, and…I want to do my job at 120 percent. Because of the demand needed to put on a quality Red Sox broadcast, I didn’t know if I could do that given the situation. And the travel beats you up, too. It really does. There were a lot of times last year when I would work sick, with migraines, and I’d get email from people telling me how awful I looked. It was very difficult physically. That and the family situation made it hard. But it was two fantastic years. It was invaluable what I learned and experienced, not to mention the baseball history I saw with my own eyes. The conversations I had with players about the game, and life -- everything from real estate to wine -- were truly memorable.
DL: Who did you talk to about wine?
TC: I’m sure they won’t mind me saying; it was Tim Wakefield and Doug Mirabelli.
DL: Wakefield and Mirabelli are wine connoisseurs?
TC: Tim is the connoisseur; he knows his stuff. I’m not sure if Doug is learning from Tim, or if he just likes wine. But we had some good conversations. It’s fun to talk about stuff that doesn’t go on between the lines, and get to know their personalities. The guys are so much more relaxed when you don’t talk about baseball.
DL: What were some of the other non-baseball conversations you had with players?
TC: David Ortiz was always wondering why I don’t have kids yet, and I’d tell him, “Because I’m flying all over the country with you guys.” He’d always talk about his kids, like funny stuff his son would say to him. His son would be running around in the dugout before a game, and he’d kind of hit me and say, “There’s a future major leaguer.” He was very proud of the way his son would swing the bat. So it was fun talking to David about his kids -- and he loves all kids. He would just beam talking about his own. He’d say how gorgeous his daughter was, and how he’d have to keep her away from the boys. Typical father stuff, but it’s our Big Papi -- it’s David Ortiz talking about his children.
DL: Any thoughts on the Boston media?
TC: Coming here, I had the Boston writers on a pedestal. I had seen them on ESPN, and other national shows, offering their analysis, and you hear so much about them. With the media here, it’s really about how the athletes are inundated across the board. That made me nervous. But on Day 1, I met the people I’ve looked up to my whole career and they were so helpful. The Globe guys, because they’re on our show -- Dan Shaughnessy, Nick Cafardo, Gordon Edes -- and Jackie MacMullen, to see her work and the process she goes through -- it blew me away. She sets a standard in columnists. And I worked with Amalie Benjamin almost every day in 2007. I got to know all of the writers, and it was an honor to work with a collection of people who I think are by far and away the best in the country. They cover what is probably the most-covered team in the country, the Boston Red Sox, and the intensity and passion they put into it made me raise my game and improve as a reporter. They’re impressive, and I’ll miss them the most.
DL: What comes next for Tina Cervasio?
TC: I'll have an official announcement by the end of March. There are still some decisions to be made, and meetings to be had, but regardless of where I end up I know I'll be working full-time in New York covering all sports, all of the NYC and New Jersey teams, college, pro, champions, and teams in disarray. I’ll be anchoring, hosting, reporting. I'm also going to be doing some national work. I already anchored the Lincoln Financial NBC Sports Update in early February. But what's most important to me is that, while I'll still be traveling, it won't require the amount of travel needed to cover a full baseball season. I'll be able to come home to my husband every night, and be close and available to my family when they need me.
