[Cambridge]

The sequel to "Baseball" airs on PBS tomorrow and Wednesday nights. There is a good bit of 2004 in the film, along with plenty of other must-see stuff. Burns talked about the film in an interview with Baseball Prospectus:

http://www.baseballp...articleid=12088

[Cambridge]

So, is anyone else planning to watch?

[coloradojack]

definitely looking forward to it.

[BigSlick]

Cambridge, on 28 September 2010 - 11:33 AM, said:

So, is anyone else planning to watch?

Of course

[VoteRiceIn]

My DVR is set, can't wait!!

I passed up tix to the premiere last week at Cooledge Corner because I also had tix to the Sox game. Ever since I've had a secret fear of dying before having a chance to see this.

I know we've all seen everything there is to be seen surrounding 2004 but w/ Ken Burn's fingerprints on this I fully expect the air to be a little bit dusty around here.

[BigSlick]

The late 90's Yankees stuff is making me sick, but so far it's very well done.

[yazgoesbacklooksupitsgone]

I thought using Bonds as the overarching thread for the era was very good. Some of it was pretty poignant. I had heard that Bonds decided to take roids in response to feeling ignored amid the McGwire/Sosa mania, but the way they spliced the footage of Mcgwire and Sosa in front of adoring crowds and a sulking bonds alone really drove the point home.
I've also begun reassessing my opinion on Sosa after they showed the abject poverty he came from in the DR.

[BigSlick]

It was the first time I re-watched highlights of game 7 of 2003. It's even more mind numbing now than it was then. Those weren't bloops Pedro was giving up.

[coloradojack]

BigSlick, on 30 September 2010 - 04:31 PM, said:

It was the first time I re-watched highlights of game 7 of 2003. It's even more mind numbing now than it was then. Those weren't bloops Pedro was giving up.

just a warm up for tyree's catch in the super bowl. asshole.

[Sox Sweep Again]

As with other Ken Burns (I've watched "The War" two times through the whole thing) I'll eventually watch this all the way through the whole thing.

[Cambridge]

BigSlick, on 30 September 2010 - 04:31 PM, said:

Those weren't bloops Pedro was giving up.

Not all of them, no, but Jeter's fly ball was catchable and Posada's hit was the personification of "bloop."

I was surprised to not see ARod slapping the ball out of Arroyo's glove in the 2004 footage.

[JMDurron]

I caught the 2nd hour of the Top of the 10th, and hope to catch the rest on replays. Can't justify the $20/month for a DVR. :(

[Mike LansWho]

Just finished the second part last night. First off, Keith David should have narrated everything that Morgan Freeman has done in the past. He probably could have played a few of Freeman's roles better as well. A couple of the biggest Oscar snubs of all time were for David's supporting roles in 'Men at Work' and 'They Live'.

I think overall it was a good documentary. It was accurate and honest, at least from my memory of the events and their significance in sports/pop culture. Some of the people brought in to commentate were lame. Keith Olbermann?? He was one of the first people to speak at the very beginning and I remember thinking that it doesn't bode well for the rest of the documentary. Mike Barnicle made me want to press the mute button a couple times. Thomas Boswell, ugh.

The quick segment on Pedro was brilliant. The overarching story of Barry Bonds was very well done. I couldn't help but feel like a fool watching the part about the 1998 season, which was probably the desired effect. The coverage of the 2003 and 2004 ALCS's was perfect. The A-Rod no-deal and eventual deal to the Yankees was only kind of touched upon, as was the on-the-field tention between the two teams (only the Vartiek/A-Rod scuffle was shown). Regardless, it really did capture the feeling of those two seasons.

Like I said, overall it was a good show. I think having Pedro commentate made up for some of the other dolts that Burns had on. At least Shaughnessy was nowhere to be found. Can't wait for 'The Eleventh Inning'.

[BigSlick]

Cambridge, on 01 October 2010 - 07:07 AM, said:

Posada's hit was the personification of "bloop."

True, but by then it was too late... I meant the hits leading up to Posada's

Quote

I was surprised to not see ARod slapping the ball out of Arroyo's glove in the 2004 footage.

Me too. I was disappointed in that.

I was also taken aback by the different camera angles of the Varitek/ARod brawl. It made Ortiz look like a much scarier individual.

This post has been edited by BigSlick: 01 October 2010 - 09:53 AM

[yazgoesbacklooksupitsgone]

Cambridge, on 01 October 2010 - 07:07 AM, said:

I was surprised to not see ARod slapping the ball out of Arroyo's glove in the 2004 footage.

yeah, especially when the whole theme for the 10th inning was 'cheating'

Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall them mentioning the Nomar trade on '04. I realize it was not a 2-hr documentary on the '04 Red Sox and shit has to hit the cutting room floor, but just two minutes earlier they mentioned 'the talented shortstop Nomar Garciaparra' during the '03 heartbreak.

[Mike LansWho]

yazgoesbacklooksupitsgone, on 01 October 2010 - 10:43 AM, said:

yeah, especially when the whole theme for the 10th inning was 'cheating'

Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall them mentioning the Nomar trade on '04. I realize it was not a 2-hr documentary on the '04 Red Sox and shit has to hit the cutting room floor, but just two minutes earlier they mentioned 'the talented shortstop Nomar Garciaparra' during the '03 heartbreak.

Yeah, there was no mention of the '04 trades. They quickly show the A-Rod/Varitek scuffle and a quick montage of the colorful characters of that season (ie, the idiots). Then it goes quickly into the ALCS. You're right, though. I thought they were setting up the story of the trade by mentioning Nomar specifically during the 2003 piece.

[rominer]

coloradojack, on 30 September 2010 - 08:09 PM, said:

just a warm up for tyree's catch in the super bowl. asshole.

I don't remember that. Are you sure you have your facts straight?

JMDurron, on 01 October 2010 - 07:14 AM, said:

I caught the 2nd hour of the Top of the 10th, and hope to catch the rest on replays. Can't justify the $20/month for a DVR. :(

$20? What the @#*$@#$ ???

Mike LansWho, on 01 October 2010 - 09:00 AM, said:

Some of the people brought in to commentate were lame.... I think having Pedro commentate made up for some of the other dolts that Burns had on.

Is it too soon to ask if there's a difference between commenting and commentating?

[Clyde Engle]

Mike LansWho, on 01 October 2010 - 11:08 AM, said:

Yeah, there was no mention of the '04 trades. They quickly show the A-Rod/Varitek scuffle and a quick montage of the colorful characters of that season (ie, the idiots). Then it goes quickly into the ALCS. You're right, though. I thought they were setting up the story of the trade by mentioning Nomar specifically during the 2003 piece.

That was a hole in the narrative, for sure. I guess I also wanted to see some of the drama of the later innings of Game Five of the ALCS, Varitek barely hanging onto Wakefield's third strike pitch to Sierra, with Matsui at third ready to come home on a passed ball. That inning was as much a miracle as anything I've witnessed.

I noticed that at the moment of victory, Burns showed aerial shots of Burlington, VT, Providence, etc. -- effectively stealing my take (oh, have you seen my book?) on the effect across New England that night:

Champagne on ice for eighty-six long years
Uncorked at last. In Lexington and Lynn,
In Fitchburg, Framingham, and Falmouth too
The faithful sighed and shouted, sprang and skipped
Like startled springboks leaping on the veldt
From Caribou to Hartford it was heard
From Burlington to Provincetown it rang
Across the ancient mountains White and Green,
The grand Connecticut’s long corridor,
And through the dusky woods of Maine. It roiled
The waters of Long Island Sound, Cape Cod,
Winnipesaukee, Memphremagog, and
The lazy River Charles- it echoed clear:
The long-suppressed anthem of victory.
Throughout the land, the Nation’s faithful trod
The unfamiliar ground around the throne
And drank, for once, the nectar of delight.

Personally, I actually liked the bits about the Yankees, at least the 1996 story. It's hard not to have a soft spot for Torre, the way they built it up.

Got a little tired of Joe Buck's voice on the highlights -- at one point they used John Sterling's voice instead and it made a nice contrast.

I could have used more Pedro and a little less Mike Barnicle.

And - wow - I do not think Roger Clemens is the greatest pitcher of all time. Grove, Johnson, arguably Pedro. Come on now.

[Mike LansWho]

rominer, on 01 October 2010 - 11:48 AM, said:

Is it too soon to ask if there's a difference between commenting and commentating?

Asshole, yes. I always thought a commentator implies having some sort of qualification of expertise on something (like Pedro having baseball/pitching expertise) while anybody could be a commenter without qualification (like me commenting on grammar). It follows that a commentator would commentate while a commenter makes comments. Pedro commentates while Keith Olbermann is an asshat.

[rominer]

Mike LansWho, on 01 October 2010 - 12:35 PM, said:

Asshole, yes. I always thought a commentator implies having some sort of qualification of expertise on something (like Pedro having baseball/pitching expertise) while anybody could be a commenter without qualification (like me commenting on grammar). It follows that a commentator would commentate while a commenter makes comments. Pedro commentates while Keith Olbermann is an asshat.

No commentate.