FS1, MLB Network announcers won't get to experience Sahlen Field

I wouldn’t expect too much love directed at Sahlen Field when the Toronto Blue Jays play the Tampa Bay Rays here in a national game carried by Fox Sports 1 at 6:37 p.m. Friday.

That’s because a publicist for FS1 confirmed that Friday's telecast – the only national one so far on the Jays “home” schedule in Buffalo – will be done from Florida by the Fox Sports Florida feed, which includes announcers Dewayne Staats, Brian Anderson and Tricia Whitaker.

You would think it would be hard for announcers to praise how good the stadium and the city looks if you aren’t in the facility.

But perhaps the camera crew can get some good overhead shots of downtown Buffalo.

Announcers of road teams in professional sports are calling away games from home because of safety precautions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

That’s why Buffalo Bills radio voice John Murphy is most likely going to call Bills away games this season from the stadium in Orchard Park while watching them on television.

Staats has been the Rays television play-by-play commentator since they started play in 1998.

Anderson was a major league pitcher for 13 seasons before going into broadcasting.

He is not to be confused with the Brian Anderson who has been the lead baseball play-by-play man for TNT’s Major League Baseball package, has worked NBA games and golf for TNT, has worked some Buffalo Bills games and March Madness games for CBS and is the TV voice of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Whitaker is a sideline reporter for Fox Sports who covers the Rays. It is hard to see why a sideline reporter is needed when she is in Florida, but perhaps Whitaker will get some time to give some interesting stories about how the Jays had to play in Buffalo.

As Buffalo News reporter Mike Harrington confirmed Monday, the Jays home opener against Miami at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (tonight) was a late addition to the MLB Network schedule and will be seen on Spectrum, DirecTV, Dish and YouTube TV’s MLB Alt Channel. You should check your viewing package. For instance, MLB is on the Spectrum TV Silver Package, not the basic or Select package.

The Jays-Marlins game tonight won’t be carried nationally, with viewers in some areas getting the Kansas City-Cincinnati game being played at the same time.

Once again, the announcers won’t be here. The Sportsnet announcers will be doing the game remotely from Toronto.

WGRZ-TV (Channel 2) weekend sports anchor Ashley Holder has had a strong start.

But when Holder starts working from the Channel 2 studio instead of home viewers will get a better indication of what she views as more important to highlight and how she handles happy talk with news anchor Claudine Ewing or any other co-anchor.

Channel 2 Sports Director Adam Benigni might consider telling Holder that Western New York is hockey and golf country.

In her first two weekends on the job, she has spent more of her limited sports time talking about the NBA than the NHL. I am fine with that since I am an NBA fan. Give me highlights of Dallas star Luka Doncic any night.

Holder also gets a free pass because she is working from her new residence while under quarantine and presumably doesn’t have the technical equipment needed to show many highlights of any sports.

That’s likely why before the late Sunday sportscast began, Ewing noted Collin Morikawa’s surprising win in the PGA Championship before introducing Holder’s sports report.

Her report didn’t include any highlights of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ elimination by Columbus in the NHL playoffs, which is something many Leafs-hating Buffalo fans surely would have enjoyed.

Even with Holder’s hiring, Channel 2 still has a sports department opening after Heather Prusak went to WIVB-TV (Channel 4) and Stu Boyar retired. I don’t blame the station for moving slowly to hire a third sports person because high school and college sports might be delayed for months and the Buffalo Sabres might not play until 2021.

I love how TNT play-by-play man Kevin Harlan can be so enthusiastic calling NBA games even without any fans in the stands. The excitement level of many announcers working games without fans in the stands is admirable.

ESPN NBA analyst Doris Burke received more Twitter love after a recent game when she accurately predicted what would happen after a replay was shown of the shot to the groin that Memphis’ Ja Morant took from the knee of New Orleans’ Lonzo Ball. Burke told play-by-play announcer Mark Jones after being right: “I do like being right. Ask my ex-husband.”

Exes everywhere had to smile – or cringe.

email: apergament@buffnews.com