With the Time Warner Cable – Comcast merger now officially off the table, a timely resolution to the SportsNet LA – DirecTV conflict seems unlikely anytime soon. But while the powers that be at the highest corporate levels continue to battle one another with no apparent end in sight, there is an old saying that dates back to the mid-1800’s that comes into play. It’s a saying that affects the hundred-plus employees who work around the clock at Time Warner Cable’s SportsNet LA Regional Sports Network (RSN) to bring Dodger fans (at least those not affected by the aforementioned corporate wars) the absolute best 24/7/365 Dodgers coverage – “The show must go on.”

Live from El Segundo, California.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

These employees, who have mouths to feed and bills to pay just like the rest of us, are just as upset with the on-going battles as the rest of us are (probably more so), but the bottom line is that they have an obligation to put on the very best show possible in spite of what’s going on far above their respective pay grades or political influences.

On Wednesday evening, Nadia Gonzalez, the Communications Manager for TWC Sports Regional Networks, invited representatives from four popular Dodgers blog sites – True Blue LA, Lasorda’s Lair, Dodgers Nation and ThinkBlueLA – to the SportsNet LA studios in El Segundo, CA to get an up close and personal behind-the-scenes look at what actually goes on before, during and after every Dodgers game; and make no mistake about it, these professionals are exceptionally good at what they do and are extremely proud of their hard work.

Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciaparra and John Hartung go live to Alana Rizzo at AT&T Park.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

After meeting and spending nearly an hour watching former Dodger greats Orel Hershiser and Nomar Garciaparra and primary SportsNet LA studio anchor John Hartung prepare for and then do their live pre-game segment of Access SportsNet: Dodgers from behind the camera, Director of Studio Operations Peter Bothe spent some time sharing the intricacies of his multimillion dollar pride and joy with the assembled bloggers.

“Because SportsNet LA is all Dodgers all the time, we had a unique advantage in building this studio,” said Bothe. “Because Dodger Stadium is such an important historical building in the city, an important stadium within the context of all the stadiums in major league baseball, we wanted to have a studio inspired by Dodger Stadium.”

Bothe explained that attention to detail was paramount in the design, construction and technology of Studio C – the studio used for nearly all of what Dodger fans see on television.

“We’re never going to trick somebody when we’re showing them TV here into thinking that we’re at Dodger Stadium, but we wanted the studio design to be very very very exciting,” Bothe said. “We’ve duplicated the corrugated steel to resemble what you see on the exterior of the stadium at Dodger Stadium, the lattice work that you see [on top of the pavilions] and the crowning achievement being what used to be called Diamond Vision and now it’s Dodger Vision. Of all of the eye candy at the stadium that is the key and we duplicated it here and we’re really proud of it.”

Bothe added that like the major national sports channels, they use four state-of-the art cameras and have the absolute best camera operators and engineers in the industry.

“We use two robotic cameras that are actually controlled by somebody in another room,” Bothe said. “We have one guy counting people in (a countdown to air time), we have one guy who is on a camera that is on a tripod, and then we have a guy on the camera on the jib. The jib is a really really difficult skill to master and we’re very very lucky that we have successfully brought on-board some of the most talented and passionate people, and it’s really worked out well for us.”

The SportsNet LA studio as seen from behind the jib.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

As for the on-air personalities (or “talent” as it’s called in the biz), this was perhaps the biggest revelation for the bloggers. Although they all knew what Hershiser and Garciaparra did on the field for the Dodgers, it’s safe to say that none of them knew how well they and Hartung worked together as a team both on and off the air. They are, in a word, hilarious.

“You should see them when Jerry Hairston Jr. is around,” said Gonzalez. “They’re always picking on him and he gives it right back to them. It’s very funny and they’re fun to watch – especially off the air.”

The SportsNet LA Clubhouse was designed in the likeness of the actual clubhouse at Dodger Stadium.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Once Wednesday night’s pre-game segment of Access SportsNet: Dodgers was finished and the game was handed off to Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, Hershiser, Garciaparra and Hartung spent a couple of innings watching the game (and sharing some tacos) with their blogger guests. The trio also answered (and asked) several questions, which generated some intelligent and enjoyable interaction with the group – not to mention some laughs. Take for example the baseball term ‘batted around.’ While Vin Scully interprets this term to mean ten players coming to the plate, Hershiser interprets it as nine.

In addition to sharing a few funny stories – some of which cannot be repeated – Hershiser, Garciaparra (who still to this day believes that it is always best to swing at the first pitch) and Hartung also shared some insightful points of the game, such as the significance given to pitch counts in today’s game.

“Pitch counts have always been tracked but they were never a big deal until the media made them a big deal back in the late ’80s,” said Hershiser. “They would say things like ‘So and so threw 110 pitches tonight, do you think that’s why he got hit so hard?’ and managers and coaches started using pitch count numbers in their post-game interviews, and suddenly it was a big deal.”

The former NL Cy Young award winner and 1988 World Series MVP also responded when one of the bloggers commented that one of Clayton Kershaw’s fastballs was “right down Broadway” and got laced for a base hit. Hershiser quietly placed two sheets of paper side-by-side and placed six baseballs side-by-side on top of the papers.

“This is the exact width of home plate, 17 inches,” Hershiser said. “From 60 feet six-inches, do you have any idea how difficult it is to put a baseball exactly where you want it on something that is this wide? It’s not as easy as it looks on TV and there isn’t a human being alive who can do it every time, not even Clayton Kershaw, who is the best pitcher in the game today.”

Hartung quickly added that it is equally tough for the batter to look at a pitch that is traveling more than 90 miles per hour and determine if it’s a strike or if it’s going to be off the plate by an inch, and having to decide whether to swing at it or not in less than a second.

As you might imagine, the time spent with these gentlemen passed very quickly and the trio had to leave to begin preparation for the post-game segment of Access SportsNet: Dodgers. But from the moment the bloggers had arrived at the studios until the post-game interviews were finished, their entire experience was an absolute eye-opener as to the intricacies involved in putting on a first class television broadcast – and they do this every day of the year.

L to R: Scott Andes (Lasorda’s Lair), Orel Hershiser, Stacie Wheeler (Lasorda’s Lair), Matthew Moreno (Dodgers Nation), Nomar Garciaparra, Ron Cervenka (ThinkBlueLA), Eric Stephen (True Blue LA) and John Hartung. (Photo credit – Andrew Fegyveresi)

Yes, the on-going dispute between Time Warner Cable and DirecTV is ugly and the source of a lot of anger and frustration for everyone, but the people behind the scenes at SportsNet LA are professionals in every aspect – regardless of the things going on well above them that they have absolutely no control over whatsoever.

After all – “The show must go on.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Author’s note: ThinkBlueLA wishes to extend a huge thank you to Nadia Gonzalez and Andrew Fegyveresi for including us for this wonderful experience. Thanks also to Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciaparra and John Hartung for allowing us into their inner sanctum and for spending their valuable time (and sharing their great stories) with us.