The most significant story coming from the White Sox’s 8-0 loss in Texas on Wednesday night? That’s easy. It was A.J. Pierzynski getting hit with a pitch twice–and Sox pitchers failing to retaliate.
Every Chicago newspaper led with that angle, noting reliever Sean Tracey drew manager Ozzie Guillen’s ire because he didn’t hit Hank Blalock.
Stories also mentioned TV cameras caught Ozzie Guillen yelling at someone in the dugout, Tracey burying his head in his hands and Guillen spiking a bottle of water.
Dramatic stuff, huh?
But Comcast SportsNet didn’t show any of it during its 30-minute “SportsDay” wrap-up show.
It showed Pierzynski getting hit once, in the fourth inning. But there was no mention of how Vazquez and Tracey had declined to retaliate. And there was no video of what had transpired in the dugout.
So what was this–bad news judgment or an effort to show controversy-free highlights that might please the Sox? (The Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and Cubs–and, thus, Tribune Co.–collaborated to form the network.)
“We dropped the ball,” news director Joe Riley said. “We want the fan who might have gone to see `Blue Man Group’ last night and missed the Sox game to get the whole story from our highlights. We did a poor job on that and I’m sorry.
“But our relationship with the teams is never a factor. We don’t get a mandate from the Sox.”
