As promised, here's another post on fact-checking. And it's timely, too. Last night, as I eagerly awaited Game 3 of the World Series in Denver, I was forced to watch the local Fox affiliate's pre-game show. What can I say? I'm a print person, so TV news annoys me.
Whoever was in charge of graphics goofed badly. The lineup for Boston listed David Ortiz as "DH," or designated hitter. Most fans know that the DH is only used in American League ballparks. The game was played at Coors Field, home to the Rockies, a National League team. You'd think the crew at a Denver TV station would know that, wouldn't you? Especially since the lack of a DH in Denver had been debated on sports talk shows and in newspaper columns since Game 2 ended Thursday night. Everyone wanted to weigh in on what Red Sox manager Terry Francona should do about the fact that because there's no DH in Denver, he would have to bench one of his regulars -- either Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell or Ortiz. In case you missed it, Ortiz moved from DH to first base, and Youkilis started on the bench. He replaced Ortiz for defensive purposes late in the game.
I think what happened is pretty obvious. The station used the same lineup graphic for games 1, 2 and 3 and forgot to change Ortiz's position from DH to 1B. They made the other changes, so at least they didn't make total fools of themselves.
I see this as another example of journalists not taking informational graphics seriously.
2 comments:
Against speculation, it looks like the DH did not matter anyway. The Red Sox played well. Real well. Congratulations!
So I guess this Blog has run its course? Too bad. Time to cut the RSS feed...Laterz!
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