MLB Postseason on TBS Wild Card Watch

Beginning Friday, Oct. 5, TBS will exclusively televise the American League (AL) and National League (NL) Wild Card games and will once again provide coverage of all four MLB Division Series (DS) and exclusive coverage of the American League Championship Series (ALCS).  TBS MLB analysts Dennis Eckersley, Ron Darling and Cal Ripken share insight on the final stretch of the regular season and look ahead at the postseason.

MLB ON TBS’ STARTING LINEUP

Dennis Eckersley’s Five Impact Players who can be a factor down the stretch:

1. Adrian Gonzalez (Dodgers): “It’s getting late in the season and I’m expecting Adrian to get hot.”
2. Mark Trumbo (Angels): “Trumbo needs to find the power supply he had earlier in the season.”
3. Ivan Nova (Yankees): “I’m interested in seeing if Nova can get back to form and stabilize the Yankees’ rotation.”
4. Chris Carpenter (Cardinals): “The Cardinals need him to come back from injury and give the team a couple of unexpected starts this late in the season.”
5. Miguel Cabrera (Tigers): “All eyes will be on him as he attempts to finish off a Triple Crown season?”

Ron Darling’s Five Teams to Watch the rest of the season:

1. St. Louis Cardinals: “Chris Carpenter is back and they are the defending World Champions.”
2. Oakland Athletics: “It’s Moneyball, the sequel. A long road trip in the middle of September could be their undoing.”
3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: “They have star power, firepower and the kid, rookie phenom Mike Trout.”
4. Los Angeles Dodgers: “Like their cross-city rivals, the Dodgers have star power and firepower. They are looking for the postseason for Donnie Baseball [manager Don Mattingly].”
5. Detroit Tigers: “You can’t have a postseason without [Justin] Verlander, [Miguel] Cabrera and [Prince] Fielder.”

MLB ON TBS QUOTES OF NOTE

Cal Ripken on…

• …the importance of having experience in big games: “Experience puts you in a position to execute at these moments. You give yourself a chance to execute by being calm at the plate and being calm when you execute in the field. That’s when [experience] shows up. Pressure builds in big games and pressure is there all the time. It is how you deal with that pressure and experience allows you to deal with it better.”

 Ron Darling on…

• …the increased intensity for teams playing down the stretch: “When teams are in pennant races, [there’s a misconception that] guys are coming to the ballpark with a smile on their face and can’t wait for the game to start. It is grouchy, it is ugly, it is short-fused and guys have dark circles under their eyes. It is a difficult time of year to go out there and play. If things don’t go your way, there’s not a lot of patience.”

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS

•  Oakland Athletics @ New York Yankees with Ernie Johnson (play-by-play), Ron Darling and John Smoltz (analysts) in the TBS broadcast booth.

• Sunday, Sept. 23, at 1 p.m. ET from Yankee Stadium
• Both teams are in contention for postseason berths. The Yankees and Athletics are both competing for their respective divisions or wild card berths.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will star alongside some of MLB’s greatest players in video clips highlighting TBS’ 2012 MLB Postseason coverage. The videos, which feature the Springsteen song “Land of Hope and Dreams” as the musical backdrop, will also air leading up to and during this year’s postseason.
• Clink on the following link to view the VIDEO.

For all the latest MLB on TBS Postseason news, be sure to follow @MLB_TBS, @PostseasonPete and @TurnerSportsPR on Twitter.

-30-