Rosenthal on Phillies Signing Pedro: “What Is There To Lose?”

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

MLB on FOX Kicks Off Season’s Second Half

Rosenthal on Phillies Signing Pedro: “What Is There To Lose?”

FOX Sports Revamps Social Networking Sites

MLB’S SECOND HALF STARTS UP – Fresh off an intense MLB All-Star Game, The FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL GAME OF THE WEEK presents its first weekend of the second half with three enticing matchups on Saturday, July 18 (4:00 PM ET).  In Atlanta, NL rivals meet as Jeff Francoeur and the Mets take on the man he was traded for, Ryan Church, and the Braves. Also, AL West rivals face off in Oakland as the A’s host the first-place Angels.  On the South Side, President Obama’s favorite team, the White Sox, host Adam Jones and the Orioles.  This week, the pregame show originates live from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland with host Chris Rose.  Once game action begins, Rose joins the game crew of Glenn Kuiper and Jose Mota as a field reporter.  For instant updates during the week and games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX.

GAME                                                                                    PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST                                                COV.   

New York Mets at Atlanta Braves                                Thom Brennaman, Eric Karros                                      49%

                                                                                                & Ken Rosenthal

Turner Field – Atlanta, GA               

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, St. Louis, Tampa,

West Palm Beach

Probable Pitchers: Johan Santana, LHP (10-7, 3.09 ERA) vs. Kenshin Kawakami, RHP (5-6, 4.26 ERA)

Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics                    Glenn Kuiper & Jose Mota                                               28%

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum – Oakland, CA                                

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tulsa

Probable Pitchers: Jered Weaver, RHP (10-3, 3.22 ERA) vs. Vin Mazzaro, RHP (2-5, 3.59 ERA)

Baltimore Orioles at Chicago White Sox                     Dick Stockton & Mark Grace                                          22%

U.S. Cellular Field – Chicago, IL                                    

MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Washington

Probable Pitchers: Jeremy Guthrie, RHP (6-8, 5.35 ERA) vs. John Danks, LHP (7-6, 3.91 ERA)

80^th ALL-STAR GAME IS A WINNER FOR MLB & FOX SPORTS – The 80th MLB ALL-STAR GAME, an exciting 4-3 American League victory, was watched by an impressive total of 33.6 million viewers, supplanting last year’s Yankee Stadium extravaganza as the most-watched Midsummer Classic since 1999 (36.9 million), according to fast national figures released today by Nielsen Media Research.  It is the fourth consecutive year the All-Star Game’s total audience has risen year to year, and the sixth time it’s risen in the seven years since the rule tying home field advantage in the World Series to the winning league was adopted.  Total viewing of last night’s game was +13% higher than the same figure in 2002, the last year before the adoption of the World Series home field rule (33.6 million vs. 29.7 in 2002).

“Anyone who can figure a batting average knows that going six for seven is pretty good, and we’ve seen the All-Star Game’s audience rise six times in the seven years since the outcome determines home field advantage in the World Series,” said FOX Sports President Ed Goren.

ROSENTHAL PLEASED WITH PEDRO SIGNING – This week, former Mets pitcher and 3-time Cy-Young winner Pedro Martinez signed a 1-year contract to pitch for the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies.  MLB on FOX reporter Ken Rosenthal is happy that Pedro is back and doesn’t see much downside for the defending champs.  “What is there to lose? Its $1 million guaranteed.  If Pedro wins three games, he basically pays for himself.  The Phillies were very impressed by what they saw – Pedro threw 88-89 mph with command,” said Rosenthal.  “Personally, I am just happy he is back in the game.  He’s one of baseball’s most intelligent and colorful guys.”

Click here to read Rosenthal’s notes that didn’t make it into last night’s All-Star Game telecast:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9809204/Experience-doesn’t-help-NL-All-Star-staff

GET MORE FOXSPORTS ON FACEBOOK AND MYSPACE – With active Twitter accounts for its NASCAR, MLB & NFL coverage, FOX Sports has revamped its Facebook and MySpace pages.  By logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports and www.myspace.com/foxsports, fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content.