So after a week off, Joe Buck has returned to Fox Saturday Baseball which means he’ll have worked a total of 8 out of a possible 12 games thus far. I think this is the same pace as last season. In any event, Fox has only two Interleague games this weekend, Yankees at Cubs and Texas and Atlanta. You can figure out which game Joe will be doing based on these matchups. Anyway, we have your regional splits and announcing assignments below.
FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES
Yankees/Cubs Anchors MLB on FOX’s Interleague Showdown Saturday at 4PM ET
Rosenthal on Realignment: “It Would Be Fairer”FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL GOW GOES INTERLEAGUE – It’s interleague play this weekend as FOX Sports presents two exciting matchups on Saturday, June 18 (4:00 PM ET). For the first time since 2003, the Yankees visit Wrigley Field to take on the Cubs. The big news in New York is the calf injury that has sidelined Captain Derek Jeter; putting his pursuit of 3,000 hits on hold. However, the hot bat of Curtis Granderson has carried the Yankees offense recently while the Cubs’ Ryan Dempster has his work cut out for him as he faces Granderson and a lineup that boasts Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. The AL West-leading Rangers visit the Peach State to take on the Braves. Entering Spring Training there were questions about how much time Michael Young had left in Texas. Now halfway through June, those questions seem silly as the Rangers DH has led the Rangers offensively. Young and the Rangers aim to topple groundball pitching machine Derek Lowe. The MLB on FOX pregame originates live from the Wrigley Field in Chicago, with host Chris Rose. Once game action begins, Rose joins Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal as a field reporter.
For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports and www.myspace.com/foxsports.
New York Yankees at Chicago Cubs, Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal, going to 74% of USA
Wrigley Field – Chicago, IL
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Hartford, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach
Probable Pitchers: TBA vs. Ryan Dempster, RHP (5-5, 5.48 ERA)Texas Rangers at Atlanta Braves, Kenny Albert & Eric Karros, going to 23% of USA
Turner Field – Atlanta, GA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Charlotte, Dallas, Greensboro, Greenville, Houston, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Raleigh, San Antonio, Tulsa
Probable Pitchers: Matt Harrision, LHP (5-6, 3.31 ERA) vs. Derek Lowe, RHP (3-5, 4.02 ERA)ROSENTHAL & MOROSI WEIGH-IN ON PROPOSED REALIGNMENT — As rumors began swirling around this week that Major League Baseball is working on a realignment of its teams, FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi offered their thoughts and stories on the subject. The reports suggest that instead of 16 National League teams and 14 American League teams, MLB would have an equal number of teams in each league: 15 NL and 15 AL.
KEN ROSENTHAL: Competition would be fairer.
“I’m in favor of two 15-team leagues for the simple reason that it would make the competition fairer. The same number of teams would compete in each division for the division title. The same number of teams would compete in each league for the wild card. The distribution of inter-league opponents also would be more equitable. This season in the NL Central, the Brewers must play the Yankees and Red Sox, the two super-powers of the AL East. The Cardinals will play neither of those clubs, while the Reds will play only the Yankees. How is that right?”For a complete story from Rosenthal click here: http://tinyurl.com/3k8tdxl
JON PAUL MOROSI: Astros to AL West is the only move that makes sense.
“If MLB is interested in creating the most equitable route to the postseason for all 30 franchises, then the Astros must join the AL West under the new collective bargaining agreement. Let’s not make this too complicated: The origin of the current imbalance is that the NL Central has six teams and the AL West has four. So, MLB should move one team from the NL Central into the AL West. That team is Houston. Any other scenario involves multiple clubs switching divisions, and there’s no reason to do that.”For a complete story from Morosi click here: http://tinyurl.com/5wc8pcx
FANS TO CHOOSE ALL TIME GREATEST MLB ALL-STAR GAME MOMENT – Fans now have the chance to vote for their favorite moment in the history of the All-Star Game in a new bracket tournament called Midsummer Classics. A total of 16 (eight American League and eight National League) All-Star moments are available to choose from with each captured in a short video available by logging onto MLB.com/moments. The bracket matchups pit such stellar moments as the first ever All-Star Game home run, hit by Babe Ruth vs. Cal Ripken Jr.’s homerun in his final All-Star Game. Each week during coverage of FOX’s SATURDAY GAME OF THE WEEK, winners of the previous round are announced and fans can vote for the next round’s matchup. One AL and one NL moment face-off in the final week leading into the Midsummer Classic with the top moment revealed during the 82nd MLB All-Star Game, broadcast exclusively on FOX on Tuesday, July 12 (8:00 PM ET).
The voting periods will be as follows:
Round One (16 Midsummer Classics): Saturday, June 11 – Saturday, June 18 (Noon ET)
Round Two (8 Midsummer Classics) Saturday, June 18 – Saturday, June 25 (Noon ET)
Round Three (4 Midsummer Classics): Saturday, June 25 – Saturday, July 2 (Noon ET)
Round Four (2 Midsummer Classics): Saturday, July 2 – Saturday, July 9 (Noon ET)
I’ll have your links later today. You’re owed them after yesterday was Press Release Wednesday.
