TV hides too much of the game; The enigma of Gen. Sanchez

TV hides too much of the game

For the avid baseball fan the televised video coverage of Major League baseball is often very disappointing and extremely frustrating (and even gross as C.D. accurately pointed out in the Oct. 22 Speak Out).

For example, between pitches the fans (at the park) can look around at the positioning of all the fielders and take in the whole game; but the (TV) viewer is seldom shown the entire field and instead is often shown just another closeup of a manager or player (who may not even be in the game).

Here are three more examples: 1) Before the ball is pitched the fans can keep an eye on the base runners to see how big a lead they're taking and thus whether or not the pitcher will try to pick them off or they will try to steal the next base; but the viewer is usually shown only the pitcher, batter, catcher, and umpire.

2) When the ball is pitched the fans can see any runner attempting to steal a base and estimate whether he'll be safe or thrown out; but the viewer usually learns of an attempted steal only when told this by an announcer.

3) After a base hit the fans can watch all the runners and the ball being fielded, thrown, and caught; but the viewer is quickly shown a closeup of one runner simply jogging home or to the next base even though the ball may be still in play elsewhere.

Those who decide what picture to broadcast don't seem to have a clue as to what the fans at the park are looking at and what the television viewers want to see. A few changes (such as the more frequent use of a wide-angle lens, for example) would make the game much more enjoyable for home viewers.

JIM RAYMOND, Framingham

The enigma of Gen. Sanchez

The critical comments of General Sanchez, the general who commanded U.S. forces in Iraq, were staggering.

No matter what his motives were in uttering them, he was completely correct. This administration, the Congress and a complicit media were incompetent in their conduct and investigation of the war. They were derelict in their duty to our nation. Inept leadership has given us either a quagmire or a loss in Iraq and has ultimately put our nation at great risk. This is the enigma of our time.

The conduct of the war in Iraq is a national disgrace, a disgrace for all those across the world who supported us, a vindication for those who did not and an embarrassment to those of us who believed the lies and naivete of this administration which resulted in this unnecessary mess. General Sanchez is right. Those court-martialed should be not just the military hierarchy but everyone - the Congress, the State Department and an administration who did not do their homework, who did not speak out and who allowed millions to suffer and thousands to die without purpose.

What happened to erase our preeminence in the world? Inept leadership has utterly released itself from the boundaries of civilized conduct. Sanctioned by a complicit media, the ship of state ran aground. The magnitude and gravity of General Sanchez's critical comments about the Iraq war are necessary. Why he and others, including the media, did not deliver them sooner is, perhaps, the greatest enigma of all.