How the Mets' TV partners can make rain delays a little more interesting

by Tim Reilly May 16, 2018 0 Comments

The spring weather has not been kind to New York thus far. From winter-like conditions in the early weeks to spurts of summer heat to gray skies seemingly every other day, it’s been an up-and-down season similar to the one that Mets are having. In recent days, there’s been a stretch of spring showers that have caused the tarps to be brought on the field and thrust makeshift TV programming on us.

On Saturday, I was baffled by the programming selection made my PIX during a rain delay. They aired the worst hidden camera show I’ve ever seen. I didn’t catch the name of it, nor do I want to know what it is. On Tuesday, SNY went with a series of “Amazin' Finishes” episodes. I watched a few minutes of the ’06 footage for the 100th time before changing the channel.

I’m tired of watching the same old programming during rain delays. It’s bad enough the game isn’t on, at least give us something decent as a placeholder. There has to be some better options out there, right?!?

Here are my suggestions for both PIX and SNY to air during the occasional rain delay:

PIX

Seinfeld: Another rain delay? SERENITY NOW!

Turn on an episode of Seinfeld and problem solved. It’s no secret that the fan base has a strong affinity for the show. I'm not exact sure what the syndication contract looks like, but hey, more Seinfeld probably means a nice check for Keith! Hell, if PIX aired episodes of Seinfeld around the clock and only took breaks for Mets baseball I might never watch another network. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…

A Baseball Movie: This seems almost too obvious. PIX has the rights to games for both the Mets and Yankees this season. Why not take your connection to baseball to the next level by grabbing the rights to a Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, Major League, or any number of other baseball movies out there?

PIX would then have some great summer movies in their arsenal and the perfect placeholder during extended delays.

The Odd Couple: Call me old fashion, but I’m a big fan of The Odd Couple movie and TV show. The ‘70s version of the show, not the awful modern remake starring Matthew Perry….

The Oscar and Felix dynamic is as good as it gets. They play off each other in a way that reminds me of Gary, Keith, and Ron. Despite being a sportswriter, Oscar is partial to the Mets, as he’s frequently seen wearing their cap. For that reason, I’m being partial in wanting to see the occasional Odd Couple episode on during rain delays.

SNY

Stay with Gary, Keith and Ron: This is what they're essentially doing today, though it's not an official rain delay yet, just a break in the action while the grounds crew works on the field. And since I find Gary, Keith and Ron to be such a fascinating and interesting trio, I would watch them do just about anything. Keep the cameras rolling and let’s see what these three are up to in the rain. If they continue to talk about baseball during delays then great. If not, even better!

Maybe Keith has a “cat cam” that he occasionally checks in on Hadji with. That’s something I would need to see, with Gary and Ron’s reactions in the background. I could see Gary, Keith, and Ron getting into heated games of Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble. Don’t even try to tell me that you wouldn’t be interested to see who would win those games.

The point is, I want as much Gary, Keith and Ron as I can get in my life.

Kiner’s Korner: Sadly, a lot of Kiner’s Korner footage no longer exists. There are still episodes out there that I know SNY obtained the rights to some years ago and did a few projects with. Rain delays are the perfect time to revisit a piece of Mets history.

Younger fans probably don’t even know who Ralph Kiner is and that’s a shame.

I’d love to see Gary Cohen and Howie Rose provide commentary to those remaining episodes. Who better to help bridge the generational gap and point out the significance of Kiner’s Korner than those two?

New Game Replays: SNY is in desperate need of revamping their game replay rotation. There are a handful of games that seem to play over and over again. It feels like Groundhog Day at this point.

Rain Delay Theatre: Wayne Randazzo, Steve Gelbs, and Anthony DiComo have become famous for their "Rain Delay Theatre" on Instagram. Why not push it out live on the network? All three of those guys already do work for SNY. Seems like a slam dunk.

Get creative: Ask fans what games they would like to see revisited. Go one step further and incorporate key figures from those games. MLB Network does a great job of this, going back and forth between the game replay and studio commentary from players, coaches, and front office executives. That’s the kind of insight I’m interested in seeing, especially during a rain delay.