Did the Marlins just a hit homer?

Well #1 wins the thread before it's even gotten started.

Off topic: is it true that basically all Rays games are cable-exclusive, ie no over-the-air broadcasts except Fox game of the week? How has that not come up in any of the no-one-goes-to-Rays-games threads? That seems relevant.

I thought the Rays actually had pretty good TV ratings.

Off topic: is it true that basically all Rays games are cable-exclusive, ie no over-the-air broadcasts except Fox game of the week? How has that not come up in any of the no-one-goes-to-Rays-games threads? That seems relevant.

No clue. Last time I was down at the beach in the Fort Walton area, about a year ago, a Rays game was on TV in the motel room. I don't think it was a Fox broadcast.

Off topic: is it true that basically all Rays games are cable-exclusive, ie no over-the-air broadcasts except Fox game of the week? How has that not come up in any of the no-one-goes-to-Rays-games threads? That seems relevant.

I have noticed the number of Royals OTA games have dropped precipitously since signing with FOX Sports network. I think they've had maybe one this year? Do other teams still have a lot of OTA games?

The Red Sox have been all cable for a long time now, 7-8 years I think and even before that they were heavily cable for several years. I want to say that they had a year or two around 2002 where only Friday games were on free TV.

Mariners games are all cable except for Fox games of the week. Most Sounders games are OTA, though. Guess who draws 39,000 a game...

I would imagine a lot of teams are all-cable with the rise of regional sports channels.

The Twins have been all cable for 2 years, maybe 3. Before that they had only one game per week on broadcast for many years.

I was thinking about something related recently. There are a lot more broadcast stations than there were a few years ago, because of the digital changeover. Twice as many....it's not like broadcast games have to cut off some important network programming anymore. I think there are 3 station in Minneapolis that play exclusively bad 70's era reruns (bad by 70s standards) showing ads for adjustable beds and hearing aids. My 80 year old father-in-law is their #1 fan. There's lots of stations that could compete to broadcast them. Heck, I was wondering if someone could make as much by broadcasting the local teams' radio broadcast over-the-air, with a boxscore and ads rotating on the screen.

What does it mean?

Is this a live-action promo for the Rays cartoon series?

Wait, how are we not discussing that thing? What the #### is that?

Is the guy jumping up with the glove trying to catch riding-his-scooter-across-a-rainbow guy? If so, why's his glove facing the wrong way? What the #### is that middle face in the bear-mouse hats? It doesn't even look human.

Good call; it's the "Zim Bear." They gave them out.

The Rangers are on broadcast TV every Friday, and then occasionally on FOX weekend games, given that they are a high-profile team right now. I don't have cable, and rarely get to see them on Friday broadcasts, because Friday night is often when I get out of the basement and stop thinking about baseball for a while. One net result is that I do go to lots of games in person … if that became impossible for some reason, I'd probably get cable …

Is the guy jumping up with the glove trying to catch riding-his-scooter-across-a-rainbow guy?

The "guy jumping up with the glove" is Rays closer Fernando Rodney, doing his shoot the moon post-save celebration. Don't feel bad about not recognizing it; it's not as if Rodney leads the majors in saves or anything...

7...They're on basic cable, and don't most homes have cable, or Direct TV?

Who is the guy on the scooter? Why is all this taking place at Yankee Stadium? And when will this peyote wear off?

I can help with some of the other elements, though. The two mugs flanking the Zim Bear are Brian Anderson and Dewayne Staats, the team's TV color man and PBP guy, respectively. The guy in the faux retraux uniform is Joe Maddon.