Make the most of empty seats
I’ve already railed against virtual fans. I’m assuming that since the final three rounds of the playoffs will be held at neutral sites, there won’t be any fan cutouts in the seats (just what we don’t need: cutouts of Astros fans at a potential Cubs-Braves playoff series). That would lead to a perfect opportunity for the networks to make the most of these empty seats and experiment with new camera angles. I feel like only a few RSNs have taken advantage of the opportunity this year, and if there’s any time to take advantage of it, it’s during the playoffs at neutral site venues.

Even though teams and networks have all this technology at their disposal, the core broadcast itself doesn’t feel like it’s evolved all that much. While pushing that evolution in the playoffs is something of a gamble, networks are never going to get a better time with all of the empty seats and concourses. And even if that’s just a short-term change with fans theoretically returning to ballparks next year, it could at least represent a base for future long-term changes.

Steiner decided he would opt out of the season, just like 22 players throughout the game, including Dodgers veteran starter David Price, unknowing whether he’d ever be back.

“I was prepared to say this is the end of the line,’’ Steiner said. “And if it was the end of the line, it was the pandemic that took me. I could have walked away. I was prepared to walk away into the sunset.

“Then, I get this reprieve from the governor.’’

If Steiner wasn’t going to the broadcast booth, Dodgers executive vice president Lon Rosen decided to bring the broadcast booth to him. Steiner immediately signed off on the idea.

“I feel like an astronaut orbiting the earth,’’ Steiner said. “You know there’s stuff going on down there because I can see it on my control pattern. Really, this could be the wave of the future.

“What do you get being at the ballpark now? You don’t see the players. Can’t talk to anybody. There are no fans. So as long as there is technology, this is great.

“Besides, there are no lines at the urinal at my house.’’