By David Scott
Boston Sports Media Watch

UPDATE: MLB.com is supposedly now showing the game for free. We’ll see if their servers can handle it. We didn’t have any success logging on.

The TBS explanation is included in Bruce Allen’s post on the matter.

In what can only be considered a major snafu, TBS’s coverage of the ALCS is was being pre-empted by technical difficulties. MLB.com is confirming that the network is having “transmission problems.”

Coverage was interrupted during the scheduled half-hour pre-game show and a weak, lacking explanation of “technical difficulties” didn’t begin appearing (sporadically) until about 15 minutes later. A similarly sporadic score update began at 8:20 p.m. A series of in-house ads ran for the first several minutes of the snafu, then the network went to an ancient edition of “Bloopers” and finally settled on a Steve Harvey re-run.

The game finally appeared on TBS at 8:23 p.m. with the Sox trailing, 1-0 with one out in the bottom of the first.

• An absolutely incredible situation that is unforgivable for the way it was handled rather than the fact that it happened. The network did an shoddy job of informing viewers of what the problem was and offered no alternative coverage (i.e. a radio or audio-only feed). The network apologized profusely and then Chip Caray had the nerve to say “you didn’t miss much.” Aside from four outs and a home run, of course.

Bush. League.

MLB should be asking for some major recompensation.

. . . Boston fans main link to the action can be found in the most real-time manner at WEEI.com’s live blog or on radio via the WEEI radio network.