The team is terrible and, because of it, TV ratings for Padres telecasts on Channel 4 are swirling down the porcelain receptacle.

It's only natural. While the team has a hard-core fan base, ratings are driven by wins and losses.

As a baseball fan, I still watch as many games as I can, and have had half a season to evaluate Mark Neely -- the team's first-year play-by-play voice.

There is no question that Neely is the polar opposite of the departed Matt Vasgersian.

Vasgersian was hip. He threw out lines from movies and expected the audience to know them. And he had great rapport with color analyst Mark Grant.

Neely, who worked at ESPN and the Big Ten Network and called games on the radio for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers for a dozen years before getting the call from the Padres, is a strong play-by-play man. He has Midwest feel about him -- less nonsense and more baseball.

That's not a knock on Vasgersian, who is as good as there is in the broadcast business. But with a bad team on the field, Vasgersian would go off on tangents and Grant would follow.

Despite a team equally as bad as the one Vasgersian endured last season, Neely is less inclined to stray off the path.

From the calls and e-mails I've received from fans, some of you pine for Vasgersian's return, and some are glad the door didn't hit him in the rear end on his way out.

When Neely was named the team's TV play-by-play man, Channel 4 producer Ed Barnes asked me to wait 30 to 50 games before writing a review. Barnes said it would take about that long for the production crew -- himself, director Tom Ceterski, cameramen and the guys in the truck -- to get in sync.

I waited 88 games or until the All-Star break -- the season's unofficial midway point. I'm glad I did.

Any early-season production problems have vanished. Games on Channel 4 had been, and continue to be, network quality.

Neely knows the game. He does his homework. I know that because I see him working on the field and in the clubhouse before games. I was impressed with his work ethic in spring training, and he hasn't backed off.

Clearly, however, Neely and Grant aren't always on the same page.

I honestly believe Grant, who's in his 13th season calling Padres games on Channel 4, could be one of the best analysts in the game. He knows the game, he knows players, coaches and managers, he does his homework, he's glib.

But there are times when I wonder if he drove to the game in a Volkswagen packed with a dozen clowns, and is calling games adorned in big floppy shoes, face paint and a fake red nose.

Yes, I understand a large number of the team's games disintegrate early. Yes, I understand it's difficult to make chicken salad out of chicken droppings.

There are times, however, when Grant tries waaaaaaaay too hard to be entertaining instead of letting the game -- good or bad -- tell the story.

It's OK to have a personality. It's OK to inject humor into a game.

But there is a line, and Grant often crosses it. Still, the Neely-Grant pairing works.

My biggest knock is that Neely gives viewers a radio call on long fly balls down the line.

It works on radio. On TV, viewers can tell by the flight of the ball and the hitter's reaction if the ball will stay fair.

If that, however, is the worst critique, then Neely is doing a good job.

All-Star game fallout

Generally, Fox's coverage of Tuesday's All-Star game in St. Louis was fine.

Lead announcer Joe Buck did his usual good job, and analyst Tim McCarver was less annoying than usual because the game was quick and compelling.

The network had all the right camera shots, except one.

Amazingly, with all the hoopla surrounding it, Fox had only one angle as President Barack Obama threw out the first pitch.

And that left viewers wondering where the pitch landed.

Later shots on the Internet, were better, but inconclusive. Did the president get the ball to home plate on the fly or did catcher Albert Pujols short hop it? Hard to believe with 20-something cameras covering the game that Fox wouldn't be able to show viewers the answer.

The president did make his way to Fox's broadcast booth and did a lively half-inning with Buck and McCarver.

Ratings for the game were down 4 percent from last year -- 9.3 to 8.9 -- but average viewership was up to 14.6 million, the best since 14.7 million for the 2002 contest.

The 8.9 rating beat the five-game average of this year's NBA finals (8.4), the final round of this year's Masters (8.3) and the Kentucky Derby (7.3).

The next-best rating for a professional All-Star game was a 5.4 for the NFL's Pro Bowl.

Home Run Derby

It's hard to believe, but ratings for Monday's All-Star Home Run Derby on ESPN averaged a 6.0 with 5.855 million viewers.

The rating won the night for ESPN and was the network's third-best of 2009, exceeded only by two NBA Western Conference finals games in May.

Still, the event has become a three-hour ordeal. It's waaaaaaay too long.

Something needs to be done -- cut the rounds, cut the number of swings, cut the number of players.

Officials at the Lake Elsinore Storm had a unique idea for the Home Run Derby prior to last month's Carolina League-California League All-Star game at The Diamond.

Local Little League sluggers were brought in to partner with the pros. And the event was a hoot.

At the Triple-A All-Star Game in Portland, Ore., on Wednesday, local high school players were paired with the pros.

Those are both great ideas. Don't look for MLB to change its approach, though.

Why should it when we all tune in and watch three hours of pop ups and grounders?

Shot on goal

The NHL and NBC Sports have extended their revenue-sharing partnership through the 2010-2011 season.

The partnership, which started in 2006, has been a good one for both sides.

Last year's Winter Classic from Chicago's Wrigley Field on NBC was the most-watched regular-season NHL game in 34 years.

And Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals was the most-viewed NHL game in 36 years.

As usual, NBC's coverage will start with the Winter Classic on New Year's Day. The network will have regular-season games on the weekends, coverage of Stanley Cup playoffs and five Stanley Cup finals games.

Ratings game

< With Lance Armstrong back in the Tour de France, ratings for the first 10 stages of the race on Versus are up 67 percent from last year with average morning viewership jumping from 270,359 to 479,809.

< Sunday's final round of the U.S. Women's Golf Open on NBC drew a 1.3 rating with 1 million viewers. That's down 19 percent from last year. When you figure 98.7 percent of the nation missed women's golf biggest event, the sport is in trouble.

< Last Sunday's IndyCar race in Toronto on ABC was seen by just 770,000 viewers. The NASCAR race on TNT was seen by 2.6 million.

Tee it up

< TNT's coverage of the 138th British Open continues with taped second-round coverage at 7 a.m. Friday.

Live coverage starts at 4 a.m. Saturday and 3 a.m. Sunday on TNT. ABC jumps in at 6 a.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday.

< NBC has the final two rounds of the American Century Celebrity Championship at noon Saturday and Sunday. Among those playing in the event at Lake Tahoe are NBA greats Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, the NHL's Mario Lemiuex and former Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith. Former major league pitcher Rick Rhoden -- a seven-time champion -- is again the favorite.

Right around the corner

< The NFL season is creeping up and the NFL Network announced it will carry all 65 NFL preseason games, including 12 live games and an August 15 tripleheader.

The live games include the Seahawks-Chargers on Aug. 15 as part of the tripleheader that also features the Falcons-Lions and Bears-Bills.

The first telecast is Aug. 10 between the Bills and Titans.

< All four Chargers preseason games will be carried on Channel 8 in San Diego and Channel 2 in the Los Angeles area.

Around the dial

< ESPN and ESPN2 have four soccer matches over the weekend, including Chelsea FC's exhibition game against Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders at noon Saturday. the U.S. women face Canada in an exhibition Sunday at noon.

< The men's and women's finals of the Manhattan Beach Open -- the Association of Volleyball Professionals' premier event, will be carried on Channel 14 in San Diego.

< The 2009 ESPYs air at 6 p.m. Sunday on ESPN. So Sunday's MLB game on ESPN between the Mets and Braves starts at 3 p.m.

John Maffei's TV/Radio Column appears every Friday. He can be reached at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.