That high-tech graphic on the side of the screen during baseball telecasts showing pitch locations? The one that makes it look as though umpires can't tell balls from strikes?

It's not all that accurate, according to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.

That's what Manfred implied at least, appearing Tuesday at New York's Paley Center for Media, asserting the underlying technology isn't reliable enough to replace the folks in blue behind home plate.

"In all candor, that technology has a larger margin of error than we see with human umpires," Manfred said. "Someday I think it will be up to the task of calling balls and strikes, but I actually believe at that point that you have to ask yourself a question as to whether you want to take that human element out of the game and replace it with a machine."

Manfred was on a panel addressing the future of sports that managed the rare feat of getting him together with fellow commissioners Roger Goodell of the NFL, Adam Silver of the NBA and Gary Bettman of the NHL to talk about a wide range of issues from player safety and youth sports participation rates to social media, esports and gambling.

The technology and umpires bit was in response to a question from an audience member cable TV scion and Knicks owner James Dolan who was impressed watching technology determine if 130 mph tennis serves at Wimbledon were in or out within a fraction of an inch.

Beyond noting the obvious a tennis court, unlike baseball's strike zone, has fixed, clearly marked boundaries Manfred reminded Dolan that what he saw on TV from Wimbledon was a computer-generated animated graphic illustrating the computer-generated ruling and not actual evidence.

"You should always think about a technology where what they show you as part of the replay is a simulation as opposed to the actual stop frame," Manfred said. "Think about that when you're watching tennis and see what conclusion you come to."

Hit like: Since mid-May, MLB has streamed one Friday night game each week on its Facebook page, live and without blackout restrictions. This week it's the White Sox at the Royals. The Facebook arrangement is emblematic of new thinking among all the sports leagues.

Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Amazon want content. Leagues want increased engagement, particularly with younger people who are more receptive to video on phones and other devices than traditional TV.

"Rather than thinking over the last six years or so that basic cable has gone from 100 million homes to 85 million homes, I think of our universe having gone from 100 million to 200 million ... which is essentially the install base for (U.S.) smartphones," Goodell said.

"The challenge is how do we take advantage of those new platforms and present those games in a much different way, taking advantage of those huge social media communities and the engagement that comes with that type of viewership."

As for traditional TV viewers, Goodell said one engagement play this NFL season will be fewer ad breaks so "we don't give them a reason to turn the channel or look at another device."

You bet: Esports is building engagement. So is another kind of gaming, fantasy sports.

"We see it in ratings," Goodell said. "We see it with our television partners. Even if your team is out of it, you're going to watch. It does potentially have a little bit of a negative view. Do they still have the same loyalty to a team they once had? But they used to (be turning) the television set off. Now they're not."

There's less consensus when it comes to out-and-out gambling. The NBA's Silver reiterated his belief that prohibitions on sports wagering will be relaxed in this country in the coming years, and that it's a good thing for his league.

"It's a multi-hundred billion-dollar illegal industry in the United States," Silver said. "Ultimately, as the owners of the intellectual property, we're going to embrace it."

Other leagues aren't yet quite so gung-ho, but they are not blind to what's going on.

Silver said NBA fans "want to bet throughout the game ... on quarter scores, on particular players, and free throws" and "it results in enormous additional engagement."

Manfred said this "growth area" translates in baseball to "discrete activities" that are "hard for anybody to affect or control," such as whether the next pitch will be a ball or strike.

Bettman said he worried about arenas taking on the atmosphere of racetracks. But Silver said research suggests "fans are fairly sophisticated" when it comes to rooting both "for their team and virtually all the action."

Mike drop: The final edition of ESPN's "Mike & Mike" is officially set for Nov. 17. Its replacement on radio and TV, "Golic & Wingo," will make its debut with Trey Wingo joining Mike Golic 10 days later on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Ahead of going solo with his own ESPN morning TV show, Mike Greenberg has gotten some prime-time broadcast exposure as a cohost of ABC's "Battle of the Network Stars" revival, which sorely misses a Howard Cosell to energize it.

The original "Battle" discovered this, too. The penultimate edition of the occasional 1976-88 series of specials had Dick Van Dyke in Cosell's ringmaster role. Van Dyke fared better with Rob Petrie's living-room ottoman.

Look who's talking: When the Bears and Falcons open the regular season Sept. 10 at Soldier Field, Jay Cutler will be suiting up. In a suit. For Fox.

"It's a natural," Charles Davis, Cutler's fellow analyst on the network's No. 2 NFL announcing team, told Toronto's CJCL AM-590 "The Fan."

Fox already said Cutler's debut will be the Bears' Aug. 27 exhibition against the Titans in Nashville, his new hometown.

Last-second shots: Time has run out on ESPN's Buzzer Beater channel. TVPredictions.com reports the service offering "look-in" coverage and analysis during college basketball season on some cable and satellite services is a victim of budget cuts. ... Joe Maddon talks to Harry Smith about growing up in Hazleton, Pa., on NBC's "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly." ... Anyone going to hire O.J. Simpson?

The story: The commissioners said promoting narratives are another way to boost audience interest.

"Our sport in 13,14,15 markets over the course of the season will be the No. 1 rated programming during the summer," Manfred said. "The trick for us is making sure all those fans in Detroit that made the Tigers No. 1 stay with us in the postseason, and we really do believe ... the Cubs gave us 40 million people in Game 7. It is that storyline that's the key."

philrosenthal@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phil_rosenthal

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MLB's Rob Manfred tepid on strike zone technology at commissioners' panel - Chicago Tribune