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A commenter or two has taken me to task for my negativity concerning the first few days of the MLBN.

Sorry, I am unmoved. I watched some more of it over the weekend, and I just don't see the value of running '08 playoffs games in their entirety when it just happened a couple of months ago.

I think MLBN is showing little vision.

The MLB Network Needs Work

Who exactly decided that starting up a 24 hour baseball network in the dead of winter made sense? How about, say, on February 20th, just before Spring Training starts?

Aside from the obvious problem of having NO CONTENT, the MLB Network, in my sampling, is off to a rocky start. There were widespread reports that it didn't show up on cable systems, and even when it did, it seems buried in the high hundreds, right near Noggin, the Game Show Network, and C-SPAN Ocho.

On my cable box, it's Channel 167. You get the idea.

I've never been a big fan of the (alleged) serial groper Harold Reynolds or the (alleged) TV talent Hazel Mae, and Matt Vagersarian is basically Glenn Geffner with better hair.

Speaking of Geffner, his voice was allowed to appear on some Red Sox season wrap-up for '07 that passed for content on Friday Night. Very unsavory.

Which actually leads me to my point. I tuned in the MLBN on Friday Night, and was please to see the aformentioned Red Sox' 07 package, so I watched. After a couple of promo-heavy spot breaks, the MLBN came back to--

nothing.




The disc was frozen or the tape broke, or the whatever wasn't whatevering. More promos. Back to the content: nothing. More promos, and then the half hour ended with a segment from ANOTHER Red Sox package, not the first one. No explanation.

Nor was there one necessary, since I was undoubtedly the only person in the U.S.A. watching.

You might want to work on the production quality, MLBN

Greetings, Friends

[with deep apologies to Roger Angell]


Greetings, friends, please take a seat
As we search for Hot Stove heat.
Your humble writer has endured
An off-season fouler than a turd.

In search of warmer, gentler times
Return to Summer through these rhymes.
'08 was great, except of course
The end, which shattered with great force.

Down to the last, the boys recovered
And then The Rayzzzz; our hopes were smothered
But lest we think that all is lost
Let's recall Summer amidst the frost.

Dice-K, Lowery, Okajima
With Papelbon, who needs the Steamah?
Mikey picked 'em, Jacoby ran
Yoooouk's a monster, Papi's hand...

Tito rocked, and so did Dustin
Theo dealt. God Praise Justin.
Beckett was a batter tamer.
Nancy's hypobaric chamber...

One fine day came Jason Bay
The same day Manny went away.
Coco Crisp was held in check
As was our Captain Varitek.

Lester's bester, Bucholz not.
Yankees lacked a pissed-in pot.
Will that change in 0 0 9?
The games are played between the lines.


Timmy's floatah; That was nifty.
Fenway beers? Pay $7.50.
Schilling couldn't come to play
Yet still he had some words to say.



Thanks for a great year, kids. See you in the Series.

lc