Review of the Major League Baseball Network

When I heard about the launch MLB Network a few years back, I was excited. I'm a baseball nut, and I couldn't wait to have a channel that was all baseball all the time. I often resented ESPN for not showing Baseball Tonight, one of my favorite shows, during the winter months.

With the first week of MLBN in the books, here are my thoughts:

(a) I'm glad they are rerunning the 2008 World Series. Considering that the seventh inning often took place at one in the morning, I am finally getting a chance to see what happened.

(b) They are not showing as many old games as I thought they would, although that might change. For instance, Sports Net New York showed a game from 1991 when Darryl Strawberry, who had recently joined the Dodgers, returned to Shea Stadium. I loved watching it. I would love to see that kind of thing from MLBN.

(c) Their Hot Stove show, which is like Baseball Tonight, is boring. Yes, BBTN alum Harold Reynolds is there, but the other panelists lack the personality that BBTNers such as Peter Gammons and Buster Olney possess. Yes, the channel is meant to appeal to baseball nuts like me, but we also want to be entertained. Remember, television is an entertainment industry, and if your discussion of whether Ben Sheets may go to the Texas Rangers is boring, viewers will tune out.

Another concern is that because they are all employees of MLB, the panelists on their shows may not be objective in covering certain issues. For instance, say MLB suspends a player after a brawl. ESPN talking heads might say, "Why is he getting suspended for 10 days? This is ridiculous!" The MLBNers, on the other hand, may not want to be critical of their employer. How about criticizing a team's poor management? If someone on ESPN calls the Pittsburgh Pirates an incompetent organization, nothing happens. If someone on MLBN says the same thing, perhaps the owner could complain to the higher-ups and who knows what can happen. This is something to watch for in the coming months.

Perhaps it is too early to tell, and maybe they still have their kinks to work out. I am impressed with some of the programs such as a tour of the old Busch Stadium from 2004, and the Ken Burns series, which I saw the first time around.

All in all the network has potential, but it still has its work cut out for them.