THE BASEBALL NETWORK

If you saw any of the Major League Baseball playoffs this year, you are aware that the MLB Network will begin on January 1, 2009. The advertisements were all over FOX's coverage of the playoffs, and all over the ballparks involved in the post-season.

Needless to say, I'm psyched. But I have high expectations. Here is an example of what I'd want to see on a typical day on MLBTV:

5-8am - 1-hour highlight show of the action from the night before, looped. (See midnight)

8:00am - Random Baseball Game - Every day a random baseball game from any year is shown from 8-11am. The entire library of baseball games would be available to be shown. Might be an important game, might just be the Pirates-Reds game from June 2, 1993. I don't know. Just like putting your iPod on shuffle. Just watch what comes up. And there would never be a repeat...so you'd better set your TiVo, just in case.

11am - Profile - A one-hour special profiling some baseball player - any era, any time. Again, no repeats.

12pm - Baseball Today - A one-hour preview show, previewing the night's (or afternoon's) games. In the off-season, this becomes hot-stove talk.

1pm - Baseball Classics - Different from the Random Baseball Game, this would be a dramatic playoff game or no-hitter from the regular season - a special game like the kind you occasionally catch on ESPN Classic nowadays. There's a one-in-a-million chance that you'd be airing the same game twice in a day between the Classic and Random game - but if it's a Classic, I think that's a chance you want to take.

4pm - College/World Baseball - A show that takes you into the other leagues, to get an idea of who might be the Major Leaguers of tomorrow.

5pm - Who Wants To Be A Season Ticket Holder? - Everyone's favorite baseball trivia game show. Grand Prize is season tickets to the team of your choice.

5:30pm - Fantasy Baseball Today - Must-starts, must-haves, for your baseball league.

6pm - Pre-Game. Similar to the noon show, but leading right up to the evening games.

7pm - Baseball!!! Every night one game should be picked up by the Baseball Network. They don't have to send a crew to every game...though they should do a live broadcast of their own once a week...they just have to pick up a team's feed. They should be able to do it at the last minute, too, to give viewers around the country the best game available on any given night.

10pm - Post-Game - A highlight/recap show, like the old Baseball Tonight. With full box scores on every game.

11pm - The Locker Room - The best post-game reactions/sound from around the league (maybe another one at 2am that includes the West coast games).

12am - Classic 'This Week in Baseball' - episodes from the vault, while we wait for the West Coast games to go final.

Once the West Coast games do go final, the final highlight show of the night is taped, to be replayed through 8am.

And of course, the MLB Draft, the winter meetings, and all MLB-related events would get full coverage.

That's my dream. I'd watch it all day.