Major League Baseball

Here’s the part that I don’t understand.  I pay a hefty sum (in JimWorld Dollars) to Major League Baseball to watch all the live MLB games for the entire season on my computer.  I do this because I’m a San Francisco fan living in Northeast Ohio, and that’s the only way I can get them—well, the cheapest way.  I could buy the Time Warner Cable package, but it’s more expensive.  But my point is that I PAY MLB FOR THE GAMES!!

So, Monday was a day off for the Giants, but not for the Dodgers and the Pirates, who were playing in Pittsburgh.  I’m a sort of Pittsburgh fan, and I usually go to a game or two every year.  And, being a good Giants fan, I’m ALWAYS looking for the Dodgers to lose.  So, I fired up the computer and launched the application to watch the game—Since I live in Youngstown, Ohio, and Pittsburgh is only an hour away, you’d think that Time Warner Cable would carry the games on at least one of their myriad of sports channels, but they don’t.  The only way to get Pittsburgh games on TV here is with a dish—the dish companies even use Pittsburgh sports as a selling point in their advertising (can’t get it on cable, better get the dish—that sort of line).  So, I figured to watch the game on my fully paid for subscription to MLB games on the web.

Time Warner carries all of the Cleveland Indians games, and that’s a good thing, but here in Youngstown, we’re just as close to Pittsburgh as we are to Cleveland, and there’s lots of Pirates fans around here.  I know this because there’s just as much Pirates stuff on the shelf at Wal-Mart as there is Indians gear.  And Wal-Mart is, after all, not a stupid marketer.

What I failed to account for is the blackout area for games carried by MLB on their web site.  I’m so close to Pittsburgh, it seems, that I’m in some sort of restricted, blacked out area.  I have no way of watching this game.

I’m completely aware that the future of the free world doesn’t rest on this minor issue, but still—I already paid these guys to watch the baseball games.  I mean—Gee Whiz.

Maybe the Pirates could cut some sort of deal with Time Warner, or Time Warner could cut some sort of deal with MLB, or MLB could just ease up off my back a little, or….um…..something.

There’s most likely a better chance of Arnold and Maria getting back together.

So I listened to the game on the radio broadcast—The Pirates beat the Dodgers 4-1, and I enjoyed it.

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