The MLB Network, Livan Correction, and the Clock Winds Down for McLouth

I am still quite impressed with the fledgling MLB Network. Though the season has yet to begin, and I believe they will only air one game per week, their mini retrospectives of seasons and World Series past keep me entertained enough. From around 1999 through 2004 I worked full time in retail, with varying hours, sometimes lasting until midnight. That prevented me from being able to see the vast majority of post-season games during that time. Though I was able to see highlights after the fact, and read about these games in the paper and online, being able to relive them, even in truncated form, is enough to satisfy. In the past few weeks, I have watched the specials on the 2001 and 2002 World Series. Two thrilling match ups that I was only able to see snippets of at the time. I even remember listening to bits of both series on my car radio while on lunch break. I'm pretty sure my break ended, during Game 7 in '01, in the top of the ninth, with the Yankees leading by a run. I was probably told by a customer later that evening about Arizona's stunning comeback. While watching these recaps now is not the same thing, it does allow me to recapture the moments, at least a little bit.

In my diatribe against Livan Hernandez the other day, I mentioned that he shared his World Series MVP with his good friend Eric Gregg. That was not the case. (I just watched MLB's 1997 World Series special, and have been put in my place.) Hernandez was MVP of that World Series, but the honor that Gregg was partially responsible for was the '97 NLCS. My apologies to Hernandez and to the Gregg family. Though I liked Gregg and he was one of the more affable umpires, his idea of the strike zone in Game 7 of that NLCS did not resemble a 'normal' strike zone, by any stretch of the imagination.

The clock is ticking, Mr. McLouth. Tomorrow your arbitration hearing is scheduled to take place. The results of which should be announced on Wednesday. There is still time to settle, of course. Perhaps you should do just that, since the decision might not be to your liking.