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  #1 (permalink)  
Old Fri Jan 02, 2009, 05:27pm
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Thumbs up MLB's The Baseball Network

It premiered Yesterday, January 1, 2009. DirecTV has a major stake in this new network, which is probably why it's in the basic package and not some higher level one. It's also the reason why MLB doesn't charge carriage fees to DirecTV for covering it. It's available on channel 213 HD for those who are interested.

Some cable companies are also carrying it, as this was part of the MLB Extra Innings deal that DirecTV struck with MLB and this new network, so check your local cable listings. I don't know in which package the MLB Network will be on cable, so consult your local company for more info.

The network's a fledgling right now, but based on what I've read on another forum I visit, it looks to be a great venture. For those who saw--or didn't see--Ken Burns's highly acclaimed series Baseball, The Baseball Network will show it beginning next Tuesday, January 6th, at 8:00 p.m. EST. The fact that it will be in HD ought to be nice.

Bob Costas will have a lot of presence on this network, which is fine with me. I'd take him over McCarver and Morgan any day. Let's just hope those latter two don't pop up much on this new network.
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Old Fri Jan 02, 2009, 06:36pm
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Ken Burns' BASEBALL was only highly acclaimed in filmmaking circles. In baseball circles, it was rather widely ridiculed. It was fascinating to watch some of the films that they unearthed and a few of the interviews were interesting, but it was way too narrow and self-indulgent to be considered a true filmed history of baseball. When you see it again, you'll get an idea of what I'm describing.
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Old Fri Jan 02, 2009, 07:03pm
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I'm going bananas over this network, however.

Some of the stuff they've already had has been magnificent. Larsen's perfect game was enchanting stuff.
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Old Fri Jan 02, 2009, 07:25pm
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You mean there is one more channel I can avoid? Thanks for the heads up.

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Old Fri Jan 02, 2009, 07:48pm
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You don't like baseball?
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Old Fri Jan 02, 2009, 11:55pm
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It has never really been a priority for him.
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Old Sat Jan 03, 2009, 12:40am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty View Post
You don't like baseball?
No, I like baseball. I just am not one who watches 24 hour channels for a league. ESPN covers enough baseball; I do not see the need for another 24 Hour network. BTW, I am a little tired of always hearing about how players from 50 years ago were so much better than players of today. Just another reason to avoid the channel all together if you ask me and guys like Bob Costas gets on my nerves when it comes to baseball history.

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  #8 (permalink)  
Old Fri Jan 02, 2009, 11:56pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty View Post
Ken Burns' BASEBALL was only highly acclaimed in filmmaking circles. In baseball circles, it was rather widely ridiculed. It was fascinating to watch some of the films that they unearthed and a few of the interviews were interesting, but it was way too narrow and self-indulgent to be considered a true filmed history of baseball. When you see it again, you'll get an idea of what I'm describing.
So? You're attempting to be nit-picky. I've seen the series and liked it very much. I'm looking forward to seeing it in HD.
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Old Sat Jan 03, 2009, 08:51am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UMP25 View Post
I'm looking forward to seeing it in HD.
I wonder how much difference HD will make. Some of the interviews Burns filmed might have been shot on film (not videotape), and those could be scaled to HD. But historical footage for virtually the entire history of baseball will not be in HD, and that must constitute the vast majority of images.
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Old Sat Jan 03, 2009, 09:12am
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Good to see a Baseball Channel.

Now if I could only get Directv to split up Extra Innings. I don't need every ballgame on every night. Can't they just charge less so I can see all of one team's games?
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Old Sat Jan 03, 2009, 10:08am
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Originally Posted by UMP25 View Post
So? You're attempting to be nit-picky. I've seen the series and liked it very much. I'm looking forward to seeing it in HD.
Nit-picky? Hardly.

Burns is a filmmaker, not a baseball man of any kind. It shows throughout every minute of that bloated 18-hour sanctimonious offering. I'm glad you enjoyed it. As a baseball film archive exploration exercise, it was an accomplishment. As a factual documentary, it was a failure. When I watch a "documentary" I am interested in facts. If you have 18 hours to document something, it is likely that a reasonably complete historical picture can be painted. A great many more facts should be presented and a balanced view of the game as seen through the eyes of its participants was what was in order. Not the personal remembrances of Burns's high-brow friends.

Ken Burns has almost zero respect for true baseball followers. He dismissed us completely when all of the errors and butchery and glossing was originally addressed when this thing came out in the mid-90s. I am not a Civil War expert, so I don't know how inaccurate that was. I am a baseball expert. Ken Burns tried to pass off his self indulgence as a historical baseball documentary. It is not. Because he is not a baseball man.

Last edited by Kevin Finnerty; Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 10:23am.
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Old Sat Jan 03, 2009, 01:05pm
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If you have Dish Network you won't receive this channel. The negotiations went bad with Extra Innings for Dish and MLB Network was part of the deal.
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Old Sat Jan 03, 2009, 02:21pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty View Post
Nit-picky? Hardly.

Burns is a filmmaker, not a baseball man of any kind. It shows throughout every minute of that bloated 18-hour sanctimonious offering. I'm glad you enjoyed it. As a baseball film archive exploration exercise, it was an accomplishment. As a factual documentary, it was a failure. When I watch a "documentary" I am interested in facts. If you have 18 hours to document something, it is likely that a reasonably complete historical picture can be painted. A great many more facts should be presented and a balanced view of the game as seen through the eyes of its participants was what was in order. Not the personal remembrances of Burns's high-brow friends.

Ken Burns has almost zero respect for true baseball followers. He dismissed us completely when all of the errors and butchery and glossing was originally addressed when this thing came out in the mid-90s. I am not a Civil War expert, so I don't know how inaccurate that was. I am a baseball expert. Ken Burns tried to pass off his self indulgence as a historical baseball documentary. It is not. Because he is not a baseball man.
OK, now we are way OT, but hey, its the off season. The History major in me is about to shine - but on an officiating board. Oh well, gotta gloat somewhere

In history circles, Ken Burns' "The Civil War" was acclaimed for its all encompassing look at many aspects of the war. At the time, it was considered the "final" history, something that never needed fixing because it was perfect.

Since its release, it has become clear that he paid attention too much to the common story of sectionalism (Industrial North vs. Agraian South) instead of the complexities and schisms in each region. Also, Burns has failed to discuss the ways in which African Americans pursued and won their own freedom, and instead focuses narrowly on the North's supposed position of morality and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

All in all, the transcripts revealed throughout the documentary are splendid, and it is a great piece if you want to learn mainly about how the Civil War played out in the political, military, and white society arenas.

I'm done. If you got this far, props. Sorry mods, couldn't let it pass.
  #14 (permalink)  
Old Sat Jan 03, 2009, 06:06pm
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Great stuff! Thanks for it.

BASEBALL was picked apart a lot earlier, because, frankly, baseball experts overwhelmed the guy with how many of us there are. He thought he could slip 18 hours of that by us and call it "a history." And the way he reacted to the torrent of criticism was a delight to see at the time and remains a delight to recall.

Last edited by Kevin Finnerty; Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 06:35pm.
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Old Mon Jan 05, 2009, 11:14am
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my .02

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty View Post
Nit-picky? Hardly.

Burns is a filmmaker, not a baseball man of any kind.

I am not a Civil War expert, so I don't know how inaccurate that was.

I think you are correct to a great degree. He makes films........and in both I found them enjoyable if only for the photographs, and letters etc........content accuracy is, as it was back then,.......a subject of debate
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