On New Year’s Eve, much to the protests of some readers of this site, I criticized SNY for their dearth of programming. Today, after watching some of the debut of the MLB Network, I have to give credit to a successful launch. It was refreshing to see the antithesis of what I have come to expect from sports programming.

Kicking off with Don Larsen’s perfect game was a nice treat, but I was more interested in the “hot stove” show that preceded it. Normally I expect a sanitized piece of propaganda from the “good old boys” at MLB, but I was thankfully wrong about this.

The hot stove show featured hosts Barry Larkin, Al Leiter, and Harold Reynolds. Three former players in the booth normally would be risky, but Reynolds, although a former athlete as well, did a great job of moving the conversation along between Larkin and Leiter. He seemed natural at being the host. The big news was Manny Ramirez (easy call on my part) and the trio discussed why, despite the clubhouse concerns, teams shouldn’t worry about Manny. You got a fresh take on the game from three individuals that actually were stakeholders on the field. Best part yet, there was no yelling and screaming. Who would have thought you could have a good show without that?

I particularly enjoyed the guest segment. Jimmy Rollins was in studio talking about the Phillies. Instead of just keeping it vanilla they went into the whole “Cole Hamels/Mets Choke” situation. You could tell Rollins, although publicly supporting Hamels, was surprised by his teammate’s comments. He even joked that he won’t be the #1 villain at Citi Field next season. It wasn’t your typical boring, cliché filled, jock interview. Although many wouldn’t call Rollins a typical cliché spewing jock, so he was a perfect debut guest.

They then came back from the break and got interactive with their interview. Since the studio is called “studio 42″ in honor of Jackie Robinson, they did a reenactment of Jackie’s steal of home in the World Series. Personally, I think he was safe. It is a tough call even on slow motion. The three hosts, and Rollins, got on the makeshift diamond and showed why it was easier to steal home back then (pitchers just winded up with a runner on third for some reason). Rollins talked about the strategy of taking a lead off of third while playing some “cat and mouse” with the third baseman. This is the kind of stuff that fans would enjoy. The little things of the game always give you a new perspective. Often, during live action, we take it for granted. If this is the type of analysis we can expect during the season then I have high hopes.

Jon Heyman and Tom Verducci came on later to give their thoughts on some potential player movement. Again, Ramirez dominated the conversation, but they also talked about Derek Lowe as well. Those are two great baseball insiders which should be great complementary pieces to the show.

It is far too early to jump the gun. All I know, unlike SNY, they launched without a technical, or production, hitch. I think it’s a great example of how a well run network should be. The real challenge will be when there is controversial news surrounding the game (i.e. Mitchell Report) will they be allowed to cover it in a fair and balance manner? History says no, but hopefully the suits at MLB see an opportunity to build a league owned, non-partisan network. If they do I expect it will far surpass their expectations. After all, look at the alternative: ESPN, SNY, YES, and MSG.

Tags: Al Leiter, Barry Larkin, Harold Reynolds, Jimmy Rollins, Jon Heyman, MLB Network, MSG, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, SNY, YES