My family and loved ones understand that once baseball season kicks in, I’m like Reed Richards falling into the Negative Zone: completely incommunicado, emerging only sporadically from my perch in front of the TV to grab a fresh beer, make a sammich or check the mailbox for that autographeed photo of Katy Perry that I know is coming any day now.

So to those aforementioned folks who have a special place in my heart, I have to warn you; Hibernation’s coming early this year, as the MLB Network is set to launch January 1, 2009. And if the thought of 24/7 baseball news and analysis and trade rumors and Flyfishing with Jim Leyland wasn’t enough, the Powers That Be have also added The Great Haze to the mix, essentially sealing my fate.

Hey, we’ve still got Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to. But after that, consider me Kotsay.