This post might seem simple. People might think I’m beating a dead horse. But that horse is still in my front yard and smells worse than ever. I have this club in my hand and I have to do something.

If I’m going to write about the Dodgers this season, how, exactly should I consume their games?

First of all, I’m not thinking that this dispute between providers and TWC SportsNet LA will be settled anytime prior to the season starting. If it happens, I guess I’ll be excited, but I’m not counting on it. A fan has to make contingency plans.

Without the ability to legally watch the games live in any way from my home town (which is 3 1/2 hours away from the stadium), what exactly are my options?

1) Buy MLBTV for the right to stream the entire games the next day.

This option is kind of what I did this past year. The nice thing is that I got to watch other games that didn’t have the Dodgers or Angels involved. That was nice for my fantasy team, but doesn’t do me much good in terms of trying to provide any kind of timely commentary or analysis.

The other bad thing about this mode is that the MLBTV app for my Playstation shows me when runs are scored and when cool things happen. Because I’m a little impatient sometimes, I tend to skip right through some of the non-scoring, but still interesting, portions of the game.

This will not be good for the whole “I’m going to write something every day” mantra of this year.

2) Listen on the radio.

This is a great option when I’m by myself. I can have the radio feed blaring over whatever else I’m doing. With a family, though, having the game on in the background, muted, would be better.

I guess I could listen with headphones too, but headphones aren’t good for your ears and also it’s 2015. Not being able to watch a game in your local market in this day and age is pretty silly.

3) Follow a select group of Twitterers.

I have a kick-ass group of Dodgers-related Twitter follows. Truthfully, if you follow the right people the Twitter feed around a Dodgers game (especially a playoff game) can be as entertaining as watching the game itself.

Seriously, with people like Chad Moriyama, Eric Stephen, Dylan Hernandez, Mike Petriello, Jon Weisman, and so many others, a guy just can’t go wrong. Some day I’ll make a list so other people can follow along with me. It’s really good, but twitter shows reactions to something and if you didn’t see that something, it’s a lot less impactful and a lot less fun.

My brother and I got last-minute tickets to a game a few years ago. It meant that we left San Luis Obispo at about 2:30pm and were home at about 2:30am. Driving is a really tough option.

4) Drive myself to Chavez Ravine

This takes 3 1/2 hours on a good day from San Luis Obispo. It can be up to 4 1/2 on a bad day. This means leaving around 7:00 or 8:00 AM for a weekend day game and getting home sometime between 8:00 and 9:00 at night. I do it a few times a year, but think about that for a minute.

5) Move 45 miles North.

In Monterey County, the Giants own the media rights. Buying MLBTV and watching from there would get me access to live Dodgers games. Believe me, it’s something I haven’t not thought about.

6) Find a way

I have heard of people who have found ways around the rules and regulations. With this Internet thing not going anywhere, people have found ways to access games. I don’t care to break the law, nor do I condone such things. This will not be what I do, but I suppose it’s an option for a die-hard fan who’s been put in this situation.

What to do

As you can see, there aren’t a lot of great options here. I’m not going to become ambivalent like I did last season. That attitude doesn’t suit me and it’s not how I care to be. I’ll figure it out until TWCSNLA becomes available, if it ever does.

Perhaps I’m missing an option here? If you have suggestions for me, please let me know.

Here is a map of MLB blackout areas via Wikipedia:

I guess things could be worse if I lived way up in the Owens Valley… “MLB Blackout Areas” by Braindrain0000 – via Wikipedia