I'm now heading into my third straight year of watching Major League Baseball without cable or satellite, instead opting for an MLB.tv subscription. Typically I watch the MLB.tv games via a Roku media device (live-out-of-market and archived games), the local over-the-air broadcasts for Angels and Dodger games, as well as the FOX Saturday Game of the Week. Previous posts on this topic can be found here: Part 1 and Part 2.Every year, MLB.tv will automatically renew your subscription on March 1st unless you inform them otherwise. The March 1st renewal essentially means that your subscription begins with access to spring training games WITH NO BLACKOUT RESTRICTIONS (archived games are also available). In previous years, MLB struggled to deliver live spring training games, if at all, but it seems much improved today. This is actually a nice offering as part of your MLB.tv subscription. Not only do you get access to the entire season (and seasons past), but also to various spring training games that are broadcasted, including your local teams with no blackout restrictions. (Cable or satellite subscribers who have MLB Network have the same access to live games, however according the MLB site, blackouts for local teams are in place.) If you're a baseball diehard who can't get out to the Cactus or Grapefruit Leagues, this is a very nice offering for MLB.tv subscribers. NOTE: Spring training games only seem to be accessible via a browser, not a media-streaming device like the Roku or PS3. Games are also not in full HD
Just a note that MLB.tv has managed to include spring training games now on Roku. The interface is different and now allows you to browse quickly by team, recent games or by date. This seems to bring the Roku MLB Channel more up to date with that of the website. Here's hoping the menu will allow users to access any game from the entire season rather than only the past week's worth. If so, MLB.tv on Roku will have taken a big step forward. I don't have a PS3 or other streaming device, so I'm unable to verify if the menu systems for those devices have also been updated.
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