Holding the Red Sox hostage

Yesterday I was clicking through the few remaining TV channels I actually get now that I have scaled back my Comcast service.

I noticed that while I still get Home Shopping Network, I still have no access to baseball games in this crucial point in the season.

Highly significant games are being broadcast on stations such as TBS (31 on Comcast), ESPN, etc.

I was told when I reduced my service for economic reasons that I would get channels up to, I think, channel 25. The Red Sox, of course, are broadcast on NESN, which is channel 51. I choked down acceptance that I had lost regular baseball viewing from my life until the ALCS and/or World Series.

If I can't afford an expensive Comcast cable package, I certainly can't afford to go to an actual game - even if they weren't all sold out.

I pointed out the fact that Comcast was holding the Red Sox hostage when the Comcast woman described the package to me. She said it wasn't Comcast's fault that NESN is channel 51.

For those of you who don't remember - or never knew - the Red Sox games used to be broadcast on channel 38, which was actually viewed on channel 6 (I have no idea why).

I object to having access to the Home Shopping Network, which mysteriously moved from some high-numbered channel to channel 3 during this whole transaction, and not the Red Sox games.

The only good thing that came out of this is that I no longer watch TNT all day. In fact, I rarely turn on the TV at all anymore.

Being poor sucks for more reasons than one would think.