I'm thrilled that Brian Kenny has joined the MLB Network and has started hosting "Quick Pitch," their late-night rundown show. Here's hoping that his role expands with them over time.

In the past, I've been critical of some of the offerings of MLBN, but that's only because I like the channel enough to care about it in the first place. In my opinion, it's the best of the sport-specific networks (though I can see the argument for the NFL Network), and in the long run, baseball is still my favorite sport. They've done a lot to promote the fantasy baseball brand by having the Fantasy 411 show (and Cory and Mike do a great job) and preview specials, they broadcast a ton of games to those who might not get to see them otherwise, and it's especially useful to get highlights and scores at any point in a given night during the season. Their draft coverage is superb, too - Jonathan Mayo does a great job (though if they ever stole Keith Law from ESPN to add to their coverage, I'd love it). I also like their historical pieces - baseball, more than any sport, revels in its history, and MLBN has done a great job of fostering that.

However, their one shortcoming in the past has been the lack of a regular voice in the "analytical" community. Occasionally in the past they would have a guest on that delves in sabermetrics, or they'd discuss the concept on their panel. But more often than not, that voice was either muted or, even worse, discussed without including someone sympathetic to that point of view. I get that the general baseball-watching public might prefer former players on, and certainly that viewpoint is valuable. But more often than not, that's the only viewpoint we got - I particularly remember a panel discussion about stats in the game that included Sean Casey, Harold Reynolds, Barry Larkin and I believe Mitch Williams (there was a fourth ex-player, and it might have been someone else), with Matt Vasgersian moderating. But there wasn't a single person on the panel representing the analytical community - Vasgersian was as close as it got. Suffice to say, that discussion was found lacking - I appreciate that it was brought up, but it really was a half-measure.

Adding Brian, though, fills that void. Not only has he worked hard to become familiar with many of the advanced metrics, but he's also willing to cede the floor to those who have that sort of expertise (and, for that matter, experts in many different fields). For lack of a better description, he's a "mainstream" media guy that is sabermetric-friendly. I don't need MLBN to become SABR-tv, but I love that it's going to have that voice. In the past two days, he's already had Rob Neyer and Joe Sheehan on for brief segments.

The network isn't perfect, but there's now something there for everyone. I'll keep asking for more, but a good channel just got better.

(Quick disclosure - I'm biased in favor of BK - when ESPNews had the Hot List and he was still hosting, I frequently did segments with him and Michael Kim. They both are friendly guys in addition to being really good at what they do.)