How to spend your winter "vacation"

I'm going to take a break from watching baseball for a few days (or months).

If you are anything like me you just can't bring yourself to expend the effort. Or subject yourself to the pain.

If you are anything like me you plan to do anything but watch the World Series.

How many more times can you see Manny Ramirez's ugly mug, or Dustin Pedroia's nerdy, hamster-like little face?

(Yes the hate is irrational, but it's there. At least for now.)

If you're anything like me you have seen very little of the new TV season, since the Tribe would have been pretty much the only thing on your television for many months.

So, if you're anything like me, you'll be looking for something else to watch now that it is Tribe Time no longer (assuming your TV screen doesn't have a big jagged hole in it which got there about one second after Joel Skinner held up Kenny Lofton at third base).

That is why I've prepared this Tribe Fan Guide to the not-so-new-anymore fall TV season.

You can hardly describe them as must-see TV, but here are some shows you may want to consider:

The Office. One of my favorites for the past couple of seasons, but something is missing this year. It's not clicking like it used to, and I'm not the only one who has noticed. Maybe it's the new hour-long format, which mercifully will be cut back to a half hour this week. Thursday night on NBC.

30 Rock. Easily the best new show last season, it's back again this year and every bit as good (or so my wife says. I haven't seen it yet). Thursday night on NBC.

Friday Night Lights. This show is light on football and heavy on drama. Way too heavy. So many bad things have happened to so many people over such a short time in such a small town that the show is coming dangerously close to being unwatchable. Friday night (when else?) on NBC.

Men in Trees. In it's second season, this is pretty much a chick flick for the small screen. But it is just quirky enough and has just enough Alaskan scenery that I like watching it with my wife. Saturday night ABC.

Curb You Enthusiasm. Perhaps my favorite show on these days (except maybe for 30 Rock). New this season, Larry - at his wife's urging - adopts a family rendered homeless by a Katrina-like hurricane in the Gulf. One note of caution, Larry has become so unwittingly obnoxious this year that some of the situations are almost too awkward and uncomfortable to watch. Sunday night on HBO.

Except for the goofy show about robbing Mick Jagger, those were the only shows I watched with any regularity last season, and they all made it back on the schedule this year.

You'll notice I haven't mentioned any of this season's new shows yet. That's because there's very little to choose from. Here are a few I've tried to watch at least a couple of times.

Back To You. The only new show this year that I like, it features Kelsey Grammer and Cleveland native Patricia Heaton (daughter of Chuck but no relation to Neal) as co-anchors for a Pittsburgh (ugh!) TV station. The producer of the fictitious news show is my favorite character on this one. The quality seems to have dropped a tiny bit each week, but this show is is still very watchable. Wednesday night on FOX.

Carpoolers. The story of four guys who ride to work together and the things going on in their lives. This show is about as oddball as the robbing-Mick-Jagger show from last year. I'm still watching after two episodes, but I'm not sure for how much longer. Tuesday night on ABC.

Samantha Who? A woman has amnesia and has to try to put her life back together again. The critics like it. More importantly, my wife likes it and I trust her judgment. So you might as well try it. Monday night on ABC .

Tell Me You Love Me. Almost enough to cancel my HBO subscription. How they could have the nerve to put this piece of crap on in the Sopranos time slot is beyond me. This is a show with no plot and plenty of sex, including a healthy dose of on-screen genitalia - which puts it on par with THOSE shows available on THOSE certain pay-per-view channels. It's not the carnality that bothers me so much as the banality.

Maybe your best bet is to pick up a book, or a newspaper, or even to learn the guitar. It's a long time until next April.

If you have any suggestions, use the "comments" prompt below to let us know.

For those of you who want baseball only on the blog, rest assured that is what I'll be talking about for most of the rest of the off-season, though I may get sidetracked from time to time.