The Major League Baseball playoffs are right around the corner. But despite the proximity of the 1996 postseason, network broadcast game schedules are almost as tenuous and vague as they were six months ago.

Part of the reason lies with the unsettled pennant races. The other part lies with the mercurial nature of the postseason television schedule, with the three networks having the freedom to switch games and/-or game times with less than 24 hours’ notice.

The short version of the current baseball TV agreement is as follows:

The Fox Network has exclusive rights to both the National League Championship Series and World Series, and will broadcast divisional playoff games as well. NBC has exclusive rights to the American League Championship Series and will air divisional playoffs. ESPN will also broadcast divisional playoff games.

Fox’s exclusive lock on the NL championship and World Series means neither will be seen in most non-cable, non-satellite households in Maine, as the only Fox affiliate in Maine is WPXT in Portland.

Fox will air a minimum of three and maximum of five first round playoff games. The tentative schedule – if current standings remain the same – lists Fox’s first game as the Texas Rangers at New York Yankees 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The Texas-New York game will be followed by Atlanta at San Diego Wednesday at 8 p.m. Fox will then select the best NL game for its 4 p.m. telecast on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Fox will also have its pick of the best if-necessary playoff games on Sunday, Oct. 6 (NL) and Monday, Oct. 7 (AL).

NBC’s tentative plans involve starting out with coverage of the Texas at New York games Tuesday and Friday night (8 p.m.).

“The 5th [Saturday] is kind of up in the air right now,” said Chip Todd, NBC’s manager of TV network operations. “We don’t even have to decide until Thursday.”

NBC may flip between two games at the same time if one is a blowout and the other is a close contest.

ESPN will air at least six games and as many as 12, according to ESPN publicist Josh Krulewicz. The number of games depends on how many first round series go the distance in the best three-out-of-five affairs.

ESPN, the first cable network to air baseball playoff games, will begin its coverage with an afternoon (tentative 1 p.m. start) doubleheader Tuesday. The probable teams are Cleveland at Baltimore (1 p.m.) and Los Angeles at St. Louis (4 p.m.). As with every other network schedule, however, times and teams are subject to change.

The fluctuating nature of the 1996 postseason TV schedule may be confusing to viewers, but they can look at it as a tradeoff for the ability to view games which would not have been available under the now-defunct The Baseball Network system. The network was scrapped after a two-year trial last year.

For others, however, the damage done by numerous strikes and a continuing trend to start games later and later is irreversible.

“If anything, after last year and the strike, I think there’s a general disinterest in the playoffs unless your favorite team’s involved,” said Mike Marshall, program director at Portland’s WCSH (Ch. 6).

Marshall said baseball is still probably his favorite sport, but the late start times turned him off.

“I don’t follow it as much as I used to,” he said.