March 20th, 2007
Season 3
We at Major League Baseball Advanced Media and our partners at Six Apart have extended our two-year agreement that would have expired on Opening Day. What that means to the MLBlogs community is that we will start the regular season April 1 on a status quo basis, so Typepad as usual for you at least a while longer.
I had mentioned several times during the past offseason that it might be wise to back up non-exportable graphics just in case we suddenly change environments to something else, and this means there won’t be a lot of chaos as teams break camp.
There are still a number of scenarios for where we at MLBAM are going with user-generated content, and thanks for your patience as talks and plans continue. As noted previously, the world has changed markedly since we launched MLBlogs on April 18, 2005, with Tommy Lasorda’s first post about his friend Jackie Robinson. Since then, social media have become a fact of life around the clock for many if not most of us, with features that are now familiar staples such as groups, adding friends, commenting, tagging, uploading video, moblogging and more. I would expect that everything you probably want in Web 2.0 will be available in one cool world of potentially millions of baseball fans by sometime this summer, possibly the All-Star break, but the main thing to report here is that we have extended our deal with Six Apart so that there is no panic around the start of the season. The terms/length of the 6A extension is undisclosed.
Here is something I’d like to throw out to the MLBlogs community, as all of us here have gotten the most out of the existing Typepad app and probably done more than our fair share of experimenting with spaces on various networks from myspace to VOX. What would be your dream social network across MLB.com and the 30 MLB team sites we maintain? Go beyond the obvious (friends, tagging, etc.)…and suggest features that would really and truly make you want to ask Kevin Costner: "Is this heaven?" Think out of the batter’s box. That’s what we want to roll out later in 2007, and perhaps gradually. Please just post your thoughts below as comments or email them to me if you’d rather be more private. Everything will be considered, along with whiteboarding that has been going on here. And for now, please enjoy the terrific capabilities of MLBlogs, which is where you can legally show official MLB and club marks and logos on the Internet, where you blog amongst players and authors and MLB personalities, where you are your own unmoderated author (remember: Official MLB.com Affiliate/Unofficial Opinions), where you’re a click or two away from the main navbar on every page at MLB.com, where you’ll be seen by a true baseball audience.
Thanks for being part of the MLBlogosphere, keep those Spheroids coming, and tell your friends that Season 3 will start right here again.
- Mark/MLB.com
Spheroid: Daily musings from 35th & Shields
MLBlogger: Michael | Where: Daily musings from 35th & Shields
Template: White Sox | About page | First post in The Show
Why did you sign up for an MLBlog?
I love to talk baseball — with friends, family, even random strangers. Here, I have an opportunity to write about the daily happenings around the league, with my team (the White Sox), how the season is shaping up, or just about any topic in general. I have something to say, and if people want to find me, now they know where they should go.
What is your favorite team and why?
I’ve been a White Sox fan since I knew what baseball was. It just goes with the territory — my entire family consists of White Sox fans, and it’s just been ingrained into me. If I had to choose a second, though, it would be the Boston Red Sox. I spent a year in Maine and really got to like the entire region, especially the sports in the area. When I got to go to Fenway last year to see the Red Sox and the White Sox play, it was like a dream come true.
What is your favorite thing about blogging?
Having also done regular newspaper columns, I know how difficult it can sometimes be to write on command. With a blog, I can write as little or as often as I want — and my columns can be as short or as long as I need. With a newspaper column you only get so many inches, and sometimes it’s a stretch to fill it all — and sometimes you have to condense a large part of your work into a short bit. On my blog, I’m unedited — whatever I say, goes.
Favorite blogs, including at least one in the MLBlogosphere:
Strangely enough, I don’t read too many outside blogs. However, I have to say that Bill Simmons’ recently created Basketball Blog is always entertaining. Here on MLBlogs, I’ve enjoyed reading the West Coast College Student Looking for East Coast Baseball Knowledge blog — Coral really likes her Angels, and always has something interesting to say. I don’t think she resents my White Sox fandom too much, either, despite the events of ’05.
My most memorable MLB moment:
Last September, I took my first baseball road trip. I started on the north side of Chicago at Wrigley Field, and saw games in Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and finished up at U.S. Cellular Field on the south side of Chicago. We also got to see a day of tennis at the U.S. Open, which was happening during the days we were in NYC. It was amazing. This year we’re doing it again, but for a longer time — in addition to the parks we hit last year, we’re also catching games in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and St. Louis. I can’t wait.
What would you be doing if you weren’t blogging?
Well, being a professional musician when I’m not talking baseball, I’d probably be practicing. I work a lot, and when I’m not performing, I’m teaching, so it doesn’t leave me a lot of time during the day. But somehow I seem to still get everything done.
Last MLB item you bought:
Opening Day tickets to see the White Sox and Indians!
Who is your favorite MLB player?
For this, I have two answers. If you’re talking current, active players, I’m going to go with Paul Konerko. He has been the face of the White Sox for quite a few years now. I’d say a lot of people equate him with the "south side" mentality — a guy who worked his way up through the ranks to become a leader but at the same time does not allow himself to become complacent. He had a rough year in 2004, but followed that up with solid campaigns in 2005 and 2006, and that’s the hallmark of a great player — coming back and playing hard even though things may not have been going your way. I think the whole lineup of the White Sox exemplifies that — Thome, Dye, Konerko, A.J., everyone — they work hard and don’t take any B.S.
As far as all-time players go, I’ve got to say Ted Williams. I’ve got plenty of favorite White Sox players, and plenty of favorite all-time players, but for some reason Teddy stands out to me. Here’s a man who not only was one of the best hitters of all time, but a truly honorable man to boot. He accepted his compulsory military service even though he knew that it would take him away in the prime of his career, and served his country honorably in a time of war. He was a stand-up man, and in a day and age when that type of person is hard to find, he is a great role model for those who follow him.
Happiness is…
Enjoying Opening Day with my Dad, who I will be taking to the park with me again this year. It’s become a tradition, and even though it wasn’t technically Opening Day for us last year (we went to the third game of the season because of our collective schedules), we’ll continue the tradition again this year.
That’s why I’m hot: Want to be a Spheroid like Michael and get all Mims about your own MLBlog? Just email us your answers to these Nine Questions and put "SPHEROID" in the subject line, and we encourage you to include any links and images you’d like to see included. Then we’ll show why your blog is hot.
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