MLBlogosphere

Latest MLBlog Rankings

2008-06-30T14:08:21Z

Congrats to our friend Zoë Rice, the most-visited fan MLBlogger so far this season.

Here's the tough news to swallow: Almost all of you have been outblogged by a dog.

Since we relaunched this community on Opening Day, here is the ranking:

TOP 10 FAN MLBLOGS

TOP 10 OVERALL MLBLOGS:

The phenom on the list is Trade Talk. We launched it a little over a week ago and it is about to overtake Josh's popular "Inside the Dodgers" for most traffic in the entire season. Maintained on a constant basis by our 30 MLB.com beat writers, it is showing up on blogrolls all over as the most legit source for trade discussion leading up to the July 31 deadline.

Why is The Baseball Collector included in the latter group? Zack was working for us at MLBAM when he started blogging. Because his was one of the "founding blogs" whose pages were launched in that 24-hour span that MLBlogs was born in April 2005 -- in order, Tommy, Mayo, Murray, Sterno, Sutton and Zack -- he is keeping the ceremonial MLB PRO BLOGS template reserved for MLBlogs belonging to members of the Major League Baseball family. Through his baseball collecting and widespread publicity, he also has brought to the MLBlogs community a lot of visitors who have found other MLBloggers.

Here's another really good blog with a passion for collecting baseballs:

Rock Pile Rant...Colorado Rockies

If you want some easy traffic to your blog, leave comments here regularly and always include your full URL as a breadcrumb. We are scheduling our next MLBlogs Network upgrade soon and BY FAR at the top of the list of priorities is helping bloggers find each other. Stay tuned.

Mystery Blog: Red Sox Insider

2008-06-25T19:31:22Z

Red Sox Insider. Who is it? Don't know. Someone in the Red Sox front office. It's not Rob Crawford, the new VP of Red Sox Nation, and it's not Big Pupi. You can probably rule out Curt Schilling, because he has his own blog at 38pitches, and also Kevin Youkilis, who closed up shop at Youuuuuukkkkk during this season. It's not Wally, because he stopped posting during the 2006 pennant races. Could it be as high as a John Henry or a Theo Epstein? What about Bill James or Manny or someone in ticketing or on the grounds crew? No idea. I have the admin capability to see the email address and IP address for its creation, and that was not revealing enough to narrow down an identity. It's known within the club already, too, and not only still there, but now promoted on redsox.com. So it's the real deal, only with a mystery element. And by the way, it's also a great first post. Considering the many hundreds of Red Sox MLBloggers around here, such as The Boston Red Sox Blog or Brownie Points, this should be interesting. Let the mystery begin because it just launched, and comments are turned on. Who is the Red Sox Insider? Have fun.

Add the Trade Talk blog

2008-06-24T20:27:38Z

Make sure you put the brand-new Trade Talk blog on your browser toolbar strip or save the RSS feed to your blogreader -- whatever it takes to make this an around-the-clock fixture in your life between now and the July 31 trading deadline. It is constantly updated by our 30 Major League Baseball team correspondents here at MLB.com. We're the only media outlet that staffs every MLB press box with two dedicated beat writers on a traveling basis, and they are at the source of discussions with the general managers and player personnel folks. They are also routinely talking to each other and asking the right questions of those execs, knowing each club's up-to-date needs and stances on the issues. Jump into this blog with your comments, ask your questions, tell them and others what you are hearing in the rumor mill as well, and make Trade Talk a staple in your trading season life.

Welcome to Phillies Red Pinstripes, who started an MLBlog this month. We also want to thank that blog's author for providing the link back to our All-Star coverage index area from the reposting of my colleague Ken Mandel's article about Chase Utley's All-Star voting update. With that AP settlement case involving The Drudge Retort in the news recently, it's worth pointing out that common courtesy here. The MLBlogs Network has an "official affiliate/unofficial opinions" relationship to MLB.com, but please just credit and put a link back if you do reproduce one of our writers' articles from MLB.com and the 30 club sites.

Welcome also to our newest MLB PRO BLOG: Redlegs in the Community. The fact that so many clubs want to create blogs and audiences that way only further demonstrates the growing trend that everybody in baseball has to be blogging.

Personal note Part I: It's time to start another New York City Marathon training program, now that it's coming upon 16 weeks out from the November 2 event. Base is around 23-25 miles/wk right now. Updated the running blog, too. Any runners out there, please feel free to hit me up with great suggestions and network.

Personal note Part II: Every now and then I just want to replay some of my favorite baseball video clips I have uploaded to youtube. Here are a handful for kicks. You can place them in your own MLBlog by taking the embed code and clicking the last icon on the right of the toolbar above your text field. Here are some examples:

Great batting practice catch. I was hanging around the third base area as Tigers BP was starting and took this with my Canon A540 during the 2006 World Series in Detroit. Jeremy Bonderman basically saves some of his teammates, including Todd Jones, Joel Zumaya, manager Jim Leyland...and I don't remember if that's Andy Van Slyke or maybe Kenny Rogers standing next to Leyland. Here you go:

This is my favorite person baseball video I ever have taken with my camera. It was at Shea Stadium during the 2006 NLCS. It's just pure Albert Pujols, my favorite player, exhibiting that perfect toe-touch, hip-open and lightning bat speed...identical form each time.

Best power hitter I have seen in some time, right here, taken after the 2007 Japan Day Run in Central Park. I had to include this one because he can smash.

And especially for Cub fans in the crowd, this is what a Derrek Lee home run sounds like. I was just about the only person inside Chase Field last October as the Cubs were finishing up BP on the day before their fateful NLDS opener against Arizona. Can you say clang.

Post some of your own videos and comment with examples here.

More DVDs for MLBloggers to review

2008-06-19T00:15:16Z

My colleagues in MLB Productions one floor above me here in our Manhattan HQ just sent me down an interoffice envelope stuffed with five unbelievable DVD sets. The message is this: MLB Productions really likes you MLBloggers. We are definitely onto something with this year-long "experiment" of giving MLB.com bylines to MLBloggers.

So here is the latest call for content. Once again, this only applies to people who maintain MLBlogs, because we link to those from the tagline of your MLB.com article. The DVD or DVD sets will each be overnighted to the individuals who volunteer by emailing me with your mailing address...and once again you will have the best chance if you are a fan of the team that is that DVD's subject.

Once you have one of these, please email me a review of the merchandise within the week. I will schedule content display for consideration on that particular team's homepage, and you will have the kind of audience size that most writers -- traditional or new media -- dream about.

Here are the items I need you to review, so step right up:

The Boston Red Sox Essential Games of Fenway Park (6-DVD set in collector's tin)

The New York Mets Essential Games of Shea Stadium (6-DVD set in collector's tin)

Shea Goodbye: 45 Years of Amazin' (hosted by Matthew Broderick and featuring footage of the greatest Mets moments at home)

Yankee Stadium: Baseball's Cathedral (2-DVD set, exclusive commemorative bronze coin and replica ticket inside)

Red Sox Memories: The Greatest Moments in Boston Red Sox History (features Cy Young, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz and many more)

Plus, I am still looking for a D-Backs fan who wants to review:
2001 World Series Arizona Diamondbacks Collector's Edition DVD Set

The total retail value of these is in the $100s. As always, you get to own the product and get to add an MLB.com byline to your resume if the story works out. It keeps the credibility momentum going for blogging. It helps MLB Productions market their awesome products, and the MLB.com Shop folks appreciate business like anyone else today. Most importantly, it gives a widespread audience of your like-minded fans something they can appreciate, recommended by someone with whom they can identify through shared experience. That's a lot of wins for one little experiment we started last year! Let's keep it going...

Another MLBlogger on MLB.com

2008-05-29T20:17:44Z

Congrats to Marc Hershberg for being the latest in a growing line of MLBloggers to get MLB.com bylines, one of the perks of blogging here. The yellow checkmarks are examples of the kind of play he just got. As you can see from this screenshot on the current iteration of the Dodgers.com homepage (a huge audience), there is a full mediawall panel devoted to his review of the new Dodgers 1988 World Series Collector's Edition Boxed DVD Set available now at the MLB.com Shop. That panel also links to his very own MLBlog, and we also linked to it from the tagline of his article. His review also is in the headline stack on the first screen of that page, above "Hip surgery performed on Dodgers' Abreu." Marc was among those who responded to my "call for content" -- and we will keep doing that every so often as DVDs keep showing up on my desk from my colleagues upstairs at MLB Productions. His "payment" was keeping that DVD set valued at $70 and an MLB.com byline for his clip file.

As you can see from one of my recent posts here, I am still interested in finding someone to review the equivalent DVD set for the Diamondbacks' 2001 championship season. It's just sitting here on my desk next to my phone, collecting dust. Fortunately none of my colleagues or cleaning crew people has swiped it yet. Email me with "Dbacks Review" in the Subject line if interested, and I am looking for someone who maintains a credible Dbacks MLBlog. Someone is going to be the next MLBlogger with an MLB.com byline.

We have been doing this for about a year now and so far it seems like a successful experiment. It's a win for us because we get good content; it's a win for MLB Productions because it sells their DVDs; it's a win for bloggers because they have bylined articles on one of the Internet's largest destinations; it's a win for other fans because they get to see why to buy the DVDs; etc. And it just feels like the right thing to do as blogging becomes more mainstreamed; who knows where this experiment will go.

Mark/MLB.com

Hall of Fame Class of 2012 vs. 1936

2008-05-21T11:47:24Z

The ballot for the 2012 Hall of Fame Class could include:

Craig Biggio (retired)
Mike Piazza (retired)
Roger Clemens (limbo)
Barry Bonds (limbo)
Sammy Sosa (no idea)

Statistically speaking, it would be the greatest Hall of Fame class since the first:

Ty Cobb
Walter Johnson
Christy Mathewson
Babe Ruth
Honus Wagner

Speaking as a Lifetime Honorary member of the Baseball Writers Association of America who votes each December, I say let's just throw Pete Rose onto the ballot for 2012 as well (in place of Sosa, a doubtful first-balloter) so we can make it a legit five-on-five and let everyone have at it.

You would match up Bonds again Ruth, Clemens against Johnson, Rose against Cobb. Mathewson and Piazza both basked in the big-city limelight, both dominating over a long period, so we'll pair those two. That leaves primary infielders Biggio (2,850 games, 291 homers, .281, 414 steals) and Wagner (2,787 games, 101 homers, .329, 722 steals).

Could be fun. Give me five years to let all the he-said/she-saids play out, see if anything changes with Charlie Hustle in a half-decade, and just imagine what it could be like with Clemens and Piazza together in Cooperstown for a whole loving weekend.

Looking forward to your blogs about the whole subject, now that Piazza has walked away for good.

Jon Lester No-hitter Posts

2008-05-20T19:25:42Z

We have aggregated a lot of the Red Sox Nation bloggers in the main mediawall panel at MLBlogs.com, and feel free to comment here with your Permalink or main MLBlog URL so that others can find it. Also remember to put "Jon Lester" and "no-hitter" in the tag field of a post like that, so that anyone who does a tag search for those terms might find you. Some Sox fans like Arielle already mentioned it in the previous post's comments here so scan through. Congrats to Lester and it has been a steady stream of unique MLBlogger analysis in the Most Recent Activity feed on our MLBlogs main page all last night and all today. One day soon that no doubt will be wedded more closely in various ways to our main MLB.com coverage...kind of inevitable, no? You sure didn't need a BBWAA pass or media credential and a Fenway seat to be able to immediately write about it and have a large audience. The world sure has changed from when I was at Indiana University journalism school and newspapers ruled. I don't think I have read a print newspaper in this calendar year yet, with the possible exception of occasionally curiously looking at a NY Times Sunday Book Review section at a Starbucks or on the lobby floor of my apartment. . . . "MLB is on the cusp of a new era," writes the Boston University journalism student in an interesting debut post at The Truth. Yes, that blogger went with the Yankees template. So, do you agree that Joba should be able to show whatever emotion he wants after a big out in the eighth? Leave your comments there and welcome a rookie. ... In case you have not found it yet, welcome the new Beat the Streak Report maintained by our fantasy staff at MLB.com. Considering the massive number of people entered in that ongoing contest and the chance to win $1 million this year, it is a given that it will have a major audience. They are waiting to answer your questions/comments on that blog so take advantage of it! ... If you go to Yankee Stadium, pick up a copy of the monthly Yankees Magazine. There's a cover story about player blogs including all the great ones here at MLBlogs, like Bengie Molina, with quotes from yours truly. ... Our friend Murray Cook, MLB's head groundskeeping consultant and one the original MLBloggers who launched on the same day this whole area did, just blogged from China about the impact of the earthquake tragedy there. I'm headed there to cover the entire Summer Olympics and am curious myself what the mood will be after that disaster. ... Speaking of Olympics, Tommy just addressed the U.S. Water Polo team. ... Guess you noticed that Mark DeRosa chose a permanent title for his MLBlog: The Pulse. - Mark/MLB.com

Favorite MLB Moment

2008-05-14T22:14:19Z

I know we've done the Most Memorable Moments (Ripken 1, Gibson 2, etc) thing at MLB in recent years, but after watching Manny's unbelievable Lambeau Leap/double play he pulled off today in Baltimore I was just wondering what your favorite MLB moment was. Something that unquestionably just sticks out, might not be the most famous moment, just personally unforgettable to you. Post yours on your blog and leave the URL here and maybe we can highlight some on MLBlogs.com and have some Manny-like fun with this. Gotta tell you that our entire office here at the MLB headquarters was going crazy and everyone telling colleagues around them to watch it. That is one of the reasons that our MLB.com Mobile Video Alerts are insane-popular so far this year; you are somewhere at work or running an errand and suddenly you get a Video Alert on your mobile phone and you are watching Manny Being Like Manny Never Before. I wrote a story on MLB.com during the last World Series about all the top Manny moments over the years, and I think that has to jump right to the top of the list, don't you think? Maybe over him going to the bathroom inside the Green Monster during a pitching change and stopping the action.

Also, somewhere out there is the fan who got the high-five from Manny in the home run seats during that double play, and you are most definitely invited to start a blog here and tell us what it was like. Someone find that fan! It wouldn't be that unusual, as fans in key situations come up with MLBlogs every now and then. Remember Shaun Dean?

Spheroid: Phillies Phollowers

2008-05-12T18:13:13Z

By: Jennifer Zambri-Dickerson
http://philliesphollowers.mlblogs.com/

Why do you blog?
Because the little voices tell me to...OK, well really it all started when I got tired of shouting all this stuff at the TV and decided to write it down. It's all about channeling the energy into a productive and happy place! Well, I guess it is not always happy, but I try. My life essentially revolves around the Phillies during baseball season -- I plan literally EVERYTHING around the game schedule, the special events, I plan trips to away games, etc. So I figured, between all that, the thousands of photos I take of these guys every year, and all my constant yapping about the team, I may as well add this blog to my writing repertoire.

What was your favorite post?
Well, although it covered a nasty Phillies loss, I am going to have to go with "Foul Ball Homer + Sloppy Defense = One Ugly Loss" because any post where I get to talk about Chase Utley's pants is just off-the-charts entertaining to me!

Strangest blogging experience?
I guess the oddest thing would be finding out that fans of teams other than the Phillies are actually reading my blog. Even got comments from a few of them. That's kind of fun, because those are true baseball fans. My Dad even reads it, and he as a general rule, hates sports. Can you imagine? I swear I must be adopted.

What is your favorite blog, including at least one MLBlog?
"Phillies Insider" on MLBlogs, written by Larry Shenk, who was the Phillies VP of Public Relations since 1964, until going into semi-retirement just this year. Very informative blog and full of humor too, which suits his personality well. I also like "LadiesDotDotDot.wordpress.com" -- which caters specifically to women and is some of the funniest and most "out there" stuff I've ever read. They pretty much say whatever they want.

What would you be doing if you weren't blogging?
In my "other" life, I am a school teacher and a freelance writer and photographer. I am almost never without a camera and cannot be pulled away from watching baseball or photographing baseball. In the offseason, you can find me huddled up in a corner, chewing my nails, heart racing and frantically rambling nonsense to myself in a vain attempt to remain calm until Spring Training begins.

Where do you think the blogosphere is going?
I think eventually, the blog will replace newspapers, just like CDs replaced cassette tapes, which replaced vinyl albums before that. I can't tell you the last time I looked for news in a paper. I go straight to the Internet. Now, you do need to know where to look for "reliable" sources and many "blogs" now are not really that source. They are more opinion then news. But in the future? Can bloggers become the newspaper reporters of the past? Maybe...who knows?

Favorite team and why?
The Phillies! When I was eight, I was playing on a boys tee-ball team and we were invited to a Phillies game to go out on the field and shag some balls in front of the crowd. I had seen Pete Rose on TV and thought he was a really tough, really determined player...the kind of player I wanted to be. So I remember being disappointed that the coach would not let me play first base that day, but I stopped there on my way out to right field, stood on the base for a minute and looked around. I thought, ok, this is what Pete Rose sees everyday...cool. Then, off to right field I went where I listened to the crowd yell, "Oh my God, there is a little girl out there!", and various things of that nature. This was 1980 -- not a common sight back then. I was so nervous by the time the ball was hit to me, with all those people yelling and staring, I thought for sure I'd drop it. But, thankfully, I did ok. One near embarrassment down, one to go.

After that, we were escorted to the dugout to meet Dallas Green and have our photo taken with him. He walked right over to me and started making a big deal over me being the only girl and said I would get to stand next to him for the photo. After that he teased me a bit, told me I was pretty and then asked if I would marry him. And I will not forget this as long as I live...I actually said to him that I did not think my Mom would let me. Yes, I was a total dweeb. Not sure what I was thinking there. I was nervous and it was the first thing that popped into my head. Duh! Of course, he laughed at me and I was rightfully embarrassed. Silly girl.

Anyhow, I watched the Phillies faithfully after that and as we all know, they won the World Series that year. I have met Dallas Green many times since that day and have always been tempted to ask him if he'd still like to marry me. Somehow, I think it wise to keep that to myself though. I think there may be a statue of limitations on
marriage proposals. Especially when they involve 8-year-old girls.

What is one thing most people don't know about you?
Probably that I have a Bachelor's degree in Animal Science and that I used to work at a zoo handling snakes, lizards and all kinds of creatures. That freaks most people out...at least the snake part does. Also, I play six different musical instruments. I minored in music too, just in case I needed to charm one of the snakes back into its basket.

Happiness is...
The Phillies win the World Series; it inspires people everywhere to support their "Go Green" campaign, thereby putting an end to Global Warming and saving the environment, bringing LOVE and WORLD PEACE to us all! Dream big, my friends, dream big...

To be considered as a featured Spheroid, feel free to email us with your responses to those nine questions and be sure to put "Spheroid" in the subject line. Have fun blogging...

Spheroid: Around the Horn with Dan Weisman, Baseball Investigator

2008-05-07T21:18:41Z

Title: Around the Horn with Dan Weisman, Baseball Investigator
MLBlogger: Dan Weisman
Template: Padres | First Post in The Show

Why do you blog?

I truly, truly enjoy baseball. My first memories are of baseball games. Some of the greatest and most memorable events of my life are permeated with baseball. I eat, drink and sleep baseball. My only regret today at a somewhat advanced age is I no longer feel comfortable playing. With that said, I've seen so much and see so much, I'd like to give other fans and fellow travelers a bit of humor, insight and memory related to the sport. The new communication environment with more free-form writing possibilities in blog formats works well with my writing and observatory style.

What was your favorite post?

The next one. I don't want to waste my, or anyone's, time. I liked the Dr. Strangeglove and From Japan with Love posts.

Strangest blogging experience?

So far, checking the viewer stats and seeing where viewers reside. My gosh, Moscow, Shanghai, Singapore, Africa, all over South America and incredibly well-distributed across the U.S. and Canada. As someone who grew up in a print journalism environment, just seeing the diversity and spontanaeity of viewership was wild.

What is your favorite blog, including at least one MLBlog?

So far, I like the Detroit Tigers Daily Fungo which you featured. That guy has done an amazing job. I'm very impressed with the time he puts into it and the quality of information. Daron Sutton's is fun, and well-done with a mix of image and materials. Alyssa Milano's for not-so-obvious reasons. and obvious ones.

What would you be doing if you weren't blogging?

Watching baseball. I also dumpster dive and scrounge for money; exercise, hike and batter-cize, and watch television. All My Children fan. Also, drive around Rancho Santa Fe and chill.

Where do you think the blogosphere is going?

Obviously, more interactive. Addition of social networking features. Easier access to features. More mobile features. Other ways not appreciated just yet.

Favorite team and why?

Different teams at different times. As my life and location changed, so, too, did my allegiances. Today, I have sympathies for some teams and enjoy watching some teams more than others, but I find this is function of the team makeup at the time generally.

Very earliest days, the Giants. Then, shifted to the Mets because they were the ultimate underdogs and so was I. After that, the Astros and heady days at the Dome. Following that, Mariners, as stuff happened, then in time for some championships with the Blue Jays, followed by Devil Rays and Padres.

What is one thing most people don't know about you?

During my days in Arkansas, I actually debated Bill Clinton about sports on numerous occasions at various places. I was assigned by the Arkansas Democrat to cover him. I'm also a Rice University graduate. Rice and Arkansas were in the old -- and I do miss it -- Southwest Conference. So, Clinton and I would discuss the Rice-Arkansas football games. We also talked about other sports like baseball and basketball, etc. At the Pepsi-Coke challenge, he took the taste test and said, "I can't decide. They both taste good." (Footnote: Never saw Hillary around any time then.)

Happiness is...

A great seafood barbecue a'la my old New Orleans home. Oh yes, and a game-winning home run in the bottom of the Ninth Inning to win the game and avoid a 100-loss season. Y'all can go home, now.

To be considered as a featured Spheroid, feel free to email us with your responses to those nine questions and be sure to put "Spheroid" in the subject line. Have fun blogging...

Adding the Lou Widget; Welcome to TWIB

2008-05-06T22:36:22Z

Updated 4:50 p.m. ET on Wednesday

Warm MLBlogs welcome to the crew behind the scenes at This Week In Baseball, everyone's favorite show dating back to the days of Mel Allen. They just launched Behind the TWIB Notes, and if you want to get a feel for it, go there and click on the link to listen to the classic TWIB theme. It'll put you in a bigtime baseball mood! Leave comments for the crew, share memories of great TWIB highlights past, and be a regular on their blog.

I couldn't resist adding the Lou Piniella Bobblehead widget to the top of this blog for a daily affirmation, and you might want to consider the same whether you are a Cubs fan or just a baseball nut like the rest of us. It is part of our ongoing Pepsi Clutch Performer of the Month voting campaign. So first of all, you should join the voting there and make yourself eligible for a free trip for two to the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis, and you can click "Get the Widget" on that index page if you want to go through each step. Shortcut

To place the widget like I did, click on "Grab" and then click on "Embed". Copy that embed code and place it at the end of your Blog Description text field under your General Settings. For now, the Link Lists in our Movable Type software do not permit use of widgets as with the previous Typepad app, so that's one place to position it. You also can simply place it within your text post, clicking on the Edit HTML icon on the far right side of your toolbar over the text field. Piniella will be there to give you a different "affirmation" each day. . . .

Welcome back to Mark DeRosa. The Cubs' second baseman returned to blogging action over the weekend and has immediately become the No. 1 MLBlog by traffic, just inching past Inside the Dodgers. DeRosa said he will try to do this weekly, and he has invited fans to leave comments with a permanent suggestion for his blog's title.

Welcome also to Brett Wallace. The Arizona State University standout is blogging from the perspective of a much-scouted prospect leading up to the June Draft. This is the first year we at MLBAM have offered this kind of regular perspective, added to our overall comprehensive Draft coverage at MLB.com.

ASG Vote Begins; MLBlogs Network updates

2008-04-29T17:19:25Z

We just launched the All-Star Game ballot, and fortunately it is always an election year in baseball as I noted in the launch story. Start submitting those 25 ballots per MLB.com registration, and it makes great blogging material. Try copy/pasting a cropped screenshot of your ballot showing your choices. Looking forward to seeing lots of blogs about the voting process between now and July. allstargame.com >

Just saw the latest example of MLBloggers getting MLB.com bylines. Thanks to Steve Dempsey, Paul Festa and Ryan Maloney, who actually have a triple byline AND their own taglines. I have never seen that kind of crediting at MLB.com before. The taglines link to their own MLBlogs. Millions of users currently are seeing the display of our Video Games technology package now displayed on the homepage as I write this. See my previous post as well -- I had lots of candidates to review the Dodgers/Dbacks stuff but at last check no Dodger/Dback fans among them. Would prefer people with those rooting interests, if not in next 24 hours will just send the DVD sets out to best available bloggers. Must have an MLBlog.

Service Advisory, updated 6:48 a.m. ET Wednesday: All pages rebuilt overnight, should see improvement in performance. Welcome to rookies and thanks to the entire community, which has created as many blogs this month as we did in the first three years. Seems you all like FREE blogs and being able to legally show your favorite team's logos and stuff.

Reviews needed: AZ and LAD World Series DVD Sets

2008-04-23T18:00:52Z

Updated 1:45 p.m. ET Wednesday

Last night I wrote this story for the MLB.com and Cubs.com homepages about "Cubbleyous." Yes, I counted all 10,000 W's that appear in the article! Congrats to the Cubs for reaching that milestone. It would have been ironic if Greg Maddux had reached 350 at almost exactly the same time, but somehow Trevor Hoffman just blew another very high-profile save opportunity...common lately.

Now it could be your turn to have an MLB.com byline. In the last year, a lot of MLBloggers have had prominent bylines on club homepages, simply by offering to review our popular World Series Collector's Edition DVD sets that are brought down to my desk from my MLB Productions colleagues upstairs here at our MLB Advanced Media headquarters in Manhattan. We kind of have a system going now and a little breakthrough modern journalism happening. I just got a couple more sets:

The Arizona Diamondbacks 2001 World Series Collector's Edition: "Celebrate the Arizona Diamondbacks' historic first World series championship. All seven World Series games against the New York Yankees." ($51.99 listed value)

The Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 World Series Collector's Edition: "The dramatic 1988 NLCS Game 4, the pennant-clinching Game 7 and all five World series games against the Oakland Athletics." ($42.99 listed value)

I am looking for enthusiastic writers who would like an MLB.com byline for the resume and a great product to keep for free after reviewing. The articles are going onto dbacks.com and dodgers.com for an entire fan base, and these sets obviously are celebrations of important historical club moments and the articles will need to embrace that feeling from a fan perspective. You win by getting a byline and a free product, we win by further promoting the game.

If you are interested, EMAIL ME NOW with full name and mailing address and you will be considered. Do this by email rather than by comment here. If you are selected, I will have the set overnighted to you. You will have five days from receipt of the set (or asap) to file your 500- to 700-word review to that same email address, and I will budget it for presentation on that club's homepage. UPDATED: I have three interested reviewers, but would prefer they be hardcore Dodger/D-backs fans.

There will be others to come so stay tuned. Only on MLBlogs!!!

- Mark/MLB.com

Examples of past MLBloggers reviews on MLB.com:

http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com/archives/2007/09/around_the_sphe.html

http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com/archives/2007/08/latest_mlbcom_b.html

http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com/archives/2007/08/dvd_review_upda.html

http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com/archives/2007/08/more_mlbcom_byl.html

http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com/archives/2007/07/around_the_sphe.html

http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com/archives/2007/06/exclusive_oppor.html

Our friend Zoe Rice, the NYC author who maintains the well-read Pick Me Up Some Mets! MLBlog, actually got the ball rolling on this year-long effort with a review last May of a Mets DVD. That appeared on the top of the front of Mets.com.

MLBlogs Network Updates

2008-04-17T15:20:20Z

Updated 12:40 a.m. ET Sunday

Condolences to surviving family and friends on the shocking loss of our MLB.com colleague John Marzano. He was one of the friendliest guys around. Vinny posted on the Leading Off blog and please feel free to add your comments with thoughts on Johnny Marz.

* * *

MLBlogs Network Updates:

It's just a workaround for now, but here is the solution for everyone who has asked why they cannot have paragraphs within their comments. Simply use two br tags between each paragraph, like this: <*br><*br> (without the asterisks)

Welcome to our latest Major League Baseball player who wanted to blog: Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur. He decided on "Frenchy's Forum" and just posted his first entry. Please welcome him to MLBlogs! Welcome also to WildWilburD, whose blog begins: "Sitting at work on a slow afternoon..." Welcome to padfan, The "K" Man and moomba. New MLBlogs continue to be created around the clock in every template.

Beth at Yankees Chick gets credit for the best headline of the day at MLBlogs.

The issue with popup images should be cleared up now. Previously some users were experiencing blank popup windows after selecting that option at the Insert Pic stage of creating an entry, so that you could not click on a thumbnail and see the image at full resolution. Six Apart has installed a patch that has resolved this, but it will not fix previous cases where an asset (image) was uploaded and a blank popup appeared. You will need to re-insert any such images you want to position as popup windows.

Most of the Create Link problems have subsided, save for some edge cases such as that reported by Steve in my previous post's comments. Thanks to those who have helped via email with your system info and status. Please feel free to report any ongoing issues here.

See my Call for Content in previous post as well, if you want an MLB.com byline. All you have to do is play a video game and tell everyone how fun it is.

MLBlogs Network Updates

2008-04-15T22:12:07Z

Thanks for your patience during the difficulties at the Create Links stage within the Link List area of the new Movable Type app. That appears to have been resolved based on feedback of participating MLBloggers who were experiencing problems there, primarily using IE6. Firefox is recommended if you have the option. Please continue reporting here with any issues involving your software as we continue refinements and plan next upgrades.

CALL FOR CONTENT: If you have either PS3, PS2 or PSP system/devices for video games, I am sitting here with three versions of MLB '08 The Show on my desk and want to overnight them to any MLBlogger(s) who would like an MLB.com byline and a free game. I only need a 200-word review on each, so please SEND AN EMAIL HERE to volunteer. We already have MLBlogger reviews "in the can" for the MLB2K8 game on Wii, PS3 and Xbox, and to make it a total MLB.com package I just need to put together the MLB '08 The Show review page. Step right up and you can have an MLB.com byline for your resume if you're a writer.

David Mickey Evans, famed director of The Sandlot classic baseball movie, is an MLBlogger and he just posted about his latest film The Final Season being released now on DVD. Leave him a comment and tell him what you think of the movie.

Please welcome our newest blogging player, Giants catcher Bengie Molina. He asked the club if he could get a blog started, and now he not only has one, but two. Bengie, the oldest of the three MLB-catching, ring-owning Molina brothers (also Jose and Yadier), will be blogging in an English-language MLBlog and one that is also posted in Spanish for sfgigantescom.

Meanwhile, Tommy Lasorda is the master storyteller in baseball. He just told another that everyone should know about and pass around.

It's fitting that we are talking about the legendary former Dodgers manager and current team exec, because Tuesday is Jackie Robinson Day around the game. Tommy got this whole MLBlogs thing started three years ago by saving the very first MLBlog entry as an ode to his former Dodger teammate and late friend who broke baseball's color line.

Please leave Tommy your comments, as he's the trailblazer here, and also a welcome note for that catcher on his rival club up the coast. Did you see that Tommy also is going to RECEIVE the Pope this week? And a dinner that night with the President and First Lady in the White House.

Congrats to MLBlogs' own Zack Hample, who just demolished his own record of baseball snaggage at new Nationals Park. Ran into him on the subway Saturday in NYC and I kept it secret until he could blog about it. Amazing how this guy now has a legion of snagroupies.