DISQUS

ETBlogs Sports: The Man(ny) upstairs

  • hurricane · 2 years ago

    Rob,


    This my first year reading your stuff regularly. I'd like to say I think you're doing a great job, very readable, personable and a refreshing change from the sometimes negativity and muck-creating journalism that sadly appears on the "Big Two" Boston dailys.



    Thanks

  • Hugh · 2 years ago

    If any other baseball writers are watching this, please take notes: this is how it should be done! Reports that are personal yet ego free. And that are responsive to the readers and genuinely informative.


    I'll chime in with a question after all that soft soap, if I may. Do you expect this to be Wakefield's last season? It seems people are already presuming a 2008 rotation of Schilling (when he's re-signed), Matsuzaka, Beckett, Papelbon and Lester/Buchholz/AN Other. The good news about Wake's progress (d'you see what I did there?) would suggest he's not done just yet.

  • lwinlc · 2 years ago

    Blogtastic indeed!!! This being my first experience with blogging, it says something that I'm not shy about commenting! You're great. Love it when you're on The Big Show, too. Glad to hear that Wake is healthy - I was worried after last year. Haven't been hearing much about Beckett. Is he on track? Looking forward to Donny O and the Remdawg tonight. This is definitely the best time of the year!

  • Jonathan Singer · 2 years ago

    Rob,


    More good minor league stuff that is much appreciated especially at soxprospects.com

  • Bryan · 2 years ago

    Rob, well done. Your writing brings a fresh perspective to the common "all negative-all the time" formula that sports reporting has become these days. Please do not change a thing.

  • Anonymous · 2 years ago

    I'm new and I love the informative approach. You're walking down the path not taken but finding stuff of interest about players we don't know and it is exciting. You're point of view is almost fan-like and allows us to virtually be in Fort Myers.

  • Lockland · 2 years ago

    Outstanding stuff as always Rob. Keep it up.

  • BriVT · 2 years ago

    I'd even say this has been Bloggerific!


    Good stuff, as always ... cross-promotion (also known as "pimping" in the blog world) is a time-honored tradition, so don't be shy.



    Finally, a real point: it seems like Wily Mo Pena at first base would be a really useful thing moving forward with Lowell on his last year and no top corner IFs in the system, and yet the Sox haven't really tried it since a brief experiment in ... I don't remember where. Was the experience watching him at first so horrible and traumatizing that they don't even want to make the attempt again?

  • BeantownBasher · 2 years ago

    Great stuff as usual Rob! This blog has become the donut to my coffee in the morning. I love the prospect reports and the personal tidbits you share with us....I can almost feel the warm breeze whisking my cheek as I peruse your blog.;) Nice to see there might even be a POSITIVE article being written about Manny, much to CHB's chagrin I am sure. I am sure he will dissect the article accordingly in hopes of finding some way to put a negative spin on it..as we know..negative feedback is still feedback!


    You are quickly setting the standard Rob! Keep up the great work!

  • bostongraf · 2 years ago

    Thanks, as always, Rob. Great job, and we appreciate it.


    Couple questions:

    Since Manny was not present for most of the fitness portion of ST, have you been able to discern the shape he is in? He has a reputation of a good personal routine, but I haven't heard how he looks so far this session.



    You breifly mentioned the rule change to promote less time between pitches (20 secs down to 12). Have you heard any thoughts or opinions on this? Is it an actual rule, or more of a guideline?



    Thanks, again!

  • AusSox Fan · 2 years ago

    Love it, Rob Blogford ... your site has become a twice-daily stop for me (and please let your employers know that the cross-promotion works, as I and many others do follow your links to "real stories"). Anyway - you mentioned Cox's teammate and a "draft & follow" -- I've heard this expression before, but don't exactly know what it means ... can you please explain? Thanks mate!

  • brando · 2 years ago

    you need to master the art of the link...there should be a link to your manny article in today's eagle-tribune, it helps lazy guys like me get there

  • Tom · 2 years ago

    Aussox, just in case Rob doesn't get to your question: A draft-and-follow is a player drafted in the June amateur draft (often in the later rounds) that the team wants to get a better look at before opting to sign to a contract. So, they "follow" him as he plays in the Cape Cod league or at a junior college in the spring before the next draft. As long as the player has not attended class at a 4-year institution, if the team likes what it sees and if they can come to terms on a contract, the player is eligible to be signed up until draft day the following June.


    The Sox have a few interesting draft-and-follows this year, including 11th-round pick Brandon Belt, a promising LHP out of Texas. But this is the last year for draft-and-follows, because the new CBA requires all draft picks to be signed by mid-August of their draft year, or they go back into the hopper.

  • bobh · 2 years ago

    "Reports that are personal yet ego free."


    They'll be ego free when he stops saying "I learned this" and "he told me." Take out the first-person stuff and just report.



    And enough with the sucking up. It's one thing to not be negative, another to have your lips secured to the players' butts.