Hello again, readers. It's time for another Saturday Odds & Ends. Last week was a pretty big week as far as blogging goes; I think I posted something pretty much every day of the week. This next week might be a little slower; other obligations have been competing for my time (school, traveling, getting the kids' schedules back on Mountain Time, a broken washing machine, etc.) so I don't have a huge backlog of articles like I did over the holidays. Hopefully I can come up with some good stuff for you.
I don't know if anyone has noticed but I have kind of a routine around here. I run a post at least every Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. I make it a priority to always have those four days covered. I figure that way you all have something to read every other day at the bare minimum. I will do my best to stick to that schedule and I imagine that it will be a rare occurrence that I deviate from it, so if you check in with me here every couple days you can be fairly certain there will be something new.
And on that note, the important stuff.
Box Score:
- The Frontiersman ran a full article on the Mat-Su Miners' financial woes this week. The good news is that the team will not fold or sit out the 2010 season. The basic gist is that while the shortfall was a big blow to the team, all the bills have already been paid so they're not in danger of having the stadium repossessed or something crazy like that. To keep the organization in the black GM Pete Christopher is trying to sell 200 ads for $150 a pop. Maybe we could spring for a 49th State Hardball ad, who knows. Other than that, the team is trying to find creative ways to raise funds without aggressively competing with other nonprofits in the valley.
- The Anchorage Glacier Pilots have bestowed some linkage upon me from their main website and I have to give them a big thanks for that. I've gotten a bit of an uptick in readers and especially comments lately, which is awesome. There's no doubt in my mind that getting links in from teams like the Pilots has helped a bunch. You should definitely check out their website if you haven't been in a while; I've noticed that lately they've been putting up some fresh content and getting the place set up for 2010.
- Speaking of the Pilots, former ABL'er and Major League journeyman Eric Hinske (Pilots, 1996) has signed with Atlanta. The 2002 AL Rookie of the Year has won World Series' the past two years with two separate teams. He'll join Kris Medlen (Panners, 2005) in Atlanta.
- In addition to all the great comments left on the blog itself, our Facebook page has gotten a little more activity on it. You should become a fan of 49th State Hardball on Facebook and help us reach 30 fans. Or if Twitter is more your thing, check us out there. I will follow anyone who posts about Alaska or baseball, so if you have something to promote or are just into collecting followers, there's an easy one for you.
- Here's the quick recap of what went on here this week: Analysis of Runs Created in 2009 - Interview with Brian Bello, Bucs - All-Time Top ABL Players #15-11 - A Look at ABL's Military History - Player Profile: Jake Stewart, Panners
On Deck:
- The Peninsula Oilers have announced the return of....THE GUSHER! Tickets are $100/pair and include dinner, music, dancing, drinks, door prizes, and the chance to be there when the inaugural class of the Oilers Hall of Fame is inducted. The shin-dig kicks off on February 27th in the old Carrs in Kenai.
- Tomorrow's post will be a comparison of ERA and xERA for ABL Pitchers in 2009. It's kind of the pitching counterpart to the Runs Created analysis we did last week .
- The #10 pick in our Top 20 ABL Players of All Time rankings will be revealed on Tuesday. Try to contain your excitement!
- On Thursday I'll have a new 2010 Player Profile. I'm not sure who though. Another mystery! It will be a Bucs player unless one of the other teams drops a roster on us so I can break out of the Bucs-Panners-Bucs-Panners cycle. Nothing against either team but a little variety never hurts, and I'm sure Pilots/Miners/Oilers/Fire fans out there would agree.
Its hard to post rosters this early. You may have 30 guys signed this time of year and you never know who is actually going to make it up there. Injuries, grades and other various reasons make it difficult to post a roster this early.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know. But I am the deadly combination of fan and writer. The fan part of me is like a little kid the night beefore Christmas. I'm shaking the presents under the tree and I just can't wait to open them. Mom and dad have already let me open a couple but they keep telling me I have to wait for the rest. And the writer part of me has to indulge its muckraking streak once in a while. I'm trying to be grown up about it, but it's difficult.
ReplyDeleteThat being said...I think I might actually shake things up a little bit. Instead of previewing a 2010 player on Thursday, I might do a "Where is he now?" on a 2009 player. It would give me a chance to do something fresh, and spotlight another team at the same time.
Understandable. It is always interesting to see the teams and try to guess who may be good and who will not. Not that a players on a roster mean anything.
ReplyDeleteYou should do a piece on the ASU players that were up in AK and get thier take on what has gone on there this year.
Why did the coaching staff from the Pilots go to the Oilers??? They almost won a National Championship for that organization didn't they? Isn't that two good coaching staffs in two years that have not been back to the Pilots?
ReplyDeleteIt would definitely be hard to try and rank the teams based on their provisional rosters. I have considered making a preseason ranking right before the season begins, because people seem to like those things, but my predictions would likely be way, way off and it might not be worth pissing off the fans/personnel of the team I pick to finish last.
ReplyDeleteI'll look into the ASU thing. Always open to suggestions for new articles.
Regarding the coach jumping from the Pilots to the Oilers, Machado is a native of Kenai and also played for the Oilers. I'm sure his main motivation was that he couldn't pass up the chance to coach for his hometown team.
How about a monthly GM's report from each team?
ReplyDeleteMight be kind of hard to swing that. I'm not plugged in to all the front offices and even if I were, I don't know if they'd all be down with reporting to me on a monthly basis.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not a bad idea though. I am thinking that something along those lines but maybe a little more realistic for what I do is to line up a series of preseason interview with GM's, or folks in similar capacities, when the season gets a little closer.
Get yourself a link on all the the ABL team websites.
ReplyDeleteThat's the goal. I feel kind of like an ass though being like "hey guys link to me!" but most of the teams have anyway. I get a ton of traffic from the ABL teams who link to me and I appreciate that, and all the support they've given me too.
ReplyDeleteI can understand why a guy would want to coach his home town team. But the coaching staff before last summer won the league and didn't come back.
ReplyDeleteI looked it up, one of their assistant coaches left the pilots and went to the Northwoods League and won the championship there.
As far as Chris Jones (2008 Manager) is concerned, who knows? I Googled it a little bit and couldn't find any more info on him. Maybe he's become a scout assigned to the Mexican League or something. Seriously, though, it may just be a personal/family/career-outside-of-baseball thing.
ReplyDeleteThe question is....who will be the Pilots' skipper in 2010?
Bob Miller was the head coach before Machado not Chris Jones!
ReplyDeleteHow can you think its just "personal/family/career-outside-of-baseball thing" two staffs in a row? There has to be some reason why two good staffs all left.
Why don't you do some investigating as to why? If you curious who the head coach will be, why don't you ask them?
You're right about Bob Miller. I was thinking 2007. I forget which year we're in.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, high coaching turnover is the norm in the ABL. There are plenty of coaches who do one or two year stints in the league and then move on. It's just not that alarming to me to see a coach move on after a year, even a successful one.
Are you concerned that there is some sort of drama going on in the Pilots organization?
True. But if you pay attention you would notice that when head coaches leave an assistant usually takes over (assuming the teams were good).
ReplyDeleteIt just seems alarming. From the outside looking in I would think there is some sort of problem. Thats why I want you to look into it!
Yeah I can understand why you might be a little concerned, and I can ask around a little bit, but if it's too much drama and intrigue it might not go very far. First, because people might not be very forthcoming with answers, and second, I don't really want to write about that stuff. I'm not trying to air anyone's dirty laundry.
ReplyDelete