Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Why The Blog?
Well, in my real job I get paid a decent wage to not express my opinions on subjects I'm a comparative expert on. So I guess I'm looking for a venue in which I get paid nothing to express my opinions on subjects I'm not a comparative expert on.
That isn't to say I don't know anything about baseball. But I'm not a person who can tell you -- right now, anyway -- which side of the plate each Diamonbacks player hits from. With the discipline of wanting to post here on a regular basis, I hope that changes.
So, here are the ground rules for my blog:
1. Focus on long-term issues. While I reserve the right to express my frustration with the latest lost lead or express happiness about the latest 2-game power surge, I don't want to praise or criticize without some long-term basis for that. So, to begin with, I'm not going to use any statistics until the D-Backs have played at least 20 games.
2. Statistics / quantitative analysis / sabermetrics -- like many baseball blogs, I'll be using this to analyze the team. You can't use sabermetrics to make every decision -- there are other, perfectly reasonable prisms through which to view decisions on and off the field -- but statistics are the only source I expect to use regularly.
3. Baseball is a game. I know, it's completely obvious, except when it's ignored. For most of us it is a diversion, not the main source of our interest. I work, eat, sleep, and spend time with my family. Beyond that, baseball is just one diversion of mine.
4. It's not just baseball. Like the blog description says, I'm not going to limit myself to just D-Backs baseball. Music, movies, TV, and other media will make occasional appearances here in the blog. If I get really creative, I'll figure out how to link the baseball and non-baseball diversions, but first I've got to post on a regular basis.
Please have patience as I work through design issues with the site and content issues with the blog. Thanks for reading.
That isn't to say I don't know anything about baseball. But I'm not a person who can tell you -- right now, anyway -- which side of the plate each Diamonbacks player hits from. With the discipline of wanting to post here on a regular basis, I hope that changes.
So, here are the ground rules for my blog:
1. Focus on long-term issues. While I reserve the right to express my frustration with the latest lost lead or express happiness about the latest 2-game power surge, I don't want to praise or criticize without some long-term basis for that. So, to begin with, I'm not going to use any statistics until the D-Backs have played at least 20 games.
2. Statistics / quantitative analysis / sabermetrics -- like many baseball blogs, I'll be using this to analyze the team. You can't use sabermetrics to make every decision -- there are other, perfectly reasonable prisms through which to view decisions on and off the field -- but statistics are the only source I expect to use regularly.
3. Baseball is a game. I know, it's completely obvious, except when it's ignored. For most of us it is a diversion, not the main source of our interest. I work, eat, sleep, and spend time with my family. Beyond that, baseball is just one diversion of mine.
4. It's not just baseball. Like the blog description says, I'm not going to limit myself to just D-Backs baseball. Music, movies, TV, and other media will make occasional appearances here in the blog. If I get really creative, I'll figure out how to link the baseball and non-baseball diversions, but first I've got to post on a regular basis.
Please have patience as I work through design issues with the site and content issues with the blog. Thanks for reading.
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