Baseball Linksplosion!
The only semi-suck thing about the beginning of the season is all the off days, so I’ve put together a little list of the baseball/sports blogs I check regularly in case, like me, you need time-wasters between games. I’ll stash some of these in the blogroll when this cycles off the front page; it’s also a Yanks-heavy list, so if you have good team (or general) baseball blogs to recommend, hit the comments. Also, SI‘s baseball preview ish has a bunch of good links on each team-preview page (although the issue generally seemed kinda slapdash this year — y’all, don’t misspell “Cincinnati,” that’s not cool).
Bronx Banter — especially check out the new media column; the guy used to work at YES
Fire Joe Morgan — the recent “Not Terrible, But Confusing” post is typically brilliant
Hardball Times — the “5 Questions” feature is a great way to get caught up if, like me, you don’t pay very close attention to spring training
Replacement Level Yankees Blog — if you have this bookmarked, check the link; they’ve just moved, and Mahnken seems to be posting more often of late, which is a good thing
I have a little bet with myself as to who is going to post a certain link first…
Tags: sites
For the Twins faithful, or those just interested in a witty, well-written blog by a particularly clever (and professional writer) fan, check out http://www.bat-girl.com. I’m rarely disappointed. (And always look forward to seeing which Twin wins “Boyfriend of the Day” after a victory.)
The absolute worst thing about the offseason might just be the deadness of FJM.
I for one would like to recommend The Dugout, which is not so much a “blog” as it is “a series of made-up AIM conversations between baseball players and other people.” Most of their posts are completely insane, but they can bear down and do a good job with serious material. Their Dugout after Cory Lidle’s accident was particularly good, and so was their Buck O’Neil tribute. The latest makes fun of Roger Clemens, and that is never a bad thing.
Dodgers sites: Dodger Blues is the best of ’em. Dodger Thoughts is part of Baseball Toaster. And then there’s Sons of Steve Garvey.
Red Sox sites: Keys to the Game is my favorite because it’s so weird and funny. Dan Shaughnessy Watch should appeal to any kind of fan who can’t stand that giant sphincter (as Curt Schilling so aptly called him). Surviving Grady can be incredibly obnoxious, but I still haven’t taken it off my RSS reader.
I’ll flog my dead horse, Baseball Prospectus, again. They recently added a bloggish section called “BP Unfiltered” that doesn’t require you pay (though it links to pay-only content).
I also read Baseball Think Factory pretty regularly, and to follow my team, I think Athletics Nation does the best work, or maybe it’s just that I really like the newsfeed–it can be hard to follow your team from 2,000 miles away.
Being a Deadspin reader has led me to Ladies…, where they are not so concerned with the playing of the sports as who’s playing them, but it’s a fun diversion.
Peter Abraham’s LoHud Yankees Blog is the best of the Yankees’ beat writer blogs. He posts frequently and often includes audio from Joe Torre’s pre- and post-game meetings with the media.
I also like Yanksfan vs. Soxfan. It’s smart, funny, and the two sides are generally respectful of each other. The comment threads during Yankees-Sox games are especially worth reading.
Buster Olney’s blog on ESPN.com is one of the best places to get a roundup of the day’s stories for all the major league teams but you need an Insider subscription to read it. Peter Gammons’ blog is also Insider-only. I think that the two together are worth the cost of the subscription, but ESPN offers free Insider trials if you’re unsure.
Sons of Steve Garvey??? Uhh, where do you think they came up with the idea for that name? Cheaters.
Sars, this one’s for you. I hope it doesn’t induce vomiting on your part. Though, I’m pretty sure it will:
http://www.38pitches.com
The Wayne Fontes Experience is a pretty good blog for Detroit sports fans.
Even if you’re not a Dodgers fan, http://www.dodgerblues.com is hilarious.
BSD: “Sons of Steve Garvey” is funnier because Sam Horn, as far as I know, did not father any children out of wedlock. It would probably be a better name for a Padres blog (“Steve Garvey is not my Padre”), but whatever.