Beerleaguer highlighted in LA Times sports section

Beerleaguer was used as an example of a fine, upstanding sports blog in David Wharton’s Sunday cover story “Matter of Substance,” about the changing dynamic of independent sports blogs.

A screen capture of the site was used as main art, while Buzz Bissinger, who railed against the popular blog Deadspin on HBO, cites Beerleaguer as a site that does it right inside the story. Click here to view the entire front page, and thanks for helping put Beerleaguer on the map!

Comments

[timr]

Congrats. All this praise is well deserved.

[Lake Fred]

Beerleaguer is the best and now the world will learn of it. The downside is that we'll get a lot of west coast team interlopers bashing the Phillies for a few days.

[Malcolm]

That's fantastic, Jason. Unbelievable that you got that sort of treatment. A testament to the fairness, knowledge, passion and sensibility you bring to this blog everyday.

[The Theory]

nice. is there a place we can read the whole article?

[TK]

You are moving on up like the Jeffersons, Jason.

[phargo]

Congratulations, Jason. You deserve it.

[tc]

Fantastic. During the initial Bissinger maelstrom I thought, "well, this dude would have a different opinion of blogs if he read Beerleaguer."

I'm glad he did. Congratulations. Keep up the good work.

[martin]

Congratulations, great site, read it all the time.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Sweeeetttt!

Good Work Jason! This is the best sports blog I've ever seen for MLB baseball...PhuturePhillies is great for our minor leagues too. Both are far more objective than most "Fan" sites...including my own blog for that matter.

[EastFallowfield]

http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-sp-blogs22-2008jun22,0,1458010,full.story

[EastFallowfield]

Rays go up 1-0 on the Marlins.

[clout]

What sets this blog apart is that idiots, for whatever reason, have never felt particularly welcome here.

Re: Myers from the last thread, his problem isn't velocity. It's location. That's why his walk rate is up, his K rate is down and his HR rate off the chart. His ability to put the ball where he wants to has deteriorated. That's usually a mechanical or an injury issue (as it was last year with Eaton.) A good pitching coach should be able to pinpoint the problem, whether it's arm angle, release point, delivery etc.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

clout: That's usually a mechanical or an injury issue (as it was last year with Eaton.) A good pitching coach should be able to pinpoint the problem, whether it's arm angle, release point, delivery etc.

Whatever are you implying about Dubee?

[Brian G]

Clout: It's true that Myers could be effective at 90mph if he's locating, but you could say that about most major league pitchers. The bottom line is if he was a 120 ERA+ guy for two full seasons pitching at 93/94, how can we expect him to have similar results pitching at 88/89? The only way would be if he lost 5 mph on his fastball and his location improved as a result. And in an instance like this that doesn't make any sense. His mistakes are now easier to take advantage of.

[Sophist]

Well deserved, JW.

[clout]

Brian G: If he were a fastball pitcher, you'd be right. He isn't. His out pitch is the curve. He can easily get by with an 89 mph fastball, but he's been missing his spots with all his pitches and throwing the curve less and less.

[RSB]

Wow, and they even got one of your trademark Game Chat graphics. I tell ya, some artsy publisher should throw a compilation of those together. In fact, some of the game chat threads for the more memorable games would be quite entertaining in book form, especially if there was a sidebar transcription of what actually took place in the games to qualify the comments. Oh, the ambition...

The story about Shawn Chacon doing his due diligence on Ed Wade is absolutely hilarious. Crazy Eddie thought he could pull a Dallas Green on him, complete with a 'look-in-the-mirror', only to discover that it really helps to be able to pull that kind of act off if you are as huge as Dallas Green and not a puny drip like Ed Wade.

[EastFallowfield]

Rays up 2-0 on Marlins.

[MikeM]

Always nice to be recognized. Definitely well deserved.

[EastFallowfield]

From phillies.com story on needing production from catchers:

Coste has started 33 games for the Phillies this season, two more than all of last season. Carlos Ruiz has started 46. Philadelphia has gone 15-17 in Coste's starts, 27-19 with Ruiz behind the plate.

[No Clout]

"What sets this blog apart is that idiots, for whatever reason, have never felt particularly welcome here." - clout

Because arseholes like you, clout, make anyone who differs with your opinion feel unwelcome. It's a great blog, yes, but that is despite you, not because of you.

[EastFallowfield]

And 3-0 Rays.

[clout]

Awww, someone has hurt feelings. And he had to hide behind a fake name. Poor baby.

[Lynsk]

congrats for sure. I love this blog.

[Dave X]

Getting the big picture over ProFootballTalk and Deadspin is quite an accomplishment... I don't read Deadspin but I know PFT often breaks news before the major outlets do.

[JBrod]

JW: I jut wanted to join the chorus of congratulations on this recognition. I am a daily lurker on this blog, with the rare posting, but I greatly enjoy the content and commentary.

[Brian G]

Clout: For one, that's begging the question.. why is his fastball only 89mph? You mentioned injury or mechanical, and injury seems to make a lot more sense to me. Either way, there's a good chance the problem is preventing him from locating as well.

And just because a guy isn't a fastball pitcher doesn't mean it isn't to his benefit to throw his fastball 5mph faster. To say he can "easily" get by with an 89mph fastball doesn't say much, bc it assumes Myers has the ability to have pinpoint command. Since he doesn't, he needs the extra juice to help mitigate some of his mistakes.

[JBrod]

By the way, from Stark's latest Rumbling and Grumblings on espn.com:

• The Carlos Carrasco Watch: Carlos Carrasco is no household name to most fans. But among the scouting community, he's the most-watched pitcher in the entire Phillies system -- a 21-year-old right-handed rocket-launcher the Phillies would have to agonize over seriously before trading. One scout's review: "Why is this guy still in Double-A? He's a big-time arm with quality stuff who could eventually be a top-of-the-rotation guy. I don't see them trading him. I really don't."

[EastFallowfield]

5-0 Rays. If they hold on and Phils win today, we're back to 3 gm lead that we had before the 6 gm losing streak.*

*Yes, I've seen the pitching match-up today.

[clout]

Brian G: Obviously, the harder he can throw his fastball, the better it serves to setup his slow stuff. But this is a circular argument. If mechanics/injury is costing him velocity it is also costing him location. My only point was that when Myers has his location, which he usually did in the past, he doesn't need to throw 94 mph. His curve is good enough regardless of whether his fastball is 89 or 94. And if he can't locate it, he could throw 98 and he'd still get hit.

[Brian G]

JBrod: I like Stark, and I like Carrasco, but Stark is famous for his "one scout's assessment" to exaggerate his point. Fun to hear but you need to take it with a grain of salt.

[JBrod]

Brian G: I hear you. Posted more for informational purposes than anything else.

[vegas]

Congrats Jason.
I predict a quality start from Eaton and a "dam break" from the offense tonight.

[curt]

...and a rain delay, evidently.

Congrats JW - it is an excellent site.

[clout]

Even in his career worst year last season didn't Eaton pitch well against AL teams?

[curt]

All I want from Eaton today is a tie game in the 2nd inning.

[Sophist]

clout - Yes. Eaton's ERA in interleague games last year was 1.40 (3 R in 19.1 IP; 10 BB, 9 SO.)

In 115.1 IP his career ERA in such games is 3.43.

Those games last year were against CHW, DET, and TOR.

[EastFallowfield]

Marlins don't have a hit yet vs Matt Garza through 6 innings.

[doubleh]

Congrats, Jason! Well deserved. I defected from other blogs because of the hostility and trolls.

I found the article content online:
http://www.contentagenda.com/articleXml/LN810837809.html

[EastFallowfield]

Hanley HR, 5-1 Rays now in the 7th.

[mike cunningham]

@EastFallowfield -- The beerleaguer reverse jinx works for the Marlins too. Please be wary.

[mike cunningham]

oh and congrats Jason. The credit and praise that beerleaguer gets is all you. That's why some of the excellent posters on this board (whether I agree with or not) come here.

Just be glad, Buzz and the LA times weren't reviewing you during a Mets series. :)

[EastFallowfield]

MC...from last night's thread...

Well, barring a miracle, the Marlins are not winning tonight. They are down 13-0.

Mets are winning, though.

Apparently, the beerleaguer reverse jinx has not yet been perfected. Otherwise, a miraculous Florida comeback last night would have been balanced out by the latest Mets collapse. Oh well.

[doubleh]

East: Hey, that was me who posted that!

I guess it was hubris in the face of the reverse jinx, but felt the Rays lead was pretty safe, considering their formidable pitching staff--and I felt there was no way that the Mariners would sweep the Mets. Logic trumped the jinx.

I will say nothing on the matter of today's matchup, however, as a 4-run lead isn't that much considering the Fish's offense and a sweep is never a sure bet.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Congrats, JW I read the article and I must admit that I am surprised by Buzz's change of heart with regard to blogs. Perhaps he did not do his homework before he blanketed sports blogs with misguided vitriol. I still disagree with about 90% of what he said, but I think that positive recognition from one of the strongest opponents of your craft qualifies as a most ringing endorsement of your work. I think that Buzz could learn a few things from you with regard to presentation and the causal effect it has on the quality of the consumer output. Well done, indeed.

[mb]

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Chase Utley, 2B
3. Pat Burrell, LF
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Greg Dobbs, 3B
6. Shane Victorino, CF
7. Jayson Werth, RF
8. Geoff Jenkins, DH
9. Carlos Ruiz, C

FROM TODD ZOLECKI

[ooubleh]

I don't understand the Jenkins as DH thing. I see Dobbs as DH over Jenkins. Plus, believe it or not, Feliz has been one of our better hitters lately.

[from the district]

vegas -

as in give me a goddamn break, and score some runs already?

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

I'm no hitting instructor, but I have some very simple advice for Carlos Ruiz that may improve his performance, particularly against Rich Harden:

Never swing......ever!

[RSB]

Whoa - CM actually slid Burrell between Utley and Howard. I'm in shock.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Good Lineup...I'd switch out Vic and Rollins but then that's why I'm a Security Manager and Chollies a MLB Manager.

[EastFallowfield]

Marlins lose 6-1, despite the Beerleaguer jinx.

Garza K's Hoover and Helms, then Hanley grounded out to end it. 1 hitter.

[curt]

That's a pretty clever lineup. Ruiz can only GIDP in the unlikely event Jenkins gets on. Werth & Vic will have 2nd stolen by the time Ruiz comes around.

[doubleh]

Now, THAT's the Helms we all know and (don't) love.

[squatter]

Congrats J. Keep doin' what you're doin'.

[Tom Goodman]

Wonderful news, Jason. Congratulations on your growing and expanded recognition.

[loctastic]

congrats!

[curt]

So much for my modest request that Eaton keep us tied through the 1st inning. I knew it was too much to ask.

[Bill]

Congratulations. You deserve it. You set the standard for gohttp://myteamrivals.typepad.com/phightin_phils_phorum od blogging!