A CITIZEN'S BLOG

I've decided to return to the blogging arena to blog the 2006 Phillies. I've posted a little before today, but this is my first official day back bloggin'. Last year I had grown weary of blogging. Between work (I'm a prosecutor in Allegheny County) and fixing my house, I was fairly burnt-out. The idea of sitting down and figuring out stats and composing some thoughts on Bobby Abreu’s home run streak or Jon Lieber’s struggles on the mound no longer had any appeal. So I quit.

As I watched this season approach I got that itch again. This is going to be a fun season. This team has got the talent to compete and nobody seems to care or figure they have much of a shot. I’m intrigued. I think that Pat Gillick’s leadership will be interesting and give bloggers a lot to argue about. He’s already made significant decisions: dealing Jim Thome and Vicente Padilla and signing Ryan Franklin will have us arguing and debating all season. Almost certainly Bobby Abreu is going to be traded too. I'll talk about that tomorrow.

As always it is going to be a pleasure blogging with so many of my friends and colleagues: Jason Weitzel's Beerleaguer, Tom Goyne's Balls, Sticks 'n Stuff, Tom Durzo's Shallow Center, Tom Goodman's Swing and a Miss, Brian Peoples Philling Station, GR's Caught Looking, Brian Michael's Phillies Nation, Enrico's The 700 Level, and Dan Gattuso's PhogLights. When I began two years ago it was just the now-defunct Phillies Fan and myself, with my own comically inept thoughts. With a rush, Jason and the Toms burst onto the scene with me and the Phillies fan landscape was flooded with voices, each more unique than the next, each with a different prespective from the next. I love comparing what they've written and debating what they are thinking and what conclusions they've drawn. These guys are all sharp, far sharper than I, so it amazes me that I get even 1/10 of the attention they do. It is fun to be back in the fraternity again.

Mine is clearly a numbers-driven perspective. As Philadelphia Magazine said about me, I do want to be Bill James. I love numbers. I always have. When I was younger, I'd scribble numbers on a page and calculate batting averages, slugging percentages, ERA, etc. Now I look inside of the numbers to understand what is going on. Reading Moneyball had a big impact on my thinking. These days I'm trying to go beyond Moneyball and embrace a deeper understanding of baseball and stats. This season I can promise an examination of fielding stats and the concept of defense.

There are big happenings afoot at Citizen's Bank Ballpark and the baseball establishment is curiously disinterested in them. So that’s why I’m back. Got the job thing mostly under control. Got the house thing mostly under control. I'll only post 2-3 times a week, however, not the 4-5 I used to. I'm concentrating on quality over quantity these days. Looking forward to this season...

PLAY BALL!