At the end of the award voting, I decided that since the Baseball Bloggers Alliance had come along so quickly, it might be nice to get an idea of who was actually in the group. To that end, I’m working through the roster and asking ten questions of each member. The first five are standard, while the last five are a little more personalized. Hopefully this will help us get a feel for our fellow members. So, here’s entry twenty-four in a recurring series.
Avenger In Chief
Website: Avenging Jack Murphy
BBA #30
Personal info: AGE–”Twirty”– twenty-something who has begrudgingly entered his 30s, JOB–the kind that requires me to write anonymously lest I be forced to censor myself. Married w/ 2 little girls
Question 1: How and why did you get into blogging?
My blogging experience actually began as a way to cope with football despair. I sent out a group email after the Chargers were beaten by the Patriots in January of 2007. The email made me feel better and people seemed to enjoy it so the next progression after the run of emails was to blog the 2008 football season. I enjoyed it so much that it carried over to the baseball season. I’m a Padres fan first but football is much easier to blog because of it’s weekly nature. I’m still working on being more timely during the baseball season as news gets old fast during a 162 game stretch.
I enjoy how much more I get involved with the fan experience through blogging about it and perhaps most importantly it keeps me in touch with my masculinity as my home is teeming with females.
Question 2: Do you have any blogging projects planned for the off-season?
My only project was to try and bring awareness to my blog by becoming active on Twitter and having a Facebook Page. These two endeavors have cut into my time to ACTUALLY get things written though!!! My project is to now get refocused……and get a T-Shirt design for the site. I know my mom would buy one despite not living in her basement any more.
Question 3: What’s been your most enjoyable experience as a blogger (particularly well-received post, a high-profile link, a connection you wouldn’t have had otherwise, etc.)?
Its always awesome when someone thinks you wrote something funny or took a curious angle. “Weird/Strange/Satirical” is really my overall goal when I write.
However, I wrote a post last summer after Scott Hairston was traded to the A’s which was essentially a cut and paste job out of Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook (which I disclosed to anyone stopping in to read it). There was no creativity on my part but the San Diego Union Tribune provided ZERO information on the incoming prospects so I felt compelled to gather as much info as I could and then share it with as many people as possible. People said thanks and it was cool to see all of the SD bloggers working to inform their fellow fans, as I was not the only one to have done a similar post (although I was close to first lol).
I’ve had a chance to meet some cool people such as Craig Elsten at 619Sports.net who invited me to do a podcast with them last summer. I look forward to regular meet-ups with other SD bloggers during the 2010 season.
Question 4: How did you find out about the BBA and what attracted you to the group?
Daniel Shoptaw sent me an email asking me if I’d like to join. I think my name was probably passed along by another SD blog and I thought it would be a great opportunity to seek out answers to questions from the people who know their teams the best—fellow blogging fans.
Question 5: What do you want to see out of the BBA in the coming year?
I’d like to see active recruitment of Murray Chass. I’m serious.
I think it would also be good to hold members accountable for maintaining some sort of minimum contribution to the BBA. This is an idea squarely pointed at myself. If I can’t contribute because football starts to get in the way I’m really just wasting everyone’s time. End of year awards voting and HOF voting should be requirements for membership.
Question 6: What’s the best thing about being a Padres fan?
I live in San Diego so for me it’s a connection to my home….for good or for bad. I also enjoy the fact that some day they’ll win the big one and I can say that I never jumped ship when the going was rough and that I never hopped on the bandwagon when the going got good.
Question 7: Do you like that Petco plays as such a pitcher’s park?
I do like how Petco plays but the problem is that the previous regime (Moores, Alderson, et al) chose not to play to the park’s strengths. This started to change last year with the additions of Everth Cabrera, Anthony Gwynn Jr and then the regular playing time of Will Venable increasing in RF. San Diego saw how exciting baseball could be at Petco even with an absence of power through out the line-up. Jed Hoyer gets it so I look forward to seeing the acquisitions he makes over the coming years.
Question 8: If it weren’t for Adrian Gonzalez, who would be the face of the franchise now?
The ready to order “Face of the Franchise” would be Heath Bell. He’s a solid player with a lot of charisma and he ‘s not the type to back down from a challenge. Those are endearing qualities and when you couple it with the “Closer’s Tradition” in San Diego (Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Mark Davis, Trevor Hoffman) it’s a perfect fit…….now. Heath Bell is over 30 so in the not so distant future I could see Blanks or Latos filling this role. If Blanks performs in the first half of the year but the Padres have fallen out of contention we could see Adrian (as well as Heath Bell) moved with Blanks stepping in at 1B for the long haul. At that point the expectation would be that Blanks has the where-with-all to be the face of the Padres.
Question 9: How strange was it to see Trevor Hoffman in a Brewers uniform last year?
It was easy considering how closely the Brewers’ uniforms are to the Padres’!!!
It wasn’t that big of deal for a few reasons. Trevor was offered a contract and he didn’t respond to the offer so it was pulled. Everyone knew the Padres would fail to contend in 2009 so it made little sense to have a high priced closer. Lastly, it should be noted, I’m kind of an ungrateful jerk. When you say Trevor Hoffman, I don’t think of his saves record and how he’ll ultimately have a statue erected near Tony’s out at the park in the park. Instead, I dwell on the Brosius HR during the 1998 WS, the 2007 blown save in game 161 against Gwynn Jr and finally the game 163 collapse. Trevor’s a good man and I wish him well but with a game on the line in the post season I wouldn’t bet my family’s safety on his success (I suppose that’s not a bet I should be making anyways). Like I said….I’m kind of a jerk.
Question 10: Which player do you most enjoy watching on the current team?
Obviously seeing a hometown guy like Adrian Gonzalez have success and receive national recognition is a fantastic thing to witness. Watching him field his position is as entertaining as his sweet opposite field stroke. Everyone enjoys watching Adrian Gonzalez but there’s another player that brings me to the edge of my seat. Everth Cabrera is no Reggie Jackson but I still refer to him as, “the straw that stirs the drink”. His speed can kill the opposition and any ball put on the ground is a threat to be a double with his ability to swipe bags. The pressure that he creates on opposing pitchers leads to offensive opportunity in a very spacious Petco Park.
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