gil4

They didn't grab any "proven closers" off the waiver wire this past winter that we can ask for?

Capps HRs Peter who?

People look different in person than on TV. People look different in uniforms, baseball or otherwise. (I can't tell you the number of times I've known someone at work but didn't recognize them when they were no longer in a military uniform.) Torii was faced with armed police and was probably pretty tense, and I'm sure he wasn't smiling and joking like we normally see him. I don't know if the police knew whose house they wre going to. If they did (and recognized the name) they might have been thinking "does this guy look like Torii Hunter?" My guess is they didn't know and their only thought was "does this person look like he could be a threat/how hard will this person be to take down if we have to do it." Torii probably looks like he would be pretty hard to take down.

My random thoughts on the subject: 1. The line is bluring between blogger and professional journalist. Which one is Gleeman? He still has his blog, but he is also on NBC Sports. How about Seth or the Bonnes? Both blog here, but both are also regularly on the Star-Trib site as well. 2. A big difference used to be access - bloggers rarely had first-hand sources because they weren't in the locker room and didn't have the numbers of the GM or some of the coaches or players. That is changing because some of the bloggers have been at it for a long time and have built up contacts. Twitter has also provided first-hand sources for the world, or for those in the world who care enough to sift through the mountains of crap to find something interesting. 3. The quality of writing on the blogs had improved, or possibly the number of quality writers who blog has increased. There might still be the same amount of slop, or even the same percentage of slop, out there. But there is definitely quality content t be found. At the same time, the quality writing from the traditional journalists has declined. This is not a knock on them, just an observation that the expectations have changed. The 24-hr news cycle has tightened deadlines, and the electronic media has increased the demand for content because nobody is limited to a certain number of printed pages anymore. The focus has shiftged further toward quantity of timely content, rather than quality of writing. I would guess that the average journalist publishes more material that previous generations. 4. There will always be tension between the bloggers and the traditional journalists. Part of that is because the journalists are in a no-win position in dealing with them. If criticism from a blogger is valid (Souhan), then their reputations and even their jobs could be endangered. If the criticism is unfair, there is no way an editor will allow tha journalist to respond to a "Mr Horrorpants" in print. The most they will be able to do is lash out against bloggers in general. 5. The blogger and the journalist write for different but overlapping audiences, and both sides are trying expand the overlap. There will still be content on the blogs that won't fit in the mainstream media format (especially some of the technical analysis), and there will still be the crossover of talent between the two.

1. Mine was Revere too (must be a USAF thing) with Diet Coke. 2. I like being a homer and an optimist. Even in late August last year I thought we could possibly get back in the race if we just went on a run and won 10 in a row. 3. I told Revere that I'm realistic on him - he's probably just a 4th outfielder/defensive sub. "But did you see that catch Benson made yesterday? He's got some pop in his bat, too. We just need Mauer, Morneau, and Span to stay healthy, Baker's elbow to settle down, Liriano to straighten out his head, and this will be the year we finally take down the Yankees."